His Dark Materials?

[Ravenshire]

True, I suppose they didn't "fold" but they no longer exist as an independent studio, all becuase of the Golden Compass.

Or, because of a string of box office failures. Companies rarely, if ever, go under because of a single failure.

Honestly, I think the Christians had less to do with movies lack of success than the movie itself. Many Christians hated Harry Potter, but it did quite well in spite of them.

A lot of christers do hate the Harry Potter books and films. But, there was no active campaign to thwart HP at the box office like there was against "The Golden Compass." In large part because "that Philip Pullman guy is a stinking atheist and I don't wany my kid getting indoctrinated by anyone but me! HP was also far more popular and widely read than "His Dark Materials" meaning far more people were set on watching before the fims even reached the box office.

I think part of the problem is HDM is just too "good" of literature. It is hard, philisophical, very deep and somewhat dark and complicated. More of a serious "tough" read, than an escapist fantasy imo.

While it's darker than HP and the like, it's not all that dark or that complicated. It's certainly not escapist fantasy, but it's not the deep story you seem to believe. Honestly, it's Pullman's response to C.S. Lewis claiming that you can't create a believable fantasy setting without a benevolent gawd figure.

Would any child "daydream" about living in Lyra's England with an animal companion? It's kind of neat I guess, but much more stark and less joyful than say Hogwarts.

Lots of children daydream about having animal companions and living in a fantasy world.

I tried reading the book when I was 9 or ten, and only got through first two chapters or so. It was quite tough. Idk... it is more a book for older teens and adults than all ages

Have you actually read the books, or is all this going of your impressions as a 9- or 10-rear old? It's published by Scholastic and sold at book fairs in grade schools. Of course, it appeals to all ages for different reasons and the publisher's target audience is the young adult crowd, at it's heart it's a coming of age story that is quite accessible to grade school aged kids as well as teens and adults.

@Boru,
Don't let TC put you off of a great series of books. It's a very well written series that tells a great story.