•Home •About the Site •Affiliates •Affiliation •Contact •Privacy Policy •Product Reviews •Site Exclusives •About Megan •Site Map
Ice Cream Man MBBO Harry Potter Alliance

All Affiliates | Apply

Want to advertise on Magical-Menagerie?

Merchoid Announces 2020 Film & TV Christmas Sweaters including Harry Potter
Posted by Megs

Dreaming of a white Christmas at Hogwarts or looking for the perfect sweater to match your dinosaur Christmas tree? Merchoid has got you covered with their 2020 range of Christmas sweaters inspired (and officially licensed!) by the big and small screen!

Merchoid have sent over one of their new Hogwarts house themed sweaters to keep us cozy this holiday season! They have slightly updated their house designs and have two options per house. All the names are super punny and cute! We chose the “Ten Gifts To Gryffindor Knitted Christmas Sweater” and just love all the little details! The top features cute owls holding letters blanketed by snow. Gryffindor Lions and the Sorting Hat finish off the design at the bottom.

As was the case last year, the sweater is so soft compared with other “ugly Christmas sweaters.” Many other companies sacrifice comfort for intricate design and that is not the case here. Megan is wearing a size small and generally wears a small or medium, so err on the side of sizing down if you’re between sizes.

If house pride isn’t your thing, pick up a Weasley letter sweater or the “I’d Rather Stay at Hogwarts Christmas Sweater” we featured last year! There are also plenty of geeky options for non-Potter fans. Choose from Marvel or Disney, DC or gaming!

NOTE: If you are outside the UK shipping will be a bit slow, they estimate 10-15 days so be sure to order quickly if you want to wear them this year!

The Merchoid elves have been hard at work to ensure that you’ll look your festive best this holiday season, by bringing the franchises you love to life via the realm of cosy knitwear! Let us be there for you with our Friends inspired designs, or maybe you prefer saving the world alongside your fellow superheroes? We’ve got a sweater for that too! So whether you’re looking for Disney dreams in a galaxy far, far away, or designs to remind everyone who the King or Queen of the North is on Earth C-137, we’ve got the right sweater for you for the upcoming festivities.

2019 Harry Potter Christmas Sweaters
Filed Under: Products, Review
Harry Potter Thai 20th Anniversary Edition – Illustrated by Arch Apolar
Posted by Megs

Before we get to the details of this beautiful Harry Potter Thai boxed set let’s go back in time. In March and April 2020 American news sites shared photos of the 20th Anniversary of Harry Potter Thai edition covers. We at Magical-Menagerie have been waiting for their release since the illustrator, APOLAR, posted a preview of the first cover in October 2019.

MM owner Megan has been collecting different editions of the Harry Potter books for years – mainly US and UK (and buys a copy or two on international trips.) She stopped recently because there were too many being released. But, once the Harry Potter Thai Edition was announced, it immediately made it on her “must-have” list.

Harry Potter Thai 20th Anniversary Edition - Illustrated by Arch Apolar

The publisher of this unique set, Nanmee Books, began taking pre-orders in January 2020. Fans are able to buy the books separately or in paperback and hardcover boxed sets. Those that pre-ordered the hardcover set also received 8 bookmarks, 8 postcards, a tote bag and a hanging ornament.

I made sure that I put all my effort, my heart and my soul into this project as I would like this version to be like a love letter from fan to fan.

Apolar via wizardingworld.com

The bookmarks feature some of our favorite characters – Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Neville, Luna and Draco! Postcards included all 7 covers as well as a new illustration of Harry and Hagrid in Diagon Alley. A tote bag showcased the covers of Philosopher’s Stone as well as Chamber of Secrets and the 20th anniversary logo. The hanging ornament is actually a mini book with pop-up pages.

Harry Potter Thai 20th Anniversary Edition - Illustrated by Arch Apolar Harry Potter Thai 20th Anniversary Edition - Illustrated by Arch Apolar Harry Potter Thai 20th Anniversary Edition - Illustrated by Arch Apolar

(click images to view larger)

The best part of the hardcover set is the box itself. It unfolds for a two-sided masterpiece. One side shows the house colors, animals and the Hogwarts Quidditch pitch. The sides of the box show Harry, Draco, Cho and Cedric in their Quidditch uniforms. The opposite shows a stunning view of inside Hogwarts castle with “windows” showing different scenes and characters. It is easy to get lost for hours viewing all the details.

Harry Potter Thai 20th Anniversary Edition - Illustrated by Arch Apolar
Harry Potter Thai 20th Anniversary Edition - Illustrated by Arch Apolar Harry Potter Thai 20th Anniversary Edition - Illustrated by Arch Apolar

Not one spot in this special boxed set went untouched. Tiny details from the icons inside the box to the delicate moon shape the pages make are everywhere. Illustrations are sprinkled throughout the books.

Harry Potter Thai 20th Anniversary Edition - Illustrated by Arch Apolar
Harry Potter Thai 20th Anniversary Edition - Illustrated by Arch Apolar Harry Potter Thai 20th Anniversary Edition - Illustrated by Arch Apolar

(click images to view larger)

Harry Potter Thai Ordering Information

Harry Potter Thai 20th Anniversary Edition - Illustrated by Arch Apolar

Nanmee Books published the new Harry Potter Thai editions on May 11th. Since we’re in the US it took them a few months to get to us via international shipping. It was worth the wait!

The paperback set retails for 3,950 baht and the hardcover set is 4,950. Shipping to the USA was 1,490 bringing the grand total for our Harry Potter Thai Hardcover boxed set to 6,440. This works out to about $205 when we bought the set.

Note: They may be offering other shipping options now, but we were told 2-3 months for delivery when we pre-ordered the set.

View all the options for purchasing here. Fans outside Thailand wishing to order the books will need to email Nanmee Books directly at contact@nanmeebooks.com. You can also message them on Instagram. (tell them Magical-Menagerie.com sent you!)

Harry Potter Thai 20th Anniversary Edition - Illustrated by Arch Apolar

Interviews with the Illustrator

Harry Potter Thai 20th Anniversary Edition - Illustrated by Arch Apolar

In an interview with a local website, artist Arch-Arus Engchuan (Apolar) talked about his process for illustrating 200 images for the books. We translated the quotes so they may not make perfect sense.

When drawing the characters, I try to find the middle value between the realistic and the cartoon because if the cartoon is too much, it will look too young. The color tone is classic, looks ancient. Saturation of the color is not very high and in the set of 7 books, the cover will switch shades between light and dark like playing with day and night because J.K. Rowling Clever that creates excitement in both modes

Harry Potter Thai 20th Anniversary Edition - Illustrated by Arch Apolar

When discussing the Philosopher’s Stone cover he states:

The first cover wants to have a festive atmosphere into the world of magic. Therefore choosing to use gold color as a medium I remembered the candle of hope in the school hall, so the Hogwarts played with the candle, and there was a picture of Hagrid holding a lantern. I play with gimmicks, for example, platform number 9¾, I write in Thai numbers. And there’s a picture of the chocolate frog that doesn’t really matter in the story, but these little things make reading fun and take us excitingly into the magical world.

Harry Potter Thai 20th Anniversary Edition - Illustrated by Arch Apolar

In an interview with TimeOut he says:

I wanted this edition to be a gift to Thai fans. I wanted to create this edition as a Harry Potter fan would. I tried to convey my love for the Harry Potter books by putting my all into the details of my art. The international publisher and Nanmee allowed me to put some Thai elements into the artwork such as Thai characters and Thai numbers. At first, I was worried that people would not like it since this is a foreign book but, in the end, we figured out how to incorporate them. For example, in the cover of the first book Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, Platform 9 3/4 was redesigned to reflect a Thai number: 9 3/4. I feel like since it’s a Thai edition, there should be some Thainess to it.

We could not agree more! Staying true to the Thai culture really makes this set more unique. Arch’s passion shows in the care he took in creating the artwork.

What do you think of the set? Will you be ordering it?

Harry Potter Thai 20th Anniversary Edition - Illustrated by Arch Apolar
Harry Potter Thai 20th Anniversary Edition - Illustrated by Arch Apolar Harry Potter Thai 20th Anniversary Edition - Illustrated by Arch Apolar Harry Potter Thai 20th Anniversary Edition - Illustrated by Arch Apolar
Harry Potter Thai 20th Anniversary Edition - Illustrated by Arch Apolar
Harry Potter Thai 20th Anniversary Edition - Illustrated by Arch Apolar Harry Potter Thai 20th Anniversary Edition - Illustrated by Arch Apolar Harry Potter Thai 20th Anniversary Edition - Illustrated by Arch Apolar

(click images to view larger)

Filed Under: Books, Collectible of the Week, Review, Thai Edition Illustrated by APOLAR
Two New Unofficial Harry Potter Companion Books Releasing Tomorrow
Posted by Megs

Today we’re sharing 2 new books being released tomorrow, June 23rd. The first is MuggleNet’s Unofficial Harry Potter Character Compendium. The second is The Unofficial Ultimate Harry Potter Spellbook which was written by Media Lab books prior to their partnership with MuggleNet.

The character compendium is a more expanded and stylized version of our character listing page. The book gives details on every character mentioned in the books, films and official websites like Pottermore (now WizardingWorld.com.) There are over 700 characters listed. Within the pages you’ll find large biographies of major characters and smaller paragraphs for those who are mentioned in passing. There are also some pages featuring family trees, alliances, the Hogwarts houses and more! There’s sure to be something new for even the most devoted fan.

The spellbook contains chapters for each type of spell as well as information on wands. Where possible, you are shown the preferred wand movement as well as when the spells were used. It even includes enchanted objects such as the Ford Anglia. Pages within the book also have “handwritten” notes and fun facts about certain spells. We love this added touch that reminds us of the original Fantastic Beasts & Where to Find Them book with similar annotations.

Both books are beautifully made and high quality, with a silky, embossed cover. We couldn’t stop petting the covers because they’re so velvety. They are a beautiful addition to any Potter fan’s bookshelf.

Filed Under: Other Potter Related, Review
Add Some Magic to Your Holiday Season with Harry Potter Christmas Sweaters
Posted by Megs

The holidays are fast approaching and Merchoid has released its Officially licensed Harry Potter Christmas sweaters to get you into the festive spirit for 2019! The range includes House designs, replicas of the Weasley Sweaters and more!

Note: The sweaters and other products are on sale for Black Friday, scoop them up at great prices now!

Direct from Diagon Alley comes this year’s Hogwarts offerings! Naturally, each house has been represented to the highest standard. Along with the highly sought after house garments, you can now show your school spirit with the exclusively designed Hogwarts For The Holidays jumper, expressing the desire of many Wizards, Witches and Muggles who wish to eat their Christmas dinner in The Great Hall.

But that’s not all. The Merchoid House Elves have been busy, under the watchful eye of Mrs Weasley, to ensure that everyone can experience a little bit of Weasley Warmth this festive season with the iconic ‘H’ and ‘R’ jumpers. Now you can feel like one of the Weasley family.

The full range of Harry Potter Christmas Jumpers – as well as many other fandom-themed sweaters – are available to order on Merchoid’s website. And don’t forget to check out the rest of their Harry Potter collection!

Merchoid was kind enough to send us a couple of sweaters to test out and we are happy to tell you they’re great quality! Sometimes with these types of products, they fall victim to looks over quality but in this case, they look and feel great. I’m sure after a wash or two they will get even softer, always a plus.

The Harry Potter: I’d Rather Stay at Hogwarts Christmas Sweater is perfect for the fan who has a love of all the houses. You get a beautiful outline of Hogwarts castle along with all the house animals in a festive pattern.

This is a house of Ravenclaws, so when it came to choosing our house sweater the choice was easy – The Ravenclaw Knitted Christmas Sweater! It will be a fight for who gets to wear this gray and blue sweater, luckily we can share.

NOTE: If you are outside the UK shipping will be a bit slow, they estimate 10-15 days so be sure to order quickly if you want optimal wearing time for this year!

View more detail shots of the sweaters over on our Facebook!


Filed Under: Products, Review
Review: Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald: Makers, Mysteries and Magic
Posted by Aimee Krenz

For a book lover such as myself, who insists on purchasing a physical book because the feel and smell of the pages are everything to a book nerd, experiencing an audio adventure from Audible Originals and Pottermore Publishing is something I would normally never do!

Whether it was the draw of the wizarding world or the engaging antics of narrator Dan Fogler, who portrays the loveable No-Maj Jacob Kowalski in the Fantastic Beasts film series, I absolutely fell in love with this audio documentary, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald: Makers, Mysteries and Magic. How magical is it that my first Audible experience is focused on the wizarding world I love so much?

Read on for Aimee’s full review of this behind-the-scenes audio documentary, recorded on the set of the movie Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald.

More Filed Under: Dan Fogler, Fantastic Beasts Films, Review, The Crimes of Grindelwald
Review: Puffs Filmed Live Off Broadway is Now Streaming!
Posted by Alyssa J

Since its initial run at the Peoples Improv Theater, PUFFS or: Seven Increasingly Eventful Years at a Certain School of Magic & Magic has hopped from The Elektra Theater to New World Stages, where it currently resides, and its popularity has only climbed, achieving international attention and excellent reviews.

Thankfully, for those viewers who might not have access to the New York City theater scene, PUFFS can now be viewed by anyone around the world. The play, filmed live, is available to stream (and download!) on BroadwayHD, iTunes, and Amazon as of November 22nd.

Written as part of the School of Theater and Dance program at the University of Florida, playwright Matt Cox and his original production team, director Kristin McCarthy Parker, Stephen Stout (who plays Ernie Mac), andColin Waitt brought PUFFS to the Peoples Improv Theater in 2015.

Read on for Alyssa’s full review of PUFFs Filmed Live off Broadway!

More Filed Under: Other Potter Related, Review
Next

Site Design by Jenny Jenkins