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The Wizarding World Wand Tour has arrived in Hull, showcasing nine giant wands from the franchise.

Situated in Queen Victoria Square, the wands are 15ft replicas of wands used in both the Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts films.

For more What’s On news, click here.

Every evening, the wands will be illuminated and music from the Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts films will play, making for a magical display.

For fans of the Harry Potter Wizarding World, this is not an event to be missed.

What is it?

The Wizarding World Wand Tour showcases nine 15ft replicas of wands used in both the Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts films.

On the lefthand side, fans of Harry Potter will find giant replicas of the wands belonging to Albus Dumbledore, Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, Ron Weasley, and Lord Voldemort.

On the righthand side, Fantastic Beasts fans will see replicas of the wands belonging to Newt Scamander, Porpentina Goldstein, Queenie Goldstein, and Gellert Grindelwald.

Every evening, the wands will illuminate and music from the film franchise will play, making for a whimsical attraction.

Where is it?

The Wizarding World Wand Tour is located outside Hull City Hall in Queen Victoria Square.

How long is it on for?

The exhibition in Hull will run until Tuesday, March 8, so make sure you visit within the week!

Why is it here?

The wand display is part of a national tour, with Hull being the first stop.

After it has finished in Hull, the tour will move on to Birmingham, then Stoke-on-Trent, before finishing in Reading.

The Wizarding World Wand Tour is being done to celebrate the highly anticipated release of the new film, Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore, which comes out on April 8.

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Speaking about the second book, he added: “And this, being a first edition albeit without the dust jacket, £3,000 to £3,500.”

• JK Rowling has been excluded from a 70-strong book list designed to celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.
• The “Harry Potter” author’s first book in the series was rejected in favor of a less well known work, a judge said.
• Rowling has faced accusations of transphobia in recent years.

Listen to The Refresh: Insider’s real-time news podcast.

A “Harry Potter” title was dropped from a list of books to commemorate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.

It came amid an increasingly fraught public debate over trans rights in which author JK Rowling has been accused of transphobia.

The Big Jubilee Read features 70 books from Commonwealth authors to mark the Queen’s 70-year reign — 10 from every decade from 1952 to 2022.

The list was compiled by BBC Arts and The Reading Agency and includes works by renowned authors and less famous writers.

Rowling, however, did not make the cut.

Rowling was on the long-list chosen by the public

The first of her novels, “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone,” was included in a 153-book long-list for the Big Jubilee Read, based on a public vote. (The book was released in the US with the title “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone.”)

The title was dropped when a panel of industry experts cut the list of 153 down to 70, The Times of London reported.

“There was a big discussion about JK Rowling,” Susheila Nasta, one of the competition judges and emeritus professor of modern literature at Queen Mary University of London, told the newspaper.

“A space was cleared for someone equally as good but whose work was not as well-known,” Nasta said. “There were some very tricky decisions.”

Nasta did not mention the criticism of Rowling’s views, which have made her a polarizing figure in the UK.

BBC Arts said that excluding Rowling from the reading list was not related to her views, the Telegraph reported.

Rowling has faced accusations of transphobia for years

In June 2020, the author mocked an article referring to “people who menstruate” on Twitter and she has defended herself against accusations of transphobia.

She has been called a TERF (trans-exclusionary radical feminist) after appearing to say that transgender activism was “erasing the concept of sex,” which she argued is harmful for women and lesbians, as Kat Tenbarge reported for Insider.

Rowling’s comments have prompted some “Harry Potter” film actors to distance themselves from her, as reported by Insider’s Palmer Haasch.

Daniel Radcliffe, for example, wrote an essay for The Trevor Project saying that “trans women are women” and that he felt “compelled to say something.”

HILARIOUS images show a Harry Potter fan appearing to wear an actual real-life invisibility cloak after wearing all green during a photo expedition.

Hannah Walker burst out laughing after looking at the images at the end of the Harry Potter Photographic Expedition in Covent Gardens in London last month.

The 21-year-old had been treated to the visit by her boyfriend Isaac Lawrence, 23, but accidentally wore a full green tracksuit which interfered with green screen booths.

Social worker Hannah was snapped in two images with just a floating head and hand as her outfit blended in with the background.

One shot shows Hannah perched on top of a broomstick holding a wand as she appeared to be flying above Hogwarts wearing Harry Potter’s invisibility cloak.

Issaac had captured a photograph while watching his girlfriend get photographed – showing her still featuring her tracksuit.

Another image shows Hannah standing beside Isaac in front of a red phone box with a backdrop of the Ministry of Magic building – home to the wizardry government.

Hannah’s head again appears to be floating in mid air with not a glimpse of her legs or torso to be seen.

Hannah posted a video on TikTok on Sunday showing her Harry Potter experience fail, writing: “Wait for it…

“F**k my life, that was £20 for the pic and no one told me.

“And no, I didn’t know there was a green screen and it is called fashion.”

The video has now collected over 2.6 million views and more than 247,000 likes on the social media platform.

Thousands of viewers left comments with many mentioning the likeness to Harry’s cloak in the hit series.

@Antirrhinumtheseus said: “Okay but this is actually just you with an invisibility cloak.”

@robin said: “I think it’s dumb of them to use green for that green screen pic when every Slytherin is gonna come through wearing green.”

@Kieran said: “Invisibility cloak activated.”

@leapetty said: “£20 well spent.”

@hayleydianacann said : “This is hilarious.”

Speaking today, Hannah said: “We were going to a Tottenham football game so I didn’t think about what I was wearing, I just wanted to be comfortable.

“But Isaac surprised me at the photo exhibition because it was in Covent Gardens.

“I knew there was a green screen in the Warner Bros. tour but I didn’t know there was in the expedition.

“I was screaming when I saw the photos, literally screaming. It’s probably the funniest thing that’s ever happened to me.”

Town Hall Gallery presents the new exhibition Above the Canopy, celebrating the rich and diverse beauty of the Australian natural environment from 9 July to 24 September. This exhibition conveys the unimaginable grandeur of nature while exploring concerns for climate action and the need to protect the planet for future generations.

Featuring artists working with installation, photography, painting, animation and textiles, the exhibition creates a theatrical, immersive, and regenerative experience that acknowledges the significance of Country and our need to care for it. The artists include Sarah Hendy, Janet Laurence, Michael McHugh, Rebecca Mayo, Catherine Nelson, Grant Stevens and Judy Watson.

Nature has provided an infinite source of inspiration for visual artists  across millennia; they have captured its beauty, documented the impacts of changing weather patterns, and commented on unsustainable human practices. Through hyperreal images of lush and verdant forests alongside detailed studies of insects, botany, birds and geology, Above the Canopy  shows a deep appreciation for our majestic and awe-inspiring world.

Sarah Hendy is a multidisciplinary artist based in Victoria. Her featured work, ‘Waiting For Daybreak’ (2018) (pictured left), interrogates a near-death experience she had in one of the most beautiful parts of Australia after nearly drowning in the Northern Rivers region of NSW as a result of ex-tropical Cyclone Debbie. It is characterised by verdant and luxurious plant growth, with delicate ferns growing within a crowded landscape of giant stinging trees, figs, booyongs and flame trees.

Janet Laurence’s practice examines our physical, cultural and conflicting relationship to the natural world through site-specific gallery and museum works. Laurence creates immersive environments that navigate the interconnections between life and the world. Her installation ‘Breath of the Forest’ (2020) features eleven suspended silk veils overlayed with images of animals and trees, including old growth forests in Tasmania. This work embodies the transience and fragility of natural habitats.

Michael McHugh collects a wide range of photographs and drawings during research trips to museums, libraries and gardens around the world. In his studio, he draws and creates a series of collages which lead to large format paintings. For Above the Canopy, he has created a large-scale painting Swimming in the Clouds (2022) which asks what new hybrid organic forms will evolve from climate change, when plant forms are washed away and land is engulfed by saltwater intrusion that includes complex sea life microcosms.

Michael McHugh says: “My work imagines a world of natural forms from both land and sea, completely with new DNA, creating a rare evolution of species which organically began from the beauty of the Australian natural environment. This work, Swimming In The Clouds (Acrylic on Canvas) is the largest painting I have done to date, stretching six metres long, and celebrates colour and nature with lush paint and obsessive mark marking. In my world I want to bring the viewer joy, and for a moment forget everything else that is going on in their lives.”

Rebecca Mayo is a lecturer at the School of Art Design, Australian National University and principally examines relations and interactions between urban ecologically significant sites and people. Referencing Charles Darwin’s 1881 book The Formation of Vegetable Mould through the Action of Worms and contemplating the agency of non-human life, Mayo’s featured work At work with worms (2020) is a compost/composite of Darwin’s laser-etched text, her human tending, and the worms’ business of eating. Mayo explains, “Working with the thousands of worms contained in the farm, my making slowed to their rhythm. Etched in Canberra and left for a week with the worms, the book pages took up the worms’ appetite which in turn paced with the climate inside their home.”

Catherine Nelson uses digital technology as her paintbrush to create lush, hyperreal landscape ‘paintings’ and animations. After completing her art education in painting at the College of Fine Arts in Sydney, Catherine created visual effects for films such as Moulin Rouge, Harry Potter, 300 and Australia. Nature is the primary inspiration for her art; she uses collage techniques in the computer to shift photos from ‘reality’ into imagined worlds of her devising.

Grant Stevens’ practice explores the various ways that digital technologies and conventions of representation mediate our inner worlds and social realities. Drawing on the visual languages of video games and the wellness industry, his featured work, The Forest (2020) is an endless panoramic experience of an immersive, idealised computer-generated forest with sound. Created with procedurally generated computer graphics homogenised through algorithms, it is simultaneously an homage to the natural environment and a satire of wellbeing initiatives and their claims to rejuvenation.

Judy Watson’s Aboriginal matrilineal family is from Waanyi country in north-west Queensland. Spanning painting, printmaking, drawing, sculpture and video, her practice often draws on archival documents and materials, such as maps, letters, and police reports, to unveil institutionalised discrimination against Aboriginal people. Watson’s two paintings on display incorporate systems for measuring Australia’s median temperature and fire danger, the latter a familiar sight on regional road networks. She contrasts an ember red-orange work with the stark silhouette of a denuded tree depicted at its centre with a more hopeful, vibrant green work referencing regrowth on K’gari (Fraser Island) after the devastating 2020 bushfires.

Above the Canopy brings together artists from diverse walks of life, whose works emphasise the grandeur of nature while also raise concerns for climate action and the need to preserve it for future generations.

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There’s a scene in Shrek where Princess Fiona, after waking from her serene slumber, battles an army of weapon-clad forest men looking to steal her away. This was not the princess archetype we’d come to expect in the early 2000s. Here was a beautiful woman who, though she was saved by an ogre, could fend off injustices with her own two fists. The scene was fun, Fiona continued to surprise audiences with new depth of character, and Shrek won us all over.

Now, imagine that one fight scene lasted an entire hour and a half. Lose all of the Donkey humor from Shrek, drop the onions, the enemies-to-lovers romance, and all of the Gingie goodness. If you wanted a movie of just Princess Fiona battling enemies for her own freedom, though I don’t know why anyone would, look no further than The Princess.

A princess fighting for her independence, laced with kickass fight scenes and brutal weapons, is a good starting place. The Princess just can’t make it any further than the baseline, spiraling into a video-game version of what could’ve been an enthralling story.

Joey King is our Princess, nameless—simply “the Princess”—who we meet in medias res while she battles a whole band of troops looking to force her into marriage with an evil man, Julius (Dominic Cooper), their leader. Why does it start in the middle of the action? Not one scene later, we’re already flashing back to the beginning of the story. From start to finish, The Princess is battle scene after battle scene, giving no breath for air with jokes, exposition, or literally anything else.

Even when The Princess is flashing back to the young royal’s earlier life, the film hones in on her quest to become a powerful fighter. Never do we learn why she resists marriage, nor do we get any sort of further character development other than: She’s a master of the sword. The Princess cannot claim to be a “feminist” film when it whittles its heroine down to a tattered dress with battle wounds.

I cannot stress the “video game” aspect enough. Watching The Princess feels like immersing yourself in a violent, ruthless quest to kill as many people as possible, with the grim color palette of a bottle of Diet Caffeine Free Coke. The Princess isn’t comparable to Tom Cruise’s uselessly fun action films, nor is it heartwarming like Mulan, nor can it present Joey King as the next no-nonsense Disney princess. If the film isn’t any of those, what is its worth?

The lead actress, The Kissing Booth queen herself, almost manages to salvage the wreckage. Joey King is as watchable as ever in The Princess. She’s got quite the sweet high kicks, and there’s something to be said about watching Ramona from Ramona and Beezus stab a man through his eye socket. King always manages to have fun with her projects, no matter how outlandishly absurd they may get. I just wish she could’ve become a Disney princess in a grander way. I’m talking Amy Adams in Enchanted big.

The best is when King is taunting Dominic Cooper, her nemesis husband-to-be. The pair are at each other’s throats in one scene in which the Princess says she “can’t wait” to marry him—so that she can make every day of his life miserable. Queue a raspy Joey King growling, furious, at a grinning, maniacal Dominic Cooper. Silly, fun, but gone in two minutes. Back to throat-slitting.

Cooper happens to be another failed casting choice. Suited up in jet-black, nearly bondage-esque clothing, he looks like a member of Spinal Tap, or the fishnetted version of Patrick Star from The Spongebob Movie. Like a character from Harry Potter, I can only imagine Cooper in one role: his goofy Mamma Mia hubby, aloof and bare-chested. Swapping out a bedazzled jumpsuit for dark clothes doesn’t make him look villainous; instead, he looks like one of the young goth dads from the first Mamma Mia.

Near the end of The Princess, Miss Girl reveals she doesn’t want to get married because she actually wants to join the military. This Mulan-esque arc is all fine and well, but our Princess never actually seems to be having fun fighting. She’s good at swinging around a sword, has a murderous punch, and a penchant for spin-kicks, but she’s never got a smile on her face. Maybe it’s because she’s fighting for her life. But perhaps The Princess would be a bit more exciting if King breathed some of that youthful energy into the movie.

That’s the Disney princess we’ve come to know her as: witty, headstrong, with killer instincts. Why have we dropped the wit from The Princess? While watching the fighter go toe-to-toe with enemies held me for a few minutes, a whole hour and a half of gory stabbing got old fast.

Give me more Joey King/Dominic Cooper squabbles. Let’s see more of her personality. The Princess attempts to pack a feminist punch, but without anything to actually say, Joey King is just breaking her knuckles over and over again.

HILARIOUS images show a Harry Potter fan appearing to wear an actual real-life invisibility cloak after wearing all green during a photo expedition.

Hannah Walker burst out laughing after looking at the images at the end of the Harry Potter Photographic Expedition in Covent Gardens in London last month.

The 21-year-old had been treated to the visit by her boyfriend Isaac Lawrence, 23, but accidentally wore a full green tracksuit which interfered with green screen booths.

Social worker Hannah was snapped in two images with just a floating head and hand as her outfit blended in with the background.

One shot shows Hannah perched on top of a broomstick holding a wand as she appeared to be flying above Hogwarts wearing Harry Potter’s invisibility cloak.

Issaac had captured a photograph while watching his girlfriend get photographed – showing her still featuring her tracksuit.

Another image shows Hannah standing beside Isaac in front of a red phone box with a backdrop of the Ministry of Magic building – home to the wizardry government.

Hannah’s head again appears to be floating in mid air with not a glimpse of her legs or torso to be seen.

Hannah posted a video on TikTok on Sunday showing her Harry Potter experience fail, writing: “Wait for it…

“F**k my life, that was £20 for the pic and no one told me.

“And no, I didn’t know there was a green screen and it is called fashion.”

The video has now collected over 2.6 million views and more than 247,000 likes on the social media platform.

Thousands of viewers left comments with many mentioning the likeness to Harry’s cloak in the hit series.

@Antirrhinumtheseus said: “Okay but this is actually just you with an invisibility cloak.”

@robin said: “I think it’s dumb of them to use green for that green screen pic when every Slytherin is gonna come through wearing green.”

@Kieran said: “Invisibility cloak activated.”

@leapetty said: “£20 well spent.”

@hayleydianacann said : “This is hilarious.”

Speaking today, Hannah said: “We were going to a Tottenham football game so I didn’t think about what I was wearing, I just wanted to be comfortable.

“But Isaac surprised me at the photo exhibition because it was in Covent Gardens.

“I knew there was a green screen in the Warner Bros. tour but I didn’t know there was in the expedition.

“I was screaming when I saw the photos, literally screaming. It’s probably the funniest thing that’s ever happened to me.”

As the newly-revealed Hogwarts Legacy gameplay footage has shown us, this Potter prequel will offer you plenty of ways to tailor your journey through the wizarding world, with players able to customise their character’s appearance and send them into the Hogwarts house of their choice.

So, what do we know about Hogwarts Legacy and its release date? Keep on reading to learn all we know about this exciting wizarding adventure.

When is the Hogwarts Legacy release date?

The Hogwarts Legacy release date will take place in the holiday season at the end of 2022, the developers have confirmed, with pre-orders being available now at the likes of GAME and Argos.

Although an exact date or month has not yet been confirmed, a December release right next to Christmas would make perfect sense to us, considering the connection between Potter and the yuletide festivities that was hammered home in each of the books/films.

What do we know about Hogwarts Legacy gameplay?

The team from Warner Bros Games, which will publish Hogwarts Legacy under its Portkey Games label, revealed a 14-minute gameplay video on Thursday 17th March 2022, during one of Sony’s PlayStation State of Play live-stream events.

To watch the Hogwarts Legacy gameplay footage for yourself, you can check out the video below. Make yourself a cup of tea, grab a chocolate frog, and prepare to be amazed! The developers from Avalanche Software have certainly been busy.

It looks like there will be plenty of combat opportunities in the game, with the video above showcasing an array of fights where the player can use various spells, environmental aids and magical plants to overcome their enemies with clever combos.

You’ll also be able to explore various hidden areas of Hogwarts itself, as well as venturing out into the grounds and even going as far as Hogsmeade village. Players will stumble into dangerous dungeons as well as finding puzzles that may have been placed by Merlin himself.

Players will be able to upgrade their magic spells and improve their abilities using a series of skill trees, and you will also be able to visit the Room of Requirement to pick up handy items. You’ll even be able to make your own den-like area that’s tailored to your own tastes, which seems like a nice touch.

One thing you shouldn’t expect is Hogwarts Legacy multiplayer, with the developers recently ruling out the idea and stressing that this is a single-player game.

Can I pre-order Hogwarts Legacy?

Pre-orders have indeed begun for Hogwarts Legacy. GAME and Argos are just two of the places you can head to in order to make sure you get a copy of the game on release day this winter. We’d expect more retailers to add their product pages nearer the time.

In terms of the Hogwarts Legacy price, it looks like the next-gen version will set you back £69.99 GBP, while the previous-gen version is expected to go for £59.99. The differences between the two will probably include faster loading times and better graphics for the next-gen version.

What platforms can I get Hogwarts Legacy on?

Hogwarts Legacy will be available on next-generation consoles the PS5 and Xbox Series X, as well as the PS4 and Xbox One, with a PC release also confirmed. A Hogwarts Legacy Switch release has been confirmed as well. There’s no sign of a Google Stadia or Amazon Luna release, though, so bad luck if you were hoping to play on those platforms.

What is the Hogwarts Legacy story?

As per the official synopsis: “Experience Hogwarts in the 1800s. Your character is a student who holds the key to an ancient secret that threatens to tear the wizarding world apart. Make allies, battle Dark wizards and decide the fate of the wizarding world.”

So it’s Hogwarts, but set a long time before anyone had ever heard about Harry Potter. Also, while this is inspired by the stories we have all been reading for many years now, JK Rowling herself is not involved in the game and it is not a new story from her.

From the recent gameplay video, we know that the player-character will have a customisable appearance and you will be able to pick their gender. This protagonist will have access to a mysterious lost magic that no one else can use, and they will join Hogwarts late as a fifth-year student.

During the game, your character will get drawn into conflict with Dark Wizards, as well as investigating rumours of a goblin rebellion. You’ll have plenty on your plate, then, as well having to keep up with school classes and catch up to your more experienced classmates.

What spells and abilities will be in Hogwarts Legacy?

Here are the confirmed spells and abilities that will be in Hogwarts Legacy – more will likely be announced as the release date nears.

• Accio – The power to pull things towards you.
• Avada Kedavra – A spell that kills!
• Descendo – Lift an object and hit it into the ground.
• Diffindo – Cut things into pieces and rip them apart.
• Disillusionment Charm – Want to be cloaked? This is the spell to use.
• Expelliarmus – Disarm your enemy or knocks any object out of the other person’s hands.
• Incendio – Lights an object on fire.
• Lumos – Form a sphere of light to see in the dark.
• Petrificus Totalus – Leaves an opponent immobilised.
• Protego – Forms a shield and deflects spells and weapons sent your way.
• Reparo – Restore broken items.
• Stupefy – Stun foes for a short period of time.
• Wingardium Leviosa – Let’s you float!

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Hogwarts Legacy trailer

Revealed at the PlayStation 5 showcase event, fans of the wizarding world were instantly excited when the familiar locations came into view during this game’s first trailer. While you wait for the precise Hogwarts Legacy release date to be revealed, check out the gorgeous-looking trailer for yourself below.

Follow Radio Times Gaming on Twitter for all the latest insights. Or if you’re looking for something to watch, see our TV Guide.

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This month the Wizarding World film franchise is celebrating a major anniversary. The famous boy wizard Harry Potter made his big-screen debut 20 years ago when the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone premiered in November 2001. While J.K. Rowling’s books were already a worldwide phenomenon, the visual representation has taken things to a whole new level, inspiring video games, theme park attractions, and cosplays. What’s more, even though the last Harry Potter film was released ten years ago, the franchise is still going strong, with the Fantastic Beast series still ongoing, and an upcoming HBO Max series. There’s even a quiz show coming up proving just how intense Harry Potter fandom really is.

To celebrate the 20^th anniversary of the first Harry Potter film here is my ranking of all ten of the Wizarding World films. The movies here will be ranked from worst to best. For the record, I don’t think any of these films are bad, but some are significantly better than others.

So without further ado, Accio Top-Ten List.

10. Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald

This film already had a lot going against it due to controversial casting choices. Unfortunately, a weak story couldn’t save it. While an entertaining film, it’s a major letdown from its predecessor. The story is all over the place with more twists and turns than a pretzel. A potentially complex and compelling character is introduced only to get killed off fast, a twist is revealed at the end that seems suspicious to the point of jerking the audience around, and it feels like we’re heading into dark territory way too quickly for a fairly new series.

Perhaps all this craziness will make sense after Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore is released in 2022 and I’ll appreciate this film more. But until then, this film is a bit messy, but entertaining nonetheless.

9. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

I also like to call this one Harry Potter and the Evidently Dead Barber. But I digress.

All the Harry Potter films deviate from the source material in some way, but this one is particularly notorious. Seriously, where were Dobby and Winky? While the tri-wizard tournament scenes are pretty compelling and breathtaking, this film has the least character development of all the movies. The deepest glimpse into a character we get to see is Ron being a jealous jerk for the first half of the film, and eventually, that gets quite annoying. The first PG-13 film and the one that marks the turning point into the darker and more mature section of the series, this film had a lot to accomplish. Unfortunately, it just ends up being forgettable.

8. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

This is possibly the most divisive film in the series, with some absolutely loving it and others considering it joyless and depressing. I’m unfortunately in the latter category.

There’s a lot to like in the film. Luna Lovegood is introduced, the scenes with Dumbledore’s Army are excellent, and the battle between Dumbledore and Voldemort is magnificent. But unfortunately, there’s a hurdle in this film I can’t get over: Harry is a pain in the neck in this film. I understand he’s got a lot going on in this movie, but he’s so short-tempered and grouchy in this film that he doesn’t feel like Harry at all. Sorry, but I can only take so much of Harry having a stick (or wand) up his butt for an entire film.

Still, the film is well-made and well-acted. Imelda Staunton put intense work into bringing the evil and loathsome Dolores Umbridge to life, and Gary Oldman is phenomenal as Sirius Black. And given Harry’s emotional state, you’ve got to give props to Daniel Radcliffe for putting his all into this one.

7. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

Based on my favorite book in the series, I wish I could rank this one higher. To its credit, it’s the funniest one in the series, with hilarious moments such as Ron under the influence of a love potion and Harry intoxicated on Felix Felicis. And the scenes where we glimpse into Voldemort’s past are compelling to watch as well. Unfortunately, those moments with Voldemort were much more vast in the books, and the film would have been much better if they hadn’t been taken out. Perhaps that is why we got the fan film Voldemort: Origins of the Heir.

My biggest issue with the film though is the visuals. The film consistently switches between a normal hue, a gray hue, and a green hue. The green hue works in the Pensieve when we see Voldemort’s memories, but it’s annoyingly distracting everywhere else, as is the consistent switching of hues. It’s intended to be artistic, but I just found it irritating.

6. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

This is where I start to really love the films. Of all the Wizarding World films I consider this the most criminally underrated. Yes, it is long and some points in the story are stronger than others, but it’s still thrilling. The special effects and set designs (specifically the basilisk and the chamber itself) are still impressive today, which says a lot considering this film was released in 2002. Honestly, seeing a twelve-year-old go up against a giant killer snake is a tense and exciting battle to watch. And come on… the film has Dobby!!

5. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

I don’t care what anyone says, I love this one. Honestly, I’d always wanted to see what the Wizarding World would be like in America, and I always wanted to get a deeper glimpse into what wizard life after school is like in the films. The four main characters are charming and loveable, with Newt Scamander, in particular, making for a fun and quirky protagonist. But as the name rightly suggests, the beasts really are the fantastic stars of the show. Who doesn’t love those nifflers and Pickett?

Can I just say I hope the future films give us a glimpse into the American wizarding school? The boy in me needs to see this.

4. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1

This was the first film that pulled that whole “divide the last book into two films” ploy (which some feel should have happened with the other long books). It’s also the only one that did it well. While it’s a bit weird to not have the characters at Hogwarts, that’s sort of the strongest aspect of the film. This film reminds us that it’s really all about the characters, particularly the trio that is Harry, Ron, and Hermione. This film is an intense watch, as we see more clearly than ever that these aren’t the same kids we met in the first film. The seriousness of all they’ve been through and what they have to face has forced them to grow up fast, and emotions and tensions run high as we see them on a journey to find and destroy the Horcruxes keeping Voldemort alive.

Even in all the darkness, there’s some fun to be had. You can’t help but smile when you see Harry and Hermione dancing in the midst of their troubles. And there’s also the reappearance of Dobby, which is awesome considering his omission from the three other films he should have been in.

3. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone

This film gets a high ranking simply because of its nostalgic and emotional appeal.

Honestly, if you look back on this film after seeing all the other films, it’s hard not to have your heart warmed seeing Harry Potter when he was a wide-eyed young boy learning that he was a wizard and attending Hogwarts for the first time. The first film stands strong as a reminder of the youthful innocence and childlike wonder we all had as kids. Just like all of us, Harry’s life will soon be filled with tragedy and conflict, but that youthful joy he had when he first met Ron and Hermione and entered the Great Hall where he was sorted into Gryffindor still has the power to lift our spirits and awaken our inner child. All of the dated CGI aside (it has been 20 years), Roger Ebert was right to call this one a classic.

2. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2

The end of a long and powerful saga, Deathly Hallows Part 2 is a complex mixture of fun, excitement, darkness, and sad finality. While the film does feel a bit rushed due to picking up right where the previous film left off, that’s a forgivable flaw given how powerfully this film delivers. The movie is essentially one long battle, but it’s an exciting one and the most action-packed of the series. This is the one where all the main characters we’ve watched grow up truly come into their own. Polar opposites Ron and Hermione finally give in to their feelings for one another, the formerly awkward goof Neville Longbottom becomes an inspiring hero, and Harry completes his journey from boyhood to manhood through endurance and self-sacrifice. The film is full of death and tragedy (Snape’s death probably being the most tragic) which is hard to watch, but once the battle is over, there’s a sense of peace and closure as Harry walks through the great hall. And of course, the “19 years later” sequence allows viewers to say goodbye to these characters knowing they’ve found the peace they were long overdue for.

1. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

With all due respect to all the other Wizarding World films, this was an easy choice. Director Alfonso Cuaron created more than a great Harry Potter film. He gave us a fantasy masterpiece.

This film blended the childlike wonder of its first two predecessors with the dark maturity that would be prevalent in all future entries in the series. The young actors truly became comfortable in their roles, and Gary Oldman (Sirius Black) and David Thewlis (Remus Lupin) brought their literary counterparts to life beautifully. Emma Thompson is also hilarious in her performance as the quirky and clearly self-deluded divination teacher Professor Sybill Trelawney. The special effects still hold up to this day, the score is incredible, and the story manages to be both fun, thrilling, and at times scary given the addition of the dementors and a werewolf. While I would have preferred to see the men behind the Marauder’s Map explained, it’s something I can let go of since the film is so masterfully made. This is easily the greatest Wizarding World entry we may ever see.

Do you agree or disagree with this list? How would you rank the Wizarding World films? Which film is your favorite and why? Talk to us in the comments.