“Shouldn’t have said that.”
What’s it all about? Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe) lives in the cupboard under the stairs in the house of his horrible Aunt Petunia, Uncle Vernon and cousin Dudley. With the arrival of a few hundred owls carrying letters, Harry is informed by a half-giant named Hagrid (Robbie Coltrane) that he isn’t an ordinary boy at all but, rather, a wizard — and wizard shouldn’t be sleeping in the cupboard under the stairs! He should be at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. HARRY POTTER AND THE PHILOSOPHER’S STONE also stars Rupert Grint as Ronald Weasley; Emma Watson as Hermione Granger; and Ian Hart as Quirrell, the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor.
Philosopher’s Stone By the Numbers
How old is Harry Potter? 11
How old was I at the film’s release? 13
Disconnect: 2 years
How many times have I seen the film in theatres? 3
How many times have I read the book? 10+
Harry Potter Nerdery Level: High (Enthusiastically pushed Harry Potter books onto my friends; Pre-ordered a book — Goblet of Fire — for the first time.)
HARRY POTTER AND THE PHILOSOPHER’S STONE and the book from which it was adapted jumpstarted a twelve-year love affair with the Harry Potter franchise — both on paper and screen — that I have failed to kick, despite many attempts at becoming a fully-functional human being. At the very tender age of eleven, I was given “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone” and “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets” by my mother. For a precocious child already overly-familiar with the dank smell of the public library, this moment was inevitable. For better or worse, I’ve lived with Harry, Ron and Hermione for the majority of my life — and they have influenced an embarrassing amount of my decisions. With Harry and Ron, I learned that everything is a little easier with friends that have your back, a lesson very valuable to a sheltered only-child. With Hermione, I learned quite young that I didn’t have to hide away my more bookish tendancies. Further down the line, I went to university for English literature.
There is no way I can approach the Harry Potter franchise with a critical eye, especially in its early stages. My opinion is so completely saturated by adoration and nostalgia that an actual review of each film installment would just come across as a scene-by-scene summary attached to various adjectives that express utter glee. So, I’m not reviewing these films. Instead, I’ll just share a few moments and memories. Smiles in lieu of nitpicking. And to start — my favourite, HARRY POTTER AND THE PHILOSOPHER’S STONE.
The first film of the Harry Potter franchise is the most successful at expressing the magic and wonder that are so intrinsic to the books. CHAMBER OF SECRETS does an admirable job at recreating this sense of wonder, but it’s less successful because of its heavier, darker storyline. PHILOSOPHER’S STONE is light and airy in contrast, establishing a world that could easily be taken from a Roald Dahl children’s story; A boy is rescued from horrific relatives and brought to a world where anything and everything can happen. How can a story get any more perfect than that?
Favourite Harry Potter Scene: I am always on the verge of tears when Harry, lying on the floor of the Dursley’s hideaway cottage, draws a birthday cake in some dust and blows out the “candles”. Moments later, Hagrid shows up, tells Harry he’s special and gives him a real cake. The hopeful smile that graces Daniel Radcliffe’s face wins me over every time. This really is Harry Potter — and now we’re going on a magical adventure!
Favourite Ronald Weasley Scene: Hands down, it’s the chess scene at the end of the film. Overlooked by his family and much of Hogwarts, Ron is often thought of as just one of the Weasleys. In this moment, however, the youngest Weasley at Hogwarts shows that he is just as brave as any of his older brothers, if not more so. As the knight, Ron also shows that he’s worthy of the responsibilities that come with befriending the Boy Who Lived.
Favourite Hermione Granger Scene: It amuses me to no end that the first words that Hermione says to her future husband and father to her children are “And, you are?” (with an incredible amount of disdain), followed quickly by “You’ve got dirt on your nose, by the way, just there.”
Bonus Favourite Neville Longbottom Moment: “I’ll — I’ll — I’ll fight you!”
Notes: Directed by Chris Columbus; Produced by David Heyman; Written by Steve Kloves, J. K. Rowling; Starring Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Richard Harris, Robbie Coltrane, Alan Rickman, Maggie Smith, Ian Hart; Music by John Williams; Cinematography by John Seale; Editing by Richard Francis-Bruce.
{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
You were 13 when that film came out? I was about 20 at the time but didn’t see the film until it was on TV a year later. Then I saw “The Chamber of Secrets” and got hooked.
Many people don’t cite CHAMBE OF SECRETS as the film that got them hooked. Interesting.
Aw this is so close to my own experiences, given that we’re the same age. I remember the one friend I had who loved to read as much as I did lent me the first book around 5th grade, and I was already obsessed with fantasy as it was so Harry Potter was a dream come true (as was Hermione, of course, though I had learned from BEAUTY AND THE BEAST that being a bookworm was ok).
I love the sense of wonder inherent to the first two films, but admittedly when I rewatched them last year I was sort of distracted by how undeveloped the kids are as actors. They improve with each movie, definitely, but it’s sort of funny to see their performances here.
I’m going to be singing the opening song of BEAUTY AND THE BEAST all night now. So much love for that movie (and its lovely protagonist).
Everything is just so genuine and sweet that I can’t help put overlook some poor acting. There is poor acting all over the franchise anyway. Example: Emma Watson’s Frantic Breathing School of Acting.
By the way has the Harry Potter film exhibition come to Toronto? It was in Boston last year and I know it’s in NYC now but I’m not sure what its trajectory is. Anyway it’s a fun time, you see all this neat stuff from the films and learn some fun facts. I recommend it if it comes there!
It was in Toronto last summer and I went with my sister, who is as obsessed with Harry Potter as I am (if not more so). It was a riot seeing their costumes from PHILOSOPHER’S STONE. We were that tiny, man. My brain cannot wrap itself around that.