What is the creature that roars at the maid in the Leaky Cauldron scene? [We're never told. This scene is not in the book, and it is never elaborated on in the film. It was just added to be amusing.] Answered by PhixiusHarry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004) - 71 questions
Directed by Alfonso Cuarón, starring Alan Rickman, Daniel Radcliffe, David Thewlis, Emma Watson, Gary Oldman, Maggie Smith, Michael Gambon, Robbie Coltrane, Robert Hardy, Rupert Grint, Tom Felton
The "questions" section is for any random questions that occurred to you while watching this film, or anything you didn't entirely understand, and which Google or the IMDb can't help with. Submit them as a question, and hopefully someone will answer (the bold comments in brackets) - check back regularly. If the answer is wrong, or missing information, please use the "clarify answer" option. Don't feel limited - want to know what music played in a certain scene? Whether this was the first film to use a certain effect? Here's the place to ask!
What is the creature that roars at the maid in the Leaky Cauldron scene? [We're never told. This scene is not in the book, and it is never elaborated on in the film. It was just added to be amusing.] Answered by Phixius Am I mistaken or does Malfoy mean Bad Dragon? [According to Language Realm - Malfoy can be taken as "mal" and "foi" or translated to "bad faith or evil belief". Draco, of course, is akin to the Greek "drakon" for dragon. So where Draco refers to a dragon, the name Malfoy itself, does not mean Bad Dragon - but Bad Faith (which in itself makes sense in the Rowling realm).] Answered by Zwn Annwn When Harry and Hermione go back in time to rescue Sirius and Buckbeak, does Dumbledore know that they are rescuing them? It's just that earlier the execution happened quickly, but when they go back in time, Dumbledore seems to be distracting the executioner and Fudge so that Harry and Hermione can do what they need to do. [Yes Dumbledore knows that they are rescuing Buckbeak and Sirius, because (and this is a little complicated) he is planning to tell Harry and Hermione (the Harry and Hermione who have just left Hagrid's Hut, not the Harry and Hermione who are now rescuing Buckbeak) to go back in time and rescue them, so he is presuming that a future Harry and Hermione would currently be rescuing Buckbeak. Hope that doesnt play with your mind too much!] Answered by Blibbetyblip What is it that Malfoy calls Ron in the scene near the shrieking shack? [He calls him Weaselby (a pun on Ron's last name Weasley and a weasel).] Answered by Blibbetyblip This applies more to the book: Buckbeak's appeal is set for two in the afternoon, and his execution at sundown. If the Committee for the Disposal of Dangerous Creatures is so certain of Buckbeak's guilt, why (besides the gaping plot hole) do they wait so long between appeal and execution? [The gap is to get all the formalities done. There was probably lots of paperwork to be done.] Answered by Duff "King Of Beers" Mckagan On the 2nd Disc, there is an interview with director Alfonso Cuaron and J.K. Rowling. In the interview, Rowling states that Cuaron unknowingly put some clues in the movie that foreshadow events that happen in books 6 an 7. I have read books 6 and 7 and I re-watched the movie, but I still have no idea what clues Rowling was referring to. Could someone please fill me in? [Semi-spoilers, but just a few things that I noticed: Lupin speaking about Lily, saying that she saw the good in anyone, Hermione and Ron's little "moments" which were much more plentiful than in the 3rd book, and Snape protecting Harry from the werewolf when he could have run. I'm sure there might be more, but also keep in mind that between the making of this movie and the release of the final books, JKR did change/edit several things so some "clues" might foreshadow things that never made it into the books.] This applies to the movie and the book. Is there any reason why somebody can't go back in time using a Time Turner and save all those people that Voldemort killed or perhaps kill the child Voldemort? It seems like such a big plot hole so I had to check before I submitted it as a mistake. [To change time, even with good intentions, would be to break one of the most important wizarding laws. Hermione was only allowed access to a Time Turner under very carefully controlled conditions; Professor McGonagall had to write many letters to the Ministry on her behalf and, according to Hermione, told her a number of stories about occasions when wizards had attempted to alter time with horrific consequences. Going back to kill the infant Voldemort would simply not be an option.] Answered by Tailkinker In the first scene, Harry is seen practicing his 'Lumos Maximus' spell under his bedcovers. But in film 5 (and the books, for that matter) it is said that students aren't allowed to perform any magic outside of school. So how was he able to perform this spell without being warned/expelled from Hogwarts? [It's also shown that the Ministry have some discretion in what's allowable. Given that Harry's using a low-level spell, out of the sight of any muggles (the incidents that get him into trouble in books 3 and 5 both take place with muggles present), in a repeated fashion that would clearly indicate practice, it's reasonable to think that the Ministry would exercise its discretion in this instance and choose not to pursue the matter.] Answered by Tailkinker Why was there never a tribute to Richard Harris in the credits of any of the Harry Potter movies? I understand he died 2 weeks before the Chamber of Secretes debuted in theaters, however there was plenty of time to put a tribute in the credits of The Prisoner of Azkaban. [Probably because it was eighteen months later by that point and, in the end, Harris really had nothing to do with that film, making a tribute to him in the credits inappropriate.] Answered by Tailkinker How did Lupin become a werewolf? Did he get bitten or is he a shape shifter? [This is answered in the sixth book. He was bitten as a small boy (about 11) by a dangerous Werewolf called Fenrir Greyback. He is not an Animagus like Sirius Black.] Answered by Scrappy When Harry's boggart turns into a dementor, Lupin dives in front and says "ridiculous". He then later says he did this because he thought the boggart would turn into Lord Voldemort. But the boggart wasn't Lord Voldemort, but just a dementor. So that excuse doesn't hold up. Why wouldn't he let harry fend off the boggart like the rest of the class? [He says that he instinctively thought the boggart would turn into Voldemort. He jumped in front of this as Harry had already had dealings with a dementor, and the boggart would be able to weald the same powers a dementor has. He knew once Harry had seen the dementor that he would not be able to deal with it due to his past experience.] Answered by Scrappy Are there any midi files or digital sheet music or pictures of sheet music available for the knight bus or apparition on the train? [Here is a midi file from the Knight Bus http://www.filmtracks.com/titles/prisoner_azkaban.html#audio. I wasn't able to find any free midis for Apparation On The Train, but if you are willing to spend $0.08 you can download it from http://songs3.allofmp3.com/mcatalog.shtml?group=5823&album=3&song=4&affiliate=saniheating.] Answered by Mortug When Aunt Marge starts to inflate, Uncle Vernon starts kind of whining. He's supposed to be really tough, why doesn't he growl or yell instead? Or at least try to save his sister? [He is a big bully. He isn't tough at all, he just acts that way to Harry. When confronted by something scary, he wusses out!] Answered by Grumpy Scot What is the age different between the teenage actors and their characters? [In the up coming movie Goblet Of fire the trio will be 14. Dan Radcliffe (Harry) is 16 Rupert Grint (Ron) is 17 and Emma Watson (Hermione) is 15.] In the scene where Hermione grabs Ron's hand, you can see Malfoy in the background pointing and laughing at something. Is he pointing at Harry and Buckbeak or has he noticed Ron and Hermione's awkward hand-grab? [He's laughing at Harry's situation, expecting him to get mauled at any moment.] Answered by Tailkinker
Does anyone know what the symbols carved on the back of the seat risers in Trelawney's classroom are and what they mean? [The symbols were just done by the crew to make the set look more magical and strange. They have no real meaning.] I've tried to look for this in the books but I still don't get it. When future Harry and Hermione come back to the hospital wing after they went back in time and saved Sirius, then their selves should have just left again to do the same thing. What happens to them, since it was already done? Where do they go? [Time travel is very complex. They are going back to fix things, but from out point of view, they already have! But, if you consider when our Harry and Hermionie leave, the previous Harry and Hermionie would enter the room, it might start to make sense. Basically, an infinite number of Harry and Hermionie travel back to change the past, but we only follow one.] Answered by SexyIrishLeprechaun In the scene where Draco was struck by Buckbeak. You see Hermione run up saying to take him to the hospital. If you look she has the timeturner outside of her shirt. Isn't the timeturner supposed to be a secret? [She wears it as a necklace. Anyone knows that a necklace can pop out of your shirt at anytime. She was just careless. Anyhow I doubt any of the others around her would know that it was a timeturner and probably didn't notice it at all.] Answered by Mortug What evidence linked Black to killing the Potters? After the movie I didn't understand how everyone could have been so completely wrong. [Black was thought to be the Potter's secret keeper and only the secret keeper could have directed Voldemort to the Potters. There was a showdown on a street between Pettigrew and Black, after the Potters were killed, where many people died. Since Black was the only one to live, and they found only Pettigrew's finger, everyone assumed Black did the killing. No one knew that Pettingrew, along with Black, and James Potter, were animagi.] Answered by Rlvlk I read in Teen Beat that one of the actors calls Emma Watson by her real name but they did not mention who did or which scene it was done in. Do you know? Thanks. [There may have been some crossed wires. It was believed in the Whomping Willow scene that Emma Watson called Rupert Grint by his real name, but has since been proven to be untrue.]