Holiday season is movie marathon season, and that means Harry Potter should be back on everyone's viewing list. Since Freeform no longer has the rights to entertain everyone with an endless Harry Potter marathon on their family-friendly channel it will take only slightly more effort this year to make sure your family stays on track and watches every movie at least once before we hit 2020.
End this decade the way you started the millennium, with everyone obsessing, and watching Harry Potter. While Freeform used to be a hit or miss on viewing order (if you missed Sorcerer's Stone you just had to sit down and start watching in the middle of the cycle) now you can get traditional and schedule a full marathon on your own time.
The Sorcerer's Stone (2001)
2001 introduced us to the golden trio of Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, and Emma Watson. This is where it all began for a lot of people (who had not read the books). The first movie remains magical in its awe-inspiring first depictions of Hogwarts castle, flying lessons, Diagon Alley, and Quidditch.
Some may sneer at some of the special effects (looking at you brick wall into Diagon Alley) but that's not why we watch the first movie. Want to reconnect with your inner child? Sorcerer's Stone is where you start. Forget Rudolph and Santa Clause, this is what the season's all about.
Available on: Amazon, Google Play, iTunes, Microsoft Store and Youtube
The Chamber of Secrets (2002)
The last of the Christopher Columbus candy-colored HP movies often goes unappreciated. It's hard when it was the first film that saw what fans thought of as major cuts to storylines (Nearly Headless Nick never did get his deathday party).
But, it will forever be loved for the final portrayal of Richard Harris's picture-perfect Dumbledore. It's worth watching just to see Harris coo at his newly "hatched" Phoenix, Fawks. It's also the first time audiences are introduced to Jason Isaac's supremely sadistic, Lucious Malfoy (and his Paris Hilton wig). Don't skip it once you get a marathon going, it would be a loss, and not a real marathon anyway.
Available on: Amazon, Google Play, iTunes, Microsoft Store, and Youtube
The Prisoner of Azkaban (2004)
The actors certainly welcomed the opportunity to wear jeans instead of robes, and audiences were ready to embrace a more grown-up Harry in the hands of a new and artistic director. Often viewed as the most cinematic of all the Harry Potter films, Prisoner of Azkaban, brought Alfonso Cuarón to the helm and introduced us to some of our favorite characters for the first time on screen. Don't miss Remus Lupin and Sirius Black as they enter the story.
While many more details fall to the wayside than they did in either of the first two movies, most fans look past that to appreciate the new magic of set design, and darkness not yet explored. The movie also welcomes a more divisive Dumbledore, played by Michael Gambon.
Available on: Amazon, Google Play, iTunes, Microsoft Store, and Youtube
The Goblet of Fire (2005)
Mike Newell, the first British director to take possession of the Harry Potter franchise, adds a certain English boarding school charm to the film series, while also staging one of the more successful climactic scenes in the franchise.
The next Batman, Robert Pattinson, makes his only appearance in a Harry Potter movie in this fourth outing, as Cedric Diggory. Oh, did we mention dragons yet? Yeah, not baby dragons, real big dragons cause havoc in this movie and it is greatly appreciated. Come for the parties (Yule Ball!) leave with the first tearful ending (but not the last).
Available on: Amazon, Google Play, iTunes, Microsoft Store, and Youtube
The Order of the Phoenix (2007)
We hope you like the styling of Order of the Phoenix because director David Yates is sticking around for the rest of the films. What's great about Harry Potters' fifth outing on the big screen? Well, some of our favorite characters are back (Hi Lupin! Hi Sirius!) and we meet a few more excellent new faces (Helena Bonham Carter as Bellatrix Lestrange and Imelda Staunton as Professor Umbridge).
If new characters aren't enough for you, here we get our first look at what the Ministry of Magic actually looks like on screen. If there was ever a beautiful set, it's certainly the atrium of the Ministry, and it certainly goes to good use throughout the film.
Available on: Amazon, Google Play, iTunes, Microsoft Store, and Youtube
The Half Blood Prince (2009)
David Yates returns to offer up another film full of smoke fights rather than actual wand battles, but there is still much to appreciate in the sixth movie. Many call the Half Blood Prince the funniest of the Harry Potter films, and with all the snogging and hormones it's hard to argue.
Though, perhaps those moments were also meant to balance the heart-wrenching finale before the finale. So much sadness and so little time. This is the last movie that allows the audience time to truly appreciate Hogwarts and its ground before the trio, and viewers take off for parts unknown.
Available on: Amazon, Google Play, iTunes, Microsoft Store, and Youtube
The Deathly Hallows Part I (2010)
The Deathly Hallows, surprisingly, is not the longest of the Harry Potter books, but it is the one that finally got split into two movies. (Rumors once surrounded Goblet of Fire, but that movie kept the story all together).
For the most part this Part I is a road movie, seeing the trio we watched grow up together finally set out on their own with no teachers or adults in tow. If there was ever a time for them to grow up, Deathly Hallows Part I certainly speeds up that process.
Available on: Amazon, Google Play, iTunes, Microsoft Store, and Youtube
The Deathly Hallows Part II (2011)
The grand finale of the Harry Potter saga is quite the ride. Most of the movie feels like one extended action scene, and that is not something that anyone is arguing against. From the loss of beloved characters, to the hilarious Voldemort/Draco hug, and a final appearance by the incomparable Alan Rickman as Severus Snape, the series did not wait for the finale just to disappoint fans.
The great thing about living in 2019 is that no one has to wait months between watching Part I and Part II these days unless they really want to.
Available on: Amazon, Google Play, iTunes, Microsoft Store, and Youtube
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (2016)
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them and its sequel The Crimes of Grindewald can always make for a nice prequel viewing if the family hasn't had enough Harry Potter with the original eight films alone (and who really has ever had enough of Harry Potter?). Stretch your mind with a completely new cast of characters (except Dumbledore, because that man is everywhere) and see what hijinks haunted the world before Harry even entered it.
Enjoy a much more extended list of locations than classrooms, dorms, and grounds. Visit New York and Paris.
Available on: Amazon, Google Play, iTunes, Microsoft Store, and Youtube
A Musical Holiday Present
Planning to watch all of the above? Planning it around a particular family member? Well, prepare for the year ahead with tickets to the just-announced Harry Potter film screenings with a full orchestra.
Easier for UK fans certainly (as the series is planned at London's Royal Albert Hall) what better way to head into 2020 than with Harry Potter plans already prepared?