Harry Potter is a cult, and its franchises both in the book world and the movie world have made their niche. The amount of fan following of Harry Potter has across all ages; and people from different walks of life raises a potent question: Why is Harry Potter so popular. Even though the first Harry Potter book was released in 1997; the franchise’s popularity has only grown after each book release, and the movie franchise has only added to its popularity.
To have a detailed answer as to why Harry Potter is so popular, many factors contribute to it. Still, the primary reason is good writing, and good filmmaking has led to a surge in its popularity. This is an interesting topic, and below we have tried to assess different factors that have contributed to the popularity; so that answer to the question is satisfactory.
Why Is Harry Potter So Popular Among The Masses?
Though 24 years have gone since the first book was published and the first movie was released apparently 20 years ago; many aspire to know why the franchise is still popular as it was during its prime time. Essentially it was a book series that got converted into a film franchise that helps shape a generation a story set in the wizarding world that also teaches great values like friendship, humility; and bravery. The writing was such that everybody could imagine themselves to be part of the Harry Potter world; and as each book was released; it made it possible to elevate the series to such an extent that others couldn’t even try to reach.
The series help bring amazing communities together and for a good reason with the franchise at the center. Though the books were focused on children; they included many surprising grownup themes like mental health, LGBT, and other real-world questions very maturely into the book.
The book is so well written that the millennials were re-introduced to reading. The movies made a great adaptation of the series partially due to great scriptwriting and a talented cast for each character in the book.
Why Is Harry Potter So Popular Among Adults?
The book series and the movie adaptation of the series were released over a period of ten years, giving them time to focus on drawing the greatest segment of the audience to the franchise that is the children and young adults. Another aspect of why people were drawn to the books was that the books were always ahead of the movies, which means that a curious bunch of fans always gravitated towards the book to figure out what new twist was there in the storyline.
Since now all the original fans have grown up; it is easy to understand that the piece of media that devoured such a big part of their childhood is still very near to their hearts. Though the marketing strategies implemented to gain the children’s attention can cause cringe among the adults, it isn’t reasoning with Harry Potter.
The series had many dark themes incorporated in its stories which also intrigued the elder audience. The children once grew out of the story elements that rely on friendship and bravery and good vs. evil theme; darker elements kept them captivated and refused to move away from the franchise.
Why Is The Harry Potter Series Considered So Good?
One of the prominent reasons the series is considered so good is the author J.K. Rowling. She managed to create a magical world with such special characters that people all around the world fell in love with them. The personality of the characters was built in such a way that people kept rooting for them throughout the story. Another aspect is how she wrote the book; new information was revealed throughout the series, which kept the fans invested in the characters and the storyline.
The popularity of Harry Potter rose once Warner Bros picked up the rights of the franchise and transferred the story into the big screen. The scriptwriting was also very exceptional as it captured the essence of each character and cast hand-picked by the author, which made a perfect match with the book characters.
Apart from the child actors, the movie franchise had some of the industry’s most revered and talented actors. They allowed the child actors to create their own persona and groomed their talent to produce a beautiful final project.
Why Is the Series So Addictive?
The author has written the series in such a way that allows anyone to immerse themselves into the thrilling universe of Harry Potter and imagine themselves being a part of that world. Once the Pottermore website was created, the involvement in the story got amplified by manifold. The website allowed the fans get to immerse deeper into the Harry Potter universe and get sorted into the Hogwarts house to get their own wands and Patronus.
Even J.K. Rowling is active on Pottermore giving additions through her interview to the franchise allowing the fans to get extremely involved in the universe. As there are new spin-off series that contain five movies that are being released periodically; the author can provide constant new information regarding the characters and what will happen to them once the series closes. The constant information-sharing regarding their favorite characters and the new characters being developed for the authors’ franchise have kept fans hooked.
These are some aspects that have somewhat enlightened the answer as to why is Harry Potter so popular among its fans; and there is no stagnation compared to other such popular series.