What Parents Need to Know
Parents need to know that even kids who can't read know about Harry Potter, and some kids who are too young for the content will want to see this fifth Potter movie. As has been the case with each succeeding movie, as the central characters have gotten older and taken on bigger challenges, the themes darken, the danger becomes more intense, and the climatic battle scenes with "You Know Who" and his minions are downright frightening. Spoiler alert: There's a very upsetting (but bloodless) death of someone near and dear to Harry. As a result, he grows even more introspective and angry. At the very least, he does enjoy his first kiss (no spoiler to Potterheads), and Ron and Hermione continue their flirtatious bickering.
- Families can talk about the movies' increasingly mature themes as Harry grows into a full-blown adolescent. Why is Harry so angry? Do you think Harry and his friends act and feel like real teenagers?
- Even though this movie and the last one are rated PG-13, they're heavily marketed to younger kids -- do you think that's OK, or are the later movies too scary for little kids?
- Potterheads: What parts of the book were best depicted in the film? What got left out that you would have included? What scenes included heavy foreshadowing of things to come?