Many have asked and argued about what to focus on, the books or the movies. I was one of those insane people doing both so I thought I would give a bit of information about what I think on the subject.
Firstly, do no be afraid to do both and form your own opinion. You don’t have to like one over the other. They are different mediums, and both have their charm.
That said here are some of the Pros and Cons for the first movie and the book that I noticed.
Pros
Better comedy
I have noticed that a lot more of the humor seemed to land in the movies while they are merely a sentence or two in the book. For example, there is this constant joke that a boy named Shamus blow up things up every time he tries to do a spell. It the book, this one feels a bit quick. In the movie, you have a scene where they zoom in on the scotched Shamus to ensure that you had the time to laugh. That said, the book seemed lighter while the movies seemed heavier in atmosphere which might be why the comedy in the movies land better. Contrast has always been a good way to make sure that something become more noticeable in both books and movies.
More awe
The visuals of a movie are better at conveying the awe you are supposed to feel in about for example Hogwarts or Harry looking into the Mirror of Erised. The awe of the new world introduced to us is to me a large center of the first book and here I think the movie handled it better. The scene when the children arrive Hogwarts for the first time during the night, seeing the castle for the first time was far impactful than any words, no matter how well written they are, could accomplish.
More information
Here the books take it home. They convey far more information about the characters, and even scenes. For example, some of the trials at the end to reach the philosopher’s stones have been cut from the movie lessening Hermione’s contribution to the end fight.
Ron, overall, seemed wittier in the books than in the movie. The book also conveys Harry’s feelings in detail as the story is told from his perspective. In the movie a young boy needs to convey all those feelings and though I do enjoy watching Daniel Radcliff, he was not an impeccable actor as a child. No one expects him to be but that will harm the story being told. The books don’t have to rely on the skills of a child to convey the emotions and depth of a character and they gain from that advantage. Now there are of course some advantages for cutting scenes not necessary and whether you prefer it trimmed down or not might impact whether you prefer the book or the movie. Me, I prefer more information as long as they have a purpose and don’t take over from the overall plot so in this case, I put my money on the book.
Another example is when Harry first meet Malfoy. In the book he actually meets him in the Diagon Alley. They don’t exchange names but Malfoy insults Hagrid. Which in return gives more context to why Harry dismisses Malfoy later when he tells him that he can ensure he has the “right” friends. In the movie, their first encounter is on Hogwarts which lessen Harry’s motivation to decline Malfoy’s offer. Not entirely, but enough for me to react.
Cons
The lessons
I had to put these in as they are a rather large part of the book. They are a conduit for us to understand the magical world but in the movie, these have been cut enough that I wonder if they truly have served their purpose. We see far more spells in the books, like McGonagall turning her desk into a pig and back again. We have the spell Locomotor Mortis, used by Malfoy on Neville. More are mentioned. In the movies, the school hardly feel as such because we spend more time on other things than the school. Now, to many these might feel like a nitpick (it is) but I had a hard time feeling when I watched the movie that this was about a magical school. It felt more about a magical adventure that happen to be on a magical school. If this doesn’t bother you then this is not really a con but to me it diminished the story as it made it feel more like every other fantasy story for children.
Too American
This one might seem strange but to me it is worth mentioning but to any European this one will be noticeable. It feels American. Why? because there is so much grand actions. Some example of this is high paced quidditch matches that seemed to be in all the movies. What does this movie need? More action! Another thing that I reacted to a scene in the book that had been changed in a similar matter. In the book Harry receives his new broom from McGonagall in secret as she wanted to keep him as a secret weapon. In the movie they had a grand scene in front of an audience were Harry receives the broom announcing him as the new quidditch player. This just feel very American, modesty is not a thing, and you are supposed to make a grand announcement of your achievements. I guess, Americans took one look at the British story and thought, what does this story need less of? Anything British!
Cut content
This one is closely related to the more information under pro’s but are more about what did not make the cut. Some I have mentioned such as Hermione’s contribution to the end and Harry’s and Malfoy’s first meeting before Hogwarts. There is some other that bother me. One is a nitpick with no greater consequence which is Harry’s eye color. In the book they are green like his mother’s. It is a rather large plot point as it’s those green eyes that ensures remind Snape of Lily later. In the movie’s they are blue, which is not a large change since even the actress playing his mother has blue eyes. But I do think they downplayed the important of his eye color both in this movie and later.
Another cut content that I do think is of more importance is what Harry sees in the mirror of Erised. His greatest desire. In the movie he sees his parents but, in the books, he sees his entire extended family as well. This might not seem like a important change until you consider it. It the movies, his greatest which was too have his parents back. In the book, he just wanted a family. To find out where he came from. There are other scenes such as him being in awe over his family’s wealth wondering about who they truly were that strengthen this feeling of wanting to know his family’s origin. The motives changes and that changes the person ever so slightly because of this smaller change. It irked me, but I can also see the advantage of it. It might be a more impactful message to have an orphan yearn for his parents than for an orphan to ponder deeper questions such as where he from is and who he truly is. Maybe it might be an American thing, they might not consider finding themselves in their lineage. Though that storyline did work in Star Wars though.
Conclusion
These are just some of the points that I found interesting. Other’s might have found more but I think I made my point. Overall, the book has a more stable structure. It has not that many pros or cons. At least not that is prominent. Which is most likely why many consider it perfect, though I would argue there is nothing perfect in this world, as prominent pros often equal in just as prominent faults. The movie is the opposite. I can mention the pro’s easily but also the cons. But if you have not read the books, I would suggest watching the movie first. You cannot see many of the faults because you have not read the book yet. Later you can read the book and it can add to the experience. Giving you more information and you can remember the wonderful visuals of the movie when you read the book enhancing it. If you do the other way around you will risk being annoyed by all the things lacking. To put it simply, the book adds something to the movie. The movie doesn’t add much to the book. Which is why watching the movie after you read the book is difficult.
But if you want to just to do one of these and not the other. I would suggest reading the book as it has far more to give. If you don’t want to read, then there is always the audio book!
Either way, I do hope that this cleared up some of your questions. What pros and cons did you notice? Did you prefer the movie or the book?
With regards
Senefer
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