IT'S HAPPENED.

[threeofdiamond]

WE KNEW IT WAS COMING BUT WE HOPED HOPED HOPED AMERICA WOULD BE MORE SENSIBLE.

GUH! Why must they continue to extract every penny from any nook and cranny available?! Hasn't Harry Potter squeezed out enough profit as it is?! The books, the cassettes, the figurines, the films, the model sets, the highly decorative premieres - ALL OF WHICH I LOVE

Comments

[willt]

Hahahahaha. I think your rage, though justified, is a little late - they first sold out with the movies. I still say that if we're trying to save our imaginations at all, all we need are the books. Sorry, but I put Dan Radcliffe and co. in the same category as the theme park.

It's pure exploitment, and the worst thing, like you said, is that it works. With each step, they come closer to creating an actual Harry Potter world in real life. If we can buy Every Flavor Beans at the conbini, and have the same idea that Snape looks and acts like Alan Rickman in all of our heads, well then goshdarn it, we should be able to fly!

JK Rowling is advising. So at least it'll probably be a good park. Yaaaay.

[threeofdiamond]

and of course, Will, I would never deny that. I'm even disgusted by my own hypocrisy but you must acknowledge that I was also furious when they announced that Philosopher's Stone was going to be in cinemas. I even wrote an article on Hanabi in 6th grade (which was poorly constructed and typed entirely in caps lock) but I felt "hey, everything is filmed at some point - why not."

but theme parks? and actual electronic brick walls that open up to an alley of dressed up teens working part-time selling pumpkin pasties and cauldron cakes? broomstick rides with seat belts? an automated sorting hat narrated by one of my mom's colleagues and plushy Dobbies to purchase at the gift store? (as I'm writing this, I'm becoming increasingly aware that most of it is already made)(and if it isn't made yet, I'm getting uncontrollably excited about seeing it in 2 years time)

WILL! THE VICIOUS CYCLE!! HELP ME!!

[shurtugal]

Yep, Florence, I'm totally with you on all counts. Unlike Will, I didn't feel the movies were selling out as much; I always felt that they supplemented the books nicely. There are certain things that the movies (unintentionally, but due to time constraint)leave intact that we're still free to imagine. Like the Triwizard tournament...it was barely touched upon as much as it was in the books, obviously.

On the other hand, a theme park is going too far, for exactly the reasons you wrote about in your response to Will. I imagine moving staircases accompanied by a mechanical whirring, the Forbidden Forest (is it called the Dark Forest in the UK books, or only in the movie?) with trees planted spookily, but the effect ruined by the presence of a pathway...a bit like Injun Joe's cave in Disneyland.

Yet, I, too, will attempting to push my way into the entrance gate as soon as it opens.

[threeofdiamond]

Thank you Emily. Your support has tremendous meaning and I'm glad you think that the movies served some beneficial purpose. The one thing I'm hoping is that they use real stones to build the castle - I swear my heart will break if I touch the walls to discover the rubbery sensation of ceramic.

Also, I was meaning to ask you whether you planned to decorate your graduation gown. I'm going to sew on a Hogwarts emblem on the chest and possibly (if I have time) Gryffindor or Potter on the back. My mom wants me to glue on a sorting hat but I'm uncomfortable doing it alone. *nudge nudge*

[shurtugal]

HAHA me too! I was wondering if anyone else would think grad robe --> black. Hogwarts robe --> black. grad robe = Hogwarts robe.
Currently, I'm planning on wearing my Gryff sweater/tie/collared shirt/gray skirt/gray socks, but I'm hesitating on decorating the robes. If you look at the tag, it says "don't wash or dry clean" (??!!) so if I stick a trusty Gryffindor patch on...it might be a waste of a sacred patch, if you know what I mean. I've been experimenting with possible sorting caps, but have so far found I really look like a dunce. We should dsicuss this further. =P