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Any Harry fan already knows the story, so I won't bore you with a recap. Despite their huge appeal for adults, these Potter movies are essentially for kids, and on that level it is hard not to be impressed by how well Chamber of Secrets works. It's mystical, magical and as well-mounted a Hollywood adventure as you're ever likely to see. No expense has been spared to bring Harry to the big screen: topflight special effects (even if I still hate CGI no matter what anyone says), a charming, capable cast of young performers, great sets and costumes, and another rousing score by John Williams. But will I sound like the Grinch if I say that it all still strikes me as being rather cold and impersonal?

Once again directed by Chris Columbus with little personal flourish, I had the same problems with Chamber of Secrets that I did with the first Harry Potter film, Sorcerer's Stone. I know I'm supposed to be surprised by the twists and turns of the story, but since there is absolutely no deviation from the original source material, am I wrong for wanting to stick to my own imagination and just read the book? Essentially a filmed adaptation of the novel, it doesn't feel like a real, organic movie in its own right. The obligation to stuff in everything from J.K. Rowling's text stifles the spontaneity, and the opening sequence is a perfect example: the long, laborious scenes feel like needless exposition, and had the filmmakers not felt the need to replicate the novel in such detail, a better film would have simply reimagined the first 25 minutes and gotten on with it. Just why is this film over two-and-a-half hours long?

I also can't help but feel rather out of touch watching the Harry Potter movies. Perhaps I'm just an old fart and can't keep up with today's rapid-fire, thrill-a-minute pacing, but from Pokemon to Scooby-Doo, kid's movies today are just too relentless. I grew up on the quaint charms of such live-action spectacles as Freaky Friday and The Love Bug, which to today's audiences probably seem as slow as molasses. Chamber of Secrets is hyper-active, breathless in how it jumps from one scene to the next, from magic trick to huge action setpiece. Scenes almost feel impatient, as if they're trying to get it over with just so they can get on to the next one. And I was also confused by the rules of J.K. Rowling's world. New forms of magic, character relationships and long-kept secrets are revealed so often and so arbitrarily that I soon lost track of how it all worked. Where is the fun if none of it seems to have any consequence?

Despite such complaints, it's clear Harry Potter isn't for me. Kids absolutely adore it, and aside from a somewhat darker tone, I would never dissuade a parent from taking their kid to see Chamber of Secrets. It's great that young adults have a series like this that is smart and classy, and offers up a world that doesn't condescend to either their intelligence nor that of their parents. And just think…if you need a babysitter, you can rent both Sorcerer's Stone and Chamber of Secrets and your kids will be out for the night! Now, that's the real miracle of DVD.

Video: How Does The Disc Look?

Harry's back, and with almost the exact same team behind the camera, you could pop on a scene from either Sorcerer's Stone or Chamber of Secrets and be hard-pressed to tell the difference. I wasn't a huge fan of the visual look of the first Harry Potter flick; it looked kinda fuzzy and soft and lacking in a truly distinctive aesthetic approach. Chamber of Secrets is more of the same, although the transfer itself is a slight improvement.

Presented in 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen (a severely cropped 4:3 version is also available), it is certainly a clean and smooth looking image. The print is impeccable, with no anomalies such as dirt, nicks or scratches, and it also looks less grainy and noisy than the previous flick. Blacks are excellent and contrast a little better than last time out, with crisper whites and slightly improved shadow delineation. Colors, however, still look flat to me; the film is filled with muted oranges, reds, blues and oranges, so hues never really pop. They don't bleed or smear like they had a tendency to do on the previous DVD, but the image still looks soft and two- dimensional. I longer for better sharpness; Chamber of Secrets is a tad more detailed than Sorcerer's Stone, but can't rival some of the best transfers I've seen on DVD. This is certainly a perfectly fine- looking disc. Reference quality? Not really.

Audio: How Does The Disc Sound?

Like the video, the Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround EX track included here is good but not great. I certainly appreciated the sound design; from the nifty magical sound effects to the hustle and bustle of the big action scenes (an early tree attack on a car is most impressive), this is as good as Hollywood can deliver. However, despite being an EX track I expected more pronounced surrounds. This mix is generally front heavy, and the dialogue, music and effects often blend together and fail to really jump out of the speakers. We get some nice stereo separation of Williams' score throughout, and dynamic range is pretty wide. But there is no truly aggressive rear presence nor much in the way of punchy low end. Like the image, it's just there, with impressive bursts of energy yet never really coming alive. It certainly gets the job done, it's just not a new demo disc.

Also included is a Spanish Dolby Surround EX dub, English, French and Spanish subtitles, and English Closed Captions.

Supplements: What Goodies Are There?

When the Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone DVD was released this same time last year, it came under a considerable amount of criticism not only for the lack of behind-the-scenes and making-of material it included, but also it's very approach to navigation. Set up more like a giant interactive game than a traditional DVD, those not fond of puzzles found it a laudable idea but bothersome in execution (this reviewer included). This time, the style and layout of the menus and navigation is carried over directly from the last release, right down to the same narrator, Jim Dale. But gone is all the puzzle-solving. It's far more of a straightforward DVD, which may make it less pioneering, but for me, more fun.

Disc one houses few extras. There is a simple cast and crew listing with no filmographies or biographies, Year One at Hogwarts is simply a new video trailer for Sorcerer's Stone, and we also have the actual Chamber of Secrets original theatrical trailer in anamorphic widescreen, Alas, the film's teaser is not included. The real supplements can then be found on disc two....

Perhaps the most criticized aspect of the Sorcerer's Stone DVD was the fact that it took hours of work just to unlock the disc's much-vaulted deleted scenes. Chamber of Secrets if far less secretive, with the treasure chest not locked far away in a chamber. In fact, the deleted scenes are the first thing that pops up after you're greeted by the main menu. There are 19 in all, each presented in fine form in 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen and looking just as good as the main feature. They total 17 minutes in all, and like most cut material are a mixed bag. Some are so short (less than 30 seconds) that they rate as more deleted shots than scenes. There are also many scene extensions here, and I'd only say that four qualify as full-fledged cut sequences. We get a bit more of Dobby, as well as the villainous Jason Isaacs, and a nice classroom scene with Kenneth Branagh. There is also a convenient "Play All" function, and if none of these are really essential, at least we don't have to spend hours solving puzzles to watch them.

Lockhart's Classroom contains three sections, each somewhat slight. "Required Reading" is just a brief narrated montage of Lockhart's literary works, as seen in the film. It runs just under a minute. "Certificates" is more of the same, a quick video history lesson of Lockhart's accomplishments. It, too, runs just under a minute. Most amusing this section is the "Photo Gallery," which actually isn't a collection of stills or production photos from the movie. It's a 2-minute assortment of pics of Branagh made up as various historical figures of the past. Silly, but rates a chuckle or two

Next we have Activities, which replicates two of the challenges from the ROM portion of the disc - "The Chamber Challenge" and "The Forbidden Forest Challenge" - plus two DVD-VIdeo-only tests, "Colin's Darkroom" and "Tour Diagon Alley." None of these are particularly difficult, and the rewards aren't all that thrilling - usually just a video clip or a "Great job!" from the narrator. Again, kids will enjoy these the most. The next section is Spellcaster Knowledge, which is a ten-question trivia quiz a la Who Wants to Be a Millionaire. This should be pretty easy for anyone who has seen the movie and didn't fall asleep.

Want some real supplements that are actually about the making of the movie? Then visit Behind Hogwarts. While not particularly comprehensive, we do get a number of featurettes and a fair amount of stills. "A Conversation with J.K. Rowling and Steve Kloves" runs 16 minutes and focuses on the process of adapting such a beloved book into a screenplay. Rowling may come across to some as far different than they expect - she's rather hip and very British. And was it just me, or did I notice some tension between the two? Hmmmm. "Build a Scene" is actually a 16-minute featurette that takes a brisk look at the entire production process by analyzing one location, Dumbledorf's Office - the sets, props, costumes, visual effects, editing and scoring. It includes interviews with Chris Columbus and producer David Heyman and most of the main tech personnel, including composer John Williams. It's pretty EPK-like, but not bad at all. "Tour Dumbledorf's Office" is another "click through a 3-D environment" maze, although all we get on the tour is narration that doesn't provide any real insight, and no additional featurettes or other video goodies. "Interviews with Students, Professors and More" is just that, a collection of vignettes with the cast of Chamber of Secrets talking but their return for Year Two. Each "character" (i.e., the real actor) talks about returning, the changes in their character, their favorite scenes, etc. The interviews run over 10 minutes in all. Rounding out this section is a "Gallery of Production Sketches." There are 18 subsections total, although none are labeled. Some individual frames contain more than one picture, so in all I'd say there is about 125 images total, ranging from props to sets to the various creatures seen in the film.

Concluding our Chamber of Secrets journey is some fluffy stuff. We get another Game Preview that's just a commercial with six brief segments. There is also an Extra Credit section, which takes you to the DVD-ROM area (see below). And that wraps it up.

DVD-ROM Exclusives: What do you get when you pop the disc in your PC?

Like the Sorcerer's Stone DVD, Chamber of Secrets is once again loaded with ROM exclusives. However, like the DVD-Video extras, it is a big scaled-down from the previous release. Pop disc two in the drive and once again you'll be greeted by a nifty interface that replicates the basic special features menu, plus contains embedded weblinks to various Harry Potter web-enabled extras.

First up we have your basic weblinks. You can sign-up for the Harry Potter Newsletter, chat with other Potter fans in the Discussion area, buy Harry merchandise at the Wizard's Shop, drop by the Daily Prophet for the latest news, or link to the official Harry Potter and Warner upcoming live events websites. (No news on any Chamber of Secrets specials...yet.)

But if you're looking for true ROM exclusive extras, you'll have to earn some Extra Credit. Here you find some fun stuff geared for the younger set. Certainly the most unique feature is the integration of One Voice Technology (note that you may encounter one more software download), which allows you to control the interface. Using the One Voice software along with any compatible microphone, you can "teach" the disc to recognize your voice. After a short tutorial, you can control your movement through the interface via simple commands, and a help function is included, too. Since I'm the impatient type I didn't use this extensively after playing around with it for a bit, but it was quite fun and kids will certainly love it.

Whether you choose to talk to the DVD or just go old- fashioned and use the mouse, you'll find additional goodies hidden within. First up is a standard Harry Potter II Game Demo (also requires an additional software download). You can play it a bit but of course progress is limited as it is designed to get you to buy the game. For you more advanced types we have the Challenges. There's seven in all, all simple but addictive little puzzlers, including a Photo Hunt, Jigsaw Puzzles, a Matching Potions game, Spellcaster Knowledge movie trivia, and more.

Next up are two Activities. These are actually a Hogwarts Timeline which gives you an overview of the Harry Potter story so far, and a link to the online Trading Card web portal, a web-enabled game began with last year's Sorcerer's Stone DVD. Click on this and you can start collecting and trading Harry Potter cards with other fans around the world. Last but not least are some downloadables, including a nice Chamber of Secrets screensaver and three Printables - a 3-D Great Hall Cutout, some Printable Mazes and four Folding Posters. Also cool about this interface is the KwikQuick, a drop-down menu that allows you to select each individual extra (for example, individual printables) directly from a single master list. A nice touch.

Parting Thoughts