10 Cinematic Reasons Why Growing Up in the 90s-00s Was the Best

1. The Harry Potter Franchise

It's not simply a decade of film; it's a decade of film with a defined beginning and conclusion. Let alone the fact that there's really not a weak film in the set (though, arguments could be made of the first two), and let alone that the caliber of talent in the cast is enough to leave your mouth agape; the Harry Potter universe was a franchise with a lifespan, and that's ultimately its greatest success. From 2001 to 2011, we were treated with eight films, led by unknown actors who grew up with the target audience of the first feature. From that moment on, the franchise never pandered to anyone else. It got more and more serious, darker and darker, and finally culminated into a coming-of-age story as never seen before in cinema. It was time and dedication, and it payed off to practically everyone who sat in the theater on opening night in 2001. But Harry Potter, whether a set of films you can get behind or not, is a movie that makes you feel your own growth. And then it uses that feeling to progress its own narrative. It takes it from its source material, but it feels so much more powerful to visually see it played before you. To both see age and feel it after the credits roll, that's a sensational endeavor for a movie to take upon itself. If you were born in the early 90s, your childhood was practically manifested in this magical world, and that is one of the many reasons it holds so much reverence in the hearts of this generation today. And I can't think of a time in movies I would trade that for, even though I'm not a Harry Potter fan myself. That's the captivating power of cinema.