Prisoner of Azkaban : 10 Things You Didn’t Know About The Harry Potter Movie
The Harry Potter franchise has been a fan favorite for more than two decades now (despite all sorts of controversies). Fans of the books as well as the movies fell in love with the characters and the places and they never fell out of it.
Amongst all the books, the third instalment – Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban has always been considered to be one of the best – both the book as well as the movie. Directed by the renowned Alfonso Cuarón (with a couple of Oscars under his belt), this movie introduces some of the most favorite characters like that of Remus Lupin and Sirius Black from the series.
While the first two instalments were more kids oriented, this movie took a different turn. It was as if the movie was growing up along with its audience. And with a director like Cuarón, the attention to details was massive. So here are 10 things from The Prisoner of Azakaban you might have missed out on when you watched the last few (or couple hundred) times.
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Alfonso Cuarón’s Nod to His Mexican Heritage
In the third movie, there is a statue in the courtyard of an eagle eating a snake. This is director Alfonso Cuarón’s way to include his Mexican heritage into the film and pay tribute to it. The statue was a subtle but impressive reference to the Mexican flag.
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Professor Snape’s Overalls
Even though every character in the Harry Potter movies has had a change of costume, there is one person who kept their look from the beginning till the end. Yes! It was none other than Professor Snape, whose resting face and black robes became his identity in the movies.
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Felton – The Foodie
Tom Felton had been sneaking food into the movie sets so many times, that by Harry Potter and The Prisoner of Azkaban, the costume department was asked to sew Draco Malfoy‘s pockets shut to keep him from sneaking any more food while they were shooting!
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The Play With Time
Alfonso Cuarón is a brilliant director with a keen eye for details. In the scene where Watson’s Hermione decks Draco Malfoy in the face, you can see the glimpse of a hand that’s resting on the pillar. This hand is of none other than Hermione herself, but the one who travelled back in time. In another instance, a customer in The Leaky Cauldron can be seen reading Stephen Hawking’s A Brief History of Time.
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Play Dress Up
In the first two movies directed by Chris Columbus, the actors who were playing the role of the Hogwarts students were dressed in a formal manner by the costume department. For the third movie, Cuarón asked them to dress themselves up like they would if their parents weren’t home. The result was a messy, but very authentic looking set of students in the Great Hall.
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The Ticking Time Turner
The Time Turner is a pivotal part of the third movie. Hermione can be seen wearing the device on a couple of occasions, even before we and the others realize that she had been playing with time to get to all her classes. Similarly, when Hermione and Harry do travel back in time o save Sirius (and Buckbeak), the ticking of the Time Turner can be heard continuously.
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The Knight Bus Precautions
The Knight Bus is seen at the very beginning of the third movie, when Harry runs away after blowing Aunt Marge up like a balloon. And after the audiences saw how the Knight Bus travels, we really don’t want to set foot in it, ever! But for all its quirks, the Knight Bus does tell its boarders that the beds will move as the bus moves. So really, we can’t really fault them for it! They did warn you!
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Furry Problems of Professor Lupin
The first time, we (as in the audience) as well the Holy Trinity of the Harry Potter franchise(Harry, Ron and Hermione) meet Professor Lupin, he is sleeping with his face covered by a coat. The reason the professor was so tired during the ride was because the date of the ride was 1st September, 1993, and the night before was a full moon, which means the professor was busy running around as a werewolf.
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Stink Bomb Special
During the end credit scene, we can see the Stink Bomb shop in one instance. The Marauder’s Map show three sets of feet running away from the shop, which basically means someone definitely dropped a few stink bombs in the shop, and its better to run!
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Hit Me Baby, None More Time!
In the scene where Emma Watson’s Hermione and Tom Felton’s Draco end up fighting before Buckbeak’s execution and Hermione punches Draco in the face, Felton had asked Watson to give him a fake slap during the scene. Accidentally, Watson really ends up punching Felton in the face, and that’s why it looked so real when Felton winced at the impact. The boy sure felt it!
