Monday, August 30, 2021

35 Cool Details About the Harry Potter films

Everyone loves the Harry Potter films. Most if not all who watch them probably know there are little, hidden details or "Easter Eggs" in the movie that no one may have known. Here are 35 cool details about the Harry Potter series. I guarantee that after you see these little bits of interesting information and then watch the movies, it won't be the same as before

1. In The Deathly Hallows, Pt. 2, everyone excitedly sees that Harry is alive. George turns to his twin brother Fred, who's almost always next to him

-In all of the Harry Potter movies, Fred and George Weasley were inseparable. They both got in trouble for their pranks and sarcasm. In the Deathly Hallows, Fred is killed by one of the Death Eaters. By the film series' end, most of the characters who played a major part or even a minor part is killed in one way or another









2. Professor Snape has a secret message for Harry on his first encounter in Potions

-When Professor Snape asks Harry if he knows what is the result of adding powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood, Harry replies he doesn't know. This comment is actually a type of coded message lost on all and any who don't possess an extensive knowledge of Victorian-era flower symbolism, called floriography. Asphodel is a type of lily, which means death in floriography, while wormwood represents loss and absence. Snape is referencing Harry's mother Lily

3. In the later Harry Potter movies, every time one of the Horcruxes, or parts of Lord Voldemort, are destroyed, his robes faded a bit, to give the impression he was slowly dying

-In the later films, Harry, Ron, Hermione discover that there are objects, called Horcruxes, which help keep the Dark Lord alive. They set out to find these objects and destroy them, thus destroying the Dark Lord

4. In the first film, Harry Potter and The Sorcerer's Stone (2001), as the students are heading to their house dormitories, a portrait of Anne Boleyn is seen hanging on the wall.

-Anne Boleyn, who was one of the wives of Henry VIII, was accused of being a witch and beheaded.

5. As the movies progress, the intros become darker, just like the movies

-If you notice, the Warner Bros logo starts out brightly colored, but as the movies progress further towards the last film, the Warner Bros logo is all but cheery. It's dark grays and black, to symbolize the darkness of the film's content

6. There is a disclaimer remarking "No dragons were harmed in the making of this movie" in the end credits for The Goblet of Fire

7. In the first film, The Sorcerer's Stone, Neville Longbottom gets a Remembrall. Some joke it could be his robe, since he's the only student not wearing one

-If you notice, a lot of the students have their black robes with their house crest on it. Neville is not wearing his. He also has the burden of being the student who other students torment with curses, like the Leg-Locker Curse. He gets a Remembrall, which helps the owner remember if they forgot anything. If they did, it turns red and helps remind them of something they forgot. He suddenly remembers he left his toad Trevor somewhere

8. Another scene in The Sorcerer's Stone shows badges from various school students for things. You can see Professor McGonagall's name on a shield next to James Potter (Harry's dad), who was a Seeker for the school's Quidditch team

-For those who don't know, in the magical world of Harry Potter, Quidditch is a national sport played on brooms. It's like soccer and volleyball combined in the sense of dodging attackers and getting the ball into a goalpost like in soccer but hitting the ball volleyball-style

9. Harry, Ron and Hermione reflect their personalities in how they wear their scarves

-If you notice, all three of them wear their scarves differently. In the first film, The Sorcerer's Stone, Hermione wears her scarf around her neck completely. Harry's is somewhat around his neck, but thrown over his shoulder. Ron's, however, is just hanging around his neck, completely open. The same can be said for the school ties they wear. Hermione's is perfectly adjusted and tied, Harry's is loose, but still tied, as though he were adjusting it and Ron's is completely undone

10. In the second film, The Chamber of Secrets (2002), prior to Harry getting pulled into Tom Riddle's diary, he's in the candle-lit common room of Gryffindor house. When he enters the diary, everything is in black and white except for him. He is in color and the candle light is still flickering on him

-When Harry is writing in Tom Riddle's diary, he gets pulled into the world Tom Riddle knew while at Hogwarts. He sees parts of Tom Riddle's life, including school staff taking the body of a student out of the Chamber of Secrets. That student turns out to be the ghost known as "Moaning Myrtle"

11. In the opening credits to the fourth film, The Goblet of Fire, the snake body of Nagini can be seen slithering along in the Warner Bros logo

-The opening to the fourth film shows the snake known as Nagini slithering along toward a house. After being ordered to kill someone, it turns out this was a nightmare Harry was having while staying at his friend Ron's house for the wizarding World Cup

12. In the fifth film, The Order of the Phoenix, Harry is seen wearing a button down sweater at the DA meetings, almost like what his favorite Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Lupin, would wear.

-This was an idea of actor Daniel Radcliffe's. He thought that Harry would want to honor his favorite Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher

13. In the title of the second installment of the Fantastic Beasts series, The Crimes of Grindelwald, the symbols making the Deathly Hallows symbol can be seen

14. In one scene of The Deathly Hallows, Pt. I, Harry, Ron, Hermione are in a cafe in London and in the background there is a poster for the play Equus

-Equus was a real life play that starred Daniel Radcliffe. It was certainly a risque play because it involved Daniel appearing completely nude in some parts.

15. In the third film, The Prisoner of Azkaban, the name Newt Scamander is visible on the Marauder's Map

16. In the Deathly Hallows Pt. II, in the scene where Professor Snape dies, there is a scarf in scarlet and gold hanging up behind him. This is a reference to bravery and Dumbledore saying he "sometimes thinks they sort too soon" in the book series

17. Throughout The Deathly Hallows Pt. I, you can see Hermione's hair getting longer. This signals how long she, Ron and Hermione have been away, searching for the Horcruxes that would destroy the Dark Lord

18. In the third film, The Prisoner of Azkaban, a wizard is seen sitting at a table, stirring a cup of coffee or tea, reading a book about Stephen Hawking. That "wizard" is none other than Stone Roses front man Ian Brown

-The front man for Manchester-based band The Stone Roses, Ian Brown, plays a wizard in this film. He's seen reading a book called A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking. Unless you're familiar with The Stone Roses and know who the guys in the band are, this will pass right over your head

19. In The Order of the Phoenix, there's a brand of cereal called Cheeri-Owls

20. In the sixth film, The Half-Blood Prince, there are seven rocks on the window sill of Tom Riddle's childhood bedroom. This is a foreshadowing of him splitting his soul into seven pieces or Horcruxes

-In the books, Lord Voldemort is often referred to as "He Who Must Not Be Named". As the books progress, the main three - Harry, Ron, Hermione - go off in search of the pieces of Lord Voldemort's soul, called Horcruxes. They then destroy them, thus destroying the Dark Lord

21. In The Deathly Hallows Pt. II, Snape is helping his fellow members of The Order of the Phoenix when he directs Professor McGonagall's spells to attack his fellow Death Eaters

-In the last book, you read that Professor Snape has joined the other side and is actually playing on the side of the Order of the Phoenix and the Death Eaters. During this battle, he changes sides and joins the side of McGonagall

22. In the first film, The Sorcerer's Stone, Oliver Wood is teaching Harry the basics of Quidditch. When he allows Harry to hold the Golden Snitch, Oliver loses sight of it but Harry immediately spots it, showing his soon-to-be talent of Seeker

23. At the end of the second film, The Chamber of Secrets, there is an additional scene at the end, showing the fate of Professor Gilderoy Lockheart

-He lost his memory because down in the chamber, he had taken Ron's wand, which had broken. Ron's broken wand rendered anyone who used it the victim of whatever spell the person holding it used. In this case, with Professor Lockheart intending to use a memory erase-type of spell on both Harry and Ron, he had used Ron's wand. It backfires and he is the one who loses his memory, not the other way around

24. In the end credits of the first film, The Sorcerer's Stone, the actor who played He Who Must Not Be Named is credited as He Who Must Not Be Named

-In the wizarding world of Harry Potter, the Dark Lord's name is not to be mentioned unless absolutely necessary. Everyone refers to him as "The Dark Lord" or "He Who Must Not Be Named" because they fear him so much

25. In the second part of the last film, The Deathly Hallows Pt. II, during a closeup of Lucius Malfoy, you can see his Azkaban prisoner number tattooed on his neck

26. In the second film, The Chamber of Secrets, as Ron and Harry enter Professor Gilderoy Lockheart's office, they see him packing up and on his desk is his second wig

-When Ron and Harry enter Professor Lockheart's office, they see him packing up in a hurry. Harry asks him if he's going somewhere. The professor makes some excuse and Harry and Ron realize that Professor Lockheart is a fraud who's been erasing the minds of other witches and wizards and taking credit for their accomplishments.

27. In the third film, The Prisoner of Azkaban, in the courtyard where Harry goes after finding out shocking news about his parents, there is a fountain with an eagle eating a snake. This symbol is featured on the Mexican flag. It's a nod of respect to director Alfonso Cuaron, who wanted to pay respect to his Mexican heritage

-In the scenes prior to this scene, Harry had used his Invisibility Cloak to sneak into Hogsmeade, the small village near Hogwarts where students could go and shop for items. He snuck into a meeting with some of the professors at Hogwarts and learned that an old friend of his parents, Peter Pettigrew, had sold his parents out to the Dark Lord, who proceeded to kill them

28. In the fifth film, The Order of the Phoenix, Harry and Ron's dad Arthur must use a red telephone booth to access the Ministry of Magic. Arthur types in a code on the dialpad for the phone. It's 62442. It spells out MAGIC

29. In the first film, The Sorcerer's Stone, Harry's aunt Petunia is dying Dudley's old school clothing gray for Harry's school uniform. This was a scene in the book

-In the first book, Harry is going to a different school that Dudley. Dudley is going to what seems like a public (private in American English) school called Smeltings. Any of Dudley's old uniforms are being dyed dismal gray for Harry

30. In one scene of The Sorcerer's Stone, when Harry looks at Professor Quirrell, his back is to Harry. His scar starts burning, meaning that Lord Voldemort, though hidden by Professor Quirrell's turban, is facing him

31. In the second film, The Chamber of Secrets, there is a grandfather clock in the Weasley house. There are different words around it instead of numbers. One of the options is prison

32. In the second film, The Chamber of Secrets, the password to access the staircase to Dumbledore's office is Sherbet Lemon. In the sixth film, The Half-Blood Prince, a bowl of lemon sherbets can be seen

33. During one scene of The Goblet of Fire, when Professor Dumbledore is looking in a mirror, there is a strange object to the immediate left. That is a foreshadowing of the Deathly Hallows

34. In the bar scene of The Prisoner of Azkaban, the bartender wiping up the tables makes a bottle disappear

35. In the first film, when the Reptile House at the zoo is shown, a group of school kids are seen wearing green uniforms are seen walking past the Reptile House. This is a reference to Slytherin House and their color being green and their symbol being a snake

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