Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban: How Alfonso Cuarón Changed the Franchise for the Better
Continuing the Harry Potter franchise, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban is directed by Alfonso Cuarón and stars Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Robbie Coltrane, Alan Rickman, and Maggie Smith, with newcomers Gary Oldman, David Thewlis, Emma Thompson, Timothy Spall, and Michael Gambon in his first appearance as Dumbledore after Richard Harris passed away. In Harry’s third year at Hogwarts, Sirius Black has escaped Azkaban and is on the loose, believed to have murdered several people and betrayed Harry’s parents to Lord Voldemort. Dementors, the guards of Azkaban, are surrounding Hogwarts but affect Harry due to the horrors Harry faced in the past. Prisoner of Azkaban came out June 4, 2004, the first Harry Potter movie to get a release during the summer movie season and the first to start a pattern of Harry Potter movies coming out every 18 months to give each movie enough time to be worked on. It’s the second highest-grossing of 2004, only behind Shrek 2, and made over $800 million worldwide.
Chris Columbus had stepped down from directing and was a producer, wanting to spend more time with his family. Directors like Guillermo del Toro and Marc Foster were approached to direct before Alfonso Cuarón took the job. Cuarón was originally hesitant as he hadn’t read the books yet, but once he did, he was won over. JK Rowling and producer David Heyman also endorsed having Cuarón as director. Cuarón also had Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, and Emma Watson write essays on their characters to better understand them. Emma Watson wrote 10 pages, Daniel Radcliffe wrote 2 pages, and Rupert Grint didn’t do an essay, saying Ron wouldn’t do an essay.
Alfonso Cuarón wanted to establish a change in tone for Prisoner of Azkaban. The movie had a more mature tone than the previous two movies, from cinematography to costumes. While the Hogwarts students still wore their uniforms, they also wore regular clothes around Hogwarts when they weren’t in class. Rowling was fine with this choice, believing the students would dress like that when they didn’t have lessons. Dumbledore’s outfit also changed to feel like a combination of old-school class and old hippie.
When it came to casting, Albus Dumbledore had to be recast after Richard Harris passed away. Ian McKellen was approached for the role, but turned it down because of similarities to his previous role as Gandalf in The Lord of the Rings and felt it was wrong to replace Richard Harris after Harris once called McKellen a dreadful actor. Michael Gambon was cast as Dumbledore, and he focused on doing his own interpretation of the character instead of copying Harris. David Thewlis was cast as Professor Remus Lupin, the new Defense Against the Dark Arts Teacher and a friend of Harry’s parents.
Thewlis originally auditioned for Quirrell for Philosopher’s Stone. He was Alfonso’s first choice for Lupin. Gary Oldman was cast as Sirius Black, who escaped Azkaban and was accused of betraying the Potters and killing several people. Oldman took the role after declining several roles for years to spend time with his children. While he enjoyed his time in the series and was grateful for the opportunity, he was critical of his performance, calling it mediocre and wishing he had read the books like the other actors. Emma Thompson was cast as Professor Sybill Trelawney, the Divination Professor, and Timothy Spall as Peter Pettigrew, who turned out to be the real murderer and traitor.
Alfonso wanted Hogwarts to feel bigger and more grounded. The Whomping Willow and Hagrid’s Hut were relocated, and additions like the courtyard and a clock tower were put in. New settings like the Shrieking Shack and Hogsmeade were created. The darker tone also meant a change in camera lighting for the movie. Rowling, for the most part, was lenient with changes made from the original Prisoner of Azkaban book to the movie and even said she felt goosebumps at how much the movie was inadvertently referencing future events that would happen in the final movies. Alfonso originally didn’t want to use CGI for the Dementors but only used puppets for stand-ins and used CGI for when they moved and tried sucking out souls. Buckbeak the hippogriff was considered difficult to create, being a combination of CGI and an animatronic model that took many months to put together. Scenes like the Knight Bus sequence took a few weeks to film as it was shot in various locations in London, and they wanted to capture the speed of the bus. John Williams returned to do the score but added a more medieval-style tone to the movie’s music. This would be the last time Williams did the score for a Harry Potter movie.
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban got great reviews when it first came out and still to this day is considered one of the best Harry Potter movies of all time. Many critics point to Alfonso Cuarón’s style, the change in tone, performances, and story as strong positives. The shift in tone works with darker, creepier scenes involving the Dementors and exploring Harry being angry at Sirius, wanting to kill him when he believes he betrayed his parents. Harry, Ron, and Hermione feel like teens growing up before our eyes. Harry is learning more advanced magic in the Patronus charm to protect himself from Dementors. The Wizarding World feels as if it’s expanding with Dementors, werewolves, and Boggarts being introduced, the addition of the Marauder’s Map, and learning more about how Harry’s parents died and who their friends were. Some of the best scenes were Professor Lupin and Sirius talking with Harry about his parents in two different scenes. Prisoner of Azkaban also sets up the future of the series well, something that other franchises struggle with nowadays.
The cinematography is the best in the entire Harry Potter series, and the camera work is top-notch. The best sequences are easily the first time Harry rides on Buckbeak and when he uses the Patronus charm at the end on the Dementors. Transitions from scene to scene are done brilliantly and smoothly. The darker tone also doesn’t take away from how funny Prisoner of Azkaban is as well. Of the Harry Potter movies, the humor in Prisoner of Azkaban is the funniest. Cuarón shows how to balance out tones well. The funniest parts include Aunt Marge blowing up, the Knight Bus, Lupin’s Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson, and Harry scaring Malfoy by the Shrieking Shack.
Daniel Radcliffe gives his best performance as Harry Potter, as do Rupert Grint as Ron Weasley and Emma Watson as Hermione Granger. As mentioned before, they are portraying these characters growing up in their third year, and the actors themselves are also growing up into these roles. We see Harry’s rage done well a couple of times by Radliffe, from the start of the movie when Aunt Marge insults his parents to wanting to get revenge on Sirius Black. Michael Gambon's first time playing Dumbledore succeeds, but Richard Harris still gave a better performance as Dumbledore. David Thewlis as Professor Lupin is a welcome addition, portraying the best professor the students had in Defense Against the Dark Arts, who encourages his students and develops a close bond with Harry, from talking about Harry’s parents to learning how to protect himself from Dementors. Gary Oldman as Sirius Black adds someone who at first seems crazy and deadly, likely driven mad from being in Azkaban for 12 years, but is really innocent and cares for Harry. Emma Thompson adds an overdramatic presence with her predictions. John Williams puts together a familiar but also unique and fresh music score. Of the Harry Potter scores, this is one of the best.
Some die-hard Harry Potter book fans are critical that, despite being well made, Prisoner of Azkaban does cut out a few key moments from the book. For example, Harry and the Gryffindor Quidditch team going for the Quidditch Cup subplot was cut, with only the match where Dementors made Harry fall off his broom being shown. He never gets the Firebolt broom until the end of the movie, where he got it midway through the book. That also cuts out the subplot where the Firebolt is taken until it’s checked for jinxes and Harry being upset with Hermione over the broom. Ron and Hermione’s strained friendship over Scabbers and Crookshanks is trimmed down, showing only a couple of scenes where Ron is upset with Hermione but not to the point where he’s not on talking terms with her, even after Scabbers is believed to have been eaten by Crookshanks. Snape’s grudge against
Harry’s dad and Sirius feels trimmed down compared to the books, as does his hatred towards Harry. In fact, the movie adds a scene where Snape is protecting Harry, Ron, and Hermione from Lupin’s wolf form, putting himself in front of the kids. It’s also never revealed that Harry’s dad, Sirius, Lupin, and Peter Pettigrew created the Marauder’s Map, or how Lupin and Sirius knew the map never lied.
Despite those differences, they never took away from how well-made and cinematic Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban is. It’s entertaining while also telling a darker Harry Potter story and establishing a darker tone. It’s one of the best-looking Harry Potter movies, from camera work to visuals. The performances are some of the best in the franchise, and the set-up for the future of the franchise pays off.
My final grade for Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban is an A+. For many fans, this is the best Harry Potter movie of all time. For me, it’s easily one of the top two Harry Potter movies.
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