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A new 'Mandrakes and Magical Creatures' feature is set to open at Warner Bros. Studio Tour London – The Making of Harry Potter next month, where visitors will be able to step into Professor Sprout's Greenhouse for the first time.
To mark the opening of the new feature, Tom Felton, who played Draco Malfoy in the Harry Potter film series, came face-to-face with a shrieking mandrake plant at Professor Sprout’s Greenhouse.
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Visit the space where the students took Herbology lessons with Professor Pomona Sprout, filled with exotic and magical plants.
In the greenhouse, built by the original Harry Potter filmmakers, visitors will be able to pull out a potted Mandrake as part of the interactive display.
Trying it out for himself, Tom pulled out his own Mandrake plant, just like his on-screen character Draco Malfoy in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets over 20 years ago, to hear its infamous shriek.
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During filming, various techniques were used to achieve the movement of the magical plants. The sinuous grasping movement of the Tentacula’s tendrils was computer-generated, however, the movement of the Mandrakes was achieved using animatronic controllers hidden beneath the table.
The humanoid-looking mandrake plants may look scary, but they had a very important purpose in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. When the Chamber of Secrets was opened for a second time, many students ended up petrified by the Basilisk, a legendary giant reptile.
Professor Sprout was given the task of growing her Mandrakes to full-size, so that they could be cut up and stewed for a Mandrake Restorative Draught.
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The greenhouse is a permanent addition to the Studio Tour and will open as part of a brand-new feature, Mandrakes and Magical Creatures, which will open on 1 July and run until 12 September 2022.
As part of the feature, visitors will be welcomed into the Great Hall to the Frog Choir scene – as seen in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban – featuring the costume of conductor of the choir, Professor Flitwick, as worn by Warwick Davis.
In addition to Professor Sprout’s greenhouse, Warner Bros. Studio Tour London will be expanding the exterior sets in their backlot with new additions, including the fountain from the Hogwarts courtyard and a 1:3 scale-version of the Weasleys’ Burrow.
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Professor Sprout’s greenhouse, the courtyard fountain and the exterior of the Weasleys’ Burrow will be permanent additions to Warner Bros. Studio Tour London. The Mandrakes and Magical Creatures feature will run from 1 July 2022.
Topics: Harry Potter
Ali Condon