A Love Letter To.... Harry Potter

It's come down to this. The last Harry Potter film. And my has it been a magical 10 years starting from 2001. Even now as I write this blogpost I am listening to "Hedwig's Theme", another brilliant song by John Williams that defines these set of movies. Originally, I was not going to post anything about Harry Potter but it has not hit me until now just how much apart of my life this series of books and movies have been. I feel as if I have been taking Harry Potter for granted.

Just look and compare these two trailers from the very first film, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone....


And the very last film, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2.


Wow. Just wow. What a difference. My how Harry, Ron and Hermione have grown. And it made me realize just how much I have grown as well.

Do you know how old I was when the first film came out back in 2001? I was 11 years old. ELEVEN years old! Everyone has something that defines their childhood. Whether it's Harry Potter, the Ninja Turtles, Barbie, Batman, Toonami, Looney Tunes, Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network, Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, etc. For me, it was all of these and Harry Potter. I am now 21 years old, an adult.

Actually, another reason I wanted to express my feelings for Harry Potter was because of the reviews I have read or watched by my favorite, well-known internet film reviewers. Of the 4 reviews I watched/read, neither of them were "dissing" the movie or anything. In fact, they each liked the film. The only problem was that none of them were big Harry Potter fans and do not have very much emotional attachment to the books or films, which is certainly understandable but a little disheartening.
This, in turn, made me realize my own emotional attachment to the story and characters. It made me remember just how awe'd I was after watching the first film, all the times I stayed up late at night reading the first 4 books, jumping up and down in anticipation waiting for the films to be released on dvd so I could relive the magic over and over. These memories. This feeling of true happiness that makes you think beyond the limits of imagination.

Harry Potter starts off as being an innocent, children's fantasy adventure with a touch of looming danger and mystery. Each each film/book kicks it up a notch to where, now, we have witnessed a full transformation of the main characters while we, the audience, have matured out of our own innocence and into the harsher reality of adulthood. We may not have to learn to cast spells but we do have to study, maintain relationships, and face the seriousness of death and danger just like the students of Hogwarts do. The only difference is that they live in a world that pushes the limits of reality and imagination. Harry Potter is a respected series that handles itself maturely, without being overly corny.

So I'd like to thank J.K. Rowling for really putting her all into these books and being able to create such a vast world and environment that not even any of the 8 movies could completely portray on screen. But boy did these movies try their hardest to do so. And with that, I'd also like to thank the directors, actors, writers, composers, animators, and anyone else who put some real time and effort to make these films as magical and as wondrous as they could be.


I'll leave anyone who took the time to read this "Love Letter" with one last video. It's not a montage or anything corny since that's not my style but it's hysterical none the less. A popular Youtube user, Kingsley, posted his own ...uh.. love letter to Harry Potter and I just had to share because I know A LOT of people who feel the same way.
Note: There is some strong language but if you are as big of a fan of Harry Potter as this guy, you'll totally know where he's coming from. Plus, it's just Hilarious.



What I've Learned: I learned how much this series means to me & have fallen in love all over again. Excuse my language but, I fucking love Harry Potter.