Discovering magic in the 'Harry Potter' invasion

The British have arrived, armed with all sorts of wizardry.

"Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" with its cast of colorful British characters opened to huge crowds in movie theaters last week.

We haven't had this kind of British invasion since the Beatles.

The boy wizard couldn't be more entertaining. If Harry Potter had been king of England centuries ago we might still be British subjects.

Like many parents, Joni and I took our kids to see the movie. We got there early just so we could stand at the head of the line with friends and grab the best seats in the house.

Becca and Bailey loved the movie. We did too.

It's hard not to like a movie that paints education in such a good light.

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry has the old-stone-castle appearance that fits right in with our vision of England.

With all the stairs, it's not handicapped accessible and wouldn't meet the U.S. Department of Education's requirements for a good school. There's not enough paperwork to suit federal bureaucrats.

But it's just the school for boys like Harry Potter who have an affinity for potions and spells and Hollywood special effects.

Buying school supplies has never been so much fun, particularly those magic wands that look like they've been around since the beginning of time.

You just have to like a movie that can make banking fun. It helps that the bankers are goblins and a cash withdrawal involves a roller-coaster of a trip.

There's a Dickensian feel to this secret world, full of robe-clad instructors and flying broomsticks.

Author and former welfare mom J.K. Rowling has created a make-believe world that even includes a new game, Quidditch, a rough cross between basketball and soccer played on flying brooms.

This is the kind of game that would get instantly good ratings on ESPN and send Chris Berman in search of his own broomstick.

There's something to be said for a movie that coins a word like muggles, a reference to non-magical people.

In the movie, muggles are boring. But then it's hard to get around in Rowling's world without a few major spells, potions and wand work.

Not surprisingly, the movie has spawned something that even muggles would like: Marketable merchandise.

Suddenly, every kid wants a magic wand and the Harry Potter trivia game. There are countless other items like Harry Potter bubble bath and liquid soap. Our home already has been outfitted with such essentials.

Then there's Bertie Bott's Beans, jelly beans that taste like everything from buttered popcorn to cotton candy. But there are also ones that taste like grass and other less-inviting things.

Becca managed to eat one bad tasting bean while traveling in our van. Joni made an immediate pit stop for a soda to drown out the bad taste.

But the movie has left no bad taste in her mouth, or for that matter anyone else in our family.

Rowling's books are a big hit too, grabbing hold of young readers like Becca.

Perhaps that's the biggest magic trick of all. Rowling's "Harry Potter" books have made reading fun for school children everywhere.

Nurturing readers takes a little magic in our computer-oriented, video-game-crazed world.

Rowling's done that, making us all wish we had a Rubeus Hagrid, the Hogwarts gamekeeper and gentle giant of a man, to navigate us through life's journey.

With any luck, we'd all be making a clean sweep if only we had the right broom.

Mark Bliss is a staff writer for the Southeast Missourian.