Play with Harry Potter

Author: Li Chaoran
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-07-01
Features: This is a non-traditional Harry Potter entertainment magic book, a "Muggle version of the living map for Harry fans." Given that after years of sustained high popularity, the story of Harry Potter has almost become household knowledge, this book won’t waste time retelling it from start to finish. But you might not know the stories behind the Hollywood Harry Potter film series, or what magical items are available in the Muggle world, or have ever thought about writing to actors who play wizards. Of course, you wouldn’t know the trivial details about the novel that have long been forgotten by people. So this book serves the purpose of scanning how the entire Muggle world is going crazy for Harry—in short, it’s about the things happening around us. If you’re not a Harry Potter fan, you might never understand how fervent this obsession can reach the point of boiling water and cooking eggs; if you are a fan, I believe you will surely empathize with this passion when we discuss it.
This is a non-traditional Harry Potter entertainment magic book. It takes us out of the secluded castle in the northern part of Scotland on the island of Great Britain, out of the smoky classrooms and the monster-filled Forbidden Forest, away from the complex spells, mysterious plots, and the uncertain fate of the seventh book, and into the Muggle world that has already gone mad for Harry Potter. Let us use the keen insight of a dark magic detector to examine everything with the name "Harry Potter," from movies to games, from CDs to tapes, from real books to virtual websites, from various wizard costumes for cosplay to a wide array of magical tools, and even things we’re less familiar with, like trading cards and audiobooks—all creations derived from Ms. Rowling’s pen will come into view. At the same time, it allows you to become a "Harry Potter expert," gaining insight into the hidden stories behind the Hollywood Harry Potter film series, learning how to buy Harry Potter’s magical items in the Muggle world, how to write to the actors who play wizards, and of course, revisiting those trivial details about the novel that have long been forgotten.
The storm at Hogwarts has finally subsided, and we’re about to embark on a journey to Hogwarts. The film then enters a climax built with special effects—the shopping trip to Diagon Alley. After a brief stop at the Leaky Cauldron and meeting Professor Quirrell (played by Ian Hart, who brought a hilariously quirky performance to the character), Diagon Alley appears before Harry and all the viewers. This sequence of shots is absolutely designed to make the blood pressure of all viewers rise—from the bricks on the wall rearranging to reveal a door, to the countless different shops in Diagon Alley, this tracking shot is truly a visual feast. If you watch this sequence repeatedly, you’ll notice many details you missed on the first viewing, so we should praise the dedication of the Warner Bros. staff to the details. Many things appear on screen for only a second or two, but the preparation behind them is incredibly time-consuming. This is something that certain domestic directors who dream of making "blockbusters" should definitely learn from.
Gringotts Bank gives off a sense of mystery and terror. The music in this scene is also quite eerie, but unfortunately, the film doesn’t include a shot of Harry and Hagrid’s carriage flying through the underground caverns—it would have been incredibly cool if it had been filmed. This memorable scene occurs when the Goblin opens the 713-numbered vault where the Sorcerer’s Stone is stored. The design of the door and the framing of the shots are quite creative. After leaving Gringotts, Harry and the audience finally get a chance to get close to the shops in Diagon Alley. Here, the audience will first see Ollivanders, where Mr. Ollivander’s ambiguous and captivating performance is quite striking, and it’s also impressive to see the casting director’s foresight. However, what the audience is most concerned about is undoubtedly the design of the wand. This design aligns almost perfectly with our imagination. Among the products developed by Warner Bros. for the film, wands are one of the best-selling items, which is naturally thanks to the props designers.
Next to appear is Harry’s owl, Hedwig. The actor playing the white snowy owl changes with each episode, but the one in this episode is particularly adorable and expressive. After that, the two begin to discuss the tragedy that occurred ten years ago in a tavern. The director clearly underestimated the importance of this flashback scene, shooting it somewhat hastily. The actor playing Voldemort doesn’t even appear, and the film doesn’t take the time to faithfully recreate the plot from the original work—the audience can’t even see that Harry’s mother died to protect him. But this plot point is far too crucial, and it will undoubtedly be reused in the following films to depict Harry’s memories (according to the general rules of film production, it’s almost impossible for this scene to be remade), but hopefully, it won’t reveal more flaws by then.
The plot then directly progresses to Platform 9?. The special effects in this segment are relatively poorly done in the entire film, with only the final tracking shot from Harry’s front that has both aesthetic appeal and a sense of awe. However, there’s still other content worth paying attention to in this segment—the arrival of the Weasleys. The actors’ performances are quite standard, basically capturing the readers’ impression of the Weasleys in the original work. Rupert, who plays Ron, and Granger also look more like Ron and Hermione as children, but there’s no doubt that his acting is superior to Daniel’s. The audience immediately equates Rupert with Ron the moment they see his eyes, and it’s rare that Daniel seems to be relying on his past reputation in later works, while Rupert continues to improve with each episode, bringing new surprises every time.
After boarding the train, Hermione appears. Emma Watson’s performance in this segment is flawless—the proud, reserved, and talented Miss Granger from the readers’ memories comes to life. Whether it’s her slightly fast speech pace or her confident expression, young Emma captures it perfectly. It’s worth noting that this is also the first time the three have had a scene together, and clearly, Emma’s performance overshadows the two foolish boys. I’m sure many people won’t forget Ron’s awkward self-introduction and Hermione’s cool "Nice to meet you" with her cute expression. In contrast, in the later films, although Emma has become more beautiful, her performance has declined—Hermione, as portrayed by her, seems a bit too passionate and lacks the reserved charm. These details will be discussed in specific segments later.