VIDEO MAGIC TIME AGAIN.

Byline: Rob Lowman Entertainment Editor

If the ``Harry Potter'' phenomenon hasn't caught your fancy yet, the second film - ``Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets,'' out on a two- disc DVD set Friday - isn't likely to entice you. It is, however, an improvement on the first, ``Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone,'' and generally lively entertainment.

The most obvious upgrades are in the special effects: the Quidditch game has a more kinetic feel and the background doesn't seem so obviously green-screened; there's a high-flying car, an angry tree and spiders that could give younger kids nightmares (but are cool for older ones); and some slithery creatures that conjure up the darker side of author J.K. Rowling's world.

The most fun (and mischievous) special effect is the computer-animated elf Dobby, who appears fairly early in the two-hour, 41-minute film when English schoolboy Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) is trapped at home during the summer with his muggle (non-wizard) uncle and boorish family. Dobby immediately gets Harry into trouble and then steals every other scene he's in. There is also a more conventional specter of an obnoxious ghost named Moaning Myrtle (Shirley Henderson).

Like the first film, ``Chamber'' is directed by Chris Columbus, who acts more like a train engineer here by keeping everything moving, and that's no small task considering the expectations involved in adapting Rowling's novel and simply juggling all the pieces. Some of those pieces include bringing back the cast - Harry's Hogwarts pals, the slightly inept Ron Weasley (Rupert Grint) and the brainy Hermione Granger (Emma Watson) as well as his nemesis Draco Malfoy (Tom Felton). All of them display growth in their acting in ``Chamber'' - with Radcliffe and Watson being the strongest - proving that Columbus chose well the first time around.

He also chose well with the adults, who all give this kid's fare some weight. The late Richard Harris has the perfect blend of kindness and authority as Albus Dumbledore, Hogwarts' great wizard and headmaster. (For movie buffs, there is a bit of sadness in watching ``Chamber'' because it marks screen great Harris' final performance.) Back, too, are Alan Rickman and Maggie Smith as the rival house masters Severus Snape and Minerva McGonagall, as well as Robbie Coltrane as the giant game keeper Hagrid. Two new additions are Kenneth Branagh as the preening, self-promoting teacher of defense against the dark arts, Gilderoy Lockhart, and Jason Isaacs as the odious Lucius Malfoy, father of Draco.

And since this is a film directed at the young, the DVD has more to appeal to kids than to adults. Disc one is essentially the movie and a few notes. There is no commentary by anyone. Disc two contains games and some behind-the-scenes material. Probably most interesting for older viewers is a 16-minute conversation with Rowling and screenwriter Steve Kloves. There is also a gallery of production sketches, a look at the building of some sets and a tour of Dumbledore's office, which you navigate with your remote.

The activities include ``The Chamber Challenge,'' a question game; ``The Forbidden Forest Challenge,'' a maze game; and a new tour of Diagon Alley, the shopping mall for wizards. There are also 19 additional or extended scenes, some of which easily could have been included in the movie had the filmmakers decided to keep it at an even three hours, which is part of the problem. Actually, it's not so much the length of ``Chamber'' that makes it a bit ponderous - I, for one, didn't mind watching it, particularly on DVD, where you can stop the action - but the film, despite all its supernatural wizardry, doesn't quite have the verve needed to make it really magical.

Alfonso Cuaron (``Y Tu Mama Tambien), who has made a magical children's film, ``The Little Princess,''' is directing the third installment, ``Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban,'' due out next year; so there is hope. At least he has a superb cast of growing youngsters, with veteran actor Michael Gambon taking over the role of Dumbledore.

``Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets'' (Warner) lists for $29.95.

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RICHARD HARRIS, left, and DANIEL RADCLIFFE in ``Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets''