Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (film)

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004) is the third in the Harry Potter film series and was directed by Alfonso Cuarón. It stars the actors from the preceding films in the series, except for the role of Albus Dumbledore, which saw Michael Gambon taking over from the late Richard Harris. Much of the original crew also returned, including screenwriter Steve Kloves.

Common criticisms

Although the darker tone of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban was applauded by fans and critics alike, there were two (if one does not count the controversy over the darker tone) major criticisms many fans have of the film.

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Continuity issues

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban contradicts the previous films in several ways, including the landscaping and layout of Hogwarts. Despite the fact the Harry Potter films are not considered canon, many fans found the lack of continuity irksome. These contradictions include:

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• In the first two films, Hagrid's hut is a short distance from the castle, but in the third film it is much farther away.
• In the first two films no mountains surround Hogwarts, but in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban Hogwarts is featured in an enclosed mountainous valley, which is closer to the actual description in the books.
• The students at Hogwarts, who wear robes for most of the time in the first two films, tend to wear normal "Muggle" clothing much more often, usually only appearing in their robes during classes.
• In the first two films, the Fat Lady's portrait was at the end of a long hallway, but in the third film it's moved to the room with the moving stairs.
• Hagrid's hut is larger than in the first two films and has a pumpkin patch just outside it.
• The hospital wing is moved to the top a clocktower, with a view of the clock's face just beyond the doors. In the first two films, only a blank wall is visible beyond the doors.

"Murky" plotting

The other problem often cited is that the actual development of the storyline appears to have changed deeply, creating a plotline Roger Ebert described as "a little murky" in his largely positive print review. In contrast to the smooth and detailed rendition of the previous films and of the book, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban features a hasty and fragmented succession of often unconnected events. Entire patches of the original plot have been either left out or significantly altered, differently from the painstaking adherence of the former movies to it. This is mainly due to the necessity of reducing a vast and ever-growing quantity of facts in a relatively short length of time. Obviously, the worry is that viewers who had not read the book would be at a loss to understand what is going on.

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