YouTube channel Improv Everywhere sent a little kid dressed as Harry Potter to New York’s Penn Station to see if he could catch a train to Hogwarts.
The child – who remarkably stays in character while several onlookers try and figure out what’s up with him – walks around Manhattan’s giant transportation hub with an owl and his luggage in tow. Hidden cameras captured every encounter between “Harry” and the unsuspecting victims, and what resulted was this great viral video.
A couple of people caught on to the act. Most notable was a tall redhead who introduces himself as Ron Weasley. There was also a woman who told the kid to “run really hard at the pillar” to get through to Platform 9 3/4.
We’re actually surprised more people did not recognize the character that the kid was portraying. The Harry Potter film series is one of the most iconic franchises of all time and has been at the forefront of popular culture over the past two decades.
On the other hand, a town like New York has so much culture that we have to remember these people largely operate outside of the fandom/entertainment world.
Improv Everywhere’s “Movie in Real Life” series brings iconic moments in film to the real world. This particular video obviously parodies Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone when Harry makes his first journey to Hogwarts and needs a little help from the Weasley family.
Fans of the series shouldn’t look at this video and mourn the end of an era. Warner Bros. and J.K. Rowling are currently working on a spinoff movie series based on her Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them book following the adventures of Newt Scamander.
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