Harry Potter: The Character Vault by Jody Revenson (Harry Potter Companion)

9/10

It isn't until you get it through the mail that you realise this tome with a leather-bound look could we be something Dumbledore could pull from his own library bookshelf. Harry Potter: The Character Vault is the third book in the Harry Potter film art book series from Titan Books and tells readers more about what are considered the fan favourite characters. This, plus Harry Potter: The Creature Vault and Harry Potter: Magical Places from the Films will be three of the most sought after books this year.

Harry Potter: The Character Vault has information on all the favourite characters from the movies: Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, Dumbledore, Lucian Malfoy, Dolores Umbridge and Professor Snape. The contents have several chapters, starting with the Hogwarts Students and information on their first appearance, the movies they were in, house affiliation, skill set and patronus animal. This chapter also has dramatic portraits, original sketches of what the characters would look like
and photographs of the actors and actresses in the several outfits from the movies. Artist Adam Brockland illustrates key scenes from the books and movies, which make for entertaining paintings that remind readers of the movies they had watched and the books they had read first.

The second chapter has the Hogwarts Staff, their first appearances, house affiliation, member of orders and patronus. It comes with sketches of the costumes, key scenes they were in and green screen photographs before the special effects were added. Who could forget Professor Sprout’s Herbology Lesson in the greenhouse, where the class worked with distressed mandrakes and the flamboyant Professor Lockhart with his collection of books and notoriously inflated ego.

Chapter three is all about the Student Robes and Quiddich Sportswear. As Quiddich features a great deal in the novels and movies it is a key element to them as much as a football is to fans of the game in the real world. The photographs will provide excellent material for future reference and also for the artists out there who will most likely work on further movies in the future. The rest of the chapters are on the characters from certain movies, The Order of the Phoenix members, the many enemy boys and girls from the movies, the magic and the various families we come across. The last part of the book is the Epilogue: Nineteen Years Later that takes us to the final movie’s end, which was a poignant moment that ends the original character’s story and would carry on the story from the perspective of the character’s children.

Harry Potter: The Character Vault is the sort of book every fan would want to own as it has never before seen photographs, sketches, outtakes and also an envelope at the end that contains something special for all the fans.

Author Jody Revenson is also credited for having been the writer of the previous two Harry Potter books in the film art book series as well as six books on the Harry Potter: Page to Screen Limited Edition, including Wizard Wear and Muggle Attire, Movie Magic and Ten Years Later: Life on Set with the Harry Potter Cast and Crew. She has also written books about Pirates of the Caribbean character Jack Sparrow, The Disney Theme Park, Batman's Dick Grayson and kid's favourite Bugs Bunny.