From what age can my child watch Harry Potter?

A dark-haired young boy with round glasses, a lightning bolt scar on his forehead. Who doesn’t know Harry Potter? 25 years ago, the British author JK Rowling published the first novel centered on the adventures of the young wizard. Today, 500 million copies have passed, making Harry Potter the best-selling literary saga in history.

Harry Potter: books accessible to children?

Before being a famous film franchise, Harry Potter is a series of seven fantasy novels written by JK Rowling, the first of which appeared in 1997 under the name Harry Potter: The Philosopher’s Stone (In French, Harry Potter at the Sorcerer’s Stone). At first glance, the world of Harry Potter was created for children. Magic, a young man who is celebrating his 11th birthday and who is about to enter college, a group of friends, a life at school with lessons, homework but also the pre-school period. -adolescence and adolescence, first loves etc. All the conditions are met for your child to identify with the characters and appropriate the universe. Also, the great strength of the novels is the evolutionary aspect with characters who grow over the years. The hardships they go through during his adventures forge his character. And from a friable and inexperienced young boy knowing nothing about magic, he becomes a teenager capable of facing formidable enemies.

But first Harry Potter, what is it about? Broadly, the story is simple. The happy novels the adventures of Harry Potter and his friends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, young wizards educated at the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft directed by the wise Albus Dumbledore reputed to be the greatest wizard of his time. The stories center on the confrontation between Harry Potter and the Dark Lord Lord Voldemort, a dark mage who killed the young boy’s parents. Accompanied by his faithful Death Eaters and creatures of all kinds, Voldemort’s only objective is to reign over the world of wizards and Muggles, that is to say humans devoid of magical powers.

Thus, the first three volumes are certainly the most accessible for children aged around 7-8 years. In addition to being short, the magical and childish atmosphere that reigns there will be perfect for your little ones. In addition, illustrated versions are now available on the market which may make reading more attractive to some. On the other hand, from the fourth part, the length of the books lengthens considerably and the universe darkens. The characters grow and mature and face death. If the recommended age is 9-10 years old, make sure your children are comfortable with this theme.

Harry Potter: various influences

To create her fantasy world, JK Rowling drew on all kinds of Anglo-Saxon literature. The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer are among his main inspirations, especially for the last volumes of the saga. Female literary figures Jane Austen and Louisa M. Alcott, to whom we owe respectively Pride and Prejudice and The four daughters of Doctor March. Another influence, the eminent JRR Tolkien famous creator of the saga of Lord of the Rings. And it is true, there are many similarities between the two universes. First of all, the nickname given to Lord Voldemort, the Dark Lord who is none other than the qualifier of Sauron, the major antagonist of Tolkien’s stories. A physical and narrative parallel also exists between Gandalf and Dumbledore; two old men with long beards, endowed with significant power and playing a key role in the confrontation against the enemy by guiding the hero in his quest. Finally, note that the horcruxes, objects in which Voldemort’s powerful dark magic is contained, are similar to the rings of power of the Lord of the Rings.

And the Harry Potter movies, can my child actually watch them?

On the strength of its success, Harry Potter experienced a cinematographic adaptation between 2001 and 2011. With 8 billion dollars in revenue generated, it is the third most profitable franchise of all time in cinema just behind James Bond and the Marvel Cinematic Universe. . The eight films are such a commercial and cultural hit that they have given rise to spin-off products, even creating amusement parks in Orlando, Los Angeles and Osaka! But then, are the films suitable for my child?

Books and movies are in the same vein in terms of accessibility. With the difference that feature films can introduce Harry Potter to children who are not particularly fond of reading. Even if during television broadcasts, films are prohibited for children under 10, everything here depends on everyone’s sensitivity to the images. In effect, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire begins a dramatic turn with more violent scenes. And this artistic point of view, the successive scenario writers choose to adopt it by proposing increasingly dark films, with the sometimes worrying paces.

And Fantastic Beasts ? Regarding this new franchise in the action takes place in the universe of Harry Potter, know that the following films are far from resuming the childish spirit characteristic of School of wizards and of the Chamber of Secrets with an atmosphere that follows that of the last films of the Harry Potter saga.