The Early Cgi Was A Bit Ropey
Yes, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban was nominated for Best Visual Effects, as was the penultimate instalment, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1.
But if you think back to the first two movies, things werent quite as rosy. Which is a shame because FX is often where movies of this kind get some Oscar love and if it had been brilliant from the start, its safe to assume that eight films later, they would have likely got one simply for all the hard work theyd put in.
However, you only need to look at the troll in Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone to see how mediocre CGI can be despite a multi-million dollar budget.
Then theres Voldemort on the back of Professor Quirrells head and Firenze the centaur. Both scenes, suffice to say, dont really stand up today. Luckily, by the time Dobby came along, things had improved.
According To Jk Rowling The Malfoy Family Once Hung Out With Rich Muggles
Until the imposition of the Statute of Secrecy in 1692, the Malfoy family was active within high-born Muggle circles, and it is said that their fervent opposition to the imposition of the Statute was due, in part, to the fact that they would have to withdraw from this enjoyable sphere of social life, Rowling wrote on Pottermore. In fact, one Malfoy might have had designs on the British Throne: There is ample evidence to suggest that the first Lucius Malfoy was an unsuccessful aspirant to the hand of Elizabeth I, and some wizarding historians allege that the Queen’s subsequent opposition to marriage was due to a jinx placed upon her by the thwarted Malfoy, Rowling writes. The Malfoys gave up their Muggle fraternizing when the Ministry of Magic, the new heart of power, was founded.
The Harry Potter Makeup Artists Applied Harrys Lightning Bolt Scar Thousands Of Times Over The Course Of Eight Films
Five thousand eight hundred times, to be exact. In our 2014 interview with Radcliffe, he told us, The lightning scar, on the first two films, we essentially painted it on, and after that we used Pros-Aide, which was like a glue . It was very simple. The scar was applied to his face ,000 times the rest went on film and stunt doubles. Radcliffe also went through 160 pairs of Harrys round-frame glasses.
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The Magical Plants In The Series All Come From A Real
At a glance, plant names like “Mugwort” and “toadflax” sound like words pulled from Rowling’s boundless imagination. But these flora actually exist in the Muggle world.
As the author explained in a 2003 interview with CBS’ “60 Minutes,” the plants in the series come from a compendium called “The Complete Herbal” by English botanist and herbalist Nicholas Culpeper.
Heartbreak Is Sometimes Inevitable
Its sad but its true. Just as Harry and Cho, Lavender and Ron, and Lily and Snape showed us, sometimes things dont work out the way wed like them to.
You might suffer a broken heart through unrequited love, or lose those you love most, but the books also show us that life goes on. People recover and forge ahead and even death isnt something to be feared it is, as Dumbledore so eloquently said, but the next great adventure.
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Some Of The Food On Set Was Real
Although some of the food that appeared in the “Harry Potter” movies was made from painted resin, there were edible items in the mix for the feast scene in “Goblet of Fire.”
If you want to eat like a Hogwarts student, you can try some of the magical offerings at Universal Studios’ Wizarding World of Harry Potter, from butterbeer to bangers and mash.
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The Actress Who Played Moaning Myrtle In Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets Was Older Than A Student
Shirley Henderson was 36 when she played the bathroom-haunting ghost of a 14-year-old student who was killed by a basilisks stare in Chamber of Secrets. Playing a ghost was tougher than playing a real person, she told the BBC, because of all the technical stuff it involved. I had to be strapped up to this harness so it looked as if I was flying and so I could be pushed through the air and twisted and turned over and over again. It’s physically very tiring on your body. It also requires a lot of concentration, because there’s all kinds of people shouting stuff like ‘Turn, do this, look at this’ so they can do all their stuff with the computer effects while I’m trying to act it out. But once you block all that out, it’s great fun. Really good fun.
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Its Important To Believe In Yourself
Believing that you can achieve something is a key to success. Ron taught us this important lesson during his Quidditch match, when he thought he had Harrys liquid luck. As it turned out, he didnt have it he was a champion all on his own. He played well just because he thought he would and felt confident. Believing in yourself and thinking positively puts you in the mindset to succeed!
Why Do People Love Harry Potter
The first thing people love about Harry Potter is obviously the universe in which the story takes place. There is something about being in this amazing reality in which magic is real and you even go to a special school that helps you master your magical ability that draws people to get involved with the story.
An amazing universe would be nothing without interesting, well-written characters to fill it and the Harry Potter series definitely doesnt lack in that department. The character also creates strong friendships which only evolve as the protagonists grow throughout the series.
Aside from the characters, the universe is filled with many amazing magical creatures which make the plot even more interesting .
The plot is extremely captivating and because it has elements which rely heavily on character relationship as well as parts which delve into darker themes which are why the series is suitable for readers and viewers with different preferences.
As you explore the plot more and rewatching or rereading the series you will discover some hidden plot elements you may have overlooked the first time, such as the scene describing Fred and George throwing snowballs at professor Quirrels head.
Aside from the interesting plot, an important part of the series is the values the series teaches, and as such it is an amazing choice for younger children to start their reading journey with.
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It Shone A Light On Mental Health
Rowling has explained on several occasions that plot features refer to significant milestones in her own life. Exploring her own experience with depression, she has likened it to the evil, soul-sucking way dementors operate. What it’s also worth noting is the spell conjured to overcome the demontors. In order to eliminate them you need to produce a patronus, and in order to produce one you need to produce a memory of significant strength. Essentially, when things around you feel dark, focus on positive thoughts and happy memories.
Moaning Myrtle Has An Interesting Inspiration
Rowling wrote on Pottermore that the whiny, bathroom-dwelling ghost was inspired by the frequent presence of a crying girl in communal bathrooms, especially at the parties and discos of my youth. This does not seem to happen in male bathrooms, so I enjoyed placing Harry and Ron in such uncomfortable and unfamiliar territory in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets and Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.
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What Makes Harry Potter So Magical
When author J.K. Rowling had the idea for the Harry Potter stories, she was on a delayed train from Manchester to London. She was very excited about her idea, and started outlining the plots almost straight away. However, what she didnt know was, years later, that idea would turn into the bestselling series of books ever to be published.
But what causes us to love this young wizard so much? What are the reasons why his story has spread right across the world and reached so many different people?
Why Is Harry Potter So Popular With Adults
Some universities even offer Harry Potter-based courses, where the series is academically discussed and analyzed. The first reason that many adults like the series is that many people simply grew up with the series. The series is nostalgic for many adults, bringing back memories of when they were kids.
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The Brooms Used In The Harry Potter Movies Arent Regular Brooms
They were made by modeler Pierre Bohanna using aircraft-grade titanium. People think of them as a prop the kids are carrying around, but in reality, they have to sit on them, Eddie Newquist, chief creative officer of the firm Global Entertainment Services, which put on Harry Potter: The Exhibition, told Popular Mechanics. They have to be mounted onto motion-control bases for green-screen shots and special-effects shots, so they have to be very thin and incredibly durable. Most of these kids weighed 80 pounds, 90 pounds . Now they’re all adults, so they’re up over 120, 130 pounds, and you have to really make sure your brooms can withstand that.
Harry Potter Fandom Also Paved The Way For The Mainstreaming Of Fandom And Geek Culture
Harry Potter has a tremendously outsized cultural reach: One 2011 survey suggested that a third of all American adults ages 18 to 34 at the time had read at least one of the books. But what really makes Harry Potter stand out is the way people loved Harry Potter.
First and foremost, the series helped make it cool to be a geek. People generally didnt read the Harry Potter books in isolation they wanted to talk about it with their friends, and then find more friends who loved the books as much as they did. This pattern coincided with the rise of Web 2.0 that is, an increasingly interactive and social internet. As more Harry Potter fans became more active online, they made discussion of YA fiction, fantasy, and science fiction seem commonplace.
And Harry Potter fans creativity is still being felt in and outside of the fandom. In the early 2000s, Harry Potter fan forums, fanfiction and fan art archives, and email discussion groups exploded across the internet. Harry Potter conventions drew thousands of fans, and Harry Potter cosplay became a well-known sight at larger geek and comic cons.
A number of Harry Potter fans also went on to make significant marks on mainstream culture. As a member of the University of Michigan theater troupe Starkid, a young Darren Criss starred as Harry Potter in the viral YouTube video A Very Potter Musical, and his popularity catapulted him into the role of Blaine on Glee and a career on Broadway.
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But Not All The Effects In The Harry Potter Movies Were Computer Generated
Animatronics were made for the actors to interact with on set, including baby mandrakes, Hedwig, the Monster Book of Monsters, and Buckbeak, which was used on-set for close ups. He could stare at you, his eyes could follow you, he could bow, and every one of his feathers was dyed and put in by hand, Newquist told PopMech. There are tens of thousands of them, and they look absolutely gorgeous. Other creatures were built to give the animators reference for lighting, like the giant Jack-in-the-Box from Prisoner of Azkaban and house elf Kreacher.
The Links To The Real World
One of the most enticing things about the wizarding world is that it runs parallel to ours. There are subtle crossovers and references to muggle marvels throughout the books that help it seem somehow in reach and therefore all the more believable. One of our favourite historical crossovers is the Malfoy family and the quest for the British throne. In a Pottermore entry, Rowling explains that an ancestor of Draco “was an unsuccessful aspirant to the hand of Elizabeth I” and due to her rejections cursed her luck in love going forward.
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We Know So Much But There’s Still So Much More To Find Out
While the story of the second wizarding war has been tied up neatly, there’s still so much potential to explore the follow up or even delve into a more detailed prequel – just as The Cursed Child play and Fantastic Beasts have done. Will Rowling pick up her Potter pen once more? Only she knows, but what is a certain is that the appetite is undeniable.
Jk Rowling Shot Down One Of Alfonso Cuarns Ideas
Rowling wasnt precious about all of the details of her books . Inevitably, you have to depart from the strict storyline of the books, she told Radcliffe. The books are simply too long to make into very faithful films. But that didnt mean shed let everything slide: Sometimes I would dig my heels in on the funniest things, she said. Id say yeah, change the costume, thats not a problem And then all of a sudden Id say, Why would they do that spell? They wouldnt do that there.
Take, for example, one shot that Cuarón wrote into Prisoner of Azkaban, which Rowling called rather bizarre. I think Flitwick was conducting, and there were miniature people in an orchestra inside something, she told Radcliffe. I said to him, but why? I know its visually exciting, but part of what I think fans really enjoyed about the literary world is that there was a logic that underpinned it. There was always a logic to the magic, however strange it became. And I know its intriguing to go through the mouth of whatever it was and see these little people, but why have they done it? For you to film it, thats just what it feels like. Normally, with the magic, theres a point. So we had a bit of discussion.
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The Quidditch Brooms Weren’t Your Run
The brooms were crafted from airplane-grade titanium.
“People think of them as a prop the kids are carrying around, but in reality, they have to sit on them,” Eddie Newquist, chief creative officer of Global Entertainment Services the firm responsible for The Harry Potter Exhibition told Popular Mechanics in 2011.
“They have to be mounted onto motion-control bases for green-screen shots and special-effects shots, so they have to be very thin and incredibly durable,” he added.
True Friendship Can Get You Through Anything
An unlikely trio to begin with, Harry, Ron and Hermione proved time and time again that real friendship forges an unbreakable bond. Together they managed to face Dementors and Death Eaters, Dolores Umbridge and Horcruxes. Not to mention the truly horrifying pitfalls of teenage life: relationship problems, jealousy and school exams. With true friends it doesnt matter if you argue over a possibly-jinxed new broomstick or accidentally swallow a love potion because at the end of the day, theyll always have your back.
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Convert Negativity To Positivity
There are two sides constantly battling inside of us one is filled with strength and courage while the other is doubt and insecurities. Which one will you feed?
What if I mess up this speech? What if Im not funny enough? What if I forget what to say?
Its no wonder why many of us are uncomfortable giving a presentation. All we do is bring ourselves down before we got a chance to prove ourselves. This is also known as a self-fulfilling prophecy a belief that comes true because we are acting as if it already is. If you think youre incompetent, then it will eventually become true.
Motivational coaches tout that positive mantras and affirmations tend to boost your confidents for the moments that matter most. Say to yourself: Ill ace this speech and I can do it!
Take advantage of your adrenaline rush to encourage positive outcome rather than thinking of the negative what ifs.
Heres a video of Psychologist Kelly McGonigal who encourages her audience to turn stress into something positive as well as provide methods on how to cope with it:
Why Is Harry Potter So Popular
Harry Potter is a cult, and its franchises both in the book world and the movie world have made their niche. The amount of fan following of Harry Potter has across all ages and people from different walks of life raises a potent question: Why is Harry Potter so popular. Even though the first Harry Potter book was released in 1997 the franchises popularity has only grown after each book release, and the movie franchise has only added to its popularity.
To have a detailed answer as to why Harry Potter is so popular, many factors contribute to it. Still, the primary reason is good writing, and good filmmaking has led to a surge in its popularity. This is an interesting topic, and below we have tried to assess different factors that have contributed to the popularity so that answer to the question is satisfactory.
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He Probably Participated In An Underground Werewolf Fight Club
Remember that part in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows when Lupin went underground to try to get other werewolves on the side of Dumbledore, but they were all too afraid of Fenrir Greyback and Voldemort to do anything? There is absolutely no way that it didn’t devolve into some awesome werewolf fight club, and I think that should be appreciated more. In all seriousness, though, he spent his entire life feeling completely unworthy and unclean, undeserving of love or respect, and yet he still put those terrible feelings aside to wade deep into the very thing that frightened him the most in order to help the cause. He truly was a Gryffindor, indeed.