Weird Al Yankovic Tried To Parody Harry Potter
Weird Al wanted to parody "Hedwig's Theme" from the Harry Potter films but was ignored by Warner Bros.
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Iconic parody artist, singer/songwriter, and all-around hunk Weird Al Yankovic has parodied dozens of famous franchises over the years, but one studio in particular just wouldn’t give him the green light. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Weird Al asked for permission to parody the Harry Potter theme music “Hedwig’s Theme” but was never given the go-ahead by Warner Brothers. Yankovic went on to explain that he no longer asks franchises for permission when setting out to parody their work, opting instead to retroactively ask for their forgiveness once the song has been released.
During a press junket event for his new biopic Weird: The Al Yankovic Story the iconic oddball had this to say, “I approached the movie company just to get a general blessing like, ‘Hey, I’d like to do a Harry Potter parody.’ And I think they said no, or they never responded or whatever. But sometimes when you’re dealing with franchises, and you ask permission… there are so many people that can say no, and they usually do.”
Whether the response was callously ignored on purpose to spite Al or simply lost in the shuffle remains to be seen, but I think we can all agree that even fifteen years too late, we’d all love to hear Al’s rendition on the classic score. Even Evan Rachel Wood, who portrays Madonna in the Al Yankovic film, stated the Harry Potter theme was ripe for a Weird Al lampooning. Weird Al could still see his dream come true, should Warner Bros. discover that they let this once-in-a-lifetime chance slip out of their fingers.
As a big fan of all things Harry Potter, Weird Al Yankovic even sought out the boy wizard himself, Daniel Radcliffe, to play the young Al in the new biopic. Weird Al even joked during an interview that Weird: The Al Yankovic Story is the final film in the Harry Potter franchise. The film follows a loose timeline of the parody artist’s life and career, often exaggerated to the point of fiction, culminating in his very real success, and becoming a household name while also parodying classic musician biopics of Hollywood past such as Bohemian Rhapsody, Walk the Line, and Rocketman.
Weird Al has put his hilarious spin on everything from classic hip-hop songs to film and television franchises to obscure indie records, which all have been turned on their heads through the lens of his signature silliness. As a fan of the Harry Potter film series which dominated pop culture throughout the last two decades, and continues to make waves today, it seems obvious in hindsight that Weird Al would have his own two cents to contribute to the intellectual property. We would imagine that Harry Potter would reach another level of notoriety, had Al been able to parody one of the most famous songs ever made.
Weird Al’s penchant for poking fun at franchises may have been temporarily thwarted by the powers that be over at the Warner Brothers’ offices, preventing him from achieving his desired Harry Potter parody, but as usual, the curly-haired comedian got the last laugh. Daniel Radcliffe joked that perhaps Weird: The Al Yankovic Story is in fact a cleverly shrouded ruse to produce a Harry Potter parody, and we can’t say for sure that he’s wrong. Either way, we’re all chomping at the bit to see what wacky antics Weird Al does next, and to whom he’s asking forgiveness rather than permission.
