Merchandise sneak preview

[Ellen & John Anglin]

No: HPFGUIDX 15898

Ohg Boy! I'm still geeked from seeinga ll the wonderfull merchandise 
that is going to be out there in september.

I can't, for proprietorial reasons, go into details, but suffice it 
to say that you will be able to outfit your kds from the skin out 
completely in Harry Potter merchandise.

Soaps and shampoos, underwear, socks, shirts, coats, gloves, hats 
purses, backpacks, jewelry, stationary, stickers, stamps, boxes, 
picture frames, Sleeping Bags, pillows, sheets, mouse pads, binders, 
Cosumes and accessories and of course, lots and lots of wonderfull 
toys! (Just wait till you see the Lego stuff!)  Yippeee!  And it all 
looked nicely done to me.  Nothing cheap or shoddy.  

There is plenty of new artwork being used too- not all the same stuff 
that we are seeing used over and over on everything now.  Some of it 
has a very clean, sleek look that I like a lot! (I am not all that 
fond of the calendar and poster artwork that is being used now.)  
Oh!  there was some mechandise with Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw emblems 
on it too- not nearly as much as Gryf and Slyth, but it was there!

The most exciting part was an extended version of the trailer that 
showed a very clear view of Privet drive, with the mail- owl flying 
up and landing, and slightly longer shots of each of the scenes in 
the movie trailer- easier to get a good look at the details in the 
scenes that they show in the longer takes on a large screen.

There was also a room full of stills from the movie- including wider 
shots of some of the scenes in the trailer- here is what caught my 
eye....

In the scene with Hermione floating the feather, Flitwick is standing 
off to the left, on top of his desk, coaching the class.  Flitwick is 
bald, with full muttonchop whiskers- very distictive looking.  He 
reminds me of an illustration I once saw of an aged Bilbo Baggins.

I can also say that Wands, in the movie, have definate handles.  
Hermiones handle is lighter colored than the shaft of the wand, 
shaped slightly, and with a ridge where it joins onto the handle.  

Each house has, as part of it's uniform, a tie in it's own colors.  
The red and gold ones (Griffindor) are fairly easy to spot in the 
trailer, but in the pictures of the flying class, some students 
seemed to be wearing different colored ties.  I started examining the 
ties in each still, and in one, showing Ron, Harry, Hermione and 
Draco in the Forbidden forest (Yes, Hermione, not Neville!)  Draco 
was clearly wearing a Green and silver striped tie.  

There was a lovely shot of Ron, seated in the train, with Scabbers on 
his lap.  Next to him was a pile of sweets, and there were several 
long, multicolored Gummie Worms laid across his leg- This must be 
Jelly Slugs!  They were very long, and thin, like Gummi Nitecrawlers, 
not shaped like I think of slugs as being shaped. 

There was also a still of all the students gathered in the great 
hall, wearing their pointed wizard hats.  I think this is from the 
scene in the trailer where the hats are thrown into the air.  VEry 
neat to see all the pointe hats actually being worn.  They are not 
pervectly cone shaped, but rather crumples, with twisted or crooked 
points.   Very Cool.  None of the other pictures showed students 
wearing hats.

The rat playing Scabbers is definately a male rat- I figured they 
would probably use a female rat, since they are more photogenic, but 
the rat in the picture is definately a male, if neutered. - Well they 
<had> to compromise there- male rats have very, um , 
obvoius  "jellybeans"  which are not in evidence.  

In the Flying Lessons picture, thre was a great shot of Madame Hooch- 
I love her costume!  Under her open fronted robes, she wears a tudor 
inspired jumper over a button down collared shirt with tie, and a 
simply bodacious pair of high leather boots and Gauntlets.  A very 
strong looking lady!

One thing I searched for, and couldn't spot in any picture, was a 
shot showing any hint of Harry's scar- It's always hidden by his 
bangs!  I imagine it's intentional, keeping it under wraps and all, 
but I really wonder how they end up portraying it...  In the books, 
after all, it is usually the first thing anyone notices about him- 
his identifying mark.  If anyone comes up with a picture showing it, 
please share, I'm dying to see....

So, I think we are all going to be overwhelmed by all the mechandise 
coming out in September.  Kmart is going to be mechandising it 
heavily, and I imagine other stores will be doing the same.  I just 
hope we don't get overloaded.....

Ellen