BACKGROUND
A book series becomes a successful major movie franchise. How original, right?
Since the 2000s, there have been some incredible film franchises to have blessed our screens that began as books. We’ve had The Twilight Saga, The Hunger Games, The Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit. But arguably the most popular and most wide-reaching across a range of ages and generations was and always will be Harry Potter.
Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone actually had a bit of competition back in 2001, with the first Lord of the Rings movie, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, also coming to cinemas in 2001. But The Lord of the Rings is gruesome and intense at times, not great for small children, or easily scared people, whereas Harry Potter is magical and fun. Well, for the most part. It certainly has its moments!
I’m going to have to be perfectly honest and say that I cannot claim to be the biggest ever Harry Potter fan. I might have seen the films numerous times, making it a yearly tradition to watch them all in the weeks leading up to Christmas, but I have never read all of the books. I’ve read the first two, but that was a while ago. I have the whole book series now, and yet, I still haven’t read them. One day I will though, I promise.
The Harry Potter movies are really where my allegiances lie, although that wasn’t always the case. I believe I watched Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone at the cinema, at about eight years old, with my dad and my sister. My mum must be one of the few people in the world who has never watched even a clip of any Harry Potter movie, but fair enough. She doesn’t like scary things about evil people. After watching the first two at the cinema, mine and my family’s attention in the movies dropped off, although my sister was reading the books. We watched the third, fourth, and fifth movies only on DVD, but by the sixth film, I was back on the Harry Potter band wagon, thanks to having friends at school who were big fans of the books and films, and I rode that wagon all the way to the end.
But this means that I’m not about to be hypocritical and say Harry Potter means the world to me and helped me through my childhood and teenage years, because it didn’t. I know Harry Potter means so much to others though. They have the right to state that and I’m glad it helped so many. For me though, I watched the Harry Potter movies when I was younger just because they were available to me, and I got back into the movies just because of the actors – and that is still the reason why I watch them today.
PLOT
Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone begins with two wizards, Professor Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall, who first appears in cat form, discussing the defeat of a dark wizard and just what that means for the magical world now. Dumbledore mentions how there is a special child who managed to avoid death, despite the dark wizard killing his parents. This is the boy who lived: Harry Potter. The two await the arrival of giant Hagrid, who brings baby Harry to the street of Privet Drive in Surrey. Harry is left on the doorstep of his Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon’s house; No. 4. The Dursleys are his only remaining family.
Ten years later, sadly, Harry is treated like a slave by the Dursleys, and forced to sleep in the cramped and dark cupboard under the stairs. Harry’s cousin, Dudley, on the other hand, is treated like a little prince, and today happens to be Dudley’s birthday. They all head to London Zoo, with Harry being warned by his uncle not to engage in any “funny business”. This does not go to plan as lonely Harry begins conversing with a Burmese python. Dudley, seeing that this snake is actually doing something, shoves Harry aside. Suddenly, the glass of the enclosure disappears, Dudley falls in, and the snake escapes, thanking Harry on his way out of the zoo. Dudley then tries to leave the enclosure, but the glass has reappeared. At home, Uncle Vernon punishes Harry, locking him in his cupboard.
The next day, Harry collects the post, as usual, but sees a handwritten letter for himself. Dudley sees this and snitches on him, with Uncle Vernon taking it away. He looks at the seal on the back and is shocked; Harry doesn’t know why. More and more letters arrive, being delivered by owls, to the point that Vernon tries everything to stop them coming, like blocking up the letterbox, and burning any letters that do arrive. One Sunday, as they sit down to tea and biscuits, a letter comes in through the fireplace. Multiple others fly into the house, causing havoc. Uncle Vernon declares the family are going far away!
Harry and the Dursleys end up in a cottage on an island in the middle of the sea. That night, Harry is celebrating his birthday on his own. All of a sudden, the family are awoken by the sound of someone breaking into the cottage. A fearsome giant stands in the doorway, but really, he’s a friendly giant. This is Hagrid, back again. He introduces himself as the Keeper of Keys and Grounds at Hogwarts, arriving with a small birthday cake for Harry. Harry asks what Hogwarts is. Hagrid is surprised to learn that Harry knows nothing of his parents or their wizarding background. Hagrid turns on the Dursleys, accusing them of keeping important information from him. The Dursleys accept that they did this, with Petunia telling Harry that his mother, her sister, was a freak for being a witch and that she stupidly got herself blown up and that is why Harry has ended up with them, something they openly hate. Harry was told his parents died in a car crash. Hagrid then gives Harry his letter, telling him of his acceptance to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Vernon says Harry won’t be going, but Hagrid threatens him. Just before leaving, Hagrid sees Dudley eating Harry’s cake, and, using magic, gives him a pig’s tail for his greediness.
A little while later, Harry and Hagrid head to London to get equipment for Harry’s schooling. Harry reads out the list and wonders where they’re going to get all of this. Hagrid says he knows exactly where to go. First, they go through The Leaky Cauldron pub, where Harry is greeted like a celebrity, much to his confusion. Then, Hagrid taps on a brick wall, allowing them to enter a whole new street. This is Diagon Alley, a secret shopping district for witches and wizards. The two head to Gringotts Bank, so Harry can pick up some money to pay for all this. It turns out his parents left him quite an inheritance. In a separate vault, Hagrid collects a small package, which is intriguing as it is a secret mission given to him by Dumbledore apparently. Next, Harry goes to Ollivander’s wand shop, where he is told the wand chooses the wizard. Ollivander gives Harry two wands to try, but both cause minor destruction to his shop. Ollivander then has an idea; he tries one more wand with Harry, and this wand responds well to him. Ollivander tells Harry this is curious, because the wand comprises of a phoenix’s feather, but this same phoenix gave one other feather, to the wand that gave Harry the lightning-shaped scar on his forehead, meaning his wand is a “brother” to the one that killed his parents. Creepy. Hagrid then meets up with Harry with a surprise present of a snowy owl, as Hogwarts students can bring certain pets to school.
Back at the pub, Harry asks Hagrid about his life, and why people seem to know him. Hagrid doesn’t want to speak of the dark wizard who will forever be linked with Harry, but after some coaxing, he gives Harry some backstory. This wizard called himself Voldemort, and he was planning an uprising, trying to convince wizards to join him and killing anyone who stood in his way. Harry’s parents, James and Lily, were two of those, with Voldemort going to their home to kill them. That same night, Voldemort attempted to kill Harry, however, for some reason, his curse did not work, leaving Harry as the only survivor of such a curse. Harry asks what happened to Voldemort after that. Hagrid says that some believed he died, others thought he only vanished and will likely return someday.
Later, Harry and Hagrid are at King’s Cross Station so Harry can catch the Hogwarts Express to go to school. Hagrid gives Harry his ticket, which states the train leaves from Platform 9 ¾. Confused, Harry asks Hagrid what that means, but he’s already gone, leaving Harry alone. He attempts to ask a train conductor at the station but he thinks Harry is just trying to be funny. Harry then hears a woman mention the word “muggle”, a term Harry learnt that witches and wizards use to describe non-magical people. Following them, Harry sees a boy vanish into a stone column. He asks this woman how to get onto the platform. She tells him he needs to run at the column between Platforms 9 and 10, also telling Harry that it is her other son’s, Ron, first time too, being another Hogwarts First Year student. Harry runs at the column – and finds himself at Platform 9 ¾. He boards the train.
Shortly after departing, Ron asks Harry if they can share a carriage as all the others are full. Ron introduces himself as Ron Weasley. Harry introduces himself. Ron asks if it is true Harry has the scar that everyone talks about. Harry shows him it is true. The sweet trolley comes down the train and Harry decides to buy everything on there. Ron and Harry bond as Ron teaches Harry about all these magical treats like Chocolate Frogs and Bertie Bott’s Every Flavour Beans. A girl then comes to talk to them, asking if they’ve seen a toad because a boy named Neville has lost one. She sees Ron about to attempt to use magic to turn his rat yellow, and asks to see. The spell doesn’t work, so the girl shows off her own abilities, by fixing Harry’s glasses. This girl is Hermione Granger.
The train soon arrives at his destination, and the students disembark the train in their robes. The First Years are collected by Hagrid and taken to boats. They sail towards their new home for the school year, a huge, ancient castle. This is Hogwarts. At Hogwarts, they are greeted by Professor McGonagall and told they are about to enter The Great Hall to be sorted into one of four school houses: Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, Gryffindor, and Slytherin. Oh yeah, and Neville finds his toad, Trevor! McGonagall goes back in to make preparations, leaving a boy to introduce himself to Harry Potter. This kid is Draco Malfoy and he warns Harry about making friends with the “wrong sort” of wizard, meaning the Weasleys. Thinking this is elitist and arrogant, Harry rejects Draco’s offer of being friends. In The Great Hall, the First Years are paraded down to the front. The Sorting Hat, an actual talking hat, is then unveiled and each student in turn is told to sit and have the hat placed on their head so they can be “sorted”. Ron and Hermione end up in Gryffindor, and Draco goes to Slytherin. Then, it is Harry’s turn. He starts muttering that he doesn’t want to go to Slytherin, hearing that is where bad wizards go. The Sorting Hat says he could be great in Slytherin but if he doesn’t want to go there, then it’ll have to be Gryffindor. Once all the First Years are sorted, Headmaster of Hogwarts Professor Dumbledore reiterates that the Dark Forest and the Third Floor Corridor are out of bounds, before announcing the feast can begin.
After the feast, the students are led to their dormitories, with the Gryffindors being led by Percy Weasley, Ron’s older brother. He says the staircases like to change, and shows them that the portraits can talk, with one of these being the entrance to their Common Room, complete with a special password. After a night in the dorms, Harry and his fellow First Years begin lessons, with Harry and Ron getting off to a bad start by being late to Professor McGonagall’s Transfiguration Class, and Harry being accused of not paying attention by Professor Snape in Potions Class. During their flying lesson with Madame Hooch, Harry learns he is a natural. After an incident with Neville, the class are left alone. Draco steals Neville’s new gift, a Remembrall to help with his memory, and plans to drop it on the school roof. Harry follows on his broom and retrieves it. This is witnessed by Professor McGonagall, who asks Harry to come with her. He thinks he’s about to be expelled, but actually McGonagall, as Head of Gryffindor, introduces him to the captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team, telling him Harry could be their new seeker. Although Harry is pleased to be the youngest seeker in almost a century, things still don’t go well for him, as him, Ron, and Hermione take the wrong staircase, because it moves, and end up on the Third Floor. They hide from Filch the caretaker who is always ready to catch students in the wrong places, but find themselves by a huge three-headed dog. Terrified, they run back to the Common Room.
The next day, the First Years are in Charms Class with Professor Flitwick. Hermione shows exceptional talent and tries to help Ron. However, outside of class, trying to show off in front of the boys, he mocks Hermione. Overhearing this, Hermione spends the rest of the day in the girls’ toilets crying, missing out on their Halloween feast. As the others enjoy, Professor Quirrel, the Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, comes in, shouting about how there is a troll in the dungeon. The students are told to go to their dormitories, but Ron and Harry realise Hermione doesn’t know and could be in danger. They go to the toilets and find the troll already there, destroying everything and coming close to harming Hermione. Ron manages to use the spell Wingardium Leviosa from Charms Class to disable the troll, by landing its own club on its head. The teachers come in, shocked to see First Years taking on a mountain troll. Hermione takes the blame, saying she went to find it, and that Ron and Harry were only there to save her. Some points are taken from Gryffindor for her stupidity, but others are awarded to Ron and Harry for “sheer dumb luck”. At this point, Harry also notices a huge gash on Professor Snape’s leg, which he quickly covers up.
The following day is Harry’s first Quidditch match and he is nervous, finding that it is a dangerous game, where people can go missing or be knocked unconscious. Gryffindor are against Slytherin and Harry sees Slytherin playing dirty. As he waits to catch the Golden Snitch, a fast-flying ball, his only task in the game, Harry is almost thrown off his broom. Hermione sees Snape chanting and believes he has hexed Harry’s broom. She goes to the teachers’ viewing platform and sets fire to Snape’s cloak, taking his attention away from the hex, stopping it, and Harry plays on. He races to find the snitch, but falls to the ground. Luckily, we see he did catch the snitch – in his mouth – and Gryffindor win the game.
Harry, Ron, and Hermione later ask Hagrid what is going on with the large dog. They learn it is called Fluffy and it is guarding something. They ask what but Hagrid says that is between Dumbledore and Nicholas Flamel. The kids believe Snape is trying to steal whatever is being guarded, but Hagrid says that is nonsense and will say no more. But the name Nicholas Flamel gives them enough information to research what might be being guarded. Over Christmas Break, Harry and Ron stay at the school, giving them a chance to research. Harry gets an invisibility cloak for Christmas, with just a note saying his father left it in the gift giver’s possession. Harry uses this cloak to get into the Restricted Section of the library to search for Nicholas Flamel, however, he makes a quick getaway after Filch almost catches him. On his way back to the dorms, Harry overhears Snape and Quirrell having a heated discussion, and continues on his way, coming across a strange mirror in a random room. In the mirror, Harry sees his parents. Believing this could mean something, Harry gets Ron to take a look, but he sees something different. Harry sits in front of the mirror, confused. Dumbledore comes by and tells him this is the Mirror of Erised, and shows the looker’s deepest desires. Since Harry never knew his parents, this is obviously his. Dumbledore tells Harry not to dwell on dreams and that the mirror will be moved soon.
Back at school after Christmas, Hermione announces that she had a book with information on Flamel. It says he is the maker of the Philosopher’s Stone, which helps to transform any metal into gold, and can make the Elixir of Life. That must be what Fluffy is guarding. The trio go to see Hagrid to tell him, and warn him that Snape wants to steal it. Once again, Hagrid ignores them, but is distracted by his dragon egg hatching. Suddenly, the group see Draco in the window of Hagrid’s hut and he tells McGonagall that the three were out past curfew. She takes points away from the three as punishment but gives all four detention. This detention takes place with Hagrid in the Dark Forest. Hagrid is sad about his dragon being taken away, but tries to pay attention. He says that they are looking for an injured unicorn, as unicorn blood is on the ground. They split up. Ron and Hermione go with Hagrid, and Draco and Harry go with Hagrid’s dog Fang to investigate. In the forest, Harry and Draco see a cloaked figure drinking blood from a unicorn. Draco runs off scared, but Harry is too distracted by his scar burning. The figure comes towards Harry but is scared away by centaur Firenze, who warns Harry about the dangers of this forest. Harry asks what was happening. He is told that unicorn blood can keep you alive no matter how close to death you are, but by slaying something so pure, you have cursed yourself for eternity.
Harry believes the figure in the forest was Voldemort and that Snape must be trying to get the stone for him so Voldemort can live again. The trio ask Hagrid about the dragon egg and who gave it to him, thinking this was all part of a grand plan. He lets slip that he told this person about Fluffy and how you can put the dog to sleep by playing it music. They then run off to tell McGonagall that Snape is about to steal the stone, but she won’t listen either. That night, they decide to go and get the stone for themselves. As they are leaving the Common Room, Neville tries to stop them but Hermione freezes him. They continue on their mission. On the Third Floor, they find Fluffy already asleep so Snape must’ve beaten them there. They get to the trapdoor that Fluffy was stood on and jump down. They land in something soft, which is Devil’s Snare. Hermione says to stay calm and falls through the vegetation. Harry does the same, but Ron is too panicked. Hermione casts a spell to hit the Devil’s Snare with sunlight and Ron is released. Continuing on, they find themselves in a room with flying keys and a locked door on the other side. There is a broomstick, so Harry gets on it and chases down the right key. He finds it and they get to another room, this time with a giant Wizard’s Chessboard. Ron is a master chess player and takes charge. They plan the chess game, but at the last moment, Ron, who has gotten on top the horse piece to be the Knight, realises he will have to sacrifice himself to get them to win the game. Ron is attacked by the piece he encounters – because that’s how Wizard’s Chess works; you can’t just take a piece off the board, it has to be destroyed – and collapses. Hermione and Harry rush to him once Harry announces checkmate. Hermione tells Harry to go and get the stone.
Harry finds himself in a room with the Mirror of Erised once again. He comes face-to-face with none other than… Professor Quirrell, the one actually trying to steal the stone. He said Snape has been trying to stop him all this time, and Snape was actually trying to save Harry from him cursing Harry’s broom during Quidditch. Harry is told to look into the Mirror. There, he sees himself holding the stone. Feeling in his pocket, he realises the stone is there. A voice suddenly says he knows Harry is lying about what he sees and knows he has the stone. Quirrell unwraps his turban so the voice can speak to Harry. Quirrell has been possessed by Voldemort’s soul, who is living on the back of Quirrell’s head… Gross. Voldemort speaks directly to Harry, telling him if he hands over the stone, they can be all-powerful, but Harry refuses. Quirrell is told to attack Harry and starts to choke him. Harry places his hand on Quirrell’s arm to get him off, and Quirrell’s skin burns and crumbles to dust. Harry continues to touch Quirrell’s skin and he disintegrates. Voldemort’s soul remains though and flies through Harry, knocking Harry unconscious, but he still has the stone.
Harry wakes up in the hospital wing with Dumbledore telling him everyone is fine and that the stone has been destroyed forever. Dumbledore says that only a person who wanted the stone, but never wanted to use it, could ever have it. He then explains that Harry’s touch burnt Voldemort and Quirrell due to his mother’s love and sacrifice back when Voldemort killed her; it is an ancient protective charm. After recovering, Harry returns for the final feast of the school year where the House Cup is due to be given to Slytherin. However, Dumbledore awards a few points beforehand. 50 each for Hermione and Ron, and 60 for Harry for their loyalty to their school and for their bravery. This ties Gryffindor with Slytherin. A remaining 10 points are given to Neville for standing up to his friends. This means Gryffindor win the House Cup – and Slytherin can forever claim it was fixed!
The students then all board the Hogwarts Express to go home. Just before leaving, Hagrid and Harry talk, with Hagrid giving Harry a photo album of his parents. Hermione says it’s weird to be going home, but Harry says he’s not going home, not really.
CHARACTERS & CAST
The Harry Potter franchise benefits from a large cast of characters. This allowed for a huge selection of the greatest British acting talent to be used to portray these characters. However, due to this large number, I could go on forever and ever talking about these characters and cast members, so I will only mention characters who are key to a specific film. This may look like I am omitting people, but be assured, I will mention them in later reviews. For example, many of Harry’s Gryffindor friends have more involvement in later films and the Weasleys get a real introduction in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.
Firstly, I have to mention Harry Potter, the key character in all the movies and books. Harry is shown to be a naturally skilled and curious wizard. He has had a difficult upbringing, but on arriving at Hogwarts, Harry immediately feels he belongs, but is all too aware that his past is coming back to haunt him. He will always have his friends and the support of many of his teachers to guide him though. Daniel Radcliffe was cast as Harry Potter. Radcliffe has gone on to have leading roles in various films, including The Woman in Black (2012), playing Arthur Kipps, and portraying “Weird Al” in Weird: The Al Yankovic Story (2022). He had key roles in other movies, such as Walter Mabry in Now You See Me 2 (2016) and Igor in Victor Frankenstein (2015). On the small screen, Radcliffe had starring roles in series like A Young Doctor’s Notebook (2012-13) and the anthology series Miracle Workers (2019-23). On stage, Radcliffe was cast as Alan Strang in Equus on the West End in 2007 and Broadway from 2008 and 2009. In 2023, he was cast as Charley Kringas in the Broadway revival of Merrily We Roll Along, winning the Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical.
Ron Weasley is the first student that Harry becomes friends with, after sitting together on the Hogwarts Express and bonding over their love of sweets. Ron is from a large and loving family. He is not the best student, but he is a loyal friend and certainly brings the comic relief at times with his antics and wittiness. Rupert Grint was cast as Ron, with some of his later credits including the role of Charlie Cavendish-Scott in the crime drama series Snatch (2017-18) and starring as Daniel Glass in the Sky comedy series Sick Note (2017-18). Grint also played Julian Pearce in the Apple TV+ series Servant (2019-23).
Rounding out the main trio is Hermione Granger, the gifted and intelligent one, the brains of the operation. She is by far the smartest witch in First Year at Hogwarts and is a perfectionist, wanting to be the best, learning spells even before she steps foot in the school. Despite this, Hermione is also willing to risk her life, and even expulsion from Hogwarts, to do what is right. Hermione was played by Emma Watson. Watson has since appeared to have stepped back from acting, choosing instead to focus on her studies and activism work, however, she has appeared in many well-received films. Shortly after Harry Potter concluded, Watson appeared as Lucy Armstrong in My Week with Marilyn (2011), following that by being cast as Sam in The Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012), and Nicki Moore in The Bling Ring (2013). She also starred as Belle in the live-action remake Beauty and the Beast (2017) – I’m not going to say any more about that right now, but I have some opinions. Watson also played Mae Holland in the Netflix thriller The Circle (2017) and Meg March in Greta Gerwig’s Little Women (2019), which was nominated for various Academy Awards.
Following on from that are numerous Hogwarts professors and staff. One of these is Rubeus Hagrid. He is a big friendly giant, quite literally. Hagrid is the first person to tell Harry about his past, and the true fates of his parents, as well as his link to Voldemort. Hagrid is always someone the three can turn to when they are struggling, but Hagrid can be a bit too trusting of people, which gets him into trouble at times, especially as his love of magical creatures overtakes his common sense at times! Robbie Coltrane was cast as Hagrid. Coltrane is known for his early appearances in the comedy series The Comic Strip Presents… which starred popular comedy actors Dawn French, Jennifer Saunders, Rik Mayall, and Ade Edmonson, and as gangster Valentin Zukovsky in the Bond films GoldenEye (1995) and The World Is Not Enough (1999). Coltrane later gained recognition for his leading role as Dr Edward Fitzgerald in the British crime series Cracker (1993-2006), for which he won the BAFTA for Best Actor in 1994, 1995, and 1996. He has also voiced characters for animation, including the role of Lord Dingwall in Pixar’s Brave (2012). Coltrane sadly passed away in 2022.
Then there is Albus Dumbledore, the greatest wizard in the world, allegedly. Although he may look quite serious at times, Dumbledore also has a lot of care for his students, especially Harry, who he knows is talented and has an important role to play in wizarding history. This leads Dumbledore to be quite protective of Harry and steering him in the right direction without Harry even knowing it. Dumbledore was played by Richard Harris. Harris portrayed King Arthur in the musical film Camelot (1967) taking over the role from Richard Burton who had played the part on stage, although Harris did also play the part in 1981 and 1982 productions on Broadway and in London. He also played Richard the Lionheart in Robin and Marian (1976), with Sean Connery and Audrey Hepburn in the title roles, and portrayed Oliver Cromwell in the 1970 film Cromwell. Later on in his career, Harris played Marcus Aurelius in Gladiator (2000). Harris also had a singing career, with his song “MacArthur Park” being used in Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (2024). Harris passed away in October 2002, only playing Dumbledore in the first two Harry Potter films.
Minerva McGonagall is the strict Transfiguration teacher, and is Head of Gryffindor House, meaning she takes quite a lot of interest in Harry, Ron, and Hermione’s escapades, trying to keep them out of matters that do not concern them. She might seem uptight and uncaring, but actually, she really does care about the safety of the students, and is incredibly supportive. Maggie Smith was cast as McGonagall. She was cast opposite Laurence Olivier in the 1965 adaptation of Othello, playing Desdemona, and went on to play Jean Brodie in The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (1969). She later played Wendy Darling in Hook (1991), and Mother Superior in Sister Act (1992) and its 1993 sequel, and Lady Hester Random in Tea with Mussolini (1999) alongside Dame Judi Dench. Having already played the part on stage in 1999, Smith later reprised her role as Miss Mary Shepherd in the 2015 film adaptation of Alan Bennett’s play The Lady in the Van. Smith is also known for her role as the scene-stealing Violet Crawley, The Dowager Countess of Grantham, in Downton Abbey (2010-2015) and its first two films. Dame Maggie Smith passed away in September 2024.
The professor who seems to have the most against Harry is Severus Snape, the Potions Master. He doesn’t like Harry at all, from what we can tell, and thinks he is arrogant and very pleased with his fame as “The Boy Who Lived”. Snape appears to be the one stealing the Philosopher’s Stone, and looks to have hexed Harry’s broom during the Quidditch match, however, it is later revealed not to be him. Snape was actually trying to save Harry and trying to stop the Stone from being stolen by another Hogwarts professor. Alan Rickman was cast as Snape. He was cast as the Sheriff of Nottingham in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991), winning the Best Actor BAFTA, and played Colonel Brandon in Sense and Sensibility (1995), having previously played Hans Gruber in Die Hard (1988). He is also known for his role as Harry in Love Actually (2003). He later directed and co-wrote A Little Chaos (2014), also playing King Louis XIV. In TV, Rickman won an Emmy, a Golden Globe, and a SAG award for his portrayal of Rasputin in HBO’s Rasputin: Dark Servant of Destiny (1996). Rickman was also a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company in numerous productions in the 1980s and 1990s. Rickman passed away in January 2016.
The Hogwarts professor wanting to steal the Philosopher’s Stone was none other than the Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher Quirinus Quirrell. When Harry first meets him at The Leaky Cauldron pub outside Diagon Alley, we are led to believe Quirrell is just a shy man with a pronounced stutter, and is a potential germophobe because he doesn’t want to shake Harry’s hand. In actual fact, Quirrell is in cahoots with Lord Voldemort, stealing the Stone on his behalf and even letting Voldemort’s spirit, or whatever it is, share Quirrell’s body. Voldemort may have been able to manipulate Quirrell into believing they could conquer the world once they had their hands on that Stone, but Quirrell ended up being literally burnt alive and crumbled to dust. That just shows what going over to the Dark Side can do to you! Ian Hart was cast as Quirrell and also voiced Voldemort here. Hart was cast as Mr. Parkis in The End of the Affair (1999); as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle in Finding Neverland (2004); and as Lord Maitland in Mary Queen of Scots (2018). In television, Hart has had roles including Kester Gill in My Mad Fat Diary (2013-15); Father Beocca in The Last Kingdom (2015-22); and Bob Rutherford in ITV’s Mr. Bates vs. the Post Office (2024).
There are various other professors and those linked to Harry’s journey to being a wizard, so here is a brief rundown of some others. We have Filius Flitwick, the kind, patient Charms professor. He was played by Warwick Davis. He first played Wicket W. Warrick, an Ewok, in 1983 for Star Wars: Return of the Jedi, going on to claim the lead role of Willow Ufgood in the 1988 movie Willow, reprising the role for the Disney+ series Willow (2022-23). Davis also hosted the ITV gameshow Tenable (2016-24). Zoë Wanamaker was cast as the stern flying teacher and the Quidditch referee at Hogwarts, Madame Hooch. On screen, Wanamaker was cast as Ada Leverson in Wilde (1997), and she is also well-known for her role as Susan Harper in the BBC sitcom My Family (2000-11). More recently, Wanamaker played Baghra for the Netflix series Shadow and Bone (2021-23) and currently stars as Charlie Hungerford in the miniseries reboot of Bergerac (2025-present).
A few others to mention are John Cleese as the Gryffindor House ghost Nearly Headless Nick. Cleese is best known for his work as part of the Monty Python comedy troupe, as well as starring in sitcoms such as Fawlty Towers (1975-79), and various movies, including A Fish Called Wanda (1988). He has also done some voice work, such as King Harold in the Shrek franchise, for example. Also at Hogwarts is Argus Filch, the caretaker who is always looking to catch students in places they shouldn’t, to get them in trouble. Filch is helped by his cat Mrs. Norris. David Bradley was cast as Filch. Bradley has recently voiced Geppetto in Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio (2022) for Netflix. Bradley had a recurring role as Walder Frey in Game of Thrones (2011-19) and was cast as Jack in Amazon Prime’s Your Christmas or Mine? (2022) and its 2023 sequel. He portrayed William Hartnell, the first ever Doctor Who, in An Adventure in Space and Time (2013) and has reprised the role for the Doctor Who series, and was cast as Ray Johnson in Netflix’s After Life (2019-22).
John Hurt plays Mr. Ollivander, the wand shop owner who assists Harry in finding his first wand, finding it quite curious that the wand that chose Harry was in fact one linked to Voldemort. Hurt starred in major movies such as Alien (1979), as Kane; The Elephant Man (1980), as John Merrick, for which he was nominated at the Academy Awards in the Best Actor category and won the BAFTA for; and Midnight Express (1978), as Max, where he was nominated at the Oscars for Best Supporting Actor, and won it at the BAFTAs. He also voiced The Horned King in Disney Animation’s The Black Cauldron (1985) and later in his career voiced The Great Dragon in the BBC series Merlin (2008-12). Sir John Hurt sadly passed away in January 2017. The Sorting Hat, who is quite moody and grumpy for being a talking hat, was voiced by Leslie Phillips. Phillips had made appearances in Carry On and Doctor in the House films during his career. Phillips died in November 2022.
The last group of characters to mention here are the Dursleys. Vernon and Petunia Dursley are Harry’s uncle and aunt. They do take him in and raise him, obviously feeling some sort of responsibility towards him, however, they are harsh and uncaring, making him sleep in a cupboard and not telling him the truth about his parents or his magical heritage. Petunia and Vernon’s son Dudley is a similar age to Harry, but despite this, Dudley is just as cruel towards Harry as his parents are, bullying him and believing himself to be better than Harry. Vernon was played by Richard Griffiths. After an early start appearing in Royal Shakespeare Company productions, Griffiths went on be cast as Collins in Gandhi (1982) and starred as DI Henry Crabbe in the BBC series Pie in the Sky (1994-97). More recently, Griffiths won numerous awards, including a Tony Award, for his role as Hector in The History Boys stage play in 2004, and reprised the role for the 2006 film adaptation. He also played Monsieur Flick in Hugo (2011) and King George II in Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (2011). Griffiths died in March 2013. His final film role was a minor part in the rom-com About Time (2013). Fiona Shaw was cast as Petunia. Shaw has recently played Miss Harrison in the Netflix film Enola Holmes (2020) and was cast as Carolyn Martens in Killing Eve (2018-22). Shaw also recently played Maarva Andor in Season 1 of the Disney+ series Andor (2022-25). Shaw is set to appear as Mrs. Jennings in a new adaptation of Sense and Sensibility. Dudley was played by Harry Melling. Melling has recently appeared as Harry Beltik in Netflix’s The Queen’s Gambit (2020) and as Thomas Wriothesley in the second series of Wolf Hall, titled Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light (2024).
MUSIC
The musical theme of Harry Potter is iconic. Anyone who hears it can immediately link it to these movies. It is so memorable and connected to Harry Potter that it is used in all eight Harry Potter films. This piece of music is titled “Hedwig’s Theme”, named after Harry’s snowy owl, and it first appears in the opening sequence of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, and reappears throughout the course of the movie. It pops up again in the End Credits, although this is seemingly actually part of the suite “Harry’s Wondrous World”.
The Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone soundtrack was written by legendary musical composer John Williams. Williams is known for creating some of the best themes in film history. Just a few of the films he’s worked on include Jaws (1975); the Star Wars franchise; E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial (1982); and Schindler’s List (1993), where he won multiple awards including Grammys, Oscars, and BAFTAs; and the Indiana Jones and Jurassic Park films. Williams frequently collaborates with director Steven Spielberg, having also composed the score for The Fabelmans (2022), and will work on Spielberg’s next film.
Williams got a call from the producers working on Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone and was asked to write a piece of music that he might imagine as a trailer for the film. Williams had heard of the books but had not read them. He came back from dinner and wrote “Hedwig’s Theme” and recorded it. He sent it to the producers and the filmmakers decided that it was the perfect piece for Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone[1].
The overall soundtrack for Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone is great in my opinion, with a good mixture of both upbeat, positive tracks, to match Harry’s wonder and excitement about this new world he is encountering, and more fearsome, daunting pieces of music, to go alongside the more perilous moments in the story.
On the upbeat side, I particularly enjoy the tracks “Platform 9 ¾ and the Journey to Hogwarts”, which follows Harry’s journey on the Hogwarts Express and on the boats where the First Years get the big reveal of Hogwarts Castle; and “Entry into the Great Hall and the Banquet”, where the students enjoy their first evening at Hogwarts. Both of these pieces show how wonderful the magical world can be. “Christmas at Hogwarts” is another joyful piece of music, matching the festiveness of the season. “Leaving Hogwarts”, the ending instrumental piece within the film, is a bittersweet moment, as Harry says goodbye to his new friends, and heads home for the summer, already excited to be back next year.
With all that joy, you’d think Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone was a light, cutesy film, but we all know that is not the case, and the soundtrack blends in other musical moments to go alongside the threatening times. Some tracks that I feel do a particularly good job of doing this are “The Invisibility Cloak and the Library Scene”, when Harry uses his new invisibility cloak to sneak into the library’s Restricted Section at night and “The Quidditch Match”, which isn’t scary generally, since sports aren’t meant to be life-and-death situations, although we are reminded at times that they can be, but Harry is very anxious about competing in his first Quidditch match, especially when his broom is randomly hexed and almost throws him off. I also very much like the track “The Chess Game”, which is used for the huge Wizard’s Chess match that Ron has to coordinate to get them to the room with the Philosopher’s Stone. The moment I like in particular in this piece is the part when Ron is making his final move as the Knight. The terror builds as Ron awaits his fate, where he will no doubt be struck by a sword and probably injured, but there is no choice but to do it.
John Williams was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Score for his music in Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, and received a Grammy nomination for Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media. Williams was also nominated in the Best Composer category at the Critics’ Choice Awards. In all cases, he lost out to Howard Shore and his score for The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001). Williams also had a further Grammy nomination specifically Best Instrumental Composition for “Hedwig’s Theme”, but the winner was Thomas Newman for “Six Feet Under Title Theme”.
PRODUCTION
The Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone film would not have existed had the original novel not existed first, and that was all down to one person – Joanne Rowling.
I’m not about to pretend that I am unaware of the controversy surrounding Rowling and her personal views right now. I know some people have called for her “cancellation”, but I cannot write a full history of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone as a movie without mentioning Rowling because the stories are solely credited to her, and with the Harry Potter movies, she indirectly helped launch the careers of numerous talented, young actors. It’s just a fact, even if that fact is making some people feel uncomfortable or irritated right now.
Rowling has stated that the idea for Harry Potter and the Wizarding World first came to her back in 1990 when she was sat on a delayed train going between London and Manchester. Her mind was filled with all these new ideas, and over the next few years, she spent time, alongside her day job, plotting out the series, knowing she had enough ideas for a seven-book series, and writing the first book. Rowling has said it took around five years to write Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, writing much of it in cafés in Edinburgh, whilst her daughter Jessica slept in her pram. Once Rowling had finished the full manuscript, she sent the first three chapters to agencies, with one agent, Christopher Little, getting back to her and willing to take a chance on her.
After about a year, a UK publisher was found, with Bloomsbury choosing to publish the novel, however, there was one request: that Rowling changed her name. It was felt that boys would not find a book as appealing if it was clear it was written by a woman, which the name Joanne Rowling would give away. So, using her grandmother’s name Kathleen, Rowling created the name J.K. Rowling, which the first book, and all subsequent Harry Potter books, were published under. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone was finally published in the UK in June 1997. A US publisher was later found, who requested that the title be changed to suit American audiences. This meant that Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone became Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone in the US. The book was published there in August 1998, and the series took off[2]. There is actually a Lifetime television movie called Magic Beyond Words: The J. K. Rowling Story, released in 2011, which is an unauthorised, dramatised version of these events and of Rowling’s life.
Every movie needs a producer, a director, and a screenwriter. In the case of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone that producer was David Heyman, the director was Chris Columbus, and the screenwriter was Steve Kloves. David Heyman would act as producer of all eight Harry Potter films, and went on to produce all three of the spin-off films in the Fantastic Beasts film franchise. He also later co-produced the science-fiction film Gravity (2013), the beloved Paddington (2014) and Paddington 2 (2017), and its spin-off series The Adventures of Paddington (2019-25), and other hit movies like Marriage Story (2019), Barbie (2023), and Wonka (2023). David Heyman first came across Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone as a novel when it landed on his desk in 1997. He initially thought the story would be ridiculous, given its strange and long title, but luckily, he did love the story and brought it to Warner Bros. to begin discussions about adapting it for the screen. Heyman later met J.K. Rowling at a publishing party, where she stated how excited she was about Harry Potter’s film potential.
Once the movie adaptation was greenlit, a director would then be needed. At the beginning, Steven Spielberg was attached to direct this first movie, but he later backed out, leaving it available to some other lucky director. That lucky director turned out to be Chris Columbus, after a long process where many other directors were also interviewed. Both Rowling and Heyman reportedly wanted Terry Gilliam, part of the Monty Python comedy troupe, as well as a director in his own right, directing, and co-writing, the film Time Bandits (1981), and directing The Fisher King (1991) which starred Robin Williams, and the science-fiction thriller 12 Monkeys (1995). However, it was later decided that the studio would likely not go for Gilliam as he was a riskier choice of director, so there continued to be an opening for a director on Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone[3].
Having been “forced” to read the Harry Potter books by his daughter, Chris Columbus found he was determined to direct this first film and asked to be the last director seen by the studio. He spent 10 days writing a 130-page director’s version of the script, and spoke for around 45 minutes about his concept for the film. The studio execs were pretty convinced Columbus would be the right person for the job, especially with his history in family-friendly movies. Columbus had previously written the movies Gremlins (1984) and The Goonies (1985), before moving into directing with Adventures in Babysitting (1987) – which would later be remade by Disney Channel in 2016 as one of their original movies. Columbus is also well-known for directing the festive favourites Home Alone (1990) and Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992), and the beloved Mrs. Doubtfire (1993). After Harry Potter, he went on to direct comedy films like Pixels (2015), starring Adam Sandler and Kevin James, and, most recently, The Thursday Murder Club (2025), an adaptation of Richard Osman’s hit novel, for Netflix. However, the studio knew that Columbus would also need Rowling’s approval. Columbus headed to Scotland to meet with her, and fortunately, they found they shared the same vision for the film. Chris Columbus was confirmed as the movie’s director.
Now that Columbus had the job, the full weight of responsibility was on his shoulders, to make sure he did Rowling’s first novel justice and to ensure he met the expectations of the fans. By the point that Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone was going into production, only the first three books had been published, but to ensure the filmmakers got the gist of what was to come, Rowling did tease certain important future plot points, as well as making it clear that the story was going to get darker as the series went on. Heyman, Columbus, and Kloves were reportedly given physical copies of the manuscript for the fourth novel, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, a few months before it was available to the public.
The unenviably task of adapting this hugely popular novel went to screenwriter Steve Kloves, who had both written and directed The Fabulous Baker Boys (1989) and had been nominated at the Academy Awards for Best Adapted Screenplay for the film Wonder Boys (2000) prior to working on Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. Kloves would actually write the screenplay for all of the Harry Potter films, except one: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007) but more on that another time. He also later co-wrote the screenplay for The Amazing Spider-Man (2012) and co-produced the three Fantastic Beasts films, later joining J.K. Rowling in co-writing the screenplay for The Secrets of Dumbledore (2022).
Some religious groups felt that the Harry Potter books were promoting witchcraft. Satanism, and the occult, and were therefore unsuitable for children to read. This is something that caused particular trouble in the US, with legal challenges mounted in certain areas to have the book series removed from public schools. The books have also been banned in some areas and it has been claimed that these stories are anti-authority. Despite this, over 120 million copies of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone have been sold, making it one of the best-selling books of all time, showing its global success[4].
The Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone film is said to be quite faithful to the original novel, although not every moment from the book can ever make it into the final edit of a film adaptation, so there are some differences. One is that the scene of Harry first meeting Draco Malfoy at Madam Malkin’s robe shop in Diagon Abbey was not included in the film. Harry instead meets Draco outside The Great Hall just before The Sorting Hat Ceremony. Hagrid was also not meant to drop Harry off at King’s Cross Station to catch the train to Hogwarts, but his aunt, uncle, and cousin were meant to do this. This causes some confusion in the film if you know your dates, as Harry’s birthday is on 31st July, and he heads off with Hagrid to Diagon Alley just after. He does not catch the train until 1st September, so the film makes it seem like Harry spent a whole month with Hagrid, whereas the book makes it clear he returned to the Dursleys home to wait for 1st September, and they then take him to the station, not caring about helping him find the train. Another big omission is in the tasks to get to the Philosopher’s Stone that Harry, Hermione, and Ron go through. Each one seemingly has their own task that suits their skills, like Hermione and the Devil’s Snare; Harry and the flight to find the right key; and Ron with the Wizard’s Chess match. But in the book, Hermione gets a more impressive task, and that is solving a potions riddle that would’ve happened right after the Wizard’s Chess game, instead of Harry going straight to the room to confront Quirrell and Voldemort as he does in the film.
A couple of less important moments, such as the story of Hagrid’s dragon Norbert being taken away, and the Nimbus 2000 being delivered to Harry with a note telling him to open it secretly, in order to conceal Gryffindor’s new seeker’s identity, were also left out of the film[5]. Some also dislike the fact that Harry is meant to have green eyes, the comparison between his and his mother’s eyes being constantly commented on in the series, however, although this was attempted in the film, with Daniel Radcliffe being given green contact lenses to wear to cover his natural blue eyes, these contacts gave him an allergic reaction and he could not continue wearing them. It was decided not to digitally alter the eye colour. Emma Watson was also supposedly given fake teeth to wear, to give her Hermione’s signature buck teeth, but Watson struggled to speak with them in, so this was also stopped[6].
Now that a director was on board, and the screenplay had been written, what else was needed? Oh yeah, the cast! The search for Harry Potter began in late 1999, with numerous open calls allowing thousands of kids to audition. Some spent hours waiting for their chance to be in the Harry Potter movies, and a lucky few were given the coveted roles.
But by July 2000, the right actor for the main role of Harry Potter had still not been found. The filmmakers wanted unknown, British actors in the main roles, limiting the talent pool to some extent. Columbus had received thousands of audition tapes from kids all over the country, but there was still no Harry. Columbus then watched the two-part BBC adaptation of Charles Dickens’ David Copperfield, which aired on Christmas Day and Boxing Day in 1999. Young David Copperfield was played by none other than Daniel Radcliffe, and Columbus felt he was Harry Potter. Heyman and Columbus were in agreement, but when Radcliffe’s parents were approached to have Daniel audition, they refused, saying they felt that signing on for all the films, which were meant to be filmed in Los Angeles at this point, was too much disruption in his life. As luck would have it, David Heyman later attended the same play that Radcliffe and his father went to, and Heyman went to speak to them about the role of Harry again and managed to convince them to let him audition. Rowling said that Radcliffe was exactly as she’d imagined the character to be, and it was felt that he had a haunted quality to him – whatever that meant! Tom Felton, who was later cast as Draco, actually auditioned for the part of Harry, but his confidence made the filmmakers think he was a better fit for Draco Malfoy.
Emma Watson and Rupert Grint, who were fans of the books and felt they identified with their characters, were very easy to cast as Hermione and Ron respectively, and once the two were screen tested with Daniel Radcliffe, acting out the scene of the three discussing Nicholas Flamel in the library, it was decided that these were going to be the three main characters, with their obvious chemistry. Once the casting was announced, the media went crazy for it and the three kids were immediately thrust into the spotlight to deal with interviews and press conferences[7].
Some other fun casting stories around this first film are that the Phelps’ twins, James and Oliver, who played Fred and George Weasley, showed up to their audition and were the only twins not to be wearing matching outfits, so they quickly went out to buy identical t-shirts to wear for their audition. Whether it helped them or not, who’s to say! Richard Harris initially turned down the part of Dumbledore, however, his granddaughter said she’d never speak to him again if he didn’t take it, so he obviously did. And Robbie Coltrane’s son believed he had already been cast as Hagrid before Coltrane had heard anything about it[8]. I can only assume this is to do with the fact that Rowling always envisioned the character being played by him.
With such a young, and dare I say inexperienced, cast, although the set of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone was made to be as fun as possible by Chris Columbus and the crew, it was a lot of hard work to get this movie filmed. The cast remember only good times on set, but they are aware that Columbus was very patient with them, as their attention wandered and they struggled to stay focused on the task at hand! Columbus had to get very involved with them, acting out some of the CGI characters that obviously the actors couldn’t see, and giving them notes on how to improve their scenes, since some of the cast had never acted before. Despite working with the “royalty” of the British acting world in these movies, like Alan Rickman, Dame Maggie Smith, and Richard Harris, the adults were just as willing to play around with the young cast at times, and were also very supportive.
Filming took place in many locations across the UK during late 2000. One of these places was Alnwick Castle in Northumberland, with the Outer Bailey being used for the flying lesson and Quidditch rules scene. Durham Cathedral was also used, with the cathedral’s Chapter House being the location of Professor McGonagall’s classroom. Gloucester Cathedral’s cloisters became the corridors of Hogwarts and its Lavatorium area is where Ron and Harry go as they search out the troll that has been released into the castle, so they can save Hermione. Lacock in Wiltshire was where the flashback scene where Harry learns about Voldemort killing his parents was filmed. Lacock Abbey was also used for some areas of Hogwarts. Another couple of more obvious filming locations are London Zoo, where Harry goes with the Dursleys early on in the film and encounters the Burmese python, and King’s Cross Station were Harry gets on the Hogwarts Express[9]. It is worth pointing out that the interior of King’s Cross Station has been through a major renovation since the Harry Potter movies were filmed there, completed in 2011, although you can find a special photo op of Platform 9 ¾ as well as a Harry Potter merchandise shop there.
Some other locations used include areas of Oxford. For example, Christ Church College’s stone staircase was used for the scene of the First Year Hogwarts students walking to the Great Hall, and the Bodleian Library in Oxford was the location for Hogwarts library, at least the scene of Harry heading to the Restricted Section at night[10]. Goathland Railway Station was also used for Hogsmeade station, where the Hogwarts Express starts and ends its journey, and the students take other transportation to the school[11].
But the Harry Potter movies also benefit from impressive, hand-built sets. These were created at Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden in Watford, which is now open to the public to tour the sets at the Warner Bros. Studio Tour London – The Making of Harry Potter attraction. The Great Hall is really the standout here, with a proper stone floor being used due to the need for a sturdy, hardy surface, given the amount of equipment and feet that would be going across it over the years! This area had to feel magical but also timeless and the only architecture that could match the 1000+ year old Hogwarts School was British cathedrals, so these were an inspiration to those building the set, like Production Designer Stuart Craig. The floating candles were actually real, and were simply candles attached to the ceiling with wires or fishing line, although the cast do remember the candles’ flames burning through the wires and falling down onto them! The Wizard’s Chess set was another huge one, with massive chess pieces carefully recreated as per the miniature chessboard we see Harry and Ron play. They had to look like terracotta pieces, to match how the pieces would shatter during an actual game, but many of the pieces were actually made of fibreglass. Art directors Gary Tomkins and Neil Lamont said it is possibly the largest chess set ever made in the world.
A model of Hogwarts Castle was also used for the movie. The model was incredibly detailed, complete with turrets, towers, spires, and bridges, and this model currently resides at the studio tour now. There are details all over this model which you wouldn’t be able to spot in the film, and it is potentially one of the last models used in cinema, now that CGI has taken over. But this model was a big moment in the film, as the First Years see it for the first time as they head over to the castle on boats after disembarking the Hogwarts Express.
Speaking of the Hogwarts Express, the train was described as a steam train in the books, so the team went to preservation societies all around the country, looking for the perfect train. They eventually found one built by Great Western Railway Swindon Works in 1937. This train, Olton Hall, ran until 1963 and covered just over one million miles during its time in service. For the movie, it was restored and repainted, and was used in all the movies. It ran as a tourist train between Scarborough and York between filming.
For visual effects, there were a mixture of CGI and computer effects, and more basic ones used here. For example, Special Effects Supervisor on Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone John Richardson said that the Wingardium Leviosa scene was incredibly high tech – not! It was literally just a feather on a fishing rod being moved around to follow Emma Watson’s movements as she “cast” the spell with Hermione’s wand. There were also 25,000 envelopes printed for the scene of all the letters arriving, with letter firing rigs being built to shoot them into the Dursley house set. Each time they reset the shot, crew members simply picked them up and refilled the machines!
But CGI had to be used in some areas of this filmmaking process. One example is the owls flying into the Great Hall, however, 80% of the owls seen on screen were real and these owls were trained to deliver packages into the set. CGI was used to show all the owls in the room at once, as more than a couple couldn’t be flying through the hall at once. Other Visual Effects created certain characters, like the ghosts, the troll, Fluffy, and Voldemort’s face[12]. With Norbert the dragon, the animators and Visual Effects workers looked at footage of newborn animals as reference material so they could accurately animate the animal and how it would act in this moment.
Finally, Quidditch was potentially the hardest scene to shoot, because not only did the sequence have to be action-packed and required flying, which meant mechanical brooms and green screens, but that anyone unfamiliar with Quidditch had to be able to understand what was going on. The filmmakers were given the rules of the game by J.K. Rowling, and Production Designer Stuart Craig was responsible for creating the pitch. A variety of props needed to be made, including the tiny golden Snitch, the brooms, the other balls, like the Quaffle, and the Bludgers, and even the Quidditch box that Oliver Wood carries with Harry to teach him all about Quidditch[13].
With the film completely shot, then came time to edit and release it. There were a few deleted scenes that have been made available to the public via DVD and Blu-Ray home releases. Some of these are simply filler moments, such as Harry, Ron, and Hermione talking in the corridor after defeating the troll, and others are extended scenes, like Harry and the first Potions class with Professor Snape. In this scene, Harry talks back to Snape, telling him to get Hermione to answer all his questions that Harry can’t answer. I actually think that would’ve been a good one to keep in because it shows the friction between Harry and Snape early on. There are also a couple of others that seemed quite good for the film, like Harry seeing Dudley’s new private school uniform and Harry being told he’s going to a rough state school, with Dudley’s old uniform being dyed in the kitchen for him, which would’ve shown Harry further being treated poorly by his only remaining family, and a scene of Harry and Hagrid on the Tube, which is just funny to see Hagrid on the Tube[14].
Years later some also became aware of the fact that two different versions of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone exist, both in movie and novel. This is because for the US publication of the novel and therefore distribution of the film, the word “philosopher” is changed to “sorcerer”, as requested by the US novel publisher Scholastic, who claimed Americans wouldn’t understand the word. Because of this, the cast had to record scenes saying “Philosopher’s Stone” and then “Sorcerer’s Stone” so as not to confuse anyone. Apparently, Rowling was not a fan of this change of title and would’ve rejected it had she felt able to do so at the time[15]. The Philosopher’s Stone is actual a real legend from the Middle Ages, being linked to alchemists going back to the 3rd Century. The stone is said to grant eternal life and wisdom, so naturally the hunt for this legendary stone began in the West in medieval times and lasted until around the 17th Century. Nicolas Flamel was a real person, a bookseller and philanthropist born in France in 1330 and gained posthumous fame as an alchemist due to rumours that he had discovered the stone, with a recipe for it apparently found in an ancient book he owned. There was little evidence to suggest Flamel was ever an alchemist though and was just wealthy by his own means, not by any stone, and donated often to charity. Alchemy has been proven to be impossible but the Philosopher’s Stone legend still continues with the most famous reference to it being in Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone[16].
RECEPTION
Due to its popularity from the book series, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone had potential to be one of the biggest movies of the year. After all that anticipation, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone was released in November 2021, on 10th November in the UK, and just a few days later on 16th November in the US. It had its premiere in Leicester Square on 4th November 2001.
Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone did exceptionally well at the box-office, raking in just under $975 million during its initial release, topping the worldwide box-office in 2001. Rounding out the Top Five at the 2001 box-office were The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Rings; Pixar’s Monsters, Inc.; DreamWorks’ Shrek; and Ocean’s Eleven.
In 2020, almost two decades after Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone’s initial release, the movie surpassed $1 billion at the box-office thanks to a new 3D and IMAX release in China. In this year, the movie made more from its re-release than the movie’s entire first stint in Chinese movie theatres back in 2002. It was first released in China in January 2002. This made Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone the second in the movie series to hit this milestone. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 made $1.34 billion worldwide during its 2011 release[17].
In terms of reviews, in 2001, they were mostly positive. On the positive side, many liked how faithful the movie adaptation was to the first book. They felt the world that J.K. Rowling had created was just as enchanting and magical on screen as they’d imagined it to be. It was deemed to be just scary enough, without being too cute, and full of adventure. The casting was praised, and the special effects were seen to be pretty good, especially as a mixture of both technological CGI and more practical effects were used. Some said they could already tell Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone was going to be a classic.
Others said that the film was too long, especially for younger children to concentrate fully on. I don’t particularly enjoy watching films that are over two hours long, but I don’t think the Harry Potter films ever drag and aren’t padded out with pointless scenes. Despite many claiming that Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone was faithful to the book, others felt some important moments had been omitted from the film, so some fans of the book were not happy. But there were also comments that perhaps the filmmakers had been too faithful to the book, which just goes to show that sometimes you just can’t win! Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone has now been shown to not even be the best Harry Potter movie in the franchise – although some will always love the first one because it was the first.
Although Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone may not be the most sophisticated movie and doesn’t hit the dramatic heights of some Oscar winning movies, its popularity and innovation meant that it was nominated for numerous awards and won several. The most impressive nominations were at the Academy Awards and the BAFTAs. At the Academy Awards, along with John Williams’ nomination for Best Original Score, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone was also nominated in the categories of Best Art Direction and Best Costume Design, but lost out to Baz Luhrmann’s Moulin Rouge! (2001) on both occasions, which I can understand; Moulin Rouge! is quite “out there” – in a good way. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone was nominated for seven awards at the BAFTAs. Robbie Coltrane was nominated for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for his role as Hagrid, although Jim Broadbent actually won the award for his role in Moulin Rouge! It lost in the Best Costume Design category to period drama Gosford Park (2001). In Best Production Design, Harry Potter lost to French film Amélie (2001), and lost again to Moulin Rouge! in the Best Sound category. Best Special Visual Effects went to The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) and Outstanding British Film went to Gosford Park. It’s a bit of a travesty that Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone didn’t win any BAFTAs after all those nominations, but there was plenty of time for the series to come into its own.
The movje also lost in the Favorite Movie category at the 2002 Kids’ Choice Awards, though not to The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring; it lost to Rush Hour 2 (2001). But Harry Potter as a book series did win the Favorite Book award here. At the Saturn Awards, Robbie Coltrane, Maggie Smith, and Chris Columbus all lost in their respective categories, and The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring once again won Best Fantasy Film, although Judianna Makovsky did pick up the Best Costumes award here for her work on Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone.
However, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone did win some other awards, including the award for Best Family Film at the Critics’ Choice Awards. The movie also won a few acting awards for its young actors, alongside various other nominations. For example, Daniel Radcliffe was awarded the Choice Breakout Movie Actor award at the 2002 Teen Choice Awards, where Emma Watson was nominated in the Movie Actress category, and Watson won the Best Performance in a Feature Film: Leading Young Actress award at the Young Artist Awards; she tied with Scarlett Johansson in An American Rhapsody (2001). Tom Felton was also nominated here, for Supporting Young Actor, and Rupert Grint won the Most Promising Young Newcomer award.
LEGACY
2001 might’ve seen Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone being introduced to a whole new audience of non-readers, but by the time of the film’s release, J.K. Rowling had already published the first four books in the series. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone was first published in the UK in 1997, followed by Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets in 1998. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban came to be in 1999, and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire followed in 2000.
To accompany the fiction book series, J.K. Rowling also wrote two other books, which are mentioned in the original series as being read by Harry and his friends. They were written in 2001 with proceeds going to the Comic Relief charity. These books were the non-fiction book Quidditch Through the Ages, fictionally written by Kennilworthy Whisp, and the fictional textbook Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, accredited to fictitious author Newt Scamander. These books were published in March 2001 to coincide with the BBC’s annual telethon fundraiser event for Comic Relief.
As with many children’s films at the time, there was a video game made to allow players to follow in their favourite characters’ adventures. The Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone video game was a favourite of mine when I was younger. I actually played it through a couple of years ago and it still holds up! One thing to mention here is that the game actually includes an important character in the book series who did not make it into the final films. This is poltergeist Peeves, who bothers and annoys both the students and staff at Hogwarts. In the game, he pops up at random just to make things difficult, and he is also a character in the newer Harry Potter game Hogwarts Legacy, released in 2023.
The interesting thing to note is that Peeves was meant to be in the film Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone and his scenes were filmed with British comedic actor Rik Mayall, known for such roles as Rick in the comedy series The Young Ones (1982-94) and Richie in the series Bottom (1991-95), both alongside his friend Adrian Edmondson. Devon Murray, who played Seamus, and Matthew Lewis, who played Neville, said Mayall was hilarious on set and kept making all the kids laugh, and they feel that is the reason why Peeves was cut from the film because he was meant to be scary, but nobody was finding Mayall’s portrayal scary[18]. However, it has also been said that he was simply cut for time, but perhaps with the potential release of the three-hour-long directors’ cut, these deleted scenes with Mayall as Peeves may one day come to light[19]. Mayall sadly passed away in 2014, at the age of 56, making the request for his scenes even more wanted by fans.
In 2021, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone film celebrated its 20th anniversary. With that milestone, two new television projects were developed. One was Harry Potter: Hogwarts Tournament of Houses, a gameshow that saw teams competing in a Harry Potter trivia competition. It was hosted by Dame Helen Mirren and ran for four episodes in November and December 2021. The second television project was the most anticipated and that was a documentary with some of the cast and crew that worked on the Harry Potter movie franchise. It was titled Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts, and it aired on 1st January 2022. The fans loved it. It was nostalgic, interesting, and heartwarming.
Now I come to something that is quite controversial and perhaps shouldn’t be happening if you ask me, but it is still related to Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone so I suppose I have to mention it. Urgh. So, HBO Max announced in April 2023 that they were making a live-action series basically remaking the Harry Potter series, with J.K. Rowling set to executive produce, which led to some calling to boycott the series due to Rowling’s personal views. Each series will be based on one of the seven books. I don’t like the idea of the series just because I don’t like the concept of rebooting and remaking, and I love the original films, but given how much the Harry Potter legacy is worth – an estimated $25 billion – it obviously makes business sense[20].
But I still don’t like it, and had John Lithgow not been confirmed as playing Dumbledore, I had every intention of just trying to ignore it. Now, I’m probably going to have to watch it. Other cast members confirmed for this series include Nick Frost, known for his collaborations with Simon Pegg in comedies like the series Spaced (1999-2001) and “The Cornetto Trilogy” of movies that include Shaun of the Dead (2004) and Hot Fuzz (2007), playing the part of Hagrid; and Paapa Essiedu, who recently starred as George in The Lazarus Project (2022-23) and as Alexander Dumani in Gangs of London (2020-present), as Severus Snape. Warwick Davis is also said to be returning to his role as Professor Flitwick here. Harry, Ron, and Hermione will be played by three relatively unknown child actors. The first series is expected to come to HBO in early 2027. Filming began in London in 2025[21].
FINAL THOUGHTS
Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone was the first outing into the Wizarding World, where those who had read the books could see all the imagined scenarios come to life on the big screen, and those who hadn’t got an introduction into this magical world.
However, this first film only gave the viewers an introduction, a brief glimpse, of what was to come. Sure, Hogwarts is a beautiful castle and being a witch or wizard sounds like a lot of fun, but darkness was coming for Harry and his friends, and Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone was just the start of an epic adventure and an enduring battle between good and evil. We had to prepare ourselves for what was coming next.
REFERENCES
[1] Credit: Variety, ‘Star Wars & Harry Potter Composer John Williams Reveals How He Came Up With Cinemas Biggest Scores’, Variety Official YouTube Channel, 6th March 2024.
[2] Credit: J.K. Rowling, ‘My Story’, JKRowling.com, date unknown.
[3] Credit: Adam Markovitz, ‘Harry Potter: Casting the Spell’, EW.com, 1st July 2011.
[4] Credit: Adrienne Tyler, ‘Why The Harry Potter Books Were Banned’, ScreenRant.com, 14th May 2024.
[5] Credit: Christine DiStasio, ‘‘Sorcerer’s Stone’ Is So Different From the Book’, Bustle.com, 11th July 2014.
[6] Credit: BBC Newsround, ‘Harry Potter: 20th anniversary of the Philosopher’s stone film’, BBC.co.uk, 16th November 2021.
[7] Credit: HBO, Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts (2022).
[8] Credit: Adam Markovitz, ‘Harry Potter: Casting the Spell’, EW.com, 1st July 2011.
[9] Credit: BBC, ‘Harry Potter 20th anniversary: The UK film locations’, BBC.co.uk, 20th November 2021.
[10] Credit: Visit Britain, ‘Visit Harry Potter filming locations’, VisitBritain.com, date unknown.
[11] Credit: Chloe Roden, ‘Discovering England’s Wizarding World: 20 Years of Harry Potter Filming Locations’, FilmingInEngland.co.uk, 16th November 2021.
[12] Credit: Warner Bros., ‘Capturing the Stone: A Conversation with the Filmmakers (2002)’ from Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (2001) 11-Disc Blu-Ray Set (2011).
[13] Credit: Wizarding World Digital, ‘Harry Potter Filmmakers’ Series, Harry Potter Official YouTube, September-November 2021.
[14] Credit: Warner Bros., ‘Deleted Scenes (2001)’ from Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (2001) 11-Disc Blu-Ray Set (2011).
[15] Credit: Ariane Sohrabi-Shiraz, ‘Harry Potter fans gobsmacked after learning there are two versions of the Philosopher’s Stone’, Mirror.co.uk, 11th January 2025.
[16] Credit: Discovery, ‘The Philosopher’s Stone: Alchemy’s Greatest Secret’, DiscoveryUK.com, 2nd February 2024.
[17] Credit: Rebecca Rubin, ‘‘Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone’ Crosses $1 Billion Box Office Milestone After China Rerelease’, Variety.com, 18th August 2020.
[18] Credit: Dusty Baxter-Wright, ‘So THIS is why Rik Mayall’s Peeves was cut from the Harry Potter movies’, Cosmopolitan.com, 7th December 2017.
[19] Credit: Louis Chilton, ‘Harry Potter director backs release of three-hour Philosopher’s Stone cut with Rik Mayall’s character added in’, Independent.co.uk, 2nd January 2022.
[20] Credit: Adrian Horton, ‘Harry Potter TV series announced, with JK Rowling executive-producing’, TheGuardian.com, 12th April 2023.
[21] Credit: Ian Youngs, ‘Bafta-winning stars announced for Harry Potter TV show’, BBC.co.uk, 9th June 2025.
The Disney Purist 