3 Harry Potter parodies we can all love

The Harry Potter books are funny enough without any help from outside sources. Harry frequently shows a witty side with friends and foes alike and some of his most memorable moments are snarky responses to Snape. We can laugh awkwardly at every attempt at romance that shows up in the later books. But there are many outstanding comic contributions out there and I'd like to pay homage to three of them.

1. The Shakespeare Code (Doctor Who)

2005 was a banner year for David Tennant. He played Barty Crouch Jr n Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire and elsewhere in British entertainment, he began work as the titular Time Lord in Doctor Who. In the third series of the "New Who," he took new companion Martha Jones to Elizabethan England and met none other than William Shakespeare.

As it turned out, he ran out of the TARDIS and right into something out of Macbeth, with three witches interfering in the matters of the day. Martha comments, "So, magic and stuff? It's a surprise, it's all a bit Harry Potter." The Doctor takes a moment to flex his time traveling nature when he says, "WAIT 'til you read book seven. Oh, I cried." The episode aired on April 7, three months and fourteen days before anyone could be expected to read book seven. They banished the witches with a good EXPELLIARMUS! and Barty Crouch Jr. gleefully shouted "Good old J.K.!"

2. Potter Puppet Pals

A month before the release of "The Shakespeare Code," Neil Cicieega uploaded a video called "Potter Puppet Pals: The Mysterious Ticking Noise." As of 2013, it was the 22nd-most viewed video on YouTube. Alan Rickman admitted to enjoying it at the New York premiere of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2 and Daniel Radcliffe told MTV that he'd like to see a live-action version for charity.

The Potter Puppet Pals are a fun departure from the Harry Potter we love, as he's a bit of an attention hog and doesn't appreciate the good he has. He wants to blow off Neville's birthday party for an Insane Gnome Posse concert and makes fun of Ron on a regular basis. And the plots make little to no sense, whether they're about pipe bombing Hogwarts or making Neville so depressed that he self-destructs. But it wouldn't be as funny if it made perfect sense.

3. A Very Potter Musical

This 2009 production by StarKid parodies several of the Harry Potter books and fan fixations. It follows familiar Hogwarts activities such as the Triwizard Tournament and the possesion of Professor Quirrell, but with memorable twists. Quirrell and the Dark Lord are openly coexisting and have a weirdly sweet relationship. while Harry's long-time obsession with Cho Chang highlights his irritating inability to notice Ginny.

The University of Michigan is the only place where it is sanctioned to be produced, as Warner Brothers lets the company now known as Team Starkid to "host the musical on their channel...but as they do not own the rights to the Harry Potter characters they cannot make money off the production, nor can they give the rights for the show to any other production company" according to Wikipedia. They've also done A Very Potter Sequel and A Very Potter Senior Year.

There are many other works of fan expression out there and undoubtedly, we'll highlight more in the future. For now, go have a good laugh at "Granger Danger."