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20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts. Discussion. At the time of the 20th Anniversary Return to Hogwarts I thought it was a bit of a let down. Did my annual Christmas rewatch of the movies and now i'm rewatching the 20th anniversary and this time i'm finding it really enjoyable.
Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts: Directed by Casey Patterson, Joe Pearlman, Eran Creevy, Giorgio Testi. With Gary Oldman, Ralph Fiennes, Emma Watson, Daniel Radcliffe. Cast and crew members from all "Harry Potter" films reunite in a retrospective special to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's ...
- (47K)
- Documentary, Family
- Casey Patterson, Joe Pearlman, Eran Creevy
- 2022-01-01
In this retrospective special, Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, and Emma Watson join filmmaker Chris Columbus and other legendary cast members as they journey back to Hogwarts to celebrate the...
- (27)
- Documentary, Fantasy, Kids & Family
- Casey Patterson
Aug 8, 2022 · TV-14. Released. Aug 8, 2022. It’s cable reimagined. This retrospective special reunites Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, other esteemed cast members and filmmakers from all eight...
- 103 min
- 7.8K
- Max
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By Matt Fowler
Updated: Jan 5, 2022 10:31 pm
Posted: Dec 31, 2021 11:08 pm
Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts premieres January 1 on HBO Max.
Harry Potter fans are in for a holiday season treat as a hefty franchise reunion special lands on our laps this New Years' Day (which is enough wiggle room to still feel Christmas-y). Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts is a warm blanket — er, Invisibility Cloak — of nostalgia that mixes cozy cast reunions and fond friendship memories with a film-by-film approach to the eight-movie saga. In its attempt to be everything, though, it may run a bit long for some casuals' tastes, occasionally feeling more like supplemental Blu-ray material, but the time and care devoted to sentimentality and heartfelt reminiscence is always wonderfully on display.
"It doesn't feel like we've earned a reunion," Harry Potter star Rupert Grint smirks, while he and co-stars Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson sit and reminisce in the Gryffindor Common Room. And while Grint makes a good point, since the final Harry Potter film was only ten years ago, there's also something to be said for not waiting too long for an official look back. So long that one finds themselves striking while the iron is lukewarm at best. Recent years have shown us that legacy material — whether it's reboots, sequels, or reunions — can be hit or miss when it comes to finding an audience, even if what's produced is something truly excellent.
Daniel Radcliffe
Emma Watson
Rupert Grint
Gary Oldman
Helena Bonham Carter
Ralph Fiennes
As Return to Hogwarts approaches the end, we stumble into one of the best recollections of the bunch which is the awkwardness surrounding Ron and Hermione's kiss in Deathly Hallows: Part 2. Of course, as characters, on page and on screen, they're fated to be together and many things over the years had been building to this moment, but for Grint and Watson it was immeasurably tricky. Unlike, say, the Friends cast, where Jennifer Aniston and David Schwimmer were an on-screen couple who did fancy each other (and were also just part of an HBO Max reunion where dating rumors started swirling once again), this was definitely not the case here. And the saga is sweeter for it. Their love for each other runs deep, but it's platonic and pointedly unique.
Return to Hogwarts is at its best when it encapsulates the specialness of this decade-long project, and how nothing's ever been done quite like it with regards to having its young stars grow up on screen, with no recasting of the kids, for the entirety of the story. The trio have a good laugh about how they were all so young when they started that they had nary a clue about the parade of British acting royalty they were doing many of their scenes with. Then, as they moved into Prisoner of Azkaban and Goblet of Fire they started becoming more aware, and nervous, about the pedigree of performers — like Gary Oldman, David Thewlis, and Ralph Fiennes — entering the mix.
Addressing the J.K. Rowling in the room, the author/creator, who can't seem to not constantly tweet out her gross and harmful anti-trans positions (to the point where the principal cast of Potter had to put out statements reaffirming their transgender allyship), is relegated to a few mentions and snippets from an interview done in 2019. It can be distracting but not enough to sidetrack the special, especially given the length of the thing.
Hearty laughs over past jokes and japes, tears wiped away in remembrance of friends and mentors lost along the way, and a filmic exploration of the the characters' journeys from beginning to end, Return to Hogwarts covers all bases and makes for a pleasant and gratifying tuck in for the phenomenal franchise.
Return to Hogwarts is a charming look back at a decade of Harry Potter movies, featuring headlining cast members, an inviting atmosphere, and a lot of love and laughter. It's also uniquely long for a reunion special, taking us through each movie in a way that may make for a slog, for some. To that end, it's also separated up into more-easily digest...
Review scoring
good
HBO Max's Harry Potter reunion is a sweet, stuff-to-the-gills special that captures the warmth of the saga.
Matt Fowler
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Jan 5, 2022 · Review scoring. good. HBO Max's Harry Potter reunion is a sweet, stuff-to-the-gills special that captures the warmth of the saga. Matt Fowler. Read Review. Summary. Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert...
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Release. 1 January 2022. (2022-01-01) Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts is a television special released on 1 January 2022 on HBO Max. It is a reunion special for the cast and crew of the Harry Potter film series, marking the twentieth anniversary of the series' first instalment, The Sorcerer’s Stone.
