‘It was as if she had died’: Harry Potter leaves fans scratching heads
Return to Hogwarts has immense pulling power; the only person it is not willing to welcome home is Harry Potter’s creator.
When I was younger, I was known as the Harry Potter girl. Every primary school has one, and at my school, I was that girl.
As an adult, this obsession faded into the background, I maintained an interest but had not read or watched a movie for several years. That was until a few weeks ago. I was recently admitted to the hospital, and for the first time in years, I found myself turning to Harry Potter. That is what Harry Potter is to many fans – a source of comfort, and a warm arm of familiarity in unfamiliar times. Harry Potter is escapism at its finest and the reason its latest venture, HBO's “Harry Potter” 20th Anniversary special (“Return to Hogwarts”) will be loved by fans, regardless of its faults.
Twenty years on, the franchise that began with JK Rowling’s novel remains a cultural phenomenon, spanning nations and generations. Worth $25 billion the franchise now includes eight movie adaptations, two film spin-offs, a stage production, and several theme park attractions. As of 2018, an estimated 500 million copies of the books have been sold worldwide, translated into 80 languages, firmly establishing the novels as the best selling book-series in history.
Running at almost two hours long, Return To Hogwarts maintains fans’ attention, by relying on its ability to tug at heartstrings. A significant portion of the special is dedicated to recapping the ‘magic’ behind the movies, at times causing you to feel as if you are back in 2009, watching a DVD bonus features reel. During these scenes, Return to Hogwarts leans into its most famous ‘behind-the-scenes’ anecdotes, revealing little fans will not already know. Speak to any Harry fan, or trawl any forum and you will find it is common knowledge that Radcliffe, Watson and Grint were assigned essays on their characters during Prisoner of Azkaban and that each delivered a response eerily in tune with their own character. Yet, incredibly, despite all its well worn ‘revelations’, ‘Return to Hogwarts’ still manages to entrance. There is something incredibly heartwarming about watching former castmates interact and reflect amongst perfectly preserved Hogwarts sets. While long-time fans may have known Emma Watson crushed on ‘villain’ Tom Felton (Draco Malfoy) as a child, what is unknown, is just how loyal the pair remains. While there have been a string of ‘reunion’ type specials by HBO lately, none have shown co-star relationships as authentic and connected as the Harry Potter cast. When castmates say ‘I love you’ to one another, it is not flippant, or PR driven, but a genuine expression, made by a true friend.
Return to Hogwarts has immense pulling power, with film royalty Gary Oldman (Sirius Black), Helena Bonham Carter (Bellatrix Lestrange), Ralph Fiennes (Lord Voldemort), and many others, joining younger cast members in the reunion. Though considerable time has passed, it is clear Radcliffe, Watson and Grint still remain in awe of Oldman and Bonham. In one particularly humorous moment, Radcliffe reminisces on the moment he found out he would be working alongside Oldman, and his insistence to castmates Watson and Grint, that they must play it cool.
The elephant in the room is of course JK Rowling. Amongst the cast love-fest, Rowling is noticeably absent, shown only in archived footage from 2019. Here, Rowling speaks on the casting of characters and the initial creation of the first few movies, but there is little else from the series’ matriarch. While I can sympathise with HBO’s decision to distance itself from Rowling, who has made a number of controversial statements towards the trans community, the decision to use old footage, has the odd effect of making it feel as if JK Rowling has died. In some ways, she has. It seems, the only person Hogwarts is not willing to welcome home, is its creator.
Fans have done their waiting – 12 years of it – to see their beloved Harry Potter cast reunited. While it may just be a trip down memory lane, Return to Hogwarts is no less magical.
The highly anticipated one-off special is available on Binge.
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