This week Pottermore launched the final chapters of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.
The third book in the series, Prisoner of Azkaban marked our first encounter with the Knight Bus, Hogsmeade, and two of the most beloved characters in the Harry Potter books – Sirius Black and Remus Lupin. Overall, the book had a lot of potential going into the Pottermore adaptation. So, did Pottermore live up to the anticipation? Find out what we think in the review below.
THE REVIEW
Pottermore released the book in three installments. The first installment was made available to fans just in time for Christmas 2012, and the second in April 2013. The release of the concluding chapters fell on the birthday of J.K. Rowling and Harry Potter, July 31 (like we had to remind you! :).
First off, the artwork was again an improvement. Although there was not much to improve, as the artwork is always beautiful, we noticed that it was more realistic this time around. They looked like actual pieces of art, and the first Moment of Chapter 18 is one in particular that I actually wouldn’t mind displaying in my house. (Take note Pottermore – that’s something you could sell at the Pottermore Shop!) The trio and other students also looked older (even from their backsides), which is something that will hopefully continue throughout the rest of the series.
The animation this time around was an improvement as well. These small additions made the Moments more enjoyable and include the disappearing rabbit in the Magical Menagerie, the fire in Lupin’s hand, the falling snow in Hogsmeade, when Ron flew out the picture on the Firebolt, and so much more. There was a part of us that missed the mini-games from book two (the only mini-game in the third book was in the Boggarts Moment), but we do realize that there was not much of an opportunity in the third book.
CHECK OUT our Top 15 Moments That Stood Out for Their Artwork or Animation on our Tumblr page
J.K. Rowling’s entries continued to be a delight, too. Some entries, like the pieces on Professor Kettleburn and Gobstones, were unexpected, in that we never gave the subjects a second-thought. We will admit that in the beginning, the length of some entries lacked – the two-paragraph “Dementors and Chocolate” for starters – but this got better as the story went on. By the time we reached the final installment, we were back to the full-fledged entries we love.
Top 7 Entries in Prisoner of Azkaban:
#1: Remus Lupin
#2: The Patronus Charm
#3: The Marauder’s Map
#4: Time-Turners
#5: The Knight Bus
Honorable Mentions: Aunt Marge & Sir Cadogan
Overall, Pottermore really stepped up the game in Prisoner of Azkaban. Although there was not as big of a difference between the first two books, the one aspect that was improved was the artwork. (It’s so beautiful that we struggled singling out certain Moments for our top 15 — which went from top 5 to top 10 to top 15!) All the aspects of the book described above prove that Prisoner of Azkaban is the best book on Pottermore so far.
And now, we wait for book 4… Until next time, Keep Calm and Potter More!
