Released in 2001, the firstHarry Pottermovie,The Sorcerer’s Stone,is an entry point into the fascinating Wizarding World. The movie is an easy favorite because it features compelling quotes, and memorable acting performances by actors namely, Alan Rickman (Severus Snape), Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter), Emma Watson (Hermione Granger), Rupert Grint (Ron Weasley), Tom Felton (Draco Malfoy), and so forth.
Directed by Chris Columbus, the firstHarry Pottermovie became a critical and commercial success upon its release. As a matter of fact,this book-to-screen adaptation is revered to the present day. It has managed to stay timeless due to various factors, which have held up well over the past 20 years.
8The Peek Into Harry’s Life Before Hogwarts
Harry’s real test begins when he arrives at Hogwarts, shortly after turning eleven. However, that’s not to say the years he spent at the Dursleys were unimportant, as the experiences shaped the wizard in him.
RELATED:Every Harry Potter Book, Ranked
After the death of Harry’s parents, James and Lily,Dumbledore left him on his aunt, Petunia Dursley’s doorstep. Although he condemned Harry to difficult years at the stingy Dursleys, the experiences aided in his development and he grew up into a compassionate boy. Harry’s good manners in the first movie reflected that he was his parents' sweet and kind child after all, characteristics that he kept throughout his seven-year story.
7Childhood Innocence
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stoneis the gateway to the lore that is intensely dark, and complex. It gradually introduces viewers to the brewing chaos in the Wizarding World. That being said, the firstHarry Pottermovie installment flawlessly explores the trope of childhood innocence, and is the most lighthearted of the films.
The screenplay carefully balances Hermione, Ron, and Harry’s maturity with their innocence. Hermione thinks getting expelled is worse than getting killed, and Neville Longbottom and Seamus Finnigan frequently run into trouble. Though the later movies get darker, the first film lets the kids be kids.
6The Trio Is A Timeless Treat
The nostalgia associated with young Harry, Ron, and Hermione makesHarry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stonethe perfect pick-me-up. The first years are eleven to twelve years of age, and as a matter of fact, Hagrid visits Harry in the isolated hut-on-the-rock on his eleventh birthday.
RELATED:Every Harry Potter Game, Ranked By How Long They Take To Beat
Young Harry, Hermione, and Ron are quite a trio. They retain their appeal with age, but as children who’ve just started at Hogwarts, they are mischievous, sassy, and funny. Older viewers can often see their younger selves in at least one of the iconic three.
5The Trio Forges Their Bond
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stoneshows how the trio forges an unbreakable bond. Harry sees Ron on Platform Nine and Three-Quarters, and they share a compartment on the Hogwarts Express. They get into a conversation, and bond over Chocolate Frogs, Bertie Bott’s Every Flavour Beans, and so forth. Hermione meanwhile inserts herself into their conversation and doesn’t come off as particularly friendly. She’s smart as a whip and knows a good deal about Hogwarts already.
The Trio becomes friends after theirencounter with the troll in the bathroom. Harry and Ron rush to save Hermione, and she takes the blame, lying to McGonagall that she’d sought the mountain troll out. Harry, Ron, and Hermione become close friends in the aftermath of this troll attack.
4A Solid Introduction
All the above point to the fact thatHarry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stoneis a solid entry point to the magical community in which wizards and witches interact. Viewers are educated simultaneously with Harry as he finds his feet in this new setting.
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stoneshows what it was like for Harry living in the Dursley household, who were the people who “raised” him. Despite everything he’s grown into a passionate young boy, with a thirst to prove himself.
3Funny Interactions & Quotes
The trio interacts with each other, and with their peers, like the typical eleven-year-olds that they are. Draco Malfoy is the mean kid who sneers at his classmates.Hermione is a highbrow person and funnyat the same time, and Harry is a curious young wizard.
RELATED:Harry Potter: Every Movie Ranked By Their Box Office Earnings
Ron’s sense of humor is unmatched, and his interactions with Hermione are downright hilarious. Ron’s quotes such as,“She[Hermione]needs to sort out her priorities,“and"Mental, that one, I’m telling you.“have become classics over the years. The cameraderie and rivalries between classmates are timeless.
2Details About Voldemort’s Attack
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stonehas a lucid structural framework. After Harry purchases his wand, he tells Hagrid that the one who murdered his parents is who gave him the forehead scar.
Hagrid tells Harryabout the dark side of the Wizarding World and about the attack at Godric’s Hollow. Hagrid’s commentary accompanies the montage of the events that went down at the Potters' home and concludes with Voldemort about to cast the Killing Curse on baby Harry Potter. It’s foreboding, and hints at the dark themes that come in later stories.
1Its Lighthearted Tone
Above all,Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stoneis a lighthearted movie and a visual treat. It perfectly lays the groundwork for the franchise, without delving into the darkest elements of the lore.
The firstHarry Pottermovie, among other things, introduces viewers to the best teachers at Hogwarts,Severus Snape’s icy exterior, the good-for-nothing Dudley Dursley and Hagrid’s love for animals. It lays out all the important aspects of the world without overwhelming viewers, and lays the groundwork for everything that comes later.
