Harry Potter: 10 Behind The Scenes Secrets That Will Blow Your Mind
3. Assembling The Whomping Willow
Since the Whomping Willow was planted on the school grounds back in 1971, you won't be surprised to hear that it's played an important role in the history of Hogwarts.
And considering just how much character and personality was required of the terrifying tree, producers knew that they couldn't rely solely on the use of CGI to form the crux of it.
It's for this reason that the team commissioned the production of the tree in parts, which when fully assembled reached a height of just over 85 feet.
The assembled prop tree was then scanned to render a computer generated version, which is what we see in the Prisoner of Azkaban where the Whomping Willow showed the passing of seasons.
When up close and personal, however, the production crew preferred to use the various parts of the Whomping Willow separately, which made their control a lot easier. A great example of a moment like this is when a branch of the Whomping Willow comes crashing through the back window of the Ford Anglia in Chamber of Secrets.
Speaking of, a grand total of fourteen Ford Anglias had to be wrecked for this scene to be wrapped, showing just how practical things were on set.