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Description
Lets continue the Wizarding World series with Harry's second year at Hogwarts as he uncovers the mystery of the Chamber of Secrets.

Spending the summer with the Dursleys, Harry Potter meets Dobby, a house-elf who warns him it's too dangerous to return to Hogwarts. Dobby sabotages an important dinner for the Dursleys, who lock Harry up to prevent his return to Hogwarts. Harry's friend Ron Weasley and his brothers Fred and George rescue him in their father's flying Ford Anglia. Harry and the Weasley family are joined by Rubeus Hagrid and Hermione Granger at a book-signing by Gilderoy Lockhart, who announces he is Hogwarts' new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher. Confronted by Draco Malfoy, Harry notices Malfoy's father, Lucius, slip a book into Ginny Weasley's belongings. When Harry and Ron are blocked from entering Platform Nine and Three-Quarters at London King's Cross railway station, they take the flying car to Hogwarts; after crashing into the Whomping Willow and breaking Ron's wand, they receive detention. In detention, Harry hears strange voices and later finds caretaker Argus Filch's cat, Mrs. Norris, petrified beside a message written in blood: "The Chamber of Secrets has been opened, enemies of the heir... beware". Professor McGonagall explains that one of Hogwarts' founders, Salazar Slytherin, supposedly constructed a secret Chamber containing a monster that only his Heir can control, capable of purging the school of Muggle-born students. Suspecting Malfoy is the Heir, Harry, Ron, and Hermione plan to question him while disguised using forbidden polyjuice potion, which they brew in a disused bathroom haunted by a ghost, Moaning Myrtle. During a Quidditch game, Harry's arm is broken by a Bludger. Visiting him in the infirmary, Dobby reveals that he closed the portal to Platform 9 3/4 and made the Bludger chase Harry to force him to leave the school. Harry and Ron learn Malfoy is not the Heir, but his father had told him a Muggle-born girl died when the Chamber was last opened. Harry finds an enchanted diary owned by former student Tom Riddle, who fifty years prior accused Hagrid, then a student, of opening the Chamber. When the diary is stolen and Hermione is petrified, Harry and Ron question Hagrid. Professor Dumbledore, Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge, and Lucius arrive to take Hagrid to Azkaban, but he discreetly tells the boys to "follow the spiders". In the Forbidden Forest, Harry and Ron meet Hagrid's friend, a giant spider named Aragog, who reveals Hagrid's innocence and provides a clue about the Chamber's monster. A book page in Hermione's hand identifies the monster as a Basilisk, a giant serpent that kills people who make direct eye contact with it; the petrified victims only saw it indirectly. The school staff learn Ginny has been taken into the Chamber. Now it's up to Harry to enter the Chamber, rescue Ginny, kill the Basilisk, and discover the identity of Slytherin's heir.

Pros:
1. Harry is still a great protagonist.
2. Ron and Hermione are both still great supporting characters.
3. Hagrid, Dumbledore, McGonagall, and Dobby are all very good side characters.
4. Hedwig, Snape, Ginny, George, Fred, Percy, Molly, Arthur, Myrtle, Neville, Filch, Oliver, Lockhart, Sprout, Nearly Headless Nick, and Aragog are all very memorable and likeable minor characters.
5. Tom is a decent villain, and Draco, Lucius, and the Dursleys are good antagonists.
6. The sets, locations, costumes, makeup, and visuals are still very well crafted.
7. The creature designs and animatronics are brilliantly done.
8. Very well done special effects.
9. John Williams delivers another stellar score.
10. Solid performances.
11. The action scenes are very thrilling and intense.
12. The first film's blend of action, adventure, comedy, drama, fantasy, and suspense is still present.
13. The story is still very well written and very faithful to the book. It's also darker than the first film, but not too dark.

Cons:
1. The plot structure is a bit too similar to the first film.
2. Dobby can get annoying at times.
3. It gets pretty slow at times, probably due to being being a bit too long.

Overall:
This is a very well done sequel, and just about on par with the first film.

Rating:
8.5/10 (Great to Amazing)

Production Notes and Trivia:
1. Production designer Stuart Craig returned for the sequel to design new elements previously not seen in the first film. He designed the Burrow based on Arthur Weasley's interest in Muggles, built vertically out of architectural salvage. Mr. Weasley's flying car was created from a 1962 Ford Anglia 105E. The Chamber of Secrets, measuring over 76 metres long and 36.5 metres wide, was the biggest set created for the saga. Dumbledore's office, which houses the Sorting Hat and the Sword of Gryffindor, was also built for the film.
2. Lindy Hemming was the costume designer for Chamber of Secrets. She retained many of the characters' already established appearances, and chose to focus on the new characters introduced in the sequel. Gilderoy Lockhart's wardrobe incorporated bright colours, in contrast with the "dark, muted or sombre colours" of the other characters. Branagh said, "We wanted to create a hybrid between a period dandy and someone who looked as if they could fit into Hogwarts." Hemming also perfected Lucius Malfoy's costume. One of the original concepts was for him to wear a pinstripe suit, but was changed to furs and a snake head cane in order to remark his aristocrat quality and to reflect a "sense of the old."
3. Principal photography for Chamber of Secrets began on 19 November 2001, only three days after the wide release of the first film. Second-unit work had started three weeks before, primarily for the flying car scene. Filming took place mainly at Leavesden Film Studios in Hertfordshire, as well as on the Isle of Man. King's Cross railway station was used as the filming location for Platform 9¾, though St Pancras International was used for the exterior shots. Gloucester Cathedral was used as the setting for Hogwarts School, along with Durham Cathedral, Alnwick Castle, Lacock Abbey, and the Bodleian Library at the University of Oxford. The Burrow was built in Gypsy Lane, Abbots Langley, in front of Leavesden Studios.
4. Roger Pratt was brought on as director of photography for Chamber of Secrets, in order to give the film "a darker and edgier feel" than its predecessor, which reflected "the growth of the characters and the story." Director Chris Columbus opted to use handheld cameras to allow more freedom in movement, which he considered "a departure for [him] as a filmmaker." University of Cambridge linguistics professor Francis Nolan created Parseltongue, the language spoken by snakes in the film. Principal photography wrapped in July 2002.
5. Due to the events that take place in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, the film's sound effects were much more expansive than in the previous instalment. Sound designer and co-supervising sound editor Randy Thom returned for the sequel using Pro Tools to complete the job, which included initial conceptions done at Skywalker Sound in California and primary work done at Shepperton Studios in England. Thom wanted to give the Whomping Willow a voice, a deep growl for which he used is own voice slowed down, equalised and bass-boosted. For the mandrakes, he combined baby cries with female screams, in order to "make it just exotic enough so that you think, 'Hmm, I've never heard anything quite like that before.'" Thom described the basilisk as a challenge, "because it's a giant snake, but it's also like a dragon — not many snakes have teeth like that. He had to hiss, he had to roar and there were times at the end when he was in pain." He mixed his own voice, tiger roars, and horse and elephant vocalizations.
6. Visual effects took nine months to make, until 9 October 2002, when the film was finished. Industrial Light & Magic, Mill Film, The Moving Picture Company (MPC), Cinesite and Framestore CFC handled the approximately 950 visual effect shots in the film. Jim Mitchell and Nick Davis served as visual effects supervisors. They were in charge of creating the CG characters Dobby the House Elf, the Basilisk, and the Cornish pixies, among others. Chas Jarrett from MPC served as CG supervisor, overseeing the approach of any shot that contains CG in the film. With a crew of 70 people, the company produced 251 shots, 244 of which made it to the film, from September 2001 to October 2002.
7. The visual effects team worked alongside creature effects supervisor Nick Dudman, who devised Fawkes (Harry Potter) the Phoenix, the Mandrakes, Aragog the Acromantula, and the first 25 feet of the Basilisk. According to Dudman, "Aragog represented a significant challenge to the Creature department." The giant spider stood 9 feet tall with an 18 feet foot leg span, each of which had to be controlled by a different team member. The whole creature weighed three quarters of a ton. It took over 15 people to operate the animatronic Aragog on set.
8. The Whomping Willow sequence required a combination of practical and visual effects. Special effects supervisor John Richardson and his team created mechanically operated branches to hit the flying car. A 1:3 scale set was built on stage at Shepperton Studios, which featured the fully-sized top third of the tree with a forced perspective to appear a height of over 100 feet high. The courtyard and the tree were built in 3D. Some shots ended up being entirely digital. Jarret identified the rendering as "the biggest challenge" of the scene, because "there was just so much going on in [it] ... It was simply massive."

Description
Lets continue the Wizarding World series with Harry's second year at Hogwarts as he uncovers the mystery of the Chamber of Secrets.

Spending the summer with the Dursleys, Harry Potter meets Dobby, a house-elf who warns him it's too dangerous to return to Hogwarts. Dobby sabotages an important dinner for the Dursleys, who lock Harry up to prevent his return to Hogwarts. Harry's friend Ron Weasley and his brothers Fred and George rescue him in their father's flying Ford Anglia. Harry and the Weasley family are joined by Rubeus Hagrid and Hermione Granger at a book-signing by Gilderoy Lockhart, who announces he is Hogwarts' new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher. Confronted by Draco Malfoy, Harry notices Malfoy's father, Lucius, slip a book into Ginny Weasley's belongings. When Harry and Ron are blocked from entering Platform Nine and Three-Quarters at London King's Cross railway station, they take the flying car to Hogwarts; after crashing into the Whomping Willow and breaking Ron's wand, they receive detention. In detention, Harry hears strange voices and later finds caretaker Argus Filch's cat, Mrs. Norris, petrified beside a message written in blood: "The Chamber of Secrets has been opened, enemies of the heir... beware". Professor McGonagall explains that one of Hogwarts' founders, Salazar Slytherin, supposedly constructed a secret Chamber containing a monster that only his Heir can control, capable of purging the school of Muggle-born students. Suspecting Malfoy is the Heir, Harry, Ron, and Hermione plan to question him while disguised using forbidden polyjuice potion, which they brew in a disused bathroom haunted by a ghost, Moaning Myrtle. During a Quidditch game, Harry's arm is broken by a Bludger. Visiting him in the infirmary, Dobby reveals that he closed the portal to Platform 9 3/4 and made the Bludger chase Harry to force him to leave the school. Harry and Ron learn Malfoy is not the Heir, but his father had told him a Muggle-born girl died when the Chamber was last opened. Harry finds an enchanted diary owned by former student Tom Riddle, who fifty years prior accused Hagrid, then a student, of opening the Chamber. When the diary is stolen and Hermione is petrified, Harry and Ron question Hagrid. Professor Dumbledore, Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge, and Lucius arrive to take Hagrid to Azkaban, but he discreetly tells the boys to "follow the spiders". In the Forbidden Forest, Harry and Ron meet Hagrid's friend, a giant spider named Aragog, who reveals Hagrid's innocence and provides a clue about the Chamber's monster. A book page in Hermione's hand identifies the monster as a Basilisk, a giant serpent that kills people who make direct eye contact with it; the petrified victims only saw it indirectly. The school staff learn Ginny has been taken into the Chamber. Now it's up to Harry to enter the Chamber, rescue Ginny, kill the Basilisk, and discover the identity of Slytherin's heir.

Pros:
1. Harry is still a great protagonist.
2. Ron and Hermione are both still great supporting characters.
3. Hagrid, Dumbledore, McGonagall, and Dobby are all very good side characters.
4. Hedwig, Snape, Ginny, George, Fred, Percy, Molly, Arthur, Myrtle, Neville, Filch, Oliver, Lockhart, Sprout, Nearly Headless Nick, and Aragog are all very memorable and likeable minor characters.
5. Tom is a decent villain, and Draco, Lucius, and the Dursleys are good antagonists.
6. The sets, locations, costumes, makeup, and visuals are still very well crafted.
7. The creature designs and animatronics are brilliantly done.
8. Very well done special effects.
9. John Williams delivers another stellar score.
10. Solid performances.
11. The action scenes are very thrilling and intense.
12. The first film's blend of action, adventure, comedy, drama, fantasy, and suspense is still present.
13. The story is still very well written and very faithful to the book. It's also darker than the first film, but not too dark.

Cons:
1. The plot structure is a bit too similar to the first film.
2. Dobby can get annoying at times.
3. It gets pretty slow at times, probably due to being being a bit too long.

Overall:
This is a very well done sequel, and just about on par with the first film.

Rating:
8.5/10 (Great to Amazing)

Production Notes and Trivia:
1. Production designer Stuart Craig returned for the sequel to design new elements previously not seen in the first film. He designed the Burrow based on Arthur Weasley's interest in Muggles, built vertically out of architectural salvage. Mr. Weasley's flying car was created from a 1962 Ford Anglia 105E. The Chamber of Secrets, measuring over 76 metres long and 36.5 metres wide, was the biggest set created for the saga. Dumbledore's office, which houses the Sorting Hat and the Sword of Gryffindor, was also built for the film.
2. Lindy Hemming was the costume designer for Chamber of Secrets. She retained many of the characters' already established appearances, and chose to focus on the new characters introduced in the sequel. Gilderoy Lockhart's wardrobe incorporated bright colours, in contrast with the "dark, muted or sombre colours" of the other characters. Branagh said, "We wanted to create a hybrid between a period dandy and someone who looked as if they could fit into Hogwarts." Hemming also perfected Lucius Malfoy's costume. One of the original concepts was for him to wear a pinstripe suit, but was changed to furs and a snake head cane in order to remark his aristocrat quality and to reflect a "sense of the old."
3. Principal photography for Chamber of Secrets began on 19 November 2001, only three days after the wide release of the first film. Second-unit work had started three weeks before, primarily for the flying car scene. Filming took place mainly at Leavesden Film Studios in Hertfordshire, as well as on the Isle of Man. King's Cross railway station was used as the filming location for Platform 9¾, though St Pancras International was used for the exterior shots. Gloucester Cathedral was used as the setting for Hogwarts School, along with Durham Cathedral, Alnwick Castle, Lacock Abbey, and the Bodleian Library at the University of Oxford. The Burrow was built in Gypsy Lane, Abbots Langley, in front of Leavesden Studios.
4. Roger Pratt was brought on as director of photography for Chamber of Secrets, in order to give the film "a darker and edgier feel" than its predecessor, which reflected "the growth of the characters and the story." Director Chris Columbus opted to use handheld cameras to allow more freedom in movement, which he considered "a departure for [him] as a filmmaker." University of Cambridge linguistics professor Francis Nolan created Parseltongue, the language spoken by snakes in the film. Principal photography wrapped in July 2002.
5. Due to the events that take place in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, the film's sound effects were much more expansive than in the previous instalment. Sound designer and co-supervising sound editor Randy Thom returned for the sequel using Pro Tools to complete the job, which included initial conceptions done at Skywalker Sound in California and primary work done at Shepperton Studios in England. Thom wanted to give the Whomping Willow a voice, a deep growl for which he used is own voice slowed down, equalised and bass-boosted. For the mandrakes, he combined baby cries with female screams, in order to "make it just exotic enough so that you think, 'Hmm, I've never heard anything quite like that before.'" Thom described the basilisk as a challenge, "because it's a giant snake, but it's also like a dragon — not many snakes have teeth like that. He had to hiss, he had to roar and there were times at the end when he was in pain." He mixed his own voice, tiger roars, and horse and elephant vocalizations.
6. Visual effects took nine months to make, until 9 October 2002, when the film was finished. Industrial Light & Magic, Mill Film, The Moving Picture Company (MPC), Cinesite and Framestore CFC handled the approximately 950 visual effect shots in the film. Jim Mitchell and Nick Davis served as visual effects supervisors. They were in charge of creating the CG characters Dobby the House Elf, the Basilisk, and the Cornish pixies, among others. Chas Jarrett from MPC served as CG supervisor, overseeing the approach of any shot that contains CG in the film. With a crew of 70 people, the company produced 251 shots, 244 of which made it to the film, from September 2001 to October 2002.
7. The visual effects team worked alongside creature effects supervisor Nick Dudman, who devised Fawkes (Harry Potter) the Phoenix, the Mandrakes, Aragog the Acromantula, and the first 25 feet of the Basilisk. According to Dudman, "Aragog represented a significant challenge to the Creature department." The giant spider stood 9 feet tall with an 18 feet foot leg span, each of which had to be controlled by a different team member. The whole creature weighed three quarters of a ton. It took over 15 people to operate the animatronic Aragog on set.
8. The Whomping Willow sequence required a combination of practical and visual effects. Special effects supervisor John Richardson and his team created mechanically operated branches to hit the flying car. A 1:3 scale set was built on stage at Shepperton Studios, which featured the fully-sized top third of the tree with a forced perspective to appear a height of over 100 feet high. The courtyard and the tree were built in 3D. Some shots ended up being entirely digital. Jarret identified the rendering as "the biggest challenge" of the scene, because "there was just so much going on in [it] ... It was simply massive."