I have a theory
that my generation – through the combined effects of Playstation exposure,
sugar intake and primary colour-heavy cartoons – is immeasurably more immature
and youthful minded (for better or for worse) than those which came before it.
I and many people
I know have very grown-up jobs, wearing a tie and everything, but to relax we
like nothing more than cracking open a fizzy drink, busting out the Dual Shock
4 and, in between, snort laughing at memes involving cats or scenes from
childhood culture.
Maybe it is a lot
more socially acceptable to, in your downtime, have the mindset of a
nine-year-old and live almost exclusively in the sepia-toned 1990s. Maybe it is
simply you are not a fully-fledged adult just because you are in your 20s.
Anyway, this is a
roundabout way of saying, and attempting to justify, that I went to Harry
Potter World on Monday and absolutely loved every single second of it.
There is no shame
in saying I was giddy with excitement all the way through, whether it be
walking through one of the carriages of the Hogwarts Express; wandering about
The Great Hall; larking around in Diagon Alley; or simply nerding out looking
at props, costumes and sets which are sealed in my memory vault forevermore.
There may even
have been a stage where I got a tad too giddy after drinking Butterbeer and
eating Butterbeer ice cream and then subsequently pretending to be a conductor
on the Knight Bus and doing a high-pitched screaming Ron impression in one of
the Ford Anglias.
As an aside, new-found extra kudos to Emma Watson, specifically for, in
The Half Blood Prince, downing most of a stein of Butterbeer, the sweet sweet
taste of which left me wanting to lick some soil to take the substantial edge
off.
But I also enjoyed Harry Potter World in a more grown-up way – it’s
essentially akin to visiting a museum about something you’re really, really
interested in (rather than stumbling on something at a museum you then discover
an interest in; also a lovely phenomenon).
The attraction gave me personally a more adult appreciation of the whole
enterprise of creating the Harry Potter films from the size of some of the sets
to the scale and diverse sectors of expert staffing required.
Something as simple as the stool which the Sorting Hat sits on was so
lovingly and intricately carved – good quality wooden furniture has less
craftsmanship and that gets seen every day.
Seeing how the special effects, visual effects, make-up teams, designers
and so on went about their business was interesting but taking into account all
of them working together with one end in mind brings in to stark relief just
how huge film productions actually are, quite a realisation for a film industry
layman such as myself.
Walking through the corridor to see the penultimate stop was
off-the-scale – I won’t say what it is here but I do believe I gasped which
usually only happens these days when it is really, really cold outside.
And best of all, Harry Potter World wasn’t really theme park-esque. It
was well-presented, not over-the-top and respectful, letting the subject matter
rightly be the attraction, not gimmicks.
That said, the gift shop was theme park-style; an array of the usual
overpriced tat, a contemporary British approach which I love as it passes on
the traditional fleecing of British people like me to a global audience. Thumbs
up. (For what it’s worth, we bought a Harry Potter luggage-themed frame at
£18.95 for what it’s worth plus 5p for a Harry Potter World bag which one suspects
the attraction could have charged for before it became statutory.)
We spent around four hours there and not a single moment was not
thoroughly enjoyed on an array of levels.
So, yeah, I’ve not really got a funny or particularly engaging sign off
paragraph. It was good, I’d recommend a visit. That’s all I got…You can go now…
Ha, joking, here is something a bit thoughtful. Take childhood loves and
revisit them as an adult – there is a whole new world of appreciation for them
to explore.
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