Labor Day is coming up, and you know what that means? You guessed it! There's a Harry Potter movie marathon on ABC Family, or as it is now called, Freeform. This is a tradition that has become such a staple in TV watching culture, there are memes about it! But in all seriousness, ABC Family Harry Potter marathons make me so happy, even if I'm not able to watch the whole thing, simply because I know that if I'm not watching right now, someone else is.
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I love the fact that Harry Potter is a story that is almost universal, in that so many people are familiar with it and can connect through their love for it. Its main themes such as kindness, friendship, bravery, and love are truly timeless. Being an avid reader, I read each book before seeing its movie, and I will always recommend reading the books first, and as far as book-to-movie adaptations go, this series is definitely, in my opinion, is pretty great. Of course, there are sacrifices that are made and pieces of the plot and some details must be lost in the world between books and movies. Would I love to sit through an 11-hour movie that was an exact representation of the book with every line and detail that J.K. Rowling wrote? Yes, of course! However, I am happy with these movies, and they are just as much a part of my Harry Potter experience as the books.
Small aside: There is another aspect of the Harry Potter world that is also very important to me, and that is the Harry Potter Puppet Pals videos on Youtube. You may be familiar with "The Mysterious Ticking Noise" but there are so many more gems including Wizard Angst, Wizard Swears, Potions Class, and Snape's Diary. These are not all, but they are some of my favorites.
Now back to Harry Potter weekend, it seems that Freeform, can not come up with enough reasons to have a marathon. Its funny how watching the movies multiple times, even now after so many years, you pick up on subtle things that you didn't see before. For instance, in the small scene in the beginning of The Half Blood Prince, the Death Eaters kidnap Ollivander the wand maker. This detail can be easily overlooked, but is extremely important in the next movie, Deathly Hallows. The other great thing is that when Freeform airs the movies, they put all the deleted scenes back in where they belong!
All in all, I cannot think of a single bad thing about the Harry Potter marathon weekend, other than the fact that there are probably more productive things I could be doing with my weekend. Sometimes, however you just really need a Harry Potter marathon to make everything better. Good thing we have Monday off for Labor Day!
