#2 - Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

Harry Potter's good, innit? I'm going back through the books for the first time in about ten years. After reading Sorcerer's Stone I thought to myself, "Hey, I've got that great new blog that everyone's been reading and talking about, why don't I write about this?" And THEN I thought to myself, "Oh, why don't I compare each of the books to their corresponding movies?" To which then I replied, "Wow, what a great idea!"

After several more minutes of patting myself on the back, I got to it. Now, a quick disclaimer: I've seen each of the Harry Potter movies a few times, and I... don't love them. None of them are bad, but I don't think any are even close to as good as everyone else seems to think. 

Also, of course, full spoilers for the books and movies. But honestly, if you haven't read/seen Harry Potter by now, you've got bigger problems. 

Straight up - this book is awesome. It's a perfect introduction to the world and the characters. J. K. Rowling really gives us time to meet the main cast - we don't even get to Hogwarts until about 1/3 into the book - and it absolutely pays off. One of my biggest issues with the movie is how rushed everything is. Movie Harry is halfway through Diagon Alley before we start to get a sense of who that character is - what he's like, what makes him tick, etc. 

The film also misses the point of a lot of scenes. One of my favorite moments in the book is when Hagrid shows up and meets Harry & the Dursleys. It's loud, it's brash, it's dramatic, and it's the best way to introduce (or reintroduce?) Hagrid. But in the movie, he shows up, there's sort of an argument, Hagrid offhandedly mentions "Yer a wizard," he gives Dudley a tail and then bounces out. Even the shock value of an eleven-foot man walking into your hut is lost. It's a shame. 

That said, Robbie Coltrane is awesome as Hagrid. I think he really captures what makes that character so entertaining. That can be said about a lot of the cast: Alan Rickman and Maggie Smith are especially good, but that's no surprise. What was a surprise to me is how good Emma Watson is in this; she totally understands Hermione's quirks, and far outshines the other actors her age (more like Daniel BADcliffe). Look, I know they all get better, but some of those kids are just no good in this one. 

A few more good things about the movie: everything pretty much looks how it should. The Great Hall, the dungeon, the troll, Voldemort's dumb gross face - it all looks exactly as described in the book. Not all of the CGI is great, but a lot of it is, and I can cut a movie from 2001 some slack. Also, the music is fantastic. All of John Williams' soundtracks just make their movies better. Seriously. Harry Potter's music is just as fun and whimsical and mysterious as the story. 

Ok, now I need to say some mean things about the movie. While a lot of lines are copied straight out of the book - and that's great - some of the other dialogue is paced badly, or seems out of place, or just isn't written very well. I think much of that can be chalked up to wanting the movie to be "kid-friendly," but the book is totally kid-friendly without dumbing anything down. So, like, whatever, man. 

I also thought the movie really tries to wring out the emotional moments. During the scene where Harry and Ron are looking at the Mirror of Erised, Ron asks if the mirror shows the future. Harry responds, "How can it? All my family are dead." The emotional value of that line is obvious as is - just based on the context, and what we know about Harry, and whatever relationships we have with parental figures in real life. But in the movie, Harry says the line, stops, and looks sad for a moment while the music swells underneath. He might as well have said that line while looking directly into the camera. We don't need that spelled out for us! We get it! And if someone doesn't get it, maybe they'll pick up on it the second time they see this scene, and they'll get more out of the movie! Hollywood treating its audience like they're dumb is nothing new, but come on...

One last thing about this movie, and I can't decide if this makes or breaks it. Getting near the end, one of the many times our heroes are strolling down to Hagrid's hut, Hagrid is sitting outside playing a flute. But what's that tune he's playing? He's playing the main theme music of the movie. This is wild. Does that mean John Williams exists in the Harry Potter universe? Or is Hagrid aware of the fact he's a character in a film? This is even more mind-bendy than Hodor's origin! But that's a story for a different day. 

Look, all in all, this movie's fine. The book is just way better. What a hot and controversial take, right? Finally, someone with the courage to say they like the Harry Potter books more than the movies. I am a true inspiration. 

Alright, you've gotten this far, so you might as well leave a comment, right? You could tell me what you liked about this post, or maybe who your favorite character is! You can even tell me I'm an idiot if you really want to. Please don't - my ego is very fragile. As always, thanks for reading!