Kelly HoWhile wizards and witches need Floo powder™, a broom, or a ticket to Platform 9 ¾™, nothing more magical than $24 is needed for us, Muggles, to get to Hogwarts. From Jun 2 to Sep 30, the ArtScience Museum at Marina Bay Sands has been transformed into the fantastical world of Harry Potter for the Asian debut of the Harry Potter Exhibition.
Besides showing UrbanWire the collection of over 200 authentic props and artifacts used throughout all the 8 Harry Potter films, the media preview showcased perhaps the 2 most exciting features of the exhibition – James and Oliver Phelps, (who played Fred™ and George Weasley™), gracing the opening of the Harry Potter Exhibition. They were the ever-mischievous twin brothers of Ron Weasley™, one of the main leads.
“People, who have seen the other exhibition in other countries, have never even thought of the prop side of the film industry,” revealed James Phelps. “They can see the attention to detail to the props, because you miss so much on screen.”
On the Skiving Snackboxes™, a Weasley’s Wizarding Wheezes™ product, Oliver Phelps divulged, “People expect it to be an empty box… but you can see all the sweets and details.”
Making its world debut in the Harry Potter Exhibition is a life-sized statuette of Nagini™, Voldemort’s™ snake, which finally completes the dark lord’s 6 Horcruxes™ since the films ended in 2011.
“For a long time, we thought ‘Wouldn’t it be great if we could get all the Horcruxes together?’” mused Eddie Newquist, the Chief Creative Officer of Global Experience Specialists, Inc (GES) and creator of the Harry Potter Exhibition.
Mr Newquist explained that the development of the exhibition was well underway since 2006 even before the films had ended. However, props and artifacts that were needed for the exhibition had to be returned to Leavesden Studios, where the Harry Potter films were made, for the next movie.
“We’ve been chasing [the Horcruxes] like Harry Potter,” joked Robin Stapley, Creative Director for the exhibition.
Visitors will be welcomed in true First-Year fashion, with a few lucky ones being Sorted into their Hogwarts houses, followed by a short video montage capturing the best moments of the Harry Potter films.
True to the films, you will be taken past the Hogwarts Express™. Dive right into the most well-loved scenes through the next 7 galleries: Gryffindor Boy’s Common Room, Hogwarts’ Classes, Quidditch, Hagrid’s Hut, The Forbidden Forest, Dark Forces and the Great Hall.
Have a taste of Hogwarts school life as you explore the dormitories and classrooms. Fans will marvel at the setting of the galleries, as even the walls, door frames, chandeliers, furniture and animated portraits are arranged exactly as how they were in the films. Peer into Harry and Ron’s dorm life as you spot the very beds that they lay on, along with their personal belongings, such as Ron’s Quidditch posters and Harry’s glasses and the Marauder’s Map.
The Hogwarts experience doesn’t end there – relish the chance to try your hand at Quidditch because you can toss Quaffles through hoops, pull out your own squealing Mandrake™ and snuggle up in Hagrid’s chair.
But alas, just as Harry does, one must face the Dark Forces and Lord Voldemort. The Dark Forces gallery will enthrall fans, with much of it modeled after the graveyard scene in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire™, where Harry confronts the physical manifestation of Lord Voldemort for the first time. As you stand under the stone arch, the whisperings of Lord Voldemort in your ear will give you a sense of being privy to his thoughts, just like Harry was.
True to every Harry Potter film, the end of every triumph calls for a celebration in the Great Hall. Although not modeled to the same scale as seen in the films, this last gallery houses a table full of food and a great display of the Weasley’s Wizarding Wheezes.
The magical creatures make mighty additions to the exhibition, as fans will meet models of the fearsome Hungarian Horntail dragon™, a young Thestral™ as well as the glorious hippogriff, Buckbeak™.
“There are tens of thousands of feathers that were put in by hand, and were hand-tinted as well,” marveled Mr Newquist as he described the model for Buckbeak.
Every model, piece of furniture, prop or memorabilia brought straight from Leavesden studios were skillfully re-assembled to recreate the reality of the wizarding world in this exhibition. Visitors will reel in wonder because no detail is too small to escape the curators. In addition to distinguished articles in the films, such as the Triwizard Cup™, the 6 Horcruxes and all 3 Deathly Hallows™, even previously overlooked items have been included.
Some examples that fans can look forward to are the displays of every character’s wands, the Defence Against the Dark Arts™ exam papers by the egomaniac Gilderoy Lockhart™, where the questions all centred on him, the wizarding periodicals documenting the Quidditch World Cup and the rustic and domestic items in Hagrid’s Hut.
Costumes are a key highlight of the exhibition, with both fan favourites, like Hogwarts school robes and Quidditch costumes, to the sinister garbs of Voldemort’s Death Eaters™.
“We do have Robert Pattinson’s Quidditch costume,” added Mr Newquist amusedly. “We thought it would be very important to some people.”
Lovers of the books and films, who have been in mourning since the final movie, will get a sense of growing up with Harry and Ron all over again, with the display of their clothes and school robes that change as the films progressed.
Photos Courtesy of Kelly Ho and Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.
The Harry Potter Exhibition will leave fans of all ages laughing, crying and ultimately, reveling in the authenticity and dedication to the films, so convincingly real that one wonders if magic itself played a part in this.
Last but not least here’s a helpful tip to all our readers: If you’re planning to visit the Harry Potter Exhibition at the ArtScience Museum do try to buy your $24 tickets, online here, so you can specify the day and time of your visit and avoid long queues.