(Image source: Warner Bros)
BY TRACY PFEIFFER
You're watching multisource entertainment video news analysis from Newsy.
It’s an ending -- 14 years in the making.
ANCHOR, CBS: “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part II. It is the final movie in the series and thousands of fans were on hand to say farewell.”
MANUEL GALLEGUS, CBS: “By movie standards, Harry Potter is a phenomenon - the biggest franchise in Hollywood history.”
GALLEGUS: “It’s hard to say goodbye.”
FAN: “Very bittersweet. I might just start crying once the credits roll.”
The magical world of Harry Potter may be the brainchild of British waitress-turned-billionaire JK Rowling, but that hasn’t stopped fans from bringing the wizarding universe to life in their own ways.
From viral YouTube videos...
[mysterious ticking noise]
“Snape... Snape... Severus Snape.”
...to artistic recreations...
...and of course -- costumes. This -- is CNN producer - and apparent Gryffindor -- Abby Barnard.
But what great franchise would be complete -- without controversy?
JOE SCARBOROUGH, MSNBC: “There are those who say these Potter books are no good - they should be banned - and some are even out there saying they should be burned because they promote a pagan witchcraft ideology.”
The series’ final film debuted in the UK July 7th, but the rest of the Muggle world was forced to wait about a week -- and in the meantime, the media has taken the time to reflect.
This piece from The New York Times is headlined - “The Fans Own the Magic.”
“....we have immersed ourselves in a world of grave danger and relentless evil that is make-believe enough not to bleed into our own messy Muggle reality. The adults in the audience have slid back into the breathless, compulsive readerly absorption ... of childhood, while our children have, with equal breathlessness, leaned forward into the complexity and exhilaration of growing up.”
And CNN Gryffindor Barnard praises the series’ commitment to minutia - something fans love.
“...Every character, no matter how small, has a fully developed back-story and a reason for being there. Neville Longbottom's rise from bashfulness to fortitude is just one example of this. Who would have thought that the stuttering kid in ‘The Philosopher's Stone’ would later wield the Sword of Gryffindor in such dramatic fashion?”
Australia’s ABC Radio held a quote- “Potter Panel” -- letting experts discuss how the series has affected reading habits and families.
DEB ABELA, CHILDREN’S AUTHOR: “It wasn’t just kids picking up books. But you get your little kindergarten coming to your shop counter or library counter - you know, barely able to lift this book up - and saying, ‘I wanna read this.’ And of course, they couldn’t. So of course mums and dads and aunts and grandmas and grandpas were enlisted to read at night. So it did this - it has all these lovely offshoots of not just getting kids reading, which is important, but the entire family, or just that nice moment with mum or dad or grandma at the end of the day.”
And there were tears-a-plenty at the final film’s premiere in London. Cast and crew gave speeches prior to the outdoor showing.
Here’s Emma Watson -- also known as Hermione Granger -- with her oft-quoted reflection on costar Daniel Radcliffe.
EMMA WATSON: “I’m going to voice what I think everyone in the crowd is already thinking, which is that - Dan, you didn’t get lucky. You were and are the perfect Harry, and will be forever.”
DANIEL RADCLIFFE: “Thank you.”
Finally - a lasting tribute to the magical series from the woman behind it all, JK Rowling.
JK ROWLING: “I know there are people all over the world right now waiting in cinemas for the film to start. But Dan has already said it - the stories we love best do live in us forever. So whether you come back by page or by the big screen, Hogwarts will always be there to welcome you home.”
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Transcript by Newsy.
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