The "Next Harry Potter"?

[Thundarr]

Narnia's films aren't very good. Nor as popular.

Not only that, the books themselves don't have as rabid a following as Harry Potter's. While I enjoy the books, as many people of all ages do, and they do have the broad appeal of the HP books, they just aren't quite the phenom that HP has turned into. And they've had decades to build up their fanbase! HP exploded on the scene like an A-bomb. And as was mentioned before, producers struck while the iron was hot. Narnia's iron hasn't been hot for years.

 

[Doctor Jones]

LWATW did pretty well, but you couldn't feel it like you could HP.

 

[mclay18]

The key we're referring to is "book-to-movie" franchises. Speaking of which:

If the series had come out in the early '00s (as opposed to the mid-1990s), I think Animorphs would've been the next 'Harry Potter' franchise. It was popular enough to spawn a whole line of merchandise (board games, toys, calendars, school planners) and even get a TV series made. Had the right studio and the right producers jumped on it during its popularity... man, the possibilities.

Another book series with potential would be The Ranger's Apprentice (the book series is STILL going). Shame MGM/UA has options on it now.

 

[MadVillainy]

In the OP I didnt limit it to book to movie franchises

 

[Rain Dog]

The key we're referring to is "book-to-movie" franchises. Speaking of which:

If the series had come out in the early '00s (as opposed to the mid-1990s), I think Animorphs would've been the next 'Harry Potter' franchise. It was popular enough to spawn a whole line of merchandise (board games, toys, calendars, school planners) and even get a TV series made. Had the right studio and the right producers jumped on it during its popularity... man, the possibilities.

Another book series with potential would be The Ranger's Apprentice (the book series is STILL going). Shame MGM/UA has options on it now.

Now that you mention it, Animorphs did have a lot of potential. I loved those books.

 

[mclay18]

Now that you mention it, Animorphs did have a lot of potential. I loved those books.

It still has potential. Scholastic is doing a re-printing of some of the books and releasing them spring 2011 (according to K.A.A. herself), so maybe they're hoping a new generation of kids alight to the series.

I do think a big factor plays into why the studios haven't optioned Animorphs as a movie franchise. It would require lots of CGI shots (morphing, animals fighting aliens, alien ships, the aliens themselves). Not to mention for a book franchise numbering 54 200-page books, they'll have to seriously condense the series down if they want cast continuity for 7-8 films.

 

[Thundarr]

LWATW did pretty well, but you couldn't feel it like you could HP.

True, it was good but it didn't wow the audience the way HP did. Then Prince Caspien pretty much bombed at the box office if a remember correctly.

 

[Ipodman]

X-Men: First Class.

Ultimate Spider-Man.

 

[mclay18]

In the OP I didnt limit it to book to movie franchises

If you want to be realistic about it, it should be limited to that. Everything else just isn't comparable.

 

[GL1]

Animorphs was AWESOME. My first intro to constant psychological tension in storytelling, it was AWESOME.

Twilight is the current Harry Potter. It is not as popular or critically acclaimed but it is EXTREMELY popular and lucrative.

If you're looking for another series that will usurp Harry Potter in terms of quality for the same target audience, you're asking the wrong question. We don't get Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter and James Bond by asking "when will the next X come along." Even Inception is just "the next Matrix" to some people, and despite it's mind blowing jaw dropping newness, the 'mind blowing' category already has its mascot. If something's going to be truly revered and spawn that kind of love that Star Wars and Harry Potter get, it has to have no spiritual predecessor, it can't be trying to cash in on a trend.

Back to the OP, which focused on a kids-focused story rather than necessarily books-to-movies. I think our next shot is going to be something based on comics, that will likely also be undercooked. Runaways? Power Pack?

Do you know what would positive own though? Ender's Game. Search your feelings, you know it to be true.

 

[ALP]

"It can't be trying to cash it on a trend"...so true. There are a ton of ripoffs out there. Rip off of Potter, Twilight, Star Wars, etc. They will never make it to the top. When JK was first writing Harry Potter, she was terrified it would never get published. People out there writing and hoping their book will be a massive million/billion $$$ phenomenon are simply silly. You definitely have to be modest.

 

[Thundarr]

"It can't be trying to cash it on a trend"...so true. There are a ton of ripoffs out there. Rip off of Potter, Twilight, Star Wars, etc. They will never make it to the top. When JK was first writing Harry Potter, she was terrified it would never get published. People out there writing and hoping their book will be a massive million/billion $$$ phenomenon are simply silly. You definitely have to be modest.

The thing is, any movie made that's based off of a popular product such as Harry Potter, Twilight, X-Men, etc, is trying to cash in on a trend. That's why Harry Potter was made in the first place. This thread is about speculating which trend will be cashed in on next. Or at least that's my take on Blackman's intent.

The criteria are materials that are about young people being thrown into extraordinary situations. Whether the source material are comics, novels, TV shows, or Saturday morning cartoons is irrelevant. Here are my picks . . .

#1) X-Men: First Class: We get to meet Professor Xavier before he was paralized, as well as Cyclops, Jean, Storm, Beast and whoever else back when they were teenagers. The popularity of the comics and the first couple of movies, as well as all of the X-Men TV shows makes this a strong candidate. Unfortunately the poor reception of the last couple of X-Men movies will likely hurt it.

#2) Buffy The Vampire Slayer: This will be a retelling of how/when a 15 year old Buffy becomes The Slayer. I understand it will be more or less a retelling of the disaster of the original film, with a tone closer to the critically acclaimed TV series. With the comics, toys, novels, and dvds still being very popular with the fans, this could be a strong contender for "Next Harry Potter".

#3) Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Okay, so the young people in this movie are giant, walking, talking turtles who learned ninjitsu from a giant mutant rat. They are still teenagers. The original comics, the original 80's animated series, the 2003 reboot of the series, and the original live action movie are all still very popular with the fans (both new and old). Most people even like Secret Of The Ooze and the 2007 CGI animated TMNT movie. Like Buffy, it could become a strong contender for "Next Harry Potter".

#4) Dungeons & Dragons The Animated Series: This is the least likely to be the next Harry Potter. For one thing the series hasn't been on TV for years. For another, even if it were to be shown in reruns on The Cartoon Network, Boomerang, or Teletoon Retro, I don't think it would be as popular as it was from '83 to '86 when it first aired. Most kids don't even know of the show's existance. Also, the rights to the show keeps changing hands (last I heard, Disney had aquired it) so it's not even available on DVD anymore. But if Disney were to give the series a reboot/update, much like the Ninja Turtles reboot in 2003, it may in fact become hugely popular again. If that happens, a live action adaptation could deffinitely be in the cards and would most likely be a success if handled correctly.

 

[MadVillainy]

Thundarr basically got what I meant in his first 2 paragraphs

 

[ALP]

Yes I understand Thundarr, but me and GL1 were talking about ripoffs. B-rate material that apes the popular things. Not their official adaptations.

The way I view it, the Harry Potter films are not cashing in on a trend, by becoming the official adaptations, they become apart of the trend.

 

[Thundarr]

Yes I understand Thundarr, but me and GL1 were talking about ripoffs. B-rate material that apes the popular things. Not their official adaptations.

The way I view it, the Harry Potter films are not cashing in on a trend, by becoming the official adaptations, they become apart of the trend.

Well to be honest, I see Twilight as a rip off of Buffy. Joss Whedon did the whole "human in love with a vampire" angle years before anyone ever heard of Twilight. And IMHO, he did it a hell of a lot better too. So Twilight is not, and never will be, "the next Harry Potter". The new Buffy movie? Maybe.

 

[Reek]

if they rebooted Eragon, it would be another fun series of movies (done right). but wouldnt match HP or LOTR.

i dont know what would. its hard to go back to wizards after 7 (really 8) movies of HP. but fantasy.sci-fi,crazy fun wise....If...IF a great director took on Mass Effect, and really entered that world, great things could happen. i mean a great action, futuristic game with the story of Mass Effect could really be an amazing experience.

 

[jacobed]

Remember Animorphs was a tv series on Nick back in the day with a young Iceman and it was actually pretty good. It was always pretty shocking how dark those books got towards the end there kinda like Harry Potter. Honestly, I don't think there will ever be anything else like Harry Potter. 6 movies that are all good, even if some are better than others they are all still legitimately good movies. The next 2 look really good so lets say that they are. That is 8 movies over the span of 10+ years without losing the main cast besides Dumbledore but that was out of the filmmakers hands and all good and successful. Never will happen again.

 

[Thundarr]

If they rebooted Eragon, it would be another fun series of movies (done right). but wouldnt match HP or LOTR.

i dont know what would. its hard to go back to wizards after 7 (really 8) movies of HP. but fantasy.sci-fi,crazy fun wise....If...IF a great director took on Mass Effect, and really entered that world, great things could happen. i mean a great action, futuristic game with the story of Mass Effect could really be an amazing experience.

I have to agree with you there. Maybe if they rereleased the books with some companion pieces or something to try a build up interest first, like maybe some illustrated childrens versions or something. Then make the movie. It still probably wouldn't match HP or LOTR though. Depends on how popular the "special editions" of the books and the illustrated childrens adaptations are I would guess.

 

[GL1]

Thundarr basically got what I meant in his first 2 paragraphs

Color me surprised!

By "Next Harry Potter" I mean successful movie series which involves kids getting involved in these larger than life fantasy/sci fi adventures

So Twilight, as much as I hate it, meets the criteria you explicitly stated, so what is the implicit unspoken criteria that you and Thundarr have that disqualifies Twilight as the "next Harry Potter." It may be something as simple as "popular with boys too" or "critically acclaimed" but it certainly isn't clear at this point.

The thing is, any movie made that's based off of a popular product such as Harry Potter, Twilight, X-Men, etc, is trying to cash in on a trend. That's why Harry Potter was made in the first place. This thread is about speculating which trend will be cashed in on next. Or at least that's my take on Blackman's intent.

The criteria are materials that are about young people being thrown into extraordinary situations. Whether the source material are comics, novels, TV shows, or Saturday morning cartoons is irrelevant. Here are my picks . . .

I'm sorry sir, but this just isn't so. I don't think you're familiar with what the word trend means, and how it's typically used in media criticism. A single intellectual property cannot be a trend, you need to have a series of intellectual properties, where some can be considered ripoffs of others, in order to say "okay, there's a vampire trend right now." Shows like Vampire Diaries can never be evaluated at the same level as Whedon's Buffy was because we know, on some level, that one is just a ripoff of Twilight, and will be of lesser quality.

So I ask, what is the criteria again that disqualifies Twilight?

Of what's currently in production, that's the best possible list, i think. I'm not optimistic about any of them being on the HP/Star Wars/LotR level of belovedness, though. I mean... how could they? None of them are bringing anything new, there's nothing revered about their source material. They'll just be good movies at best, and their origins don't suggest a strong emotional heart with timeless characters, either.

Another interesting thing about this discussion is the utter lack of creativity in the western world currently, including in the media. Inception was the first thing in a long time that could even be thought of as original.

For me personally, one of the things that makes Harry Potter Harry Potter for me is that it starts with kids, who are not adolescents, not really. They are children, going on an epic adventure, that become adults over time, not in just one movie. That's another thing I love about ATLAB, and one of the saddest things about PJATOTLT, that the kids were 16, but in the books they were just 12. It's a more profound journey when the kids are younger. If 20 somethings can play the characters, it's not going to capture kids the same way HP does.

Like I said, Ender's Game, and do something where the sequels aren't awful.

 

[MadVillainy]

I dont think Twilight is the next Harry Potter because:
1) HP is more universally accepted
2) Twilight isnt really an adventure in my eyes

Thats what it boils down to IMO

 

[Doctor Jones]

Yeah, Twilight is extremely popular with girls primarily. Harry Potter is extremely popular with men and women of all ages. And guess which film most parents would rather take their kids to if they had a choice? Twilight is successful and popular, but not as much as Harry Potter. The grosses speak for themselves.

 

[MadVillainy]

But this isnt a thread to debate which is more popular Twilight or Harry Potter anyway.

 

[ALP]

Inception was the first thing in a long time that could even be thought of as original.

This I don't agree with. Look outside of Hollywood and you find a ton of original and really interesting films. Just recently there was Drawing Restraint, Surveillance, The Messenger, Secrets of the Kell, and even Pixar's Up. Hollywood is the only place where a lack of creativity seems big.

 

[Doctor Jones]

But this isnt a thread to debate which is more popular Twilight or Harry Potter anyway.

My point was to show that Twilight is not the next Harry Potter.

 

[MadVillainy]

I wasnt referring to you in specific.
Its just half this thread has turned into Twilight vs. _______