As any fan of J. K. Rowling will be quick to tell you, the latest film adaptation of the Harry Potter series is hitting theaters this week. Though I certainly enjoyed Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, the sixth feature chronicling the adventures of the boy wizard, I’m not going to go into a detailed review about the film.
Why bother?
If you’re one of the legend that helped drive book sales north of the 400 million mark, nothing I say will convince you to skip this film The same goes if you’re not disposed towards these adventures. I doubt I’ll be able to lure you into the theaters. I will let you know that the 15-year-old Potter aficionado who accompanied me to the screening (she recently reread The Half-Blood Prince and watched the first five films over the past weekend) wasn’t disappointed. She plans to see the film again on opening day.
So, after a tip of the hat to director David Yates, screenwriter Steve Kloves and the engaging cast led by Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint and Bonnie Wright, and including Michael Gambon, Jim Broadbent, Alan Rickman, Maggie Smith, Robbie Coltrane, David Thewlis, Helena Bonham Carter and Timothy Spall, I thought it might be fun to commemorate this release with a little wizard’s quiz.
Below are 12 entries featuring a variation of the word “wizard.” Your task is to match each query on the left to the answer on the right. Most should be easy for the wizard-wise among us, but don’t be surprised if you run into some trick questions along the way.
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
The Clues
1 - The title character of L. Frank Baum’s classic 1900 children’s novel who is said to be “a whiz of a Wiz! If ever a Wiz there was”
2 - The sarcastic, but good-natured sorcerer created by Brant Parker and Johnny Hart in 1964
3 - The 1950s Saturday morning television show that taught kids about scientific principles through some really neat experiments
4 - The group of beings created by J. R. R. Tolkien who outwardly resemble Men but possess much greater physical and mental power
5 - The video game adventure featuring the mighty hero Kuros who fights his way through eight areas of the Kingdom of Elrond in order to save the kingdom's princess from the clutches of the evil wizard Malkil
6 - The second track of Black Sabbath's 1970 debut album
7 - Disney Channel’s live-action television comedy about three siblings with magic abilities
8 - Pete Townshend’s classic rock anthem about a deaf, dumb and blind kid with a unique gaming talent
9 - A 1965 cult, sci-fi film starring John Carradine as an alien who confronts a quartet of astronauts stranded in outer space
10 - Mike Jittlov’s 1979 cult short about a speedy, green-clad character who zooms up and down the west coast causing comical mayhem wherever he goes
11 - An NBA Eastern Conference team that was once partially owned by Michael Jordan
12 - A feature length, 1977 post-apocalypic science fiction/fantasy animation film conceived by Fritz the Cat creator Ralph Bakshi
The Wizards
A. Watch Mr. Wizard
B. Wizards
C. The Wizard of Mars
D. Wizards & Warriors
E. The Washington Wizards
F. The Wizard of ID
G. The Wizard
H. The Wizard of Speed and Time
I. Wizards of Waverly Place
J. The Wizards of Middle Earth
K. The Wizard of Oz
L. Pinball Wizard
Answers:
1 - K
2 - F
3 - A
4 - J
5 - D
6 - G
7 - I
8 - L
9 - C
10 - H
11 - E
12 - B
