Harry Potter – Just Go Away Already

Harry Potter – the child wizard who managed to get legions of children across the globe to switch off their video game machines and televisions and pick up a book. For that alone, Potter creator JK Rowling should be applauded. Not since Roald Dahl, with his chocolate factory and his giant peach, has the work of an author of children's fiction been so adored. But very quickly, things started to get silly. First of all, it became apparent early on that adults were reading these books. They weren't reading them to their children. No, many adults were buying the Potter books and reading them for their own amusement. In fact, the books started to come out with two variations of the cover art: one cartoonish illustration for the children, and one “scarier” cover for adults. Now, no matter how well the books are written, no matter how much magic Rowling manages to write into every page, this is ludicrous. There are hundreds upon thousands of magnificent books available that are specifically for adults. Unless you move your lips while reading, you'll be fine with most of them. Try easing in with some Tolkien. When the first movie came out, the whole phenomenon became ridiculous. Putting aside the fact that the televisions were being switched on again and the sound of books being slammed shut could be heard in almost every household, the movies just aren't particularly good. Taken off the page, the characters are, if you'll pardon the pun, paper thin. Without Rowling's descriptive brilliance, the stories aren't fantastic either. Better are the brilliant Chronicles of Narnia movies. In fact, the Narnia books beat Potter too. This month's movie, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2, is apparently the last of the franchise. There will be no more books and no more movies. There WILL be a website where readers can find out what Dumbledore puts on his sandwich and Snape's favorite Lynryd Skynyrd tune. But those that want to see Potter in the flesh will have to make do with DVDs after this final movie. Good. The franchise has been treading water for some time, and it's only kind to put Potter and his little friends out of their misery now. The spells have all been cast, the baddies have (probably) been beaten, and Hogwarts has taught all it needs to teach. The end can't come soon enough. Ironically enough, there just isn't any magic left in this tired old dog. Disagree with my assessment of the Harry Potter franchise? See Louis Bedigian's harsh response to this piece here. Is Harry Potter better than Tolkien, Narnia and Star Wars? Absolutely not. To compare Harry Potter to any of those series' is just silly.