LEGO Harry Potter: The magic and charm of the books and movies recreated in LEGO!

What child, or adult for that matter, hasn't seen the Harry Potter movies or read the book series? The franchise has spawned a global goldmine of Harry Potter merchandise, with LEGO Harry Potter being one of the most popular.

When the first film Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone elsewhere) was introduced in 2001, the LEGO Harry Potter sets were released to coincide with the movie's release. Most, but not all, of the Harry Potter movies brought new LEGO sets. One notable exception was Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, which had no set introductions for three years following the movie. LEGO was having financial difficulty around that time that could explain the misnomer.

The seven subthemes of LEGO Harry Potter:

• Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone)
• Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
• Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
• Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
• Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
• Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

The Sorcerer's/Philosopher's Stone included fourteen sets, giving it the largest amount of sets of any movie to date. Eleven of the sets were produced with the movie's release, and three the following year. The original sets seem to be the most memorable of all, especially Hogwart's Castle (4709), Hogwart's Express (4708), Troll on the Loose (4712), Gringotts Bank (4714), The Sorting Hat (4701) and of course Hagrid's Hut (4707). Favorite minifigures from the movie include Harry Potter, Lord Voldemort, Professor Dumbledore, Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, Professor Dumbledore, the Mountain Troll and even the White Queen Chess Piece.

Harry Potter and the Chamber Secrets produced ten sets between 2002-2003, with two of the sets released the year after the film. Some of the more popular sets include Dumbledore's Office (4729), The Chamber of Secrets (4730), Escape from Privet Drive (4728), Slytherin (4735), Quidditch Practice (4726) and the ever-lovable Dobby's Release (4731). Additional minifigs were introduced including Lucius Malfoy, Madam Hooch, Aragog the Spider, Vernon Dursley, and Ginny Weasley.

The third film Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban brought eleven new sets, along with the change of minifigures to flesh toned. The change to flesh tones was across the board for all LEGO licensed characters to differentiate them and make them more realistic. Noteworthy sets were introduced like Professor Lupin's Classroom (4752), Sirius Black's Escape (4753), Knight Bus (4755), Draco's Encounter with Buckbeak (4750) and updated version of Hogwarts Castle (4757) and Hagrid's Hut (4754). New minifigures included Peter Pettigrew, Knight Bus Driver, Professor Lupin, Dementor and Neville Longbottom.

In 2005, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire was released along with four LEGO sets: Rescue from Merpeople (4762), Graveyard Duel (4766), Harry and the Hungarian Horntail (4767) and The Durmstang Ship (4768). Viktor Krum (with Shark Head), Merperson, Mad-Eye Moody, Headmaster Karkaroff and even the Hungarian Horntail minifigures were produced. The Harry Potter minifigure headpiece saw a redesign at this time.

Only one set was produced for the Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix movie in 2007 and that was another Hogwarts Castle (5378). Professor Umbridge Thestrals, and the Death Eater made their debut as well.

After the hiatus following Order of the Phoenix, six new sets were released in 2010 although most were remakes of previous sets. In 2011, LEGO introduced Diagon Alley (10217) that included Mr. Ollivander, and has plans for the release of three more sets, including some from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows.

Expect to see LEGO introduce new sets up until the last movie release, and possibly for a time thereafter if there is interest.

LEGO Games and Video Games

Where would the Harry Potter LEGO line be without video games? To date three have been released, with LEGO Creator: Harry Potter in 2001, LEGO Creator: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets in 2002, and LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4 in 2010. The latest video game works on all major gaming systems including Wii, Nintendo DS, XBox 360, XBox Live, Playstation 3 (PS3), Playstation Portable (PSP), Playstation Network and Games for Windows. They are rated E10 for Everyone 10 and above for Cartoon Violence, Crude Humor and Animated Blood. The portable versions have less violence than their larger siblings.

Lastly, the franchise spawned it's own LEGO Game called Hogwarts Challenge (3862) in 2010. The game is played on the Hogwarts Castle board that has to be built prior to playing the game. Players move to various areas of Hogwarts School and must pass a series of magical exams, which is complicated by a change of the moveable parts of the castle. The game includes 9 LEGO Microfigures and has 332 LEGO pieces.