‘Happiness can be found, even in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light.’


The Odeon Cinema in Orpington, London, was alit (no pun intended) with the magical display of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone to mark the 20th anniversary of its release. 

The film was shown across three days, from the 29th - 31st October 2021.

Despite the 1st film being released in 2001-and the book being published 4 years before that-the Harry Potter franchise has hardly suffered any loss in popularity. Many ‘Potter-heads’ are still as invested in the series as they were 20 years ago-which is apparent from what some Harry Potter fans had to say.

According to Vivia Shukla, 14, Harry Potter is special because it “gives hope to people of magic in life.” She said: “my eyes watered watching harry potter in the cinema because I was just so full of nostalgia!”

It seems like many other fans experienced similar feelings, as Yuti Kumar, 15, said: “the rewatching of the first movie brought back a sense of nostalgia.” For her, Harry Potter has always been a big part of her childhood; it is-as she said-” something that enchanted me from a very young age.”

Her last sentence: “the movies really brought it all to life for us, one more time,” I’m sure many fans would agree with.

 

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After the movie was over, there was also a special 15-minute Magical Movie Mode on display, showcasing fun facts, trivia questions and some insights into the film by the director-Chris Columbus.

Many audience members stayed behind for this, with several children eagerly calling out the answers to the questions and engaging in the activities.

Harry Potter is an everlasting phenomenon-living on in many people’s hearts 20 years later; so, make the choice to kick back, relax, and once again delve into this endearing world of magic and mystery.

After all, ‘It is our choices that show who we truly are, far more than our abilities.’