Harry Potter
Unless you've spent the last year or so locked in solitary confinement or a coma, you have probably at least HEARD of Harry Potter.
With its begin-nings about 10 years ago, when J.K. Rowling first had published the book "Harry Potter & the Philosophers Stone" in Great Britain. It is a wonderful tale of a young orphaned boy who discovers at age 11 that he is a Wizard, and deserving of a Wizards Education!! Having been found to be VERY popular across the pond, it was released in the United States as "Harry Potter & the Sorcerers Stone" under the Scholastic label. (If anyone knows of a reason why the name changed in ONLY the US, drop us a line... my research has drawn a blank!) Soon followed by three other adventures; The Chamber of Secrets, The Prisoner of Azkaban, and The Goblet of Fire also proved to be VERY popular on both sides of the Atlantic. My favorite aspect of the books is that each book covers approximately one year in the life of Harry, Ron and Hermione. Three average British school children who just happened to be learning to be wizards and witch.
Hollywood picked up the reins just a few years ago and turned the first book into a movie destined (in my opinion) to become as beloved as "The Wizard of Oz". This was a VERY well interpreted adaptation of the tale and will soon be followed this November by the big screen version of The Chamber of Secrets. But lets not get ahead of myself... The First Movie, Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone (also released ONLY in the US with this title) stars Daniel Radcliffe in the title roll. A newcomer to American viewers, Radcliffe has worked for several years in front of British cameras. While there are several minor differences, as stated before, the producers kept remarkably well true to the story. J.K. Rowling stated that many of the scenes involving visual effects (like the ceiling of the great hall) turned out just as she had imagined they would appear as she wrote the books!
Also due out any minute (but rumored to be delayed until Summer 2003), is the 5th book... most likely, in my opine, delayed by Rowling's hands-on approval status of the movies! It does promise to be EXCELLENT as Rowling has been quoted as saying she was unhappy with the forth, as she felt she was "rushed" through it!! Considering that I felt the fourth book was by far the best, I consider this to be a VERY good sign!
However, there ARE several questions I would like to see answered in upcoming volumes! First and foremost, I would love to have the origins of the term "Muggle", referring to non magical folk, explained! Is it a derogatory term, as suggested by Draco Malfoy's use of it?? Why won't Dummbledore allow Harry to go to the Weasleys for the wholed summer?? Has he put a Secret Keeper type spell on the Dursleys home to prevent "He-who-must-not-be-named" from finding him during summer break?? Whats the deal with Snape?? What is his secret mission??
These questions and countless more will be answered soon, but none too soon for me! I await the next volumes with great anticipatioin as well as the second movie in November.