Harry Potter and the Sorceror’s Stone

September 18, 2002

The quote above has already come true – there isn’t a child alive who hasn’t heard of Harry Potter.

Really, it’s no wonder that that children have fallen in love with Harry Potter. Harry Potter’s rise to fame and fortune is every child’s fantasy. It couldn’t have been written better by a child psychologist. Every young child wishes that they could whisked away from their horrible parents and taken to a place where everyone understands them and nurtures their hidden talents. A place where everyone knows your name. Add in gobs of cash and a magic wand, for emergencies. And of course, excelling in sports is an added bonus. Harry Potter has it all!

As popular as the Harry Potter thing is, I have only just now seen the film and I still haven’t read any of the books – I am sure I will get around to it someday. I had to be coerced into watching it – it wasn’t that bad. I was vaguely entertained throughout the whole thing – mostly because of the special effects. I’d have to say that the special effects were some of the best that I have seen, up there with Lord of the Rings.

Familiarity may also explain the story’s popularity. The Harry Potter universe is a mish-mash of popular fantasy and science fiction of the last 100 years. Large doses of Roald Dahl (mostly James and the Giant Peach), Time Bandits and The Wizard of Oz, tossed in some Alice in Wonderland, with a dash of C.S. Lewis and a pinch of Star Wars make up the body of the story. I really didn’t spot much new territory around Hogwarts.

I don’t expect Daniel Radcliffe to get many job offers after his tenure as Harry Potter. He’s a decent enough actor, but he has been marked for life.

I knew that Monty Python alum would show up sooner or later – I was surprised that it was limited to John Cleese. Funny as he was as Nearly Headless Nick, he was wasted as a cameo. He should have had a role as a Professor at least.

One part did make me want to die – the part at the end when Dumbledore tells Harry about the love in his skin. That is just fucking LAME. I bitched and moaned about that scene for 15 minutes after the film was over, I was so pissed off!

All in all, an intelligent effort to entertain children. Passable at entertaining adults, but only if they are stuck on the couch after a large dinner of really good chicken roma spaghetti.