Harry Potter Movie Vs. Book

My family went to see the latest Harry Potter movie this evening. The effects were magnificent, the acting was good, the characters had been developed over the previous movies, and the newly introduced characters were fully fleshed out and substantial. On our way home though, along with talk of how good the movie was, there was also a discussion about how it failed to engage us emotionally the way the book did. This left me wondering exactly what is it that makes movies so inferior to books? They have such an advantage in their ability to appeal to our senses, and yet, don't compare to what we can derive from reading a book. In talking to children, both my own and others I've found that what they love about the books varies greatly. That is perhaps the most important difference between books and movies. There is so much MORE to choose from. Subplots, characters to love, subtleties that are so much better illustrated in the drawn out format of a book. We have time to find out what is important to us instead of having what is important to the director spoon fed to us. Relevance. It is a rare thing for me to read a book and not find relevance to my life and my experience, and lessons that will help shape me as an individual. It is much more difficult for movies to have that kind of impact. It happens. It's just not as consistent. Perhaps it's as simple as the fact that you steep in the essence of a book for a week or two, and a film is only with you for a couple of hours. Whatever the reason, I am happy to have both, and will continue to insist that my children read the book before they see the movie. If they don't have the opportunity to imagine the world as they see it described on the page before they see the film, the directors world will forever be the only one they can see.