Muggles get their robes in a twist over "Harry Potter" delay

Wow, this may be the first negative thing I've ever had to say about the "Harry Potter" series.

I've defended the uber-popular fantasy book and film series for years against many of my ultra-fundamentalist friends who think it's evil and a gateway to Wicca because it centers on a wizard hero (and yet, "The Wizard of Oz" is their favorite movie in many cases). I've defended my enjoyment of the series against people who don't understand why adults read a "children's" book--albeit an 800-page children's book. And when I've had customers come up to me at Family Christian Stores, asking if we have any "anti-Harry Potter books," I slyly direct them toward the books we do have, such as "Finding God in Harry Potter," "The Gospel According to Harry Potter" and a few books lumping the series together with Narnia and Lord of the Rings.

But the fan outcry over Warner Bros' decision to move the release date of the film "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" from November of this year to summer 2009 is just purely ridiculous.

Of course, it does get some eyebrows raised. Films are generally delayed when there's a problem with them. Warner reps insist that "Half Blood" is being moved because they didn't have a summer tentpole for next summer (actually, they do have a 4th "Terminator" with Christian Bale) because of the writer's strike. And yes, it does make sense--honestly, I can't believe we haven't seen more delays of major films because of the strike...film fared a lot better than television in the strike fallout. But still, every film in this series has been a smashing financial success and I don't begrudge fans for wondering when the axe will drop and they'll finally get--horrors!--a bad Harry Potter film (actually, they already did; it was called "Chamber of Secrets" Zing!).

And I think Warner Brothers is hiding their true intentions about why they're moving Harry. I don't think it has anything to do with the quality of the film--Warners went ahead and released George Lucas's "Clone Wars" saga, which by all accounts murders the Star Wars legacy. I think it has to do with the financial bottom line and the fact that they actually have too much of a good thing.

Seriously, I think everyone expected that "The Dark Knight" would do well...but did anyone see it being this big? (Actually, I did). A $450+ million behemoth that is now the second-highest grossing film of all time. Couple that with the hundreds of millions that the penultimate "Potter" tale would rake in (well, not really penultimate since "Deathly Hallows" will be split into two films), and Warners is looking at a darn fine financial year...even with the (unfair) bomb of "Speed Racer".

But here's the issue they face. If they truly don't have much lined up for next year (a 4th Terminator film--without Arnold--is far from a sure thing, even with Bale), Warners is going to be looking like it's hurting when they compare 2008 and 2009 receipts. If you figure that they could stand to make more than $1 billion on Batman and Harry Potter this year alone, that puts them looking at a surefire loss when it comes to next year's profits. The solution? Move one of your big films from 2008 to 2009 to level the playing field. Why move it to summer instead of January or February? Well, that would have the inevitable stench of failure to it and movies (especially family movies) make more money in summer.

So it's all about money, I can hear fans asking?

Yep. In Hollywood, it's ALWAYS about money. After all, let's repeat--there's a 4th Terminator movie coming out. Without Arnold.

And I don't have a problem with that. They're not taking Harry Potter away. They're not cutting the movie or changing the story. They're simply moving it from one year to the next. It will be less of a wait between "Half Blood Prince" and the first installment of "Deathly Hallows," which inevitably will be a bonus for fans.

But Harry fans aren't happy and have been communicating via the Internet to sabotage Warners' other big film of 2009, "Watchmen." Which is just stupid, since that is one of the most highly-anticipated films of the decade. They've written angry letters to Warner honcho Allen Horn, who actually drafted a reply saying they would never "do anything to hurt the Harry Potter films." And they've complained, complained complained ("Watchmen" fans have their own inane battle going on with Fox, which is too boring to mention here).

And here's the thing that I want to say to Potterphiles: stop it.

Seriously, it's a movie. It's being moved back, not shelved. It will still be released and when it is it will still rake in hundreds of millions of dollars. This isn't "Lord of the Rings," where we were promised an installment every year. And that gap in November isn't going to restrict your movie options--there are still many great adventure films being released this fall, from "Quantum of Solace" to "Bolt" to "City of Ember." And all you "Twilight" geeks are going to get your vampire on when that film opens the same weekend!

And it's not like we're hanging on the edge to see what happens to Harry Potter. This isn't "The Matrix" or "Star Wars," in which we're learning a new stories and learning deep revelations. We KNOW what happens in "Half Blood Prince." In fact, we know what happens to Harry through the end of the series! If you're seriously jonesing to revisit the story (which is, to be fair, one of the best in the series), you can always re-read the book! So go grab your DVDs, read the book and wait patiently!

Of course, I'm in a bit of a minority here. I loved the Harry Potter books, but the movies have been hit-and-miss. The first two were mediocre. I still haven't seen "Azkaban" (don't yell--it's in my Blockbuster Queue!) and I thought "Goblet of Fire" was a fun movie but a horrid adaptation of the best book in the series (how dare they leave out the Quidditch World Cup!!??). The last film, "Order of the Phoenix" was the best byfar, but nothing still beats the magic of reading Rowlings' prose on a dark summer night.

So cheer up Harry fans. The best way to enjoy the stories ain't going nowhere.