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While there are some fond mentions of “Jo,” Rowling otherwise only appears onscreen in sparing excerpts from a 2019 interview. I lost count of how many times someone insists the “Harry Potter” sets were “like a family,” and might’ve cocked a more skeptical eyebrow if the deep understanding between Radcliffe, Watson, and Grint in particular wasn’t so palpable.įor all those involved, one of the more intriguing aspects of the special is who isn’t included - namely, “Harry Potter” author J.K. Interviews with those who played the adults in the room underline just how many members of the distinguished class of British actors found a place in this wizarding world - and, in melancholy moments that go unspoken until later on, those indelible presences like Richard Harris (Albus Dumbledore), Helen McCrory (Narcissa Malfoy), and Alan Rickman (Severus Snape) who have since died. That it ends up charming as much as it does is a testament to its actors, game and charismatic as ever, once again finding a way to engross their audience in more intangible ways than merely following the script.īesides the core trio, supporting players like Lewis, Tom Felton (Draco Malfoy), Alfred Enoch (Dean Thomas), Evanna Lynch (Luna Lovegood), and Bonnie Wright (Ginny Weasley) chat about their parts in the overwhelming “Harry Potter” whole. As was inevitable, “Return to Hogwarts” is a meticulous calculation as much as it is an emotional celebration. Now that HBO Max has better established itself, it’s easy to take the cynical (and inevitably correct) view that this extravagant look back at one of the most successful franchises in entertainment history is mostly just WarnerMedia flexing its content library muscle for all to see. First it revisited “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” for a surprisingly frank conversation about the show’s legacy and controversies then, the service made good on its launch promise to bring the entire cast of “Friends” together as a way of reminding everyone that “Friends” was gone from Netflix for good.
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With “Return to Hogwarts,” HBO Max has officially cornered the streaming market on nostalgic reunions of beloved franchises past.
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Anyone who even vaguely followed the makings of these movies won’t be too surprised by many of the “revelations” that come to light, such as the well-trod facts that “Prisoner of Azkaban” director Alfonso Cuarón made the main trio write essays about their characters, or that Watson and Grint felt so much like siblings by the films’ end that their eventual kiss scene was, in Watson’s words, “the most horrifying thing either of us had to go through.” Even all this time later, they still know how to play their greatest hits. Watson sits down with co-stars Rupert Grint (Ron Weasley) and Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter himself) for familial talks about their inextricably linked childhood and stardom.
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The special traces the franchise’s journey through all eight movies, making callbacks to particularly beloved movie moments and staging recreations of elaborate sets for the actors to marvel at together as they reminisce. For anyone whose loyalties lie somewhere in between (as is the case for this viewer, a onetime “Harry Potter” obsessive whose devotion faded into adulthood), “Return to Hogwarts” manages to unearth enough genuine sincerity, and occasionally even jolts of pathos, to keep from becoming quite as sticky sweet as one of Harry’s treacle tarts.
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Depending on whether you’re a longtime fan or a skeptical observer of the franchise, this wholehearted embrace of bottled magic may either thrill or bore you right off the bat.
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