🍿 Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts (2022) - featuring Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, and Emma Watson [Film review #2]

Just as I promised, I will try to write a film review every week since it's impossible not to see at least one movie in one of the 7 days every week comes with and I'm sure some recommendations are always welcome instead of spending some of your free time figuring out whether a movie it's worth being watched or not.

Happily, today's case is definitely a movie that is worth every minute watching it and I'm sure many of your heard about and perhaps already seen it since we are talking about a series of movies that a lot of people grew up with, I making no exception to it.

Introduction

Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts is my pick for today which even though I'm sure I'm not the single one who was hoping to see a continuation of the series in 2022, we are talking about a documentary film that represents a reunion between Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, and Emma Watson but also with some of the other actors which played an important role in the series. The whole documentary represents an anniversary edition of the 20 years that passed since the first release of the Harry Potter films starting with Philosopher's Stone which was released in 2001.

The documentary was released on 1st January 2022 on HBO Max and it seemed like the perfect way to start the new year even if the movie was announced in December. However, there were still a few proofs that a new movie is going to be released since Emma Watson was pretty excited about this reunion and uploaded some pictures on her Instagram account, with an emotional message for the series that launched her successful career as an actress.

Emma Watson known as Hermione Granger in the Harry Potter movies, was one of the main little wizards which conquered lots of hearts along with Rupert Grint as Ron Weasley and of course, Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter.

We are talking about three little wizards who you could watch grow and become adults by seeing all the 8 movies starting with Philosopher's Stone released in 2001 and culminating with Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows released in 2011.

Description

The Harry Potter film series is based on the novels written by J. K. Rowling which was distributed by Warner Bros that at first intended to release only 5 movies but since the success for the series was, literally, huge, the actors kept going and worked on 3 more films which were no less professionally and interesting made.

List of films:

1. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (2001)
2. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002)
3. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004)
4. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005)
5. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007)
6. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009)
7. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 (2010)
8. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 (2011)

Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts starts with Daniel Radcliffe going to the Hogwarts dining hall where he meets the director of the first two movies (Chris Columbu) and have a first conversation that can't come alone but with lots of nostalgic moments.

However, the main sequence is based on the three main actors meeting each other in the Gryffindor room where they are either having a conversation together or meet other actors and the people behind the whole series, with whom they talk about everything they all have been through during all the years spent working on the movies.

We are talking about a documentary that shares a lot of things that you couldn't see or notice on the little screens while watching the movies, as well as videos behind the scenes and how the real actors used to be compared with how they were acting.

Opinions

It was funny seeing all the old movies with Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, and Emma Watson while they were barely 7-8 years old but full of energy and ruining a lot of scenery settings before pressing the record button due to the big excitement level and the adrenaline that most likely was controlling their little bodies. Not to mention about how many generations grew up, literally, in the same time the main actors did during the 10 years when the movies were released. (2001-2011)

Along with all the joy and smiles shared in the 102 minutes of watching, there will also be this kind of moments when you will let some tears roll down your cheeks because of the actors who passed away in the 20 years since the first movie was released, which is totally fine considering that you will be able to see the real Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, and Emma Watson who will cry as well.

Some might consider all the crying moments a little bit too much, but I am a person who enjoys seeing the real people and not the filters actors have to deal with and I actually found these more of some emotional scenes rather than being forced or embarrassing.

Though, one of the messages that I found the most emotional was shared by Robbie Coltrane as Rubeus Hagrid who it was one of the actors I appreciated the most, which was:

⚠️ Spoiler alert ⚠️

"The legacy of these movies is that my children's generation will show them to their children.
So, you could be watching them in 50 years time, easy.
I'll not be here sadly... But Hagrid will."

It's also impressive to think that 10 years from your life you've spent watching those movies but at the same time to think about the actors who dedicated some of the most important periods of their lives on the set while some of them were spending more time working on the movies than with their parents or kids. So they all grew like a big beautiful family that kept the small screens occupied for a while for many generations and fans.

Conclusions

The movie is based on a series of 8 films so as much as I enjoyed watching it, this is definitely not going to feel so entertaining to be watched by the people who haven't seen the Harry Potter movies or are fans of the series.

There are some key people missing like Maggie Smith, Michael Gambon, and Timothy Spall which could make the whole documentary feel closer to a complete reunion for the 20th anniversary, but overall we can sum this as both laughter and tears but also joy and nostalgia.

Being a documentary movie we are talking about scenes that you might have already seen but which are intended to see what was everything looked like behind the scenes so there is not going to be presented any new sequences with the actors other than these at the testimonials or when they foretell each other the past memories of working together.

Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts feels more like a little synthesis of the 8 movies of the series with lots of real talks and things shared rather than watching a movie but which will make you consider every minute spent seeing the documentary that was worth it.

Are you a fan of the Harry Potter series?

And if so, have you seen the documentary movie "Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts" yet?

I've heard of the movie since it was firstly announced but I only managed to watch it a few weeks ago on HBO Max. Though, the funny part is that I still have it on my watchlist since I would like to see it again sometime, along with all the 8 movies that are part of the series. 😊

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