“There was an inherent desire to be rooted in naturalism. At the heart of ‘Harry Potter,’ nature is the source of magic,” said production designer Mara Leperre Schroup, explaining the show’s desire to incorporate magical realism into HBO’s version of the Wizarding World. “If you can harness them, that’s magic.”
Each animal featured in the upcoming show is based on hours of research and observation of real animals in nature.
“We’re looking to be the culmination of a lot of teamwork,” Laura Sindall said. She showed off the show’s owl prototype, made of metal and plastic and designed to mimic the movements of a real owl. The feather team then individually inserts each feather into a net that is glued to the framework.
“There are about 36,000 feathers per owl,” CFX artist Sophie Rechtberger said of Hogwarts’ favorite emissary and popular pet. “And I made 10 owls for this show.”
The show also features a new and improved version of Ron’s pet rat, Scabbers. We now have motors built into our bodies to mimic organic movements.
“When you press down on the foot, it actually compresses and you can actually move it,” Creature Effects Design Supervisor John Nolan demonstrated. “It doesn’t feel too robotic or formal, so I think it’s very useful for a young boy’s performance who has probably never held an animatronic in his life.”
In addition to realistically running around on the floor, a version of “Bite Scabbers” was also created for the show, which team members demonstrated by showing a mouse dangling from their fingers.
Other creatures include a toad that has never been seen before. Its movements are “taken directly from nature,” including details of the eyes, tongue, and nostrils. There was also a slime-covered flubber worm and a fire club that spewed fire through a remote-controlled built-in animatronic.
