20 years later, we take a look at Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban's legacy and how it impacted the wizarding world.
movie or book arrived seemingly every year to provide us with whimsical, youthful entertainment? From 1997 until 2011, JK Rowling’s Boy Who Lived dominated all facets of pop culture and, in many ways, paved the way for the now tiresome cinematic universe template followed by nearly every major film studio. The first two installments, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, introduced us to the enchanting Wizarding World.
Chamber lacked the narrative thrust of its predecessor and felt like more of a rehash than a novelty. Our heroes once again find themselves caught in a mystery and must solve the case before it’s too late. Moreover, Chamber felt like a children’s story — which it was — and seemed to lack the darker elements that made Sorcerer’s Stone so gripping. I may have even tossed the book aside for a spell, returning to it only after others urged me along.
The Home Alone director quickly went to work and presented Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone on Christmas of 2001. Predictably, the first entry proved a massive success, earning $974.8M worldwide . Chamber of Secrets likewise struck box office gold, collecting $879.5M in 2002. Two years later, Prisoner of Azkaban soared into theaters to tremendous acclaim. Critics lauded Cuarón’s more pronounced visual style, the performances of Daniel Radcliff, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint, and a creative approach that shifted the series from staunch retread to a magical world of endless possibilities.
Cuarón isn’t afraid to delve into the weird either, concocting outlandish characters, action sequences, and exchanges that hit more profoundly than before. In Azkaban, people aren’t merely reciting lines from Rowling’s text; they live in this fanciful universe. When Harry, having learned that Sirius Black murdered his parents, announces his intentions to kill the escaped prisoner, we believe him.
Azkaban sold the fewest tickets of any Harry Potter film , and understandably so—it’s probably too quirky for audiences who had grown accustomed to Columbus’ wholesome approach. Cuarón’s world is lovely to look at but chock full of peril, as seen in the terrific sequence where the Whomping Willow kills an innocent bird.
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