In a scene straight out of the wizarding world, Londoners were treated to a mesmerising sight as a colossal 6.5-metre-high Aunt Marge drifted across the skyline.
Aunt Marge – who Harry Potter famously inflates in one of the opening scenes of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban – floated past the iconic Tower Bridge to mark the launch of the new Return to Azkaban feature at Warner Bros. Studio Tour London – The Making of Harry Potter.
Running 1st May – 4th September 2024, the feature celebrates the 20th anniversary of the cinematic release of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban and includes brand new sets including the Divination classroom and a section of Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom.
To celebrate, the large inflatable Aunt Marge brings to life the fan-favourite scene where Harry Potter unintentionally casts an Inflating Charm on his aunt, leading her to ‘blow up’ like a balloon and float away into the evening sky. In fact, a fifth of British people (20%) state this is their favourite scene from the film.
Many are surprised to learn that CGI wasn’t used to inflate Pam Ferris – the actress who played Aunt Marge – but was created entirely by hand thanks to the craftsmanship and skill of the film’s Special Effects Team at the request of Director, Alfonso Cuarón.
The skilled recreation of the famous Aunt Marge scene was carefully crafted over 264 hours by a dedicated team of 16 people. This included expert designers curating a series of detailed sketches and CGI mock ups – using film stills as inspiration – artists meticulously moulding and painting her head and hair, and seamstresses creating bespoke fabric patterns and materials to closely match her outfit as seen on screen.
Weighing a staggering 95kgs with a circumference spanning 11.7m, it took 40m3 of air to inflate her. 46 hours were spent during the initial design and sketch process, while a further 18 hours were spent painting her head and hair, and 32 hours stitching and sewing her clothes.
On the set of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, the cast, camera and lighting departments, stunt players, Make-up and Special Effects Teams worked tirelessly together to create the magic that was the iconic floating departure of Aunt Marge from Privet Drive.
In fact, the Costume Department created 38 different tweed suits of varying sizes and shapes and there were four separate make-up stages as Aunt Marge got bigger, with Pam Ferris spending over five hours in the make-up chair to prepare for the scene. Two bodysuits weighing 50 pounds each were pumped by air tubes, paired with inflatable gloves and legs and Pam Ferris and her body double were fitted with a flying harness suspended on two wire rigs that could lift, flip, and raise her with a separate rig to spin her around.
Laura Sinclair-Lazell, Head of Show Experience at Warner Bros. Studio Tour London said “We’re so excited to be recreating the moment of inflating Aunt Marge from Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, to celebrate the launch of our brand-new feature, Return to Azkaban. Many fans are surprised to learn this popular scene wasn’t created using CGI in the films but in fact was created by our incredibly skilled filmmakers. We’re thrilled that visitors can now come to the Studio Tour and learn more of the behind-the-scenes magic from the third film in the Harry Potter series.”
When entering the Great Hall, visitors will be regaled by the Hogwarts Frog Choir, conducted by Professor Flitwick, under an enchanted ceiling of over 100 floating candles.
For the first time ever, the Divination classroom set is now on display at the Studio Tour, as seen when Harry, Ron and Hermione attend their first lesson with Professor Trelawney, allowing fans to feast their eyes on the room draped in rich red fabric, decorated with jewel-toned velvet pouffes, patterned rugs and Arabian-style lanterns.
A new section of the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom set – with aesthetics that changed with each teacher that occupied it – can now be seen featuring the handcrafted, Art-Nouveau-inspired Boggart wardrobe centrepiece, to recreate the fan-favourite moment where students learn to cast the Riddikulus spell.
Visitors will also see The Monster Book of Monsters rampage in Harry’s bedroom at the Leaky Cauldron, complete with the original Tudor bed seen on-screen.
Brand new for the Return to Azkaban feature, is a full cross-section of the Knight Bus – transport for stranded witches and wizards – interior on display, complete with sliding beds and a swinging chandelier.
Return to Azkaban is a special feature running from 1st May – 4th September and all new additions are included in the ticket price.
