Friday 27 March 2009

Whomping Willow


I have questions.....I can't find many clear pictures.

How tall would one be ?

What kind of a willow is it...doesn't appear to be a weeping willow and I can't figure out the leaves.

Is there some kind of hole in the trunk to the secret room...or whatever it is down there.....I am not up on Harry Potter and it was years ago I read some of the books.

Is it spinning ?

Don't worry Nikki...I'm still working on your foxgloves :-)



7 comments:

  1. Here are some links to HP film clips with the tree in action:
    You can estimate the size of the tree based on the blue car that crashes into it, and in this one you see how the tree moves:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vq04GKYsakQ

    Here the willow is shown both bare in winter and with leaves (it's strong enough to pick up children by the waist!) :

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OIJpCGPiyNU

    Yes, there is a hole wide enough for a child to slide into at the tree's base.

    Hope this helps! (I'll let you know how the window experiment turns out, now I'm off to bed with all 10 fingers intact).

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  2. Here's another film clip for the whomping willow: http://video.yahoo.com/watch/1963163/4837620

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  3. I tried to warn you... ;-) But since you asked:

    -when the boys were near it in the film it looked like it was approximately 30 feet tall, to the highest branch

    -it's quite big around the middle compared to most "real" trees

    -it flails it's branches when anything comes near it, hence the "whomping" bit

    -down near the base of the trunk there is a knothole (I think) that when pressed stops the willow from whomping and allows access to the tunnel leading to the Shrieking Shack

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  4. http://www.hp-lexicon.org/hogwarts/castle/willow.html. This is a link when I googled "Whomping Willow". You may have done that already?

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  5. Hi Jayne...Richard thinks it would have to be at least 20 inches...to get the scale just right...remember...Ron and Harry were in a car stuck in the Whomping Willow...Not sure about what type of willow... it seemed to have narrow pointy leaves in the movie that it kept shacking off for the seasons etc...and no leaves at other times...I think it is just an artistic call on your part...go for it.
    There was a secret opening at the root base that only opened when a knot was touched...
    It did have gnarly knots too...
    Can't wait to see this beautiful creation...

    Jodi

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  6. Thanks Sunny for those clips....I just watched them and have a better idea now....funny looking tree though.

    We do have the movies here….I am not much of a movie person but perhaps I should watch them again in the name of research :-)

    Glad you have 10 fingers still :-)

    Sans...thanks. I read that but it didn’t tell me much about it in terms of what it looks like.

    Kat & Jodi….thank you…

    20 – 30 inches huh. That’s one big ‘miniature’ tree lol.

    Artistic license...always the best way to work. Make it up as I go along !

    Thank Richard for me as well please Jodi.

    Now, wouldn’t it be too much fun if the tree sat atop the Shrieking Shack :-)

    Oh I do wish I could unplug my brain at times.

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  7. Oh and where could I find a 12th scale Ford Anglia :-)

    You know we had that car when we were kids.

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Thanks for taking the time to leave me a comment :-)