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Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban | 2004 | PG | - 1.5.2

The third installment in the Harry Potter saga finds Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) and his friends (Emma Watson and Rupert Grint) back at Hogwarts school for their third year as apprentice wizards. Shortly after arriving it is reported that Sirius Black, a renegade wizard and apparently the man who murdered Harry's parents, has escaped from Azkaban prison and he is headed toward Hogwarts looking for Harry. Also with Gary Oldman, David Thewlis, Michael Gambon, Kenneth Branagh, Emma Thompson, Julie Christie and Robbie Coltrane. Directed by Alfonso Cuaron. [2:19]

SEX/NUDITY 1 - A young woman touches a young man's hand and they look at each other. It is said that a young man "fancies" a young woman. A young man's pants are pulled down (we see his boxer shorts). We see a woman's stocking tops and garters when her skirt rises.

VIOLENCE/GORE 5 - A train squeals and comes to an unscheduled stop, the passengers are frightened by howling sounds, the lights go off, the windows are covered by ice crystals, a looming dark, and ghostly-looking creature called a "Dementor" appears (with a flowing black robe, bony long fingers and pointed nails). The Dementor appears to "suck" air out of a young man (his face is stretched and he yells and faints). More Dementors circle around a man and a young man, suck the air out of them (we see their faces stretching and becoming distorted), and one character dies and the other falls over unconscious. During a Quidditch match a player is chased by several Dementors; one sucks the air out of him (we see the Dementor's face and it appears to be bloody, disfigured flesh), he falls unconscious toward the ground. A Dementor is released from a trunk and it hovers over a young man sucking the air out of him until the young man faints. A man changes into a werewolf and we watch as his tortured face stretches, fangs grow, his limbs change shape and grow claws, and we hear cracking and squishing sounds. A large wild dog charges toward two young men and a young woman, he grabs one young man by the leg and drags him into a hole beneath a tree (we hear the young man yelling for help and see blood on his leg later). A werewolf follows a young man and a young woman into darkened woods, and looms over them (it is frightened away before attacking). A large wild dog lurking in a darkened, tree-lined street snarls and barks aggressively at a young man. A wild dog and a werewolf fight, we hear growling and snarling and yelping, the dog is thrown into rocks, falls to the ground and limps away, and the werewolf is hit in the head with a rock (we see the wild dog transform into human form and there is a large bloody wound on an arm). A werewolf and a wild dog fight again (we see it briefly and from a distance). A young man shoves people out of the way, makes his way toward a creature (it's part bird, part horse) and insults it causing the creature to rear up and slash at the young man (he falls to the ground moaning and he apparently has a cut on his arm). A young man is hit hard by a whomping willow tree, a young woman hangs onto a limb and is swung around, she grabs the young man and she tosses him into a hole underneath the tree and she falls on top of him. We see an animated photograph of a man in a newspaper and he appears to be screaming in a frenzy. We hear that a man was "destroyed" by another man, leaving only a finger behind as evidence. We hear that a man is searching for a young man and that he wants to kill him. We hear that a creature (it's part bird, part horse) has been sentenced to death, we see the executioner sharpening his blade and then see him raise the blade over his head, bring it down, and we hear a squish and see birds flutter away. A man holds a wand to a man's throat. A young woman holds a wand to a young man's throat and threatens him then punches him in the face (he falls to the ground whimpering). A woman begins to inflate like a balloon, she continues to fill with air and expand, her clothing pops its buttons hitting a young man across the table in the face, she floats out of her chair, and through a doorway to the outside; a man grabs her hand trying to keep her down, he falls to the ground and she floats away (we hear her screaming). A young man yells at a woman a couple of times, she squeezes her wine goblet until it shatters in her hand (it isn't clear whether she does the squeezing or he somehow makes her squeeze it). A bird flies close to a whomping willow tree and it is struck (we see feathers fly; this happens twice). A young man grabs a man around the throat and threatens to kill him. A young man approaches a creature (it's part bird, part horse), the creature sniffs the young man's hand, the young man is put on the creature's back and they fly away. A small furry creature is tossed in the air and eaten by another creature (we see it eat several times, once snatching bats as they fly by). A wardrobe shakes and thumps, we hear that it contains a creature that can embody your worst fears, the wardrobe is opened and a man steps out and then it changes into a large spider, a huge snake with fangs, and finally a Dementor, who lunges toward a young man. During a Quidditch match one player's broom catches fire and it plummets toward the ground, and another player appears to have been struck by lightning. A woman gasps and speaks in an eerie voice (she's channeling) warning a character of evil things to come. A bus drives very fast and erratically through busy streets (although it doesn't appear to affect the traffic around it), the driver slams on the brakes causing a passenger to slam into the windshield a couple of times, the bus stops short of hitting a woman walking across the street, and it literally squeezes through two oncoming buses (also squeezing the passengers). A talking shrunken head (with its eyelids stitched closed and deformed features) hangs from a bus rearview mirror. A young man looks at a map that shows the movements of people and we watch as footprints get closer to him on the map but are unable to discern anyone in the darkened hallway, and he appears frightened. A portrait canvas is slashed and the person who was in the painting is missing. A book entitled the "Book of Monsters" has sharp teeth and claws on its binding and if not handled properly snaps and bites at the person trying to open it (we see a few students being attacked by their books; one is knocked to the ground a couple of times, and one jumps on his book to keep it closed). Young men tease and taunt two young men and a young woman in several scenes. A young man calls a young woman and a young man insulting names, the young man is pelted by snowballs, and another young man is dragged along the ground by his feet. A rat bites a boy (we see a bit of blood on his finger). We see dead possums hanging upside down by their feet. A large skeleton of a winged creature hangs from the ceiling of a classroom. A ghost on horseback carries a severed head and is followed through the halls of the school by a rider without a head (we see this several times). A woman asks "do they use a cane?" suggesting that school personnel should beat students with a cane. A young man has a bad dream about spiders and wakes up calling out for them to get off him. A young man is hit in the head with stones a couple of times. Crows peck at a young man's feet and then his hand. A man steps in horse droppings. A hunchback character has pointed ears and badly stained and malformed teeth. Young men eat jelly beans and make sounds of wild animals (lion, elephant, monkey) and a train (steam blows out of his ears). A man has scars across his face, and a man has sores on his neck and face. A loud roar comes from inside a room when a woman knocks on the door. Gummy worms wriggle. Lit candles float in the air. Enormous doors thunder closed and lock.

LANGUAGE 2 - 8 mild obscenities, name-calling and insults.

SUBSTANCE USE - People are shown drinking alcohol.

DISCUSSION TOPICS - Magic, witchcraft and wizardry, alternate realities, friendship, family, revenge, werewolves, dreams, reliving bad memories, kindness, manipulation of time, happiness, reading tea leaves, dark omens, crystal balls, trust, betrayal, pride.

MESSAGE - Happiness can be found even during the darkest of times. The ones we love never really leave us.

CAVEATS

Be aware that while we do our best to avoid spoilers it is impossible to disguise all details and some may reveal crucial plot elements.

We've gone through several editorial changes since we started covering films in 1992 and older reviews are not as complete & accurate as recent ones; we plan to revisit and correct older reviews as resources and time permits.

Our ratings and reviews are based on the theatrically-released versions of films; on video there are often Unrated, Special, Director's Cut or Extended versions, (usually accurately labelled but sometimes mislabeled) released that contain additional content, which we did not review.


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