The Knight Bus is named after the various night bus services throughout [[Great Britain]], as well as a play on the word "knight", as it gives the connotation that the vehicle comes to the rescue of those who need it.<ref>{{PM}} - [http://www.pottermore.com/writing-by-jk-rowling/2 J.K. Rowling's thoughts: The Knight Bus]</ref>
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The Knight Bus is named after the various night bus services throughout [[Great Britain]], as well as a play on the word "knight", as it gives the connotation that the vehicle comes to the rescue of those who need it.<ref>{{PM|the-knight-bus}} - J.K. Rowling's thoughts</ref>
==Behind the scenes==
==Behind the scenes==
Revision as of 19:01, 20 October 2016
Harry Potter: "How come the Muggles don’t hear the bus?"
Stan Shunpike: "Them! Don’ listen properly, do they? Don’ look properly either. Never notice nuffink, they don’"
— Harry talking to Stan the Knight Bus Conductor in 1993[src]
The Knight Bus is a triple-decker, purple AEC Regent III RT that assists stranded individuals of the wizarding community through public transportation. It operates at a very fast speed and obstacles will jump out of its way. To hail the bus, a witch or wizard must stick their wand hand in the air in the same manner that a Muggle might do to hail a taxi, though it is possible to book tickets for travel on the bus in advance.
The Knight Bus is a relatively modern invention in wizarding society, which sometimes (though it will rarely admit it) takes ideas from the Muggle world.[1] The need for some form of transportation that could be used safely and discreetly by the underage or the infirm had been felt for a while and many suggestions had been made (sidecars on taxi-style broomsticks, carrying baskets slung under Thestrals) all of them vetoed by the Ministry.[1] Finally the Knight Bus was first commissioned in 1865.[1] The idea was proposed by then-MinisterDugald McPhail.[1]
While some wizards (mainly pure-blood fanatics) announced their intention of boycotting what was dubbed ‘this Muggle-esque outrage’ in the letters page of the Daily Prophet, the Knight Bus proved hugely popular with most of the community and remains busy to this day.[1]
During the early 1990s, the Knight Bus' conductor was Stan Shunpike, who greets passengers and handles baggage, and was driven by Ernie Prang.
Description
Inside of the Knight Bus
Inside, during the night, the Knight Bus has beds, curtained windows and candles burning in brackets beside each bed. It cost Harry 11 sickles to get a ticket to London from Surrey, but for thirteen Sickles he could have a cup of hot chocolate, while fifteen would get him a hot water bottle and a toothbrush in any colour. During the day, there are just seats that are apparently not bolted down. The bus does not seem to have much in the way of safety features, as passengers and luggage alike are being thrown around the inside of the bus during its haphazard manoeuvres. The driver seat is more of an armchair than what a Muggle-vehicle's car seat would be. It may have a powerful Imperturbable Charm placed on it so objects can leap out of its way. The bus does not travel underwater, but can go anywhere on land.
Due to the haphazard manners of the bus' designs and services, the hot chocolate would end up spilling all over the place when served. Most of its passengers seem very pleased to get off when they finally arrive at their stop.
Known passengers
Harry Potter after calling the bus
In 1993, Harry Potter stumbled across the Knight Bus after leaving 4 Privet Drive, following the inadvertent inflation of his Aunt Marge. He was almost run over by the bus after seeing a black dog looming in the shadows. On the same day, Madam Marsh was using the Knight Bus to travel to Abergavenny.
The Knight Bus is named after the various night bus services throughout Great Britain, as well as a play on the word "knight", as it gives the connotation that the vehicle comes to the rescue of those who need it.[3]
Behind the scenes
The Knight Bus seen in the 2004 movie Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban used a body constructed from three separate RT-class AEC Regent III buses. The triple-deck body was then fitted to a Dennis Javelin bus chassis. In order to portray the bus driving at high speeds, the cars around the bus drove slower while the bus drove at its top speed, and the footage was sped up afterward. Two buses were constructed for the film's external shots, while the interior shots were filmed on a set that would rock back and forth to simulate the bus' movement.
One of the props is currently on display at The Making of Harry Potter. The other was moved to Orlando, Florida in 2010 for the grand opening ceremony of The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, where it carried some of the actors from the film series to the ceremony. It remained in storage until 2014, when it was moved outdoors as part of the upcoming Diagon Alley attraction.[4]
The bus's height posed a challenge for the filmmakers when the vehicle was required to pass underneath bridges. To solve this problem, the top of the bus was designed to be removable.
Since Apparition would be a faster and more practical way of transportation, the Knight Bus may be used for those who cannot use Apparition or Portkeys, or those who are underage, and therefore need the bus, and may even be accessible to Squibs.
In the book, items appear to jump away to avoid collision. In the film, the bus just swerves around or squeezes past (or through) obstacles, and in terms of the latter, the driver is shown throwing a switch that causes the bus to contract. The bus also becomes invisible within the distance, materialising when called, and vanishing when leaving.
One notable feature of the film adaptation of the Knight Bus is the large chandelier hanging from the ceiling.
In a International trailer for Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Harry says to Stanley Shunpike while riding the Knight Bus: "Isn't this a bit dangerous?" to which Stan replies: "No. We haven't had an accident in about a week." These lines were cut from the final version of the movie.
The LEGO Harry Potter Knight Bus sets are noted for their heavy use of purple bricks, which are rare and therefore much valued both for novelty and for collectors to use in their "My Own Creations."[5]
The Leaky Cauldron offers tickets for the Knight Bus as part of its room service.[6]
"The Knight Bus was so-named because, firstly, knight is a homonym of night, and there are night buses running all over Britain after normal transport stops. Secondly, ‘knight’ has the connotation of coming to the rescue, of protection, and this seemed appropriate for a vehicle that is often the conveyance of last resort.
The driver and conductor of the Knight Bus in ‘Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban’ are named after my two grandfathers, Ernest and Stanley."
Appearances
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