Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban is a 2004 British-American fantasy film directed by Alfonso Cuarón and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. It is based on the novel of the same name by J. K. Rowling. The film, which is the third instalment in the Harry Potter film series, was written by Steve Kloves and produced by Chris Columbus (director of the first two instalments), David Heyman, and Mark Radcliffe. The story follows Harry Potter's third year at Hogwarts as he is informed that a prisoner named Sirius Black has escaped from Azkaban intending to kill him.

The film stars Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter, alongside Rupert Grint and Emma Watson as Harry's best friends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger. It also features well-known actors in supporting roles, including Gary Oldman, David Thewlis, Michael Gambon (in his debut in the role of Albus Dumbledore), Emma Thompson and Timothy Spall. It is the sequel to Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets and is followed by Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.

The film was released on 31 May 2004 in the United Kingdom and on 4 June 2004 in North America, as the first Harry Potter film released into IMAX theatres and to be using IMAX Technology. It is also the last Harry Potter film to be released on VHS. The film was nominated for two Academy Awards, Best Original Music Score and Best Visual Effects at the 77th Academy Awards in 2005.

Prisoner of Azkaban grossed a total of $796.7 million worldwide, making it the second highest grossing film of 2004 and received widespread critical acclaim, with particular praise to Cuarón's directing and the performances of the leads. It marked a notable change in the film series' tone and direction and is considered by some critics and fans to be the best Harry Potter film.

Plot

Harry Potter has been spending another dissatisfying summer with The Dursleys. When Uncle Vernon's sister, Marge, insults Harry's parents, Harry loses his temper and accidentally causes her to inflate and float away. Harry flees with his luggage, fed up with his life with the Dursleys. The Knight Bus delivers Harry to the Leaky Cauldron, where he is forgiven by Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge for using magic outside of Hogwarts. After reuniting with his best friends Ron and Hermione, Harry learns that Sirius Black, a convicted supporter of the dark wizard Voldemort, who murdered Harry's parents, has escaped Azkaban prison, intending to kill Harry.

The trio are returning to Hogwarts for the school year on the Hogwarts Express, when dementors suddenly board the train, searching for Sirius. One enters the trio's compartment, causing Harry to pass out. New Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher Professor Lupin repels the dementor with a Patronus Charm. At Hogwarts, headmaster Albus Dumbledore announces that dementors will be guarding the school while Sirius is at large. Hogwarts groundskeeper Hagrid is announced as the new Care of Magical Creatures teacher; his first class goes awry when Draco Malfoy deliberately provokes a hippogriff, Buckbeak, who attacks him. Draco exaggerates his injury, and Draco's father Lucius Malfoy later has Buckbeak sentenced to death.

The Fat Lady's portrait, which guards the Gryffindor quarters, is found ruined and empty. Terrified and hiding in another painting, the Fat Lady tells Dumbledore that Sirius Black has entered the castle. During a stormy Quidditch match against Hufflepuff, dementors attack Harry, causing him to fall off his broomstick. At Hogsmeade, Harry is shocked to learn that not only had Sirius Black been his father's best friend and apparently betrayed them to Voldemort, but that Sirius is also his godfather. Lupin privately teaches Harry to defend himself against dementors, using the Patronus Charm.

After Harry, Ron and Hermione witness Buckbeak's execution, Ron's pet rat Scabbers bites him and escapes. When Ron gives chase, a large dog appears and drags both Ron and Scabbers into a hole at the Whomping Willow's base, which leads to an underground passage to the Shrieking Shack. The trio discover that the dog is actually Sirius, who is an Animagus. Lupin arrives and embraces Sirius as an old friend. He admits to being a werewolf, and explains that Sirius is innocent. Sirius was falsely accused of betraying the Potters to Voldemort, and murdering twelve Muggles and their mutual friend, Peter Pettigrew. It is revealed that Scabbers is actually Pettigrew, an Animagus who committed the crime for which Sirius was seemingly convicted for, and had betrayed the Potters. After forcing him back into a human, Lupin and Sirius prepare to kill him, but Harry convinces them to turn Pettigrew over to the dementors.

As the group departs, the full moon rises; Lupin transforms into a werewolf, and Sirius transforms into his dog form to fight him off. In the chaos, Pettigrew escapes in his rat form. Sirius and Harry are attacked by dementors and Harry sees a figure in the distance save them by casting a powerful Patronus spell. He believes the mysterious figure is his deceased father, and passes out. He awakens to discover that Sirius has been captured and sentenced to the Dementor's Kiss. Acting on Dumbledore's advice, Harry and Hermione travel back in time with Hermione's Time Turner, and watch themselves and Ron repeat the night's events. They save Buckbeak from execution and witness the Dementors overpower Sirius and Harry. The present Harry realises that it was actually he who conjured the Patronus, and does so again. Harry and Hermione rescue Sirius, who escapes with Buckbeak. Lupin resigns to prevent an uproar from parents over a werewolf teaching their children. Sirius sends Harry a Firebolt broom, and Harry happily takes it for a ride.

Cast

• Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter, a 13-year-old British wizard famous for surviving his parents' murder at the hands of the evil dark wizard Lord Voldemort as an infant, who now enters his third year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

• Rupert Grint as Ron Weasley, Harry's best friend at Hogwarts.

• Emma Watson as Hermione Granger, Harry's Muggle-born best friend and the trio's brains.

• Robbie Coltrane as Rubeus Hagrid, the gamekeeper and new Care of Magical Creatures teacher at Hogwarts.

• Michael Gambon as Albus Dumbledore, the headmaster of Hogwarts and one of the greatest wizards of the age. Gambon assumed the role after Richard Harris, who played Dumbledore in the previous two films, died on 25 October 2002. Despite his illness, Harris was determined to film his part, telling a visiting David Heyman not to recast the role. Four months after Harris's death, Cuarón chose Gambon as his replacement. Gambon was unconcerned with bettering or copying Harris, instead giving his own interpretation, putting on a slight Irish accent for the role, as well as completing his scenes in three weeks. Rumours of Ian McKellen being offered the role started to spread, but when asked he rejected the rumours and stated he had played a similar character in Gandalf of The Lord of the Rings trilogy. He also stated it would have been inappropriate to take Harris' role, as the late actor had called McKellen a "dreadful" actor. Harris's family had expressed an interest in seeing Harris's close friend Peter O'Toole being chosen as his replacement.

• Richard Griffiths as Vernon Dursley, Harry's Muggle uncle.

• Gary Oldman as Sirius Black, Harry's infamous godfather, who escapes from the Wizarding prison Azkaban after serving twelve years there for being falsely accused of being the Death Eater who betrayed Harry's parents to Voldemort. Oldman accepted the part because he needed the money, as he had not taken on any major work in several years after deciding to spend more time with his children. He drew inspiration from Cuarón, whom he described as having "such enthusiasm and a joy for life," and compared Sirius to John Lennon. He was "surprised by how difficult it was to pull off", comparing the role to Shakespearean dialogue. Oldman suggested Sirius's hairstyle, while Cuarón designed his tattoos. He had read the first book, and his children were fans of the series. The part made Oldman a hero with his children and their schoolmates.

• Alan Rickman as Severus Snape, the Potions teacher at Hogwarts and head of Slytherin.

• Fiona Shaw as Petunia Dursley, Harry's Muggle aunt.

• Maggie Smith as Minerva McGonagall, Deputy Headmistress of Hogwarts, the Transfiguration teacher at Hogwarts and head of Gryffindor.

• Timothy Spall as Peter Pettigrew, a friend of Harry's parents said to have been killed by Sirius Black, but was later revealed to have been the real Death Eater who betrayed Harry's parents to Voldemort.

• David Thewlis as Remus Lupin, the new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts and a werewolf. Thewlis, who had previously auditioned for the role of Quirinus Quirrell in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, was Cuarón's first choice for the role of Professor Lupin. He accepted the role on advice from Ian Hart, who was cast as Quirrell, and had told him that Professor Lupin was "the best part in the book." Cuarón told Thewlis that he thought Lupin was gay, describing him as a "gay junkie", although his idea turned out to be incorrect. Thewlis had seen the first two films and had only read part of the first book, although after taking the role he read the third. He was excited about the prospect of making a children's film, and enjoyed its filming.

• Emma Thompson as Sybill Trelawney, the Divination teacher at Hogwarts.

Julie Christie plays Madam Rosmerta in the film. Lee Ingleby portrays Stan Shunpike, the conductor of the Knight Bus. Also Pam Ferris appears in this film as Marge Dursley, Harry's aunt who is a lush. Jimmy Gardner plays the driver of the Knight Bus, Ernest "Ernie" Prang (also called "Ern"). Lenny Henry provides the voice for the shrunken head that accompanies Ernie Prang on the Knight Bus.

Production

Development

With Prisoner of Azkaban, production of the Harry Potter films switched to an eighteen-month cycle, which producer David Heyman explained was "to give each [film] the time it required." Chris Columbus, the director of the previous two films, decided not to return to helm the third instalment as he "hadn't seen [his] own kids for supper in the week for about two and a half years." Even so, he remained on as a producer alongside Heyman. Guillermo del Toro was approached to direct, but considered the film "so bright and happy and full of light, that [he] wasn't interested." Marc Forster turned down the film because he had made Finding Neverland and did not want to direct child actors again. M. Night Shyamalan was considered to direct but turned it down because he was working on his own film, The Village. Warner Bros. then composed a three-name short list for Columbus's replacement, which comprised Callie Khouri, Kenneth Branagh (who played Gilderoy Lockhart in Chamber of Secrets) and eventual selection Alfonso Cuarón. Cuarón was initially nervous about accepting as he had not read any of the books, or seen the films. After reading the series, he changed his mind and signed on to direct, as he had immediately connected to the story. Cuarón's appointment pleased J. K. Rowling who loved his film Y Tu Mamá También and was impressed with his adaptation of A Little Princess. Heyman found that "tonally and stylistically, Cuarón was the perfect fit." As his first exercise with the actors who portray the central trio, Cuarón assigned Radcliffe, Grint and Watson to write an autobiographical essay about their character, written in the first person, spanning birth to the discovery of the magical world, and including the character's emotional experience. Of Rupert Grint's essay, Cuarón recalls, "Rupert didn't deliver the essay. When I questioned why he didn't do it, he said, 'I'm Ron; Ron wouldn't do it.' So I said, 'Okay, you do understand your character.' That was the most important piece of acting work that we did on Prisoner of Azkaban, because it was very clear that everything they put in those essays was going to be the pillars they were going to hold on to for the rest of the process."