Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts

It is a charming if at times saccharine reunion and, the bottom line, good television. But it would have benefited hugely from proper input from the woman who made it all possible.

Return to Hogwarts” manages to unearth enough genuine sincerity, and occasionally even jolts of pathos, to keep from becoming quite as sticky sweet as one of Harry’s treacle tarts. ... That it ends up charming as much as it does is a testament to its actors, game and charismatic as ever, once again finding a way to engross their audience in more intangible ways than merely following the script.

Overall, "Return to Hogwarts" is perhaps more magic-filled than consistently magical. But when the special gets it right, streaming's latest trip down memory lane not only provides inspiration to go re-watch these movies, but it does cast a certain kind of spell unlike most Hollywood-orchestrated reunions by conjuring a touching sense of the shared experience that these boys and girls lived.

In the end, this special film felt magical – and just the right side of sentimental, giving us a sense of a story that was era-defining for fans and life-defining for its cast. Thrillingly, it managed to transport me to my childhood and to that same sense of joy and jealousy I had at 10, wishing I could be Hermione myself.

Millions of young fans dreamt of being part of Harry Potter’s world; Return to Hogwarts is possibly the closest you’ll ever feel to achieving it.