The Costume Breakdown department took most of the repeat costumes and broke them down using an aging and distressing process, then returned them in however many stages the script dictated. This ensured the costumes were clean in the first scenes and ended looking like they had been through a battle in the last scene, even though the film in which this costume was used wasn't shot in sequence.
Ok now the costumes, once again brilliant. It's quite different when you actually see them for yourselves - they're just right there in front of you and you can't help but think of the actors who wore them and get all excited. One of the most memorable memories was first seeing the costume Harry wore in the climax of the first film and immediately thought "OMG HE WAS SO TINY!!! The exact opposite reaction to Hagrid's costume. And of course Neville's costume had to be next to Gryffindor's sword,and surely I can't have been the only one there that thought Voldemort's robes kind of reminded me of a dress? (trust me you have to see it to think that) But again, the attention to detail was amazing. Like for example, my parents pointed out - once I caught up with them (they were always ahead of me because I was too slow for them) - something about Lucius Malfoy's costume I hadn't noticed before: it was all about snakes - snake buckles, snake clips for the over-coat, snake patterns, snake skin on his walking cane etc. I thought, "Wow, Lucius liked Slytherin VERY much". You pretty much see all of the significant costumes.
Yet something bothered me. It was that instinct that every museum hates. That instinct we struggle to control when we see something we know is very special and unique. That instinct, ladies and gentlemen, is called "I WANT TO TOUCH THAT!!!" and I had difficulty taming it in this exhibition. I mean come on! Try looking at a model of Buckbeak and not think, "Can't I just pat him?
" It's pretty much impossible.The only things you can actually touch are a couple of interactive parts - one where you pull out Mandrakes (cries somehow not knocking me out) and another where you throw Quaffles in miniature hoops. But they were really teasing you. Like Kreacher a baby threstal, the monster book of monsters and suprisingly the costumes. I mean wouldn't it sound impressive if you were watching the films with your friends and you see the costume Dumbledore's wearing and you could point at it and say, "See that? I have touched that, oh wait! It's not what you think!" No, but seriously that instinct of feeling the props was nearly overwhelming.
Finally I reached the gift shop. If I could say anything bad about it, it would be the prices of the stuff on sale. Here's what happened: before going I withdrew $100 (Aussie dollars) from my account to spend there. When I was in the gift shop I brought a shirt, a scarf and an exhibition guide. I came out with $5 to spare.
So yeah, as you would expect, really expensive stuff. A chocolate frog was priced $5, a keyring $10, a 'marauder's map' $50, a Hegwig stuff toy $80. The one thing I admired about the shop was that it was arranged like Diagon Alley.
Wow this review is long so I better give the verdict. Harry Potter: the Exhibition was an enjoyable experiance and worth the visit for any Harry Potter fan. What really annoyed me though was the amount of people there. The crowd was always moving and I felt more pressured to move away from displays. If I had it my way I could have spent another hour there easily. But I just have to deal with what I had got and accept those circumstances. Now I wouldn't mind goinging again but that remains only a wish. The gift shop was overpriced (like any I suppose).
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