‘Harry Potter’ reunion plays like making-of documentary
There’s no such thing as magic, but seeing the cast of “Harry Potter” together on screen for the first time in a decade comes pretty darn close.
After weeks of anticipation, “Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts” is now available to stream on HBO Max, celebrating 20 years since the first film in the franchise hit theaters.
Taped at Britain’s Leavesden Studios — now a museum where fans can tour original sets from the “Harry Potter” films — the reunion special features new interviews with a number of Hogwarts alumni, including Tom Felton (Draco Malfoy), Bonnie Wright (Ginny Weasley), Matthew Lewis (Neville Longbottom), Robbie Coltrane (Rubeus Hagrid), Ralph Fiennes (Lord Voldemort), Helena Bonham Carter (Bellatrix Lestrange) and Gary Oldman (Sirius Black).
And of course, no “Harry Potter” reunion would be complete without the main trio: Emma Watson (Hermione Granger), Rupert Grint (Ron Weasley) and Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter).
Over the span of nearly two hours, the special mixes and matches various cast members on several ornately dressed sets, such as Gringotts Bank, the Weasley Burrow, Professor Dumbledore’s office and the Great Hall — where the longtime friends sip Champagne and exchange hugs to the familiar tune of John Williams’ sweeping score.
The production also includes key commentary from all the “Harry Potter” directors — Chris Columbus, Alfonso Cuaron, Mike Newell and David Yates — on their respective films, from “Sorcerer’s Stone” to “Deathly Hallows: Part 2.”
Much of the reunion special plays like a makingof-“Harry Potter” documentary, featuring a mix of solo interviews and archival footage that functions as a nostalgic time-turner for viewers.
For every personal anecdote, there is a behind-thescenes clip: Of the child actors messing around on the set of “Sorcerer’s Stone”; of Richard Harris dancing in costume as Albus Dumbledore; of Oldman mentoring his on-screen godson, Radcliffe, in real life.
Not all of the footage is new. But some things — such as Radcliffe, Grint and Watson’s screen test for “Sorcerer’s Stone” — never get old, especially when paired with commentary from the filmmakers and the golden trio themselves.
“They were testing us with various different configurations of Ron, Harry and Hermione,” Radcliffe recalls. “I remember there was one where they put all the three of us together.”
“When it was the three of us, something felt different and right and easy,” Watson adds. “I do remember the click.”
Toward the end of the special, the actors and creatives pay emotional tribute to Harris, Alan Rickman (Severus Snape), Richard Griffiths (Vernon Dursley), John Hurt (Mr. Ollivander), Helen McCrory (Narcissa Malfoy) and other members of the “Potter” family who have died since “Sorcerer’s Stone” was made.
The most moving moment of the special comes when Grint and Watson express how much they mean to each other.
“The way it feels for me now, seeing you here, having had time apart — I’m trying not to get emotional,” Watson says. “It feels like you’re a pillar of my life.”
“Even though we don’t see each other all the time, it’s a strong bond that we’ll always have,” Grint says, pulling Watson in for a hug. “I love you.”
The closing remarks of the special come, appropriately, from Harry Potter himself, Radcliffe.
“There are people on these films that are foundational to who I am, as a person, as an actor,” he says.
“I feel so lucky to be where I am and to have the life that I have and be able to work with people I work with now. But none of it is possible without this.”