Fan Focus: Faith – December 26, 2010

FAITH
Age 15, United States

 

First off, how did you become a Harry Potter fan?

I became a Potter fan in fourth grade, so six years ago (Holy cow, it’s been a long time!). I wasn’t a huge reader, but I didn’t necessarily hate reading either. I was in an accelerated Language Arts class, and every month we had to do a Book It! project. You would read a book of a certain genre and do some kind of project on it. In October, the genre was fantasy/sci-fi, so I picked Harry Potter because everyone said I should. I really loved it, so I read the whole series, which was only 1-5 at that time. The thing about that year was that my one and only friend moved away that summer, and I really didn’t have any friends. Instead of playing with other kids, I read Harry Potter at recess, and Harry really became my friend that year. The recess monitor just happened to be my Language Arts teacher, and she happened to be a Harry Potter fan. She would come over and say things like, “What’s Harry doing now?”, and I would answer something like, “He just got his name pulled from the Goblet of Fire.” We would have brief conversations. I’d imagine they weren’t too in-depth, as I was only 9 years old. I’ve been reading ever since.

It has been over three years since Deathly Hallows came out and we found out how the series ended. Do you have the same reaction to the ending now, as you did then?

Well, I don’t think you can ever have the same reaction as your first one to a book because you already know what’s going to happen. However, I still get the same appreciation out of reading the book. Every time I read Deathly Hallows specifically I read all the way from the book jacket until “All was well.” It’s a very beautifully done book, even though we were left with some questions. Another thing that always comes back to me is the memories of that year. The part that really made me enjoy that book was the lead up to it. I read What Will Happen In Harry Potter 7 and talked to anyone who would listen about my theories. I discovered Scholastic message boards where I posted and posted about my ridiculous and not-so-ridiculous theories. Those really come back to me when I read the book, and sometimes I cry at those more so than my favorite character (Snape) dying.

OMG! DEATHLY HALLOWS! Loved it? Hated it? Thoughts!?

I did really, really like it, but I’m not going to jump out and say I loved it until I see Part 2, but honestly, I can’t see where they could go wrong. Part 1 took all the parts that would have gotten cut normally, and Part 2 is everything major. They have 2.5 hours to break into Gringotts, talk to Aberforth (hopefully they will include that), have the Battle of Hogwarts, and the Epilogue. I’m not too worried. The movie had a lot of ups and downs, but overall, I thought it was awesome. It was incredible that we were able to see so much more than we would if it was just one movie, and it got me really excited for Part 2. I saw it twice: once at midnight and one on Thanksgiving, and I liked it both times. I’d like to say that it was AWESOME being one of the only people in the school who had seen it the day it was premiering. It made me feel special.

What was your favorite part that changed from the book? That stayed the same?

My favorite part that changed was probably how they opened up the movie. I was never a real “OMGZ THEY DIDN’T SHOW THE DURSLEYS! NEWELL/YATESFAIL!” However, it was nice to know that they recognized that the Dursleys were still alive and fleeing from their house. When Hermione was obliviating her parents, I was getting a little misty in the eyes. We never got to see inside her house in the movies or the books, and it was really cool that we were able to see how neat and Hermione-y the Granger house was. Harry’s and Ron’s clips in that montage were still emotionally moving also, but Hermione’s was the one that did it for me. To answer the next question, my favorite part that stayed the same was probably when Ron was destroying the Horcrux. You may read that and think I’m some sort of pervert or whatever, but it’s true. When I was re-reading Deathly Hallows before that I read that scene and thought they were really going to butcher it, but they actually did it really well. In fact, I felt Ron’s emotions more in the movie than in the book.

Comparing book to movie, What disappointed you the most? Also, what part was better than you expected?

The part was that was the most disappointing was that Remus never came and tried to join the trio. It was hard to swallow this particular cut because that was where you found out a lot about Lupin. First of all, his wife was pregnant, but you also find out that Remus isn’t all that Harry thinks of him. He has flaws. He can be cowardly, and he doesn’t think things through. When I first read Deathly Hallows, during that part I was wondering what would happen when he changed into a werewolf. I’m not a big Lupin fan, but cutting that out did not give a Harry Potter movie fan a true understanding of the great Remus Lupin. On a happier note, the part that was better than expected was the first Malfoy Manor scene where Charity Burbage was killed. I really thought they were either going to cut it or trim it down incredibly. They did trim it down a little, but they definitely did it justice. Just sitting in the theater knowing, but not really knowing, what is going to happen next was crazy, as you only knew what JKR wrote, not the filmmakers, at the time. I, for one, winced when Voldemort snapped Lucius’s wand handle.

Now knowing where the split is, and feeling the way the movie ended, do you feel it was a good choice?

It was most definitely a good choice. It was definitely abrupt, but I think that was the whole point. They go from the really well lit, sincere scene of Dobby’s burial to this dark and creepy scene with a tomb being broken into. From the moment Voldemort started reaching into the tomb, I was shaking. I finally stopped shaking 10 minutes after we left the theater. I originally thought the split would have been when they were in Malfoy Manor, but the one they chose was much, much better.

Did the movie live up to all of the epic hype that surrounded each trailer?

Well, no. All of these trailers have been absolutely amazing, but they take out all the really amazing parts and put them all in the course of two minutes. The actual movie has development and more gradual changes. All the Harry Potter trailers are fantastic, but I don’t think it’s good to compare them to the real movie, but I’ll be the first to admit that they get me excited. When I see a trailer with the intense Hedwig’s theme ending, I’m like, “OMG TRAILER! LET’S GO WATCH ALL THE MOVIES AND READ THE BOOKS AGAIN!”

Do you have anything else you’d like to add? Maybe a theory you still believe to be true, a shout-out, praise for yours truly?

I’d just like to say that it’s been a pleasure growing up with the Harry Potter community. It’s really helped me grow into the person I am today. One of my biggest regrets in life is not listening to MuggleCast sooner (I started in the fall of 2007). I wish I took the time to look up what I podcast was instead of just ignore all the updates on MuggleNet.