"If we turn our heads and look away and hope that it will all disappear then they will - all of them, an entire generation of people. And we will have only history left to judge us."
The long wait for Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban to make the move to DVD is just about over. For me, however, that dreaded stretch of time was ended early. I was fortunate enough to have a sneak peek at the DVD and the special features. After so much anticipation, I was a little worried that I may have been expecting too much from the special features and that I might feel let down after seeing them. I worried for nothing! Not only did they meet my expectations, but they exceeded them greatly. I was absolutely mesmerized by every part of it. From the deleted scenes to the new games created for the DVD, I was glued to the spot.
I have always loved watching the "Behind the scenes" segments for movies, and the Harry Potter ones are among the very best, but the new ones included with Prisoner of Azkaban have raised the bar. Instead of throwing everything together in one long segment, each area of interest is neatly categorized and easily accessible. This is a great way to convey the effort and attention it takes to make such a wonderful film. Each subject is given the time and focus it deserves. One part of the special effects segment had me in stitches. The artists responsible for the CGI Buckbeak actually made the hippogriff poop! What's even more surprising is that it made it through editing and is in the finished film. I think that it is very clever and absolutely hilarious that they did that. I am not going to tell you where to find it, though - what would be the fun in that!
The tours of Honeydukes and Professor Lupin's classroom are like nothing I have ever seen before. As you work your way through the rooms, you feel like you are really there and interacting with the people around you. From sitting in on a lesson with Professor Lupin about Boggarts to witnessing the Weasley twins as they live up to their mischievous reputations, you will find yourself transported into the wizarding world.
As a thirty-something mother of three boys, I tend to skip around games and interactive-type things, but because I was reviewing this as part of my work, I wanted to cover every part of it. Much to my surprise, I loved the games included with the special features. "Catch Scabbers" is fast paced and really quite fun. I know that Scabbers is actually a villain, but I found this little rat to be as cute as a button and the background graphics are fantastic. "The Quest of Sir Cadogan" has to be one of the best and most amazing things about the special features. The concept and graphics are astounding! I not only enjoyed playing this game, but I could not get enough of the background scenery created for it. Even if you don't have much interest in playing games, you should take the time to just see everything in it. I promise you won't regret it! "Magic you may have missed" is another game that I had a great time playing. If you like brain teasers and memory skill types of games, this is the game for you. I played it with my sons and we all had a blast.
Another thing I found unique about the special features is how they have organized the interviews with the cast and crew of the film. Hosted by "The Shrunken Head," the cast interviews are grouped by what type of character they played. Crew interviews are in a category of their own.
There are so many wonderful things included with this film that it would be impossible for me to talk about all of them. I have covered the major parts of it, but I think I should leave a few things for you to discover for yourselves. In my opinion, the discovery process is part of the fun. Overall, I think these special features rate 10 out of 10. I hope you and your family get as much enjoyment from it as my family and I did.
Film Review
I thoroughly enjoyed the movie when I saw it in the theater and even more so when I was able to watch it at home. I noticed so many things that I missed when it was on the big screen. The chemistry between Hermione and Ron is much more obvious and seeing some of the things going on in the background brought some scenes into a whole new light. I also noticed that not having to sit in a theater packed with people laughing, coughing, and moving around helped me to hear so many great lines that I never knew were there before. As with the previous two Harry Potter movies, Prisoner of Azkaban on DVD is a great addition to every family movie collection.
Disclaimer: Veritaserum is run by fans and is for the fans. We are in no way official and are not affiliated with J.K. Rowling, Warner Bros., EA Games, Scholastic, or Bloomsbury. We do not own any of the characters in the books, movies, or games.
