Where's Hagrid when you need him?!
Londoners and tourists alike were treated to a full-scale (not to mention, scaly) dragon display in the UK capital this week, as a 25 foot animatronic Hungarian Horntail was seen traversing through Westminster Bridge, the Houses of Parliament and King’s Cross Station.
To celebrate the 20th anniversary of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Warner Bros. Studio Tour London is ushering in the summer with their new Triwizard Tournament – Making of Champions feature, focusing on the historic competition that takes place at Hogwarts during the fourth Harry Potter film. And yes, as you might have guessed, that involves a certain dragon-themed task.
Thankfully, unlike the dragons Harry and his fellow Triwizard Champions had to face, this one was safely still in his box. Well, mostly.
Harry Potter filmmaker and Animatronic Designer, Joe Scott, designed the dragon, replicating the creature in the film, complete with moving head, mouth and eyes, and sound effects.
The skilled recreation of the Hungarian Horntail was carefully crafted over 750 hours, using materials that included 25kg of fiberglass. The team first created a series of detailed sketches and CGI mock-ups, before Sculptors, Carpenters and Scenic Artists meticulously built the dragon's head, which was 3D printed using a scan of the original beast from the film.
A total of 119 spikes were individually applied to garnish the dragon’s head and tail, taking 265 painstaking hours, whilst 38 razor sharp teeth were 3D printed in resin to create bite in the creature’s animatronic mouth.
Sounds like...quite the mouthful!
The Hungarian Horntail is known as one of the most dangerous-ever dragon breeds in the wizarding world - and also happened to be the one that Harry Potter was tasked with overcoming for the first Triwizard Tournament task. Figures!
You can learn much more about how the Triwizard Tournament came to life at the Studio Tour this summer right here - coming to London and Tokyo. You're bound to have a roar-some time.
Triwizard Tournament – Making of Champions will run from 15th May – 8th September and all new features are included in the ticket price.
