Research statement: The exploration towards the appeal of successful Fantasy Franchise films.
In this investigation, my focus films will be Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
From a quick glance, I have noticed many similarities between these films such as CGI, a group of protagonists and a young cast (the power of the star) to suggest their attraction. They also establish many differences as Lord of the Rings appeals to an adult audience whereas The Chronicles of Narnia appeals to a family orientated audience despite being critically underrated.
My focus films are all established through literature, which is a key aspect that can’t be ignored. This could indeed suggest the huge fandom surrounding these films as they’re dependent on the success of the book.
I have chosen to research these films as I’m a huge Harry Potter fan and being able to explore the deeper meaning towards my favourite film is an amazing opportunity. This Fantasy genre is the main reason why I’m interested in film and chose to study it as an A Level.
I personally believe the Harry Potter franchise success is from the relationship between the fictional characters and the actors/actresses. Audiences feel they can relate to a certain character for example Harry Potter, who is heavily relied upon by his peers to ‘save the world’, Ron Weasley, who comes from a large family and is known as the joker and Hermione Granger, who is stereotyped as the ‘little Miss know-it-all’.
I know that I’m not alone as Fantasy Franchise dominates the global box office and the media such as fan websites (dedicated to the latest film news e.g. Leaky Cauldron), fan fiction ( allows the fans to write their own stories, altering characters and the film’s narrative) and premieres (dominating Leicester Sq, London, symbolising the globalization of these films).
I hope to achieve a possible outcome to establish the main appeal Fantasy films have. Also, I would like to look at the Harry Potter franchise through an educated perspective and to discover why I like the film so much. This would give me the opportunity to expand what I recently learnt in AS Film about ‘Fandom, Stars and Franchise’ and therefore apply it to this small scale research project.
In terms of primary and secondary research, I can obtain many resources as the new Harry Potter film is coming out in July, enabling me to witness many opinions towards the Fantasy genre and the Harry Potter franchise as a whole. Lord of the Rings has a devoted fan base as since searching via the internet a massive amount of articles came up. I think the difficulty I may face is searching for articles based around The Chronicles of Narnia due to being compared to the Harry Potter and Lord of Rings phenomenon. However, the film suggests the family attraction and explores the concept of starring child actors/actresses. Although, the Fantasy film list is huge and seems to be forever growing from releases such as Twilight, Star Trek and Final Fantasy.
They all have connections to an escapist magical world, where the creativity and imagination is left to the audiences.
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