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Hogwarts.
Voldemort.
Wingardium Leviosa.
Any of those ring a bell? I bet they do, because what else do all those words connect to but the famous Harry Potter? Familiar to any kid, really, HP has gone from a small concept written on tissue paper to a worldwide phenomenon booming not only in books, but in the movies as well. Being this famous, J.K. Rowling's world-known series has been the subject of numerous praises, some bitter comments and millions and millions of parodies.
Amidst all the HP imitations attracting thousands of viewers online, one YouTube parody stands out from all the rest. Why? Well for one thing, Harry, Ron, Hermione and the rest of the gang are all puppets.
This is the Potter Puppet Pals, a hilarious comedy series created by YouTube director and puppeteer (duh) Neil Cicierega.
The series began with a simple musical presentation titled "The Mysterious Ticking Noise" wherein Hogwarts is pestered by a constant ticking. Professor Severus Snape, known the fans as the bitter Potions teacher, notices the noise first and tries to find the source, but in the end, ends up singing along to the catchy beat. Soon, everyone, including Professor Dumbledore, joins in on the musical adventure until Ron finally discovers what's causing the ticking: a pipe bomb. Predictably enough, everyone blows up into a rain of cotton and fabric.
Sound random? You bet it is.
While the show still uses the same character names and appearances, their personalities are almost completely altered to suit anyone's comedy craving.
Harry Potter
The boy who lived, Harry Potter is a modest, selfless student talented in defensive spells and hunting down trouble. Or at least in the book he is. In the Potter Puppet Pals, Harry's still the son of Lily and James Potter, who were killed by Lord Voldemort but having tasted fame and glory in the past, Harry considers himself the king of the school. This arrogant puppet's pretty much the opposite of the real Harry, what with his selfish, cocky attitude.
Ronald Weasley
Ron was never really the center of things, what with his best friend being the most popular boy in school. Still, he remained faithful to Harry and was always there to offer his help. Ron's still pretty much like this in PPP, except his IQ dropped significantly. With a high, pre-pubescent voice, Harry's Orange Friend usually causes most of the laughs in the series, which is easy considering how many jokes you can make out of his...ehm, "orange, bespeckled mug."
Prof. Severus Snape
With the black cloak, unhappy expression and constant bitter mood, Snape can easily be marked as one of those misunderstood emo people. In PPP, he amps up his senti factor and often speaks in deep-sounding but really senseless phrases. Always trying to catch Harry and Ron, the Hogwarts Potions Master constantly seems to face terrible situations from those two trouble makers. In one account in his diary (yes, he has one), Snape emotionally proclaims: "That Potter boy and his orange friend shoved me against the wall yelling 'bother, bother' over and over. For the first time in twenty years, I prayed. I prayed... for the end."
Hermione Granger
Hermione's known to be the uptight, smarty pants friend of Harry. Usually a killjoy, Hermione can be annoying sometimes, what with her constant nagging and too-righteous attitude. At least in PPP, she loosens up a bit and joins the boys in their usual trouble making. Also, unlike the real Hermione, this puppet isn't so serious about her studies, though she does know a lot about books. Weirdly and hilariously enough, Hermione's voice is a hell of a lot lower than Ron's. Go figure.
Prof. Albus Dumbledore
If there's one character in the entire HP franchise that's always serious, it has to be Hogwarts headmaster Dumbledore. All that changed in PPP, however. No longer his usual no-nonsense self, the "wise" supervisor of the school has taken to ignoring Harry's hilarious misdeeds and Professor Snape's requests for his immediate expulsion. Dumbledore's probably the most memorable character of the Mysterious Ticking Noise because for one thing, he wore no clothes. Being a puppet, of course nothing...erm...private was shown, but his nakedness really made the episode unforgettable.
Lord Voldemort
The universal law of protagonist-antagonist clearly states that any story's villain has to be taken seriously. Clearly, that rule doesn't apply to Lord Voldemort. Or well, his PPP version, anyway. Though he was very frightening in the book (no one even dared to say his name), Voldy cut loose a little as a puppet. He's probably the most random character in the entire series. Take the instances when he asked Snape to have a mustache with him, when he out shown everyone in a dance off, and when he even bothered to ask Harry if he knew what the killing curse was.
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