Theatre Love, all but one.
As most other reviews say, this thing is freaking awesome. But one thing besides the awesomeness is belatrix shes supposed to be white-girl-wacky-hair-person... but instead she's awkward-black-girl-super-horny it's awful. Not meaning to be racist or anything. But Belatrix is supposed to be white. And i don't care that she was with voldemort. But it was too much. There was a different character completely. S He didn't even act like belatrix in the least bit. No making fun of her or anything! It was awful. Besides her tho, it was FREAKING AMAZINGFULLY AWESOME!!!!
Theatre Overall Outstanding
I put off watching this because I've all-too-often found fan-made parodies to be just plain terrible. This blew my mind, in the best possible way. However, it's not without it's downsides- the worst in my opinion being that version on youtube has rather bad sound quality, meaning it's hard to hear the characters speaking (though songs are usually better). The others are very minor, and also very unavoidable (mostly consisting of legal issues and practical issues), so I won't list them.
In my opinion, the sequel is much funnier than the original, though it's very important to watch Musical before Sequel, otherwise there's so many in-jokes you simply will not get. Like Draco's monologues. Oh God those monologues.
All in all, this is a brilliant series, mostly due to the insane characterisation of... erm, everybody. Lupin, Draco, Umbridge and Lucius are the most interesting reinventions. Most characters have their traits in canon upped to eleven, for example, Snape is actually more hammy than in canon, Dumbledore makes a pride parade look closeted, while Ron and Harry are all but twins (in terms of personality and bromance, not looks).
All in all, I'd recommend for everybody to at least take a look. I just wish I'd discovered it sooner.
Theatre So much better than I thought it would be...
Normally, I try to avoid fan made parodies because I don't ever find them all that funny, but after hearing some friends of mine talk about this I finally caved and watched it. I'm so glad I did because I find it hilarious. It's an awesome show for anyone who loves the Harry Potter series, because there are lots of jokes and fandom shout outs that only fans of the series would understand.
The music in the show is also incredibly catchy and, dare I say it, totally awesome. After I watched it the first time, I had the songs stuck in my head for days, not to mention I was quoting it with my friends constantly.
I was excited for the sequel too and watched it as soon as I could. I loved it just as much, if not more, than the first one.
Now, songs from both musicals are constantly playing on my iPod and my friends and I will walk through the hallways at school with Red Vines and yell random spells at each other.
Theatre A Hilarious Performance
I first came across A Very Potter Musical in the "Recommended For You" section of You Tube. I immediately became hooked when Harry said, "NO WAY this year anyone's gonna die!" The songs may obviously not be professional, but are very good for amatuers, and quite catchy. The acting and singing are brilliant, especially from the duo Brian Rosenthal and Joe Walker, who plays Quirrel and Voldemort. They worked quite well together, and totally makes you want to ship Quirrel and Voldy. The script was written quite well, combining many of the plots from the books yet is still clear. Some viewers (like The Man Without A Body, who seemed to have forgotten that Potter Puppet Pals also have American accents) may find the Americanized accents distracting, but I found it quite funny, possibly funnier then if they had proper British accents (though, of course, Malfoy would be nothing without his accent).
The only thing that could be improved on is the characterization of Bellatrix, who was quite annoying. Otherwise, this musical is quite a treat. As it was recommended for me, I recommend it for other Potter fans.
Theatre Shamless Gushing (You have been warned!)
Hilarious Potter parody! Yes, it's Americanized, but the Lang brothers writing what they know makes for a interesting spin on the story. At almost three hours, it's a looong show to watch on youtube, but it's impressive that they managed to fit all the key events of a seven book series of doorstoppers in that little time. If you don't have the time, the broken youtube format makes it easy to watch in ten minute shifts.
The music, singing, comic-timing, and even the acting are very impressive for amateur performers. Darren Criss shows off his music skills as a cute, guitar playing Harry, accompanied by Ron (who's like a sitcom character, only actually funny) and a Hermione more canon than Emma Watson. Ginny balances her lovestruck, giggly characterization with a powerful set of pipes, Dumbledore puts some real heart into a campy performance, and Snape is completely over-the-top, but it works. Lauren Lopez kills from the moment she says "Did somebody say DRACO MALFOY?" Even the minor characters, Cedric and Goyle especially, get their moments to shine. Then there's Quirrel, who comes off as a total sweetheart even when plotting murder, and Voldemort who blends "classic villain" with "regular dude" to create an extremely likable, if not loveable Dark Lord. Their relationship ties the show together, and the fact that it's Lord freakin' Voldemort and his minion makes what could have been total cheese into something heartwarming and hilarious. Rule Of Funny is the top priority here, but it really pulls off some surprisingly poignant moments without losing the comedy.
There are some technical issues with the recording, mainly that the music is often too loud for the voices, mainly in the first song. However, as you can see, I kind of liked this show and suggest you at least check it out.
Theatre Fans of the series will not want to miss this!
Amateur made? Sure, but is it hilarious? Even more so! It's a bunch of fun, for fans of musicals and of Harry Potter, an alternative take on the series, with twists and surprises. The songs are strong, and the cast is as enthusiastic as they are skilled. You'll enjoy it!
Theatre They Look Like They're Having Fun. I'm Not.
Clearly a labour of love, by people who really enjoy the original Harry Potter source material, but also an extremely bland retrot of the original characters. The opening song was much more interesting in that Disney Hercules movie, the Americanitis is an acute case (though hardly their fault), but above all, it's just unrewarding to watch. Characters sing about how great Hogwarts is, but nothing funny happens, what few jokes there are seem phoned in or just really generic, and it seems to ride too heavily on recognition. I'm supposed to say "Oh, look, it's Draco, a character I know, and he's a girl now. That's hilarious!" but instead I feel like The Nostalgia Critic, bemused to find Yeardley Smith's voice in We're Back.
I can only advise people to stick to Potter Puppet Pals.