As we approach the opening of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, Pop Goes The World, will take a look back at each of the Harry Potter films, today we re-explore Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

With the third Harry Potter movie, we get a new director with Alfonso Cuaron and we also leave the family fun and imagery that made up the first two films.

There is a certain darkness that Cuaron brings to the third Potter film, mostly because the films, as in the books, are starting to get darker.

You have the Dementors that suck all the happiness out of you and an escaped prisoner that is out to kill Harry.

The trio of Harry, Ron and Hermione (Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, and Emma Watson) continue to grow as actors and Watson really does shine in this third film as she has a lot to do and gets one of the coolest props in all of Harry Potter-dom and that is the time turner.

And once again, the film makers did an amazing job of casting new roles. Remus Lupin is by far my favourite Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher and there is something so approachable about the way David Thewlis plays him that makes me love Lupin more. And having Gary Oldman play Sirius Black is ingenious. If you only know Harry Potter through the movies then seeing Oldman as Black will make you immediately think that Sirius is a bad guy because Oldman is known for playing villains. So there is quite a twist in store where Sirius really is one of the good guys.

The Prisoner of Azkaban also marks the first film with Michael Gambon as Dumbledore. Gambon replaced Richard Harris who passed away shortly after filming Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. I really wanted to like Gambon as Dumbledore but he seemed a bit more loud and angrier as Dumbledore while Harris brought a gentleness to the role. When I re-read the books, I still hear Harris’ voice when I read Dumbledore’s lines.

The CGI continues to improve with the exception of werewolf Lupin but the Dementors, Monster Book of Monsters and Buckbeak the Hippogriff are great.

I do love how Cuaron brought Hogsmeade to life and one of my favourite scenes in the movie and book is when Harry gets to Hogsmeade via Honeydukes. It made me really want to get some candy from there, where luckily I got a chance to when I went to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter.

Now, there are things that I don’t agree about what Steve Kloves cut and added. I didn’t like the Shrunken Head character on the Knight Bus and in the Three Broomsticks. Also, again, the adults are reduced to background characters again with just one or two lines while in the book the adults are much more important. Also, the really removed what I thought was an important plot point in that the makers of the Marauder’s Map was Lupin, Sirius, Pettigrew and Harry’s father. But, I guess it really isn’t that important.

When people ask me what my favourite Harry Potter movie is, I always say Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban and I do love it except for the very last frame of the film. I can’t stand it and don’t understand why Cuaron decided to freeze frame on Harry’s screaming face as he zoomed on the Firebolt to end the film. He should have let them zoom by.

However, one thing that I did like was the end credits. They were very creatively made out to be like the Marauder’s Map.