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Peyton Macrina

Ms. Hoogewerf

Creative Writing

March 26, 2017

Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone: Book vs. Movie

The Harry Potter series, by JK Rowling, is something everyone knows about. Whether

someones read the books, seen the movies, done both, or never done either, Harry Potter is a

household name. Exactly how do the books compare to the movies, though? What better place

to start than the beginning; Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone, which was written by JK

Rowling and directed by Chris Columbus, or, as it was originally known in the United Kingdom,

Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone. For the purpose of this essay the former will be used.

While Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone was an accurate movie plot-wise, it fell short on

certain details due to the characters appearances and ages being altered slightly, characters being

cut, and certain events being cut from the screen adaptation.

To begin, the movie alters some characters ages and appearances. The prime example of

this is Snape. Although no one can argue that Alan Rickman didnt portray the character

fantastically, he definitely wasnt what JK Rowling first had in mind when she came up with

Severus Snape. His features are spot on, but if math is done, Snape is 31 in the book. Snape was

the same age as Harrys parents, Lily and James Potter, who were both 21 when they were

murdered by Voldemort. Snapes age is an important factor due to the fact that it puts into

perspective the tragedy of Lily and James death, as they were so young. Along with the absence

of Hermiones buck teeth, the largest character appearance that was altered was Harry Potters.

In the book, Harry is constantly being told that he looks like his father, but has his mothers
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eyes. Appearance is crucial to Harrys character, and although Daniel Radcliffe sports the

signature lightning scar and round glasses, which, for the record, do not contain lenses in the

movie, he does not possess Harrys knobbly knees, black hair, and bright green eyes (Rowling

27). The reason he does possess Harrys signature eye color is perfectly understandable,

however, as Radcliffe was allergic to the colored contacts.

Next, the book has more characters and allows for a bit more development, although the

movie is pretty good with this as well. One big issue the movie had with characters was ages and

following character descriptions, however. A few characters were even cut out of the screen

adaptation due to things like technology and information filtering. One large difference between

the book and the movie is the lack of Peeves the Poltergeist. In the book, Peeves is a character

who appears simply to wreak havoc and play pranks. Although he is not a main character and

does not really propel the plot in any way, Peeves is a prevalent character throughout the series,

and is a fan-favorite in a lot of cases. The reason Peeves the Poltergeist does not make an

appearance in the films is due to the fact that good technology was not available when Harry

Potter and the Sorcerers Stone was being filmed. Whenever the CGI team would show JK

Rowling the prototypes for Peeves, she never liked them. Eventually, the character was cut

completely. Moving on, Harrys extended family does not make an appearance in the Mirror of

Erised. In the book, along with seeing his parents, Harry also sees his grandparents and extended

family. This was most likely cut to save explanation time in the film, however, it would have

helped viewers to better understand Harrys background and family.

Lastly, certain key events were cut from the film adaptation that were used to propel the

plot in the book. This includes the first time Harry meets Draco, Dracos midnight duel proposal

to Harry, and the Potions challenge near the end of the book. Starting off, the first impression of
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Draco is actually positive, despite his cold and pompous demeanor, as he is rather friendly to

Harry at Madame Malkins Robes for All Occasions. This is the moment that Harry decides not

to befriend Draco, as he insults Hagrid. This is also the first interaction between Harry and one

of his main rivals of the series, making it an important scene. In the movie, the first time the

audience is introduced to Draco is after Harry arrives at Hogwarts, when he states So it's true

then? What they were saying on the train? Harry Potter has come to Hogwarts. (Harry Potter

0:40:33-0:40:39). Moving on the Potions challenge in the teachers maze is not included.

Snapes challenge was designed to allow Harry to move on to the final portion of the challenge

to reach the final section, where he would meet Quirrel/Voldemort. This part of the book helps

to develop Hermiones character and shows the reader that she is not only intelligent, but clever

as well, as she is the one who solves it. Finally, Harry does not get invited to duel with Draco

after curfew. In the book, after challenging Potter to a duel, Draco does not show, his intentions

being to get Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Neville in trouble. This leads to the discovery of Fluffy,

the three headed dog guarding the trapdoor to the maze of challenges to get to the Stone after

they are forced to run to evade Mr. Filch.

As for similarities, the movie follows the books plot almost perfectly. Although there

are some differences, this is definitely one of the better book-to-movie adaptations. Concerning

target audience, both the book and the movie are aimed towards young adults and teens. This

allows both versions to be entertaining for almost all audiences. If a person were to place the

book and movie side by side, both are good, although the book is significantly more detailed (as

books usually are).

To conclude this comparison of the book and film adaptation of Harry Potter and the

Sorcerers Stone, both were very similar plot wise, although the movie fell short on some
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occasions. This essentially means that while a newcomer to the Harry Potter universe will

definitely want to read the books, the movies aren't necessarily a bad place to start. The movies

are not as detailed as the books, but this is perfectly understandable, as movies have to remain

efficient and effective timewise. The film adaptation was most definitely successful, and did the

book justice in many ways. The few cuts made did not ultimately destroy the movies ability to

stay true to the story of Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone.
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Works Cited

Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone. Directed by Chris Columbus, performances by Daniel

Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, and Alan Rickman. Warner Bros., 2001.

Rowling, Joanne K. Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone. Bloomsbury, 1997.