Over 100 Ranker voters have come together to rank this list of Prop Secrets From 'Harry Potter' That Are Simply Magical
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Vote up the most magical secrets.
The world of Harry Potter is already filled with magical secrets, but some of the true secrets of the franchise lie behind the scenesof the famous Wizarding World. To make the films feel real (and before everything was shot on a blue screen), a lot of the authenticity came from the props of Harry Potter, and the secrets that went into creating the magical world that we know and love. Now that the series has ended, we can finally learn some of the tricks that the filmmakers used to make Harry Potter come to life.
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125 VOTES
Hagrid's Body Double Wore An Animatronic Head Modeled After Robbie Coltrane
Robbie Coltrane, the actor who portrays the beloved giant Hagrid, is only 6 foot 1 inches tall, which does not quite match the height of the half-human, half-giant, who stands at about 11 feet tall in the films. To compensate for the wide shots where you see his full body, Hagrid is played by a body double much taller than Coltrane wearing a fat suit and animatronic head that is precisely modeled after Coltrane.
The Hogwarts castle in the final version of the film is indeed real, but might not be as big as you think. A heavily detailed miniature set was constructed for the exterior shots of the castle while the interiors were shot inside old buildings around the UK.
The miniature set of Hogwarts is now on display as a main feature of the Warner Bros. Studio Tour in London, which is home to many props used in the series.
114 votes
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109 VOTES
Scarily Real Models Of The Actors Were Made For The Scenes Involving Petrification
Many students were left petrified (in a frozen state of terror) in The Chamber of Secrets after the basilisk attacks, including Hermione Granger.
For the scenes where Hermoine and the other actors were bedridden, lifelike wax models were made of the actors, which ended up looking scarily realistic.
According to Dumbledore, the Mirror of Erised is a mystical mirror that shows the heart's deepest desires, AKA the mirror where Harry saw his deceased parents.
The engraving above the mirror reads, "Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi," which is assumed to be an adage from a no-longer-used foreign language, but upon further inspection it actually says, "I show not your face but your heart's desire" - read backward.
119 votes
6
99 VOTES
Throughout The Series, Daniel Radcliffe Went Through 160 Pairs of Glasses
Harry Potter wouldn't be the same without his notorious round glasses, which were a staple of Potter's costume from the first day to the last.
Over the course of filming the eight-film franchise, the prop department had to provide Daniel Radcliffe with over 160 pairs of Harry's signature glasses because they often broke or he outgrew them.
