In a message dated 6/5/04 2:23:15 AM Central Daylight Time,
[log in to unmask] writes:
>... just got back from seeing Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.
>I would just like to give those who plan to see it a heads up.  The
>digitalized hippogryph is fed dead ferrets several times during the
>movie.  My teenagers found this to be rather gross and I'm sure parents
>with small children with pet ferrets will want to talk about it with
>them before seeing the movie.  I'm not sure what the props they were
>using for the actors to toss around were, but they looked very much like
>dead ferrets.
 
Yes, it was revealed at one point, what was being fed to the hippogryph -
ferrets.  I had suspected as such, though no real close up detail of the
ferrets were shown, you could see a sort of ferret-like face.  The body
was larger, probably portraying whole European polecats (ferrets).  I'll
admit I was a little surprised that ferrets were being used as food for
this new creature (which was actually interesting in my opinion), but I
would have liked to have seen Ron with a pet ferret instead of the rat,
but in this third Potter film, the rat has an prominent role to the
story.  I'd say that parents should probably talk to younger children
who might have a problem with this portion of the film, especially if
they have pet ferrets in their life.  The "feeding scenes" weren't gorey
or prolonged however.  As a long, long time pet ferret owner who devotes
a good portion of my life to these wonderful animals, I wasn't digusted
or outraged over the hippogryph's diet.  Afterall, it is a movie.
 
Phyllis B.
[Posted in FML issue 4535]