harry potter essay length

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Hogwarts parchment length compared to standard paper?

We read that the students are writing foot-long essays, and sometimes up to 2-3 feet of parchment in essays. Do we have a way to compare this to a normal school using regular paper or type? How long is a 3 foot essay on werewolves really for us Muggles?

• harry-potter

• 10 How long is a 3 foot essay on werewolves really? - 3 feet. –  Mithical Commented Dec 29, 2016 at 20:11
• I'd've thought it's more the width that's interesting, or would you like to know how long a 'roll' of parchment is. Three feet is actually quite short, really, if parchment is as wide as A4. Three feet, as you probably know, is about three sides of A4, actually a little more –  Au101 Commented Dec 29, 2016 at 20:13
• A4 (297mm = 11.69") and Letter (11") are pretty close to 1 foot vertically. A 3-foot essay in Hogwarts is a 3-page essay in the real world. –  John Feltz Commented Dec 29, 2016 at 20:14
• 1 As I recall, there was a time when Harry and Ron were trying to write as big as possible so they could finish in less lines. Which reminds me of in school when there was a maximum font size for essays. Since no font size was specified in the books, and it might've varied from class to class, I doubt there's going to be a complete answer. –  DaaaahWhoosh Commented Dec 29, 2016 at 20:19

A4 paper is 11.69 inches long. That means that a "3 foot" essay would be just over 3 pages of A4 or roughly 1200 words, assuming an average writing size.

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Length of Essays

I remember reading the books and thinking a two foot long essay sounded so long. However, then I remember that when I was in school (graduated 33 years ago today from high school) notebook paper was 8.5x11” so just a bit more than two sides of our paper.

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Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone

By j.k. rowling, harry potter and the philosopher's stone study guide.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone tells the story of an eleven-year-old orphan who suddenly discovers that he is a wizard. J.K. Rowling began writing the book in 1990, prompted by a delayed train ride from Manchester to London during which she was struck by an idea of a young boy with magical powers. Describing her thought process at the time, Rowling writes: “A scrawny, little, black-haired, bespectacled boy became more and more of a wizard to me... I began to write Philosopher's Stone that very evening. Although, the first couple of pages look nothing like the finished product.”

Over the course of the next six years, Rowling steadily worked on completing the story of the young wizard. Despite the tragic death of her mother, an ugly divorce with her first husband, struggles with depression, and problems with unemployment, Rowling continued her work on Harry Potter with unsurpassed drive. She incorporated many of her personal difficulties into the narrative, particularly her sense of loss after her mother’s death (which was expressed in Harry’s struggle to cope with deaths of his parents).

At first, Rowling’s attempts to publish her book were not particularly successful. She had found an agent at Christopher Little Literary Agents who was willing to promote Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, but the manuscript was promptly rejected by twelve different publishing houses. The primary complaint was that the book was 90,000 words, far too long for a children’s book. After a year of rejections, Rowling’s agent finally received an offer from Bloomsbury Children’s Books in London. The 8-year-old daughter of Bloomsbury’s chief executive had loved the book, and her enthusiastic response prompted the publishing company to give the unknown author a chance. Bloomsbury was not as concerned about the length of the book as about Rowling’s name, listed as Joanne Rowling, which they feared would keep young boys from reading the book. Their solution was to give Rowling the androgynous pen name, J.K. Rowling (J for Joanne and K for Kathleen, the name of Rowling’s favorite grandmother).

In June 1997, Bloomsbury published 1000 copies of the book, under the title “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone.” Soon after its publication, the book began to receive rave reviews from readers and critics alike as well as the first of many literary awards. Having won the publishing rights to the novel in the United States for $105,000, Scholastic Inc. published the American edition of the book in October 1998, using the title “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone.” Scholastic, Inc. also changed some of the more British terminology in the original book to terms that would be more accessible to an American audience, such as “muffin” instead of “crumpet,” “sweater” instead of “jumper,” and “fries” instead of “chips.” Rowling later admitted that she did not approve of changing the title for American audiences, but she was not in a position to argue the point at the time.

Despite the minor changes in the American edition of the book, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone was equally successful in the United States, if not more so than in Britain. In addition to receiving excellent reviews from The Boston Globe and the New York Times, the American edition was selected as a New York Public Library Best Book of the Year, the American Library Association Notable Book, a Publishers Weekly Best Book of 1998, the School Library Journal Best Book of the Year, and the American Library Association Best Book for Young Adults.

In August 1999, Rowling’s novel achieved an unexpected coup by topping the New York Times Bestseller List for nearly an entire year. The book’s dominance was only halted when the New York Times succumbed to pressure from other publishers and created a separate Bestseller List for children’s books.

Despite its universal success, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone has also inspired a great deal of religious controversy, particularly in the United States. Religious conservatives in America argue that the novel promoted satanic beliefs and should be banned from public schools, while the Greek Orthodox Church and Bulgaria Orthodox Church both officially campaigned against the series. In 2005, while still a cardinal of the Catholic Church, Pope Benedict XVI openly argued against the series, describing Rowling’s books as “subtle seductions, which act unnoticed and by this deeply distort Christianity in the soul before it can grow properly.” At the same time, many religious groups have lauded the series, claiming that it promotes a Christian view of good and evil and explains the concept of self-sacrifice to children.

Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone Questions and Answers

The Question and Answer section for Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone is a great resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss the novel.

Harry Potter Short Questions

I'm sorry, you have not posted your question. Please list your questions separately.

Who is the only person Voldemort is afraid of?

Albus Dumbledore, the headmaster of Hogwarts, is Voldemort's only feared enemy.

What does Hagrid bring for Harry when he first time meet?

When Hagrid first meets Harry Potter he brings him a cake and a letter inviting him to attend Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry.The cake is a special treat for Harry's eleventh birthday,and the letter explains that Harry is a Wizard and...

Study Guide for Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (also Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone) study guide contains a biography of J.K. Rowling, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.

• About Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
• Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone Summary
• Character List

Essays for Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (also Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone) literature essays are academic essays for citation. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone.

• Progressive Heroines: Jane Eyre to Hermione Granger
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• Magic and the Supernatural
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Wikipedia Entries for Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone

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124 Harry Potter Essay Topic Ideas & Examples

Inside This Article

Harry Potter has become a cultural phenomenon since the release of J.K. Rowling's first book in 1997. The series has captured the hearts of millions of readers around the world and has inspired countless essays and academic papers. If you're a Harry Potter fan looking for some essay topic ideas, look no further! Here are 124 Harry Potter essay topic ideas and examples to get you started:

• The theme of friendship in the Harry Potter series
• The role of gender in Harry Potter
• How the Harry Potter series addresses issues of class and social inequality
• The representation of race in Harry Potter
• The portrayal of good vs. evil in the Harry Potter series
• The role of magic in Harry Potter
• The significance of the Hogwarts houses in the Harry Potter series
• The influence of mythology and folklore in Harry Potter
• The role of destiny and fate in Harry Potter
• The impact of the Harry Potter series on popular culture
• The hero's journey in Harry Potter
• The role of family in the Harry Potter series
• The importance of education and learning in Harry Potter
• The character development of Harry Potter throughout the series
• The representation of mental health issues in Harry Potter
• The symbolism of the Deathly Hallows in Harry Potter
• The influence of historical events on the Harry Potter series
• The role of love in Harry Potter
• The representation of power and authority in Harry Potter
• The impact of technology on the wizarding world in Harry Potter
• The significance of names and naming in Harry Potter
• The portrayal of loyalty and betrayal in Harry Potter
• The role of animals in the Harry Potter series
• The portrayal of government and politics in Harry Potter
• The representation of religion and spirituality in Harry Potter
• The impact of war and conflict in Harry Potter
• The role of prophecy in Harry Potter
• The portrayal of adolescence in Harry Potter
• The representation of heroism in Harry Potter
• The influence of fairy tales in Harry Potter
• The significance of food and feasting in Harry Potter
• The portrayal of time and time travel in Harry Potter
• The role of memory and nostalgia in Harry Potter
• The impact of loss and grief in Harry Potter
• The representation of disability in Harry Potter
• The symbolism of colors in Harry Potter
• The role of music and sound in Harry Potter
• The influence of art and creativity in Harry Potter
• The portrayal of nature and the environment in Harry Potter
• The significance of sports and games in Harry Potter
• The representation of technology and innovation in Harry Potter
• The role of humor and comedy in Harry Potter
• The impact of consumerism and materialism in Harry Potter
• The portrayal of fashion and clothing in Harry Potter
• The significance of holidays and celebrations in Harry Potter
• The representation of death and the afterlife in Harry Potter
• The role of dreams and visions in Harry Potter
• The influence of science and technology in Harry Potter
• The portrayal of love and romance in Harry Potter
• The significance of friendship and camaraderie in Harry Potter
• The representation of sacrifice and selflessness in Harry Potter
• The role of heroism and bravery in Harry Potter
• The impact of trauma and recovery in Harry Potter
• The symbolism of nature and the elements in Harry Potter
• The portrayal of education and learning in Harry Potter
• The significance of tradition and heritage in Harry Potter
• The role of prophecy and destiny in Harry Potter
• The impact of magic and fantasy in Harry Potter
• The symbolism of animals and creatures in Harry Potter
• The portrayal of family and relationships in Harry Potter
• The representation of race and diversity in Harry Potter
• The role of gender and sexuality in Harry Potter
• The impact of class and social inequality in Harry Potter
• The symbolism of colors and symbols in Harry Potter
• The influence of history and culture in Harry Potter
• The portrayal of politics and government in Harry Potter
• The significance of religion and spirituality in Harry Potter
• The representation of war and conflict in Harry Potter
• The role of technology and innovation in Harry Potter
• The impact of nature and the environment in Harry Potter
• The symbolism of time and space in Harry Potter
• The influence of memory and nostalgia in Harry Potter

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• The Lion and the Unicorn

Reading Harry Potter: Critical Essays, and: The Ivory Tower and Harry Potter (review)

• Gary D. Schmidt
• Johns Hopkins University Press
• Volume 29, Number 1, January 2005
• pp. 136-140
• 10.1353/uni.2005.0018
• View Citation

Additional Information

• Reading Harry Potter: Critical Essays , and: The Ivory Tower and Harry Potter
• Gary D. Schmidt (bio)

Growing up in New York, we were reminded every fall of the preemption by the film Heidi of the last few minutes of a historic Giants football game—or it might have been a Jets football game; the story has passed into myth now, and the details have become blurred. The network executives having decided that the outcome was inevitable, as the Giants were so very far behind, felt it was reasonable to begin showing the film as scheduled. That they could not have known that those last few minutes would be some of the most miraculous in football history did not spare them the wrath of New York, as the Giants came from well behind to win the game, though I don't remember how.

That myth springs to mind while reading these first two book-length collections of critical essays on the Harry Potter novels. As is so frequently mentioned throughout the essays, we are in media res in a series which the author considers to be essentially one long novel. Is it too early for literary analysis that means to consider the technique and mode of the books? Is it too soon to evaluate the achievement of this artist?

The evidence of these two books is equivocal. Already they seem dated, based as they are upon only the first four of the series. Both were compiled before the publication of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix in June 2003, so at times conclusions, and arguments based on those conclusions, are off the mark. In Anatol's collection, for example, Ximena Gallardo-C. and C. Jason Smith argue that Harry's return to the Dursley home each summer fulfills a "spatially recursive narrative" (195), but fail to acknowledge that there is now a new plot dimension to the necessity of that return. When Veronica L. Schanoes suggests that "Snape is, at heart, mean-spirited" (134), she has not yet read that this characterization is complicated quite a bit by the mean-spiritedness of—surprise—James Potter in Book 5. Similarly, in Whited's collection Mary Pharr notes Snape's "badgering" of Harry Potter and company is done "inexcusably" (59), but that assessment is now quite wrong. Later, M. Katherine Grimes notes that like the evil step-mothers of fairy tales, Petunia Dursley "is willing to abandon the child entrusted to her care" (95); she later notes that "Harry's feelings about his father are not ambivalent" (111); neither, of course, is quite the case by the end of Book 5. [End Page 137]

And there is also the spell of the current mania to deal with. Would it be wise to wait for assessments until after the series is complete as the author envisions (rather than as critics too quickly predict), and even—dare one presume that the time will come—when assessments are not clouded by fan-dom? Are the quotations from Internet chats that form so much of the evidence of so many of these essays really the stuff of literary criticism?

No, they're not; one feels over and over again in many of these essays the lack of solid scholarly foundations. In Anatol's collection, Brycchan Carey's declarative opening to his essay, that slavery "has always been central to children's literature" (103), and his statement that the Harry Potter novels are "among the most politically engaged novels to have been written for children in recent years" (105) feel like the kind of overstatements—and just plain errors—made by someone not solidly familiar with the field. Anatol's own leaps come in her postcolonial desire to connect Rowling's work to the empire building of the last century. Rowling's link between snakes and fear depends, she says, "upon the reader's assumption of the exotic qualities of India" (169); similarly, the presence of the giant spider and its offspring in the Forbidden...

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The trio finishing their History of Magic homework

Homework was coursework usually assigned to students at the end of classes or at the end of the school term at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry . It was usually completed by students in the: Study Hall , Study Area , Library , Gryffindor Tower reading room , or another common room .

A homework planner was a magical diary that allowed a student to keep track of their homework assignments, with the planner verbally reminding them not to procrastinate on their homework; Harry Potter and Ron Weasley received them as Christmas presents from Hermione Granger in December 1995 , much to their annoyance. [1] The Homework Cup was granted to Hogwarts students who excelled at their completion of homework. [2]

• 1.1 First year
• 1.2 Second year
• 1.3 Third year
• 1.4 Fourth year
• 1.5 Fifth year
• 1.6 Sixth year
• 1.7 Unknown year
• 2 Appearances
• 3 Notes and references

Known homework at Hogwarts [ ]

First year [ ].

• Potions : To collect asphodel , dittany and wiggentree bark in order to brew the Wiggenweld Potion in the following lesson. [3]
• Unknown class: Research dittany in One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi (presumably for either Herbology or Potions), practise wand movements (presumably for both Charms and Transfiguration ), and recite the twelve uses of dragon blood . [4]

Second year [ ]

• History of Magic : To write an three foot composition about the Medieval Assembly of European Wizards . [5]
• Defence Against the Dark Arts : To write a poem about Gilderoy Lockhart 's defeat of the Wagga Wagga Werewolf ( 1992–1993 school year only). [6]
• Potions: Something that involved Hair-Raising Potions and the amount of potion ingredients used in it (with rat tails being one such ingredient). [7]

Third year [ ]

• History of Magic : To write an essay about Medieval witch burnings to be handed in at the beginning of the school year. [8]
• Potions: To write an essay on Shrinking Solutions to be handed in at the beginning of the school year, [8] and to write an essay on Undetectable Poisons , [9] to collect the ingredients for the Wiggenweld Potion , to collect the ingredients for the Antidote to Uncommon Poisons , and to collect the ingredients for the Girding Potion . [10]
• Defence Against the Dark Arts: To write an essay on werewolves (assigned by Professor Snape during his substitution) [11] and to write an essay on vampires . [12]
• Muggle Studies : To write an essay about why Muggles needed electricity , something involving diagrams of Muggles lifting heavy objects, [9] and read Home Life and Social Habits of British Muggles . [13]
• Arithmancy : To write an essay (unknown topic) and possibly two assignments involving complex number charts (if one of them is not connected to the previous essay). [9]
• Study of Ancient Runes : Translating runes using a Rune Dictionary . [9]

Fourth year [ ]

• Charms : To read three books about Summoning Charms . [14]
• Potions: To explore antidotes . [14]
• History of Magic: To write weekly essays about Goblin Rebellions . [14]
• Divination : To produce a detailed personal chart which details how planetary movements affect the individual student's fate. [15] [14]
• Transfiguration : To write an essay on Cross-Species Transfiguration . [16]
• Care of Magical Creatures : To go to Hagrid's Hut and make notes about the Blast-Ended Skrewt 's behaviour. [14]

Fifth year [ ]

• Transfiguration: To practise Vanishing Spells (only if they did not successfully vanish their snail ), answer questions assigned by Professor McGonagall , [17] and an essay on the Inanimatus Conjurus Spell . [18]
• Potions: To write a foot long essay on the Properties of Moonstone and its Uses in Potion-Making , [19] to write an essay on the variety of venom antidotes [20] and to write an essay on how to properly brew Strengthening Solution ( Harry Potter only). [21] Students also had to collect five moly plants, Mandrakes and other ingredients for class, [2] research Anti-venoms and copy a diagram of a Chinese Chomping Cabbage . [22]
• Astronomy : To write an label a essay on Jupiter's moons [18] and to complete a new star chart . [23]
• Care of Magical Creatures: To finish a labeled sketch of a Bowtruckle (if not completed by the end of class) and cobble together how to properly handle a Bowtruckle. [17]
• Divination: To keep a dream diary for a month. [19]
• Herbology : To write an essay on self-fertilising shrubs , [18] and a twenty inch essay on Dittany and its uses . [24]
• History of Magic: To find four talking gargoyles at Hogwarts Castle [2] and to write a foot-and-a-half-long essay on Giant Wars . [19]
• Charms : To complete the largest amount of work ever assigned in class including how to work out a counter-charm for a particular charm . [17]
• Study of Ancient Runes : Translate a rune using Spellman's Syllabary , Magical Hieroglyphs and Logograms . [23]

Sixth year [ ]

• Defence Against the Dark Arts : Something so complicated that it took the trio at least two hours to complete (possibly on Nonverbal spells ), [25] to write essays on Dementors and resisting the Imperius Curse . [26]
• Potions: To study and take notes on Everlasting Elixirs (if Harry was not doing a self-study). [27]
• Unknown class: To write an essay on The Principles of Re-Materialisation . [28]
• Charms : To practise the Water-Making Spell [29] and to read Quintessence: A Quest by the following class. [27]
• Arithmancy: To write an essay (unknown topic). [27]
• Study of Ancient Runes : To write a fifteen-inch essay, translate two things, and read an armful of heavy books by the Wednesday following the first day of school. [25]

Unknown year [ ]

• Potions : To write an essay on abandoned potions of the Middle Ages as compared to the Black Plague ; to write an essay on invisibility . [30]

Appearances [ ]

• Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (First appearance)
• Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (video game)
• Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
• Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (film)
• Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
• Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (film)
• Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (video game)
• Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
• Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (film)
• Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
• Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (video game)
• Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
• Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (Appears in an alternate reality )
• Wizarding World (Mentioned only)
• Harry Potter Trading Card Game
• Wonderbook: Book of Spells (Mentioned only)
• Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery (Mentioned only)
• Hogwarts Legacy (Mentioned only)

Notes and references [ ]

• ↑ Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix , Chapter 23 ( Christmas on the Closed Ward )
• ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (video game)
• ↑ Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (video game)
• ↑ Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone , Chapter 14 ( Norbert the Norwegian Ridgeback )
• ↑ Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets , Chapter 9 ( The Writing on the Wall )
• ↑ Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets , Chapter 10 ( The Rogue Bludger )
• ↑ Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets , Chapter 13 ( The Very Secret Diary )
• ↑ 8.0 8.1 Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban , Chapter 1 ( Owl Post )
• ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban , Chapter 12 ( The Patronus )
• ↑ Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (video game) - Console versions
• ↑ Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban , Chapter 9 ( Grim Defeat )
• ↑ Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban , Chapter 14 ( Snape's Grudge )
• ↑ Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban , Chapter 13 ( Gryffindor versus Ravenclaw )
• ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 14.3 14.4 Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire , Chapter 15 ( Beauxbatons and Durmstrang )
• ↑ Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire , Chapter 13 ( Mad-Eye Moody )
• ↑ Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire , Chapter 21 ( The House-Elf Liberation Front )
• ↑ 17.0 17.1 17.2 Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix , Chapter 13 ( Detention with Dolores )
• ↑ 18.0 18.1 18.2 Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix , Chapter 14 ( Percy and Padfoot )
• ↑ 19.0 19.1 19.2 Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix , Chapter 12 ( Professor Umbridge )
• ↑ Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix , Chapter 15 ( The Hogwarts High Inquisitor )
• ↑ Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix , Chapter 17 ( Educational Decree Number Twenty-Four )
• ↑ Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix , Chapter 16 ( In The Hog's Head )
• ↑ 23.0 23.1 Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix , Chapter 26 ( Seen and Unforeseen )
• ↑ Hogwarts Legacy , Main Quest " The Polyjuice Plot "
• ↑ 25.0 25.1 Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince , Chapter 9 ( The Half-Blood Prince )
• ↑ Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince , Chapter 21 ( The Unknowable Room )
• ↑ 27.0 27.1 27.2 Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince , Chapter 15 ( The Unbreakable Vow )
• ↑ Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince , Chapter 10 ( The House of Gaunt )
• ↑ Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince , Chapter 11 ( Hermione's Helping Hand )
• ↑ Hogwarts Legacy (see this video )

See also [ ]

• Hogwarts subjects
• List of books
• Harry Potter
• 1 Tom Riddle
• 2 Harry Potter
• 3 List of spells

How Many Words are in Harry Potter?

The Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling are among the most popular book series of all times among people of all ages. Millions of copies have been sold in multiple countries and the books have been translated into many different languages. They have been adapted into eight feature films, each of which has grossed millions of dollars at the box office.

In this article, we’re going to look at how many words are in the Harry Potter series. We are also going to look at how Harry Potter is comparable to other young adult novels in regards to word count.

Comparison of Each Book in the Series

First, we’ll look at the number of words for each book in the series. The first book, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, has 76,944 words. It has fewer words than the other six books, making it the shortest book in the series. Since this was the first book, Rowling had more time to edit the book and make the writing more concise. Plus, she probably didn’t want to make the first book too long, or the publisher might not have accepted it. She was a new author at that point. Publishers usually don’t accept long novels from first-time authors.

In comparison, each of the other six books are longer, likely due to the initial success of the Philosophers's Stone, which within its first two years had sold more than 300,000 copies in the U.K. alone . According to Wikipedia , the American version, “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone” remained on the New York Time’s bestseller list for “79 consecutive weeks.”

Due to the sales of the first book, the publishers—Bloomsbury for the British version and Scholastic for the American version—wanted more books about the world of Harry Potter from Rowling. They were willing to accept longer books because they knew to follow up books would sell well. The word count figures for the other six books, in order:

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone : 76,944 words .

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets : 85,141 words .

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban : 107,253 words .

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire : 190,637 words .

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix : 257,045 words .

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince : 168,923 words .

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows : 198,227 words .

As you can see, books two through five get progressively longer. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is the longest book in the series. Why? J.K. Rowling did an interview with Harry Potter fan site The Leaky Cauldron and Mugglenet in July 2005. One of the things she talked about was how she feels the fifth book is overly long, but challenges “anyone to find the obvious place to cut.”

She goes on to state that in the fifth book, she “had to move Harry around a lot, physically. There were places he had to go he had never been before, and that took time—to get him there, to get him away.” There were new elements in the fifth book that had not been in the previous four books. Overall, Rowling couldn’t pinpoint which subplots could be left out to make Order of the Phoenix shorter. She felt what was in there was needed.

The last two books are slightly shorter but still longer than the first books in the series. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is 119.54% longer than the first book. The last book in the series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, is 157.63% longer than the first book. In total, all seven Harry Potter books contain 1,084,170 words. Those 1,084,170 words take up 6,095 pages.

Comparison to Other Young Adult Books

If you've read our related article on how many words are in a novel you'll recall that the typical word count for a novel according to is 80,000 to 109,000 words. For novels specifically in the young adult genre, the typical range is between 55,000 – 79,999 words . Only the first book of the Harry Potter Series falls within that range.

However, when you consider that the Harry Potter series falls within the fantasy genre, it makes sense that the books are longer than other young adult novels. There is a lot of worldbuilding in Harry Potter and J.K. Rowling had to come up with the backgrounds for each significant character. Typically, young adult fantasy novels can run 80,000 words or more.

What is the difference in word count between the Harry Potter Series and the Hunger Games Trilogy? Well, the total word count for all three books in the Hunger Games trilogy is 301,583 words. Here is that number broken down per book:

Hunger Games : 99,750 words .

Hunger Games: Catching Fire : 101,564 words .

Hunger Games: Mockingjay : 100,269 words .

Of course, the whole Harry Potter series has more words because it has four more books. But, let’s compare the first three books of the Harry Potter series to the Hunger Games trilogy. The total for the first three Harry Potter books is 269,338 words. That is 11% less than the Hunger Games trilogy.

Overall, the Harry Potter series has over a million words. That’s more words than most other young adult book series. Even the individual books in the series have more words than average. Also, millions of people, young and old alike, who have read these books have read over a million words. And that is a great thing.

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Essays on Harry Potter

Writing an essay about Harry Potter can be a fun and engaging way to explore the themes, characters, and impact of this beloved series. Whether you're a student or just a fan looking to dive deeper into the magical world of Hogwarts, writing an essay about Harry Potter can help you sharpen your critical thinking skills and express your love for the series.

When choosing a topic for your Harry Potter essay, consider what aspect of the series you are most passionate about. Whether it's the themes of friendship and bravery, the complex characters, or the world-building, there are plenty of topics to explore. For an argumentative essay, you could analyze the ethical dilemmas faced by the characters or debate the impact of the series on popular culture. For a cause and effect essay, you could explore how the events in the series lead to certain outcomes or how the series has influenced readers. For an opinion essay, you could share your thoughts on the controversial aspects of the series or discuss your favorite characters and why they resonate with you. For an informative essay, you could delve into the history of the series, its impact on literature, or the cultural significance of the wizarding world.

• The theme of love and sacrifice in Harry Potter demonstrates the power of compassion and selflessness.
• The character development of Hermione Granger in Harry Potter challenges traditional gender roles and empowers young readers.
• The magical world of Harry Potter serves as an allegory for the struggles and triumphs of adolescence.
• The Harry Potter series, written by J.K. Rowling, has captured the hearts of readers around the world with its enchanting blend of magic, friendship, and adventure.
• As a symbol of resilience and hope, Harry Potter has become a cultural phenomenon that continues to inspire and captivate audiences of all ages.
• From the moment Harry discovers he is a wizard, the world of Hogwarts opens up to readers, inviting them to explore the complexities of good versus evil and the power of love.
• The Harry Potter series has left an indelible mark on popular culture, reminding readers of the enduring power of love, friendship, and bravery.
• As we bid farewell to the wizarding world of Harry Potter, we are left with a sense of wonder and appreciation for the timeless themes and characters that have touched our hearts.
• The magic of Harry Potter lives on in the hearts and minds of fans, reminding us that the power of imagination and storytelling can transcend time and space.

Hermione Granger: a Complex Character in The Harry Potter Series

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The Similarities Between J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter and The Sorcerer's Stone and The Deathly Hallows

The deconstruction of concepts of life and death in harry potter series, the questionable nature of the monsters in harry potter universe, j.k. rowling’s depiction of the personality of severus snape as illustrated in harry potter, j. k. rowling's harry potter and the sorcerer's stone: book review, the relationship between harry potter and the sorcerer's stone and economics, the last book about harry potter, and logistics, destiny and choice in never let me go and harry potter and the half-blood prince, harry potter and the sorcerer's stone: plot summary, the lord of the rings vs. "harry potter and the sorcerer's stone", grandfather paradox in j.k. rowling's "harry potter", analysis of j. k. rowling’s book, harry potter and the goblet of fire, from jane eyre to hermione granger: progression of female characters, philosopher's stone and graveyard book: the representation of magical and supernatural, gabriel and young's study about reading a piece of narrative, harry as the sacrificial lamb in harry potter, a reaction to the kairos moment in the goblet of fire as highlighted in the j.k. rowling's novel series, the role of magical animals in harry potter and the sorcerer's stone, harry potter and the last unicorn: analysing the concept of heroism, bilbo baggins - a hero’s journey.

• Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (1997)
• Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (1998)
• Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (1999)
• Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2000)
• Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2003)
• Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2005)
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (2007)

J.K. Rowling

Fantasy Novels

Fantasy Fiction, Drama, Young Adult Fiction, Mystery, Thriller, Bildungsroman

Hermione Granger, Harry Potter, Draco Malfoy, Ron Weasley, Lord Voldemort, Professor Albus Dumbledore, Professor Severus Snape, Luna Lovegood, Rubeus Hagrid, Dobby, Bellatrix Lestrange, Neville Longbottom, Professor Minerva McGonagall, Sirius Black, Pansy Parkinson, Newt Scamander, Remus Lupin, Ginny Weasley Gellert Grindelwald, Sorting Hat, Cho Chang, Dolores Umbridge, Peter Pettigrew, Fred Weasley, Dudley Dursley, Lucius Malfoy, Nymphadora Tonks, Hedwig, Lily Evans Potter, Albus Severus Potter, Nagini, Oliver Wood, Narcissa Malfoy, James Potter, Moaning Myrtle, Fleur Delacour, Alastor Moody, George Weasley, Dean Thomas, Argus Filch, James Sirius Potter, Lily Luna Potter, Molly Weasley, Vernon Dursley, Seamus Finnigan, Regulus Black, Winky, Sybill Trelawney, Peeves, Lavender Brown, Astoria Greengrass

Even though there is no actual Harry Potter in real life, J. K. Rowling drew her book inspiration based on a boy who lived just four doors down when she was a child. The boy's name was Ian Potter.

The most important symbol is the scar on Harry's forehead, which stands for the past, present, and the future. The scar is also a representative of Harry Potter's link to Lord Voldemort. The eternal fight between the good and evil.

Love is the main theme throughout the books because if you truly love someone, it cannot be taken away. The true love lasts forever as Harry Potter finds his identity and learns to fight against the tyrannical rule by Voldemort. It is an educational book where there is much more to that than it actually seems. Another great lesson is that true friendship can get you through anything. It is not the magic or being a wizard, but being a true friend and staying there for the ones you love.

It all starts when Harry Potter, an eleven year old English orphaned boy, learns that he is the son of two powerful wizards and has certain magical powers of his own. Joining Hogwarts, an English boarding school for wizards, he embarks on a magical journey, which helps him to find true friends and discover the truth about his parents.

• J.K. Rowling and Harry Potter share the same birthday date
• The author already had the sketch of the final chapter of the final book when she only had the first book written down.
• Struggling with depression after her mother's death, Rowling came up with the concept of the dementors.
• The Quidditch has been created after a fight with her boyfriend.
• The Philosopher's Stone has nearly become "Harry Potter and the School of Magic" in the United States.
• Haley Joel Osment of "The Sixth Sense" fame could have played Harry Potter.
• J.K. Rowling has acknowledged it herself that Harry and Hermione pairing could have worked.
• "To the well-organized mind, death is but the next great adventure." ― Albus Dumbledore
• "It does not do well to dwell on dreams and forget to live." ― Albus Dumbledore
• "Fawkes is a phoenix, Harry. Phoenixes burst into flame when it is time for them to die and are reborn from the ashes." — Albus Dumbledore
• "It matters not what someone is born, but what they grow to be." ― Albus Dumbledore
• "We are only as strong as we are united, as weak as we are divided." — Albus Dumbledore

The main message of the book is defeating evil with the power of love, sincerity, and friendship. The love grants protection, the logic and being smart helps to find the way and open the locked doors. It is more than just an entertaining story that reminds us once again that true friendship will stand through everything and that as long as you have your friend's back, you will challenge even the worst evil there is.

It is one of the most essential books for children and adults today, which makes it a great essay topic when we want to talk about friendship, care for each other, reaching for your dreams, and staying true to who you are. It is also the battle between good and evil and using magic just simply by staying kind and helping your friends.

Relevant topics

• The Alchemist
• Frankenstein
• A Rose For Emily
• The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas
• Bartleby The Scrivener
• Harrison Bergeron
• Sense and Sensibility
• A Long Way Gone
• A Sound of Thunder
• Anne of Green Gables

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Harry Potter and the Adaptation from Novel to Film

Submitted by: Robyn Joffe

Harry Potter and the Adaptation from Novel to Film  

By Robyn Joffe

For as long as people have been making movies, people have been making movies based on books. Films have also been adapted from several other forms such as television shows, theatrical plays and even other movies. More recently, entire book series have been adapted, such as the Lord of the Rings trilogy and the still in progress Harry Potter series . With six of the seven books written, and five films finished (four of them released), the Harry Potter franchise has a lot to offer scholars interested in the how-to's and the results of adapting books to film.

The Harry Potter films, which started with the release of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone in the year 2001, depict the events covered in the books in a more filmic fashion. The films bring Rowling's words to life; however, as is nearly always the case in adapting work of one form to another, the transitions can be less than smooth. As Deborah Cartmell, senior lecturer in English writes, "An adaptation is undeniably an appropriation of the text, and although the plot remains the same, the telling ’ or the interpreting of it ’ radically changes from one generation to the next." 1

From time constraints to a director's need for artistic expression to casting choices to how a film is promoted, the process of transforming a book to a film can be fraught with peril. Other such issues surrounding direction, characterization, pacing and chosen content (among others) can also contribute to a film's eventual success or failure. Though the resulting movie may in fact be a good film, the question that must be asked is whether it is a good film version of the book . Though most published academic works covering the adaptation of a book to a film focus on classic novels, such as those by Shakespeare or Jane Austen, adaptations are not made merely from acclaimed literary masterpieces. What the Harry Potter series lacks in academic acknowledgment, it more than makes up for in mass popular appeal.

For this reason, this essay will dissect the Harry Potter books and their resulting films, paying particular attention to what issues in the process of adaptation were most relevant to each, and see what, if any, perils were encountered in the making of them. In doing so, this essay will make use of both scholarly and amateur sources, because while authoritative texts are more often relied upon (and with good reason) in essays such as this, the opinions fueled by the unquestionable knowledge of the Harry Potter fan base (in regards to the content of both the books and films), are not necessarily any less valid than their more academically informed counterparts.

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (2001)

Graham Greene, one of the first major literary talents to show an interest in writing for films (and one who often adapted his own short stories) once described the screenwriter as "a ˜forgotten man' once the film went into production, since after that point other hands might make alterations to the screenplay." 2 In a much more recent book, the same sentiment was expressed: "Despite the excellent compensation, a Hollywood scriptwriter is a low man on the totem pole, and much of his work ’ sometimes all of his work ’ is not used." 3 However, for Harry Potter screenwriter Steve Kloves, working with director Christopher Columbus was an experience in the opposite. In fact, Columbus described their collaboration ’ which went from script development through production ’ as "something of a dream situation' 4 and Kloves further explained that "Chris has been willing to listen to any idea, and he doesn't think it's right until we both agree it's right, which is great." 5

Columbus also went a step further in welcoming the continued involvement of not just the screenwriter ’ but the original novelist as well; "My desire was to remain faithful to the story, the characters and the integrity of those characters ... I realized that I had found a solid collaborator [in Rowling]. And it was important because she knows this world better than anyone else." 6

Producer David Heyman also noted that Rowling "has been given the freedom to exert perhaps more influence on the Potter films than is usual when a book is adapted for the screen." 7 This is no doubt due to the fact that the book series is not yet completed, or as Kloves himself put it; "It's the only time I've ever been involved in a story without an ending ... And you would think [Rowling] would tell me something [about it], since I am writing it. But she won't." 8 Along with script approval, author J.K. Rowling had one other demand: that the actors playing the British characters actually be British. Thus, casting began.

Casting a film that is being adapted from a book can often become very controversial, especially if fans get wind of which actors are being considered beforehand. Because many novels that are made into films are not illustrated, the reader has created a picture of each character in their mind, according to any descriptions from the book, and accepting an actor who may not entirely fit that description or picture is something that many fans find hard to do. On the other hand, it is not always only a matter of a fan being unable to let go of his/her own interpretation of a character. At times, the decision to cast a certain actor in a certain role can be questionable no matter how good they might be.

An example of this would be the casting of Alan Rickman in the role of Professor Severus Snape. Though Rickman is a very talented actor, he was also fifty-five years old when the first movie was released, whereas at the start of the series Snape is supposedly only thirty-two years old. 9 While one might think that the age difference does not matter so long as the appearance is appropriate, the difference ’ particularly as it's more than twenty years ’ has an effect on that as well. In the book, part of Harry's perception of Snape is that "his eyes were black like Hagrid's, but they had none of Hagrid's warmth. They were cold and empty and made you think of dark tunnels." 10 Snape's youth, coupled with his demeanor, present a more tragic juxtaposition in the book than they do in the film because in the film that juxtaposition does not even exist. How can it when the embittered contempt that emanates from the character is easily understandable, rather than jarring, in the lined face of an older actor?

The choice to cast Rickman has also lead to another unforeseen side effect among Harry Potter fans: Lust.

The newfound Snapemania was sparked in part by the casting of actor Alan Rickman ’ well-established as "the thinking woman's sex symbol" ’ in the role. Rickman's feline movements and mellifluous voice give the Potions Master a sensuality absent from the page. And beyond the shoulder-length black wig and black contact lenses Rickman wears, no attempt is made to ugly him up. 11

This has even led to Rowling herself questioning whether those who profess their love of the character are talking about Snape, or Alan Rickman, and (as the same thing has occurred in the case of Harry's nemesis, Draco Malfoy) lamenting the humanizing effect that an attractive actor tends to have on the villainous characters he portrays; "Isn't this life, though? I make this hero ’ Harry, obviously ’ and there he is on screen ... but who does every girl under the age of fifteen fall in love with? Tom Felton as Draco Malfoy." 12

Aside from these and other slight deviations, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (known as Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone in the United States 13 ), is remarkably faithful to its source text. In fact, BBC film reviewer Adrian Hennigan wrote that Columbus treated "J.K. Rowling's debut novel with a reverence that wasn't even accorded to the Bible." 14

However, not all deemed such devotion praise-worthy, and the film "was criticized by many as being too faithful to the book." 15 One summed the film up as "an adaptation which paradoxically undermines itself by aiming at a faithful replication of the source text' 16 while others merely declared that "a commitment to fidelity (in response to the perceived demands of readers/viewers) compromises the processes of adaptation." 17 However, on the other side of the spectrum, respected critic Roger Ebert wrote that the film had succeeded in doing "full justice to a story that was a daunting challenge ... During [the film] I was pretty sure I was watching a classic." 18

There are a couple of issues that help explain this broad range of reactions ’ aside from the obvious reality of people having different opinions. One of these issues is that this book and film are the first of a series, and so while the actual plot is one of mystery, it doesn't appear until rather late in the actual story ’ the time up to that point being taken up by Harry's introduction to (and the setting up of) the wizarding world. In fact, in the shooting script for the film, the titular Stone is only very obliquely referred to for the first time on the twenty-second page; "Hogwarts business. Very secret' 19 and once more on the forty-third; "the third floor corridor ... is out of bounds to everyone who does not wish to die a most painful death' 20 before the characters are confronted with the actual mystery on page fifty-five:

HERMIONE Didn't you see what it was standing on? [...] It was standing on a trapdoor, which means it's not there by accident. It's-

HARRY Guarding something. 21

This means that the actual plot of the first film doesn't start until fifty-five pages into the script, completely ignoring a rule that is not just for "adaptation, it's a rule of screenwriting in general. You've only got about thirty pages to set everything up. Establish your main characters ... ground the audience in the world where your story takes place, introduce the dramatic problem, and move into the second act." 22 Lagging with the opening could add to any pacing problems that might develop, as well as become the source of accusations of too much fidelity by critics. And yet, because this introduction is not just for this film but for the entire series, it's (arguably) necessary, because the plotline revolving around the Philosopher's Stone might be the focus of the first film, but Harry's place in the wizarding world remains a focus of each of the films that follow. To breeze through it would be inexcusable, making the resulting ambling movement towards the main plot of the film all but unavoidable. However, it is worth it to remember that that introduction is part of what the audience is there to see.

The other issue that must be highlighted when discussing the expectations of both fans and critics is the overwhelming, ever-growing Harry Potter phenomenon that accompanies the release of every single bit of news even remotely relating to the series. As Suman Gupta wrote in a chapter of his book entitled Movie Magic : "Very seldom have films been so preordained to be blockbusters, received so much media attention before they appeared ... been anticipated with so much informed readiness." 23

Perhaps Professor Philip Nel put it best when he wrote that "the film does no violence to readers' imagined versions of characters and events, but it does not offer its own creative vision." 24

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002)

This film, like the first, was directed by Christopher Columbus and written for the screen by Steve Kloves. Because most of the creative team was the same, most of the commentary towards the process of creating this film is similar as well. However, there are some significant differences and additional issues unexplored in the topic for the previous film that warrant its own ’ albeit shorter ’ discussion.

Structurally, the second film is quite different from the first, as the introduction to the entire Harry Potter universe isn't necessary this time around. As Rowling put it; "The first one is episodic ... And Chamber is a more linear structure so it was easier to translate to screen." 25 However, it is also the longest Harry Potter film (though, to be fair, it only beats Goblet of Fire by four minutes), and the pacing suffers for it. As one critic wrote, "You get the sense that its makers have tried to film a novel instead of make a movie' 26 while another pointed out that "watching the film, I mostly felt sensory overload as one special effect was piled atop another. In fact director Chris Columbus has scrupulously avoided anything like genuine emotion." 27

To be fair, he was worrying about other things - namely, his young stars.

Casting these kids at the beginning of Sorcerer's Stone was, in a way, horrifying. I spent the first two weeks on that film trying to get them to look away from the camera, stop smiling and be able to utter one line so I could cut around it. 28

The experience (or lack of same) of his actors contributed in a large way to how Columbus was able to shoot both of the Harry Potter movies he filmed. As none of the child actors had ever done anything professional before ’ aside from Daniel Radcliffe, who had only had a few small roles ’ the movie had to be shot and edited around them. The first two Harry Potter films owe their less-than-sophisticated look to the fact that prolonged camera shots and wide angles were simply not possible in most cases involving the young stars ’ and neither was the endless repetition that can otherwise be associated with film-making. In fact, Columbus "rehearsed very little with the children since ... he didn't want to lose their spontaneity." 29

In Columbus' words; "When we wrapped on Chamber of Secrets , their performances had improved immensely, and they had become seasoned professionals. I felt my job was complete' 30 and with his job complete, so was the second film.

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004)

It is in the discussion of the third film in the Harry Potter series that a more intricate and varied discussion on the pros and cons of the adaptation process can truly commence. This is not to say that discussing the first two films is without merit, but that as the books get longer (indeed, the third one is the first of the series to break 300 pages), and the plots grow more complex, the resulting portrayals on film offer more topics to debate.

Another reason that this progression reflected so obviously on the film series was that Christopher Columbus, director of the first two films, stepped back into the role of co-producer (with David Heyman and others) on this film, leading to Mexican filmmaker Alfonso Cuarón being hired to direct. Having previously brought his unique visual style to films like A Little Princess (and consequently proving he could work with children), Cuarón was drafted to lead the Harry Potter series in a new direction: "My approach was that I wanted to do a character driven piece, with cool visual effects, rather than a visual effects movie with some characters running around." 31

At the same time, Cuarón was conscious of the fact that he was stepping into an already-established universe, admitting that "it was one of [his] hesitations" before accepting the position. 32 He solved that dilemma by resolving to serve the material: "and the material meant before anything else the book, and then secondly the position of this film in the franchise of Harry Potter." 33

His overall success may be debatable, but what cannot be questioned is the dramatic change made in the look of this third film. As Columbus remembers: "Most of our sets were already built, but Alfonso had a desire ’ as did our production designer Stuart Craig ’ to open up the picture." 34 Using more wide-angle and tracking shots to heighten the sense of drama, 35 Cuarón was intent on facilitating the overall flow of the film, as well as creating lasting visual connections throughout. 36 Particular focus was paid to images relating to time (Harry spends several scenes in and around a large clock tower at Hogwarts), and identity (there are numerous scenes that start or end on a close up of a character's eye), in keeping with the themes Cuarón had chosen to highlight. The use of darker colours, more haunting music and dramatic lighting ("high contrast, more shadows") also contributed to the "very different look and feel from the previous films." 37

Perhaps the most important decision made to create this result, however, was one that was more philosophical than technical: "One of the things we decided was that in order for the magic to spring forward more naturally, it had to come from a real and honest place ... What we sought to create was a sense of reality in which the characters interact with each other." 38

Cuarón felt that choosing Michael Seresin for the film's cinematography would help to achieve that goal:

One thing that I felt was perfect for Michael was that we have this magical universe that he could really ground. Because he has got that grittiness, and that grittiness comes from the fact that he is a single-source light cinematographer. He's very naturalistic in that sense. I felt it would be a good marriage with the material. 39

And he seems to have succeeded. As Sloan de Forest, editor and contributor to Scribbulus , writes: "[In] the third film, I saw an immense, imposing Hogwarts drained of its warmth but injected with a unique style and grainy realism not present in the first two films." 40 The film was lauded by both critics and fans as being "the closest any of the films has gotten to capturing the enormously pleasing essence of the Potter books' 41 and there seemed to be a tentative collective agreement that Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban was a truly great movie. But that does not mean it was a great movie of the book , and as this is the difference that this essay seeks to highlight, more in depth examination is necessary.

The unique thing about the book, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban , is that it is arguably not a story in and of itself ’ but the story of a story, which gradually unfolds throughout the book, finally leading to its climactic reveal and the ensuing repercussions. The book covering Harry Potter's third year at Hogwarts is not about Harry Potter's third year at all, but about the events leading up to his parents' deaths twelve years before.

It is fitting, then, that with this book comes the introduction of several new characters, including two of particular importance: Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor Remus Lupin, and the escaped titular Prisoner of Azkaban, Sirius Black. One interviewer notes that their "connection with ... Harry's parents is a major factor in Azkaban's back-story' 42 but though most of that quotation is true, it is the use of the word "back-story" that is the problem.

As Amy Z wrote in her essay An Elegantly Woven Tapestry: Plotlines in Prisoner of Azkaban , "it's true that there is no single central plot in [the story], because one candidate (Quidditch) lacks gravitas, and another (Sirius [versus] Harry) proves to be an illusion." 43 Instead, in the absence of an obvious main storyline, it is the so-called "back-story" that takes centre stage; "while Harry is going about his life ... there is another drama mostly invisible to him (and to us, until the second reading): that of Lupin, Black, Snape, and, if you think about it, Pettigrew." 44 In Prisoner of Azkaban the back-story becomes the main plot, as even though the events transpired twelve years previous, they are unfolding to Harry in the present and the story's climax happens when the truth is finally revealed to all. In that way, there was no conclusion to the events in the past, instead, it was as if those involved were put on hold, held in stasis until Harry's third year at Hogwarts when they were at last able to play it out:

"Everyone thought Sirius killed Peter' said Lupin, nodding. "I believed it myself ” until I saw the map tonight. Because the Marauder's Map never lies... Peter's alive. Ron's holding him, Harry."

"If you're going to tell them the story, get a move on, Remus' said Black, who was still watching Scabbers's every desperate move. "I've waited twelve years, I'm not going to wait much longer."

"Harry' said Lupin hurriedly, "don't you see? All this time we've thought Sirius betrayed your parents, and Peter tracked him down ” but it was the other way around, don't you see? Peter betrayed your mother and father ” Sirius tracked Peter down ”" 45

As Amy Z writes: "We think the story is about Black trying to kill Harry, so the plot seems focused on that; but that's not what the story is about. It's about Sirius in a whole different way, and it's as much about Pettigrew." 46 With the misunderstandings cleared up and the truth of the events of twelve years before revealed, the climax of their story becomes the climax of the book itself ’ one which ultimately ends in near disaster, allowing the fallout to finally occur.

In discussing how she has conceptualized the third book, Harry Potter fan Kelly Parker writes:

I think the third book is more about setting up the series for later on and dealing more with the past and how it is affecting Harry and the entire wizarding world now. It's not so much about his schooling ... his schooling takes a back seat to finding out about his godfather and dealing with all of that. I personally think this is one of the most pivotal books in the series. 47

Unfortunately, Alfonso Cuarón apparently did not see it in exactly the same way: "This film is concerned with confronting [the characters'] innermost fears ... It's [also] a journey of a character's seeking his identity and accepting who he is. To step out of the shadow of his father, for instance, is one of the themes." 48 Putting aside the question of whether or not this is true, the difference of opinion as to the main focus of the story obviously resulted in the exclusion of certain things.

One of the most often cited examples of such an exclusion is the actual back-story of Harry's parents and their friends. Included in this example are several key pieces of information that are either missing from the film entirely, or mentioned in vague generalities that are easily glossed over. The most important piece of information that is introduced in this story is the betrayal of Harry's parents that led to their deaths. It is in this book that we learn that Voldemort could not just go and attack the Potters, and that they would have been safe had they not trusted the wrong person, because of the preparations they had taken before going into hiding:

"Dumbledore told them that their best chance was the Fidelius Charm."

"How does that work?" said Madam Rosmerta, breathless with interest. Professor Flitwick cleared his throat.

"An immensely complex spell' he said squeakily, "involving the magical concealment of a secret inside a single, living soul. The information is hidden inside the chosen person, or Secret-Keeper, and is henceforth impossible to find ” unless, of course, the Secret-Keeper chooses to divulge it. As long as the Secret-Keeper refused to speak, You-Know-Who could search the village where Lily and James were staying for years and never find them, not even if he had his nose pressed against their sitting room window!" 49

The fact that Sirius Black was thought to be the Potters' Secret-Keeper, and therefore the only person capable of betraying them, is rather central to how he became the titular Prisoner , having been sent to Azkaban without a trial. The fact that Peter Pettigrew was the actual Secret-Keeper, and therefore the only possible betrayer of the Potters: " ˜ Lily and James only made you Secret-Keeper because I suggested it,' Black hissed ... ˜I thought it was the perfect plan... a bluff... Voldemort would be sure to come after me ... It must have been the finest moment of your miserable life, telling Voldemort you could hand him the Potters,' " 50 is also central to understanding the story. However, interestingly enough, the word "Secret-Keeper" is never spoken even once during the entire film, and the importance of the role is instead glossed over, when it is referred to at all: "Well, now, years ago, when Harry Potter's parents realized that they were marked for death ’ do you remember? ’ they went into hiding. Few knew where they were. One who did, was Sirius Black ’ and he told You-Know-Who!" 51

Aside from being factually wrong, as it was Harry and not his parents who was marked for death, the use of the word "few" and the phrase "one who did" instead of " the one who did" would imply that more than one person knew where the Potters were hiding. This would, in turn, mean that more than one person would have been able to betray them, rendering Sirius Black's immediate condemnation inexplicable ’ and potentially Peter Pettigrew's later one as well.

Although it minimizes the betrayal of the Potters, the vagueness that resulted from the absence of the word "Secret-Keeper" could still have been explained had another piece of information been included:

Sirius here played a trick on [Snape] which nearly killed him ... [he] thought it would be ’ er ’ amusing, to tell Snape all he had to do was prod the knot on the tree-trunk with a long stick, and he'd be able to get in after me ... if he'd got as far as this house, he'd have met a fully grown werewolf. 52

The knowledge that Sirius Black, at sixteen, sent a fellow classmate to his death without remorse (later saying it was just a prank), would have gone a long way to explaining why of the "few" who "knew where [the Potters] were", he was the most likely suspect: " ˜ Sirius Black showed he was capable of murder at the age of sixteen,' [Snape] breathed. ˜You haven't forgotten that, Headmaster? You haven't forgotten that he once tried to kill me ?' " 53 And although this might be considered a deviation from the central plot, or potentially slow exposition in a genre where showing is prized above telling , film as a visual medium allows for both to happen at once. This enlightening bit of back-story could easily have been accompanied by either a flashback or a montage of images, illustrating what was being said. However, this did not happen, and unfortunately, it is not the most important piece of information left out of the final film, by far.

The fact that Remus Lupin, Peter Pettigrew, Sirius Black, and James Potter are the same Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs who created the map Harry is coincidentally given by his friends is never mentioned, even when ample opportunity arises ’ as seen in the following comparative examples:

Prisoner of Azkaban (the book):

"I happen to know that this map was confiscated by Mr. Filch many years ago. Yes, I know it's a map' [Lupin] said, as Harry and Ron looked amazed. 54

Prisoner of Azkaban (the film):

PROFESSOR LUPIN I don't know how this map came to be in your possession, Harry, but I'm astounded that you didn't turn it in....

Harry walks silently. 55

While this might seem a small, relatively unimportant piece of information, it would only be considered so in isolation. However, this is not so. The connection of each man to his nickname not only solidifies the reality of their once close friendship, but it also connects each to his animal form and the fact that three became Animagi for the fourth: "My three friends could hardly fail to notice that I disappeared once a month ... I was terrified they would desert me ... [but] they didn't desert me at all. ... They became Animagi ... They couldn't keep me company as humans, so they kept me company as animals. A werewolf is only a danger to people." 56

The connection to Animagi is important because of the role that each man's form plays in the overall story. Peter Pettigrew is able to fake his own death and hide for twelve years as Ron's pet rat; Sirius Black is able to both keep his sanity while in and finally escape from Azkaban as a large dog; and Harry is able to discover and reclaim a part of his father, which he finds within himself, when his Patronus takes on the form of his father's stag. And while the first two are obvious in the film without the nickname connection, the fact that James Potter was an Animagus is not, and therefore the significance of Harry's Patronus is lost. This is particularly ironic considering that it is James Potter as Prongs who is arguably the link between the opinions of the fans already stated as to the main storyline of the book, and director Alfonso Cuarón's interpretation: "It has to do with Harry coming to terms with his male energy, his father and what his father is." 57

The absence of this information is notable not only because it details exactly "what his father is", but also because the information was there in the shooting script, but still didn't make it to the final cut:

PROFESSOR LUPIN Before I go, tell me about your Patronus.

HARRY Well. At first I thought it was a horse, or perhaps a unicorn, but I think it was ’

PROFESSOR LUPIN A stag.

PROFESSOR LUPIN Your father used to transform into one. That's how he was able to keep me company when I became... sick. ... There are stories about him and your mother, you know. Some are even true. But I think it's safe to say, in the end you'll know them best by getting to know yourself. 58

As the final cut of the film is decided on by the director (and the editor, at his direction), it is particularly peculiar that none of the dialogue in this excerpt ’ all of which would go towards emphasizing Cuarón's apparent vision ’ appears in the finished version. This would not be a problem were it not for the fact that in losing these aspects of the story, the viewer is treated to a film that is incomplete ’ not only in and of itself, but also as a part of the ongoing series.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005)

As with the third film, the fourth in the Harry Potter series invites a more detailed discussion on the difficulties and competing interests involved in adapting a book to a film. Fortunately for this essay, most of the issues raised in this discussion differ significantly from those presented in each previous film. One reason for this difference was the inclusion of a new director, filmmaker Mike Newell of Four Weddings and a Funeral fame, who, in his own words, had "never made a film like this before and [had] never made a film even a quarter as big as this before." 59 Unlike the other films in the series thus far, this film presented a directorial challenge even before shooting began. At 636 pages, Goblet of Fire is more than double the size of Prisoner of Azkaban (the longest of the previous three), and Warner Bros. Studio originally intended to split the story in half, shooting the two films back to back, and releasing them close together ’ similar to what had been done for the second and third films of the Matrix trilogy. 60 Mike Newell, however, thought this unnecessary: "As far as I'm concerned it's absolutely possible to do it in one. I think it would be slightly embarrassing to do it in two." 61

Aiming to avoid this, Newell pitched his conception of the story to the producers; "I said to them, I said, I can only make this if you will agree that what we're making is a thriller and we will ruthlessly take out stuff that doesn't go to that' 62 later adding that the whole point of the story was that the villain "needs one tiny, tiny little thing from the boy: three drops of blood." 63 As the first British director in the series, Mike Newell felt that he had the insider expertise necessary to bring an authenticity to the films that they were previously lacking ’ particularly in regards to the British school system: "It wasn't possible for them to get that right. They'd never been to such a school' 64 Newell said, further explaining:

I went through this sort of education. ... I wasn't at a boarding school ... but there's an enormous body of literature books ... and I had read all of those, and I'd been to a school just like it where you were beaten with a cane. I remember some of the teachers being really quite violent ... and it had a headmaster of whom one was likely terrified and then a descending order of authority figures, and then there was... and then there was us. ... I don't see how anybody who hadn't gone through that, who wasn't English, could possibly have suspected that. 65

There are two facets of this quote that require further examination, the first being Newell's view of Hogwarts as being just like all of the typical British boarding schools he never attended. Shaun Hately, author of the essay Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in the Context of the British Public Schools , writes that "Hogwarts is not a perfect exemplar of the Public School tradition ’ while there is a substantial influence, it cannot be assumed that Hogwarts always follows Public School traditions." 66 Further on in the paper, in discussing corporal punishment, Hately demonstrates that "At Hogwarts, such methods seem to have fallen into disuse' 67 citing a quotation from the first book in the Harry Potter series; "Oh yes... Hard work and pain are the best teachers if you ask me... It's just a pity they let the old punishments die out." 68

Additional evidence presents itself in the book from which Newell made his own adaptation, when Professor Moody transfigures a student into a ferret and proceeds to bounce him up and down, catching the attention of Professor McGonagall:

"Moody, we never use Transfiguration as a punishment!" said Professor McGonagall weakly. "Surely Professor Dumbledore told you that?"

"He might've mentioned it, yeah' said Moody, scratching his chin unconcernedly, "but I thought a good sharp shock ”"

"We give detentions, Moody! Or speak to the offender's Head of House!" 69

To J.K. Rowling, the "worst, shabbiest thing you can do" as a teacher "[is] bully children' 70 and corporal punishment has no place in Harry's world. And yet Newell, who admits that even real English schools have changed now, still felt the need to "[rewrite] a scene to add a glint of schoolboy mischievousness and the corporal punishment it provokes, in which dour Professor Snape ... bonks Harry and Ron in the head with a book for goofing off during a study period." 71 Snape does not appear at all in the scene in the shooting script for the film, 72 so it is obvious that this was a directorial decision. His selection is also unfortunate for the fact that his character is not one to be considered slapstick, nor is his hatred of Harry something in which to find comic relief. However, this twisted characterization appears to be a sort of specialty of Newell's, which is the second facet of the previous long quotation in need of examination.

As with the school he runs, Newell has also assigned headmaster Albus Dumbledore to a role in the film that is not in keeping with any other information readily available about him. His idea of Dumbledore as "a headmaster of whom one [is] likely terrified' 73 is directly at odds with J.K. Rowling's assertion that Dumbledore is instead "the epitome of goodness." 74 Indeed, Hately's essay specifies how the character "as presented in the Harry Potter books seems to fit neatly into the mould of the great benevolent public school Headmaster' 75 and as James A. Morone wrote in his article Cultural Phenomena: Dumbledore's Message , "[he] practically awards bonus points for breaking the rules' 76 citing this quotation from Chamber of Secrets as proof: "I seem to remember telling you both that I would have to expel you if you broke any more school rules ... Which goes to show that the best of us must sometimes eat our words." 77

The issue of the character and characterization of Dumbledore is a difficult one for numerous reasons. The choice of actor to play the role is very much tied up in that ’ especially because it was made twice. Richard Harris, a veteran of over seventy films, was initially cast in the role, which he played for the first two films. Critics wrote that his selection "was perfection; he had that twinkle in his eye and he conveyed that Dumbledore was as solid as a rock and as wise as readers of J.K. Rowling knew him to be. There was a certainty about him." 78

However, when Richard Harris passed away shortly before principal photography was to begin on the third film, a new Dumbledore had to be found. Michael Gambon made his Dumbledore debut in Prisoner of Azkaban , and his performance in both it and Goblet of Fire has garnered several comments ’ though, unfortunately, few have been complimentary: "I have to say that I thought Gambon's performance lacked some of the warmth and humour that Harris provided." 79 Newell, on the other hand, thought he was perfect:

I think that he had not wanted to be the same figure that Richard Harris had been, a figure of enormous Olympian authority who's never caught on the hop. He wanted something to do, simply because he isn't Richard Harris, and what he found in this one is that Dumbledore is fallible, not omnipotent, and indeed is behind the game. A great deal of what he does is about being inadequate rather than super-adequate, which is obviously much more interesting to play. 80

More interesting to play, perhaps, but woefully inaccurate. Even leaving aside the fact that if Gambon did not want to be the same figure Richard Harris had been, his decision to take over the role seems suspect; Dumbledore has been known throughout the series for being the only one Voldemort has ever feared. However, as de Forest points out:

for this fear to be plausible, Dumbledore needs to appear sharp-witted and not cross the line from affable eccentric to preposterous crackpot. ... How can [Newell] expect us to believe that anyone in the wizarding world reveres a panicky, absentminded grump who ... impulsively attacks his favourite student, throttling little Harry about the shoulders and neck? 81

And to Newell's argument that a fallible, inadequate, and behind-the-game Dumbledore creates a more interesting and more humanized mentor for Harry, M.Y. Simms asks in her essay Action! Harry Potter from the Page to the Screen :

Why would the greatest wizard in the world suddenly appear to suffer from chronic anxiety? I understand that things got serious in Goblet of Fire, but consider this: would Yoda, Merlin, Gandalf or Obi-Wan have freaked out when things got serious and danger loomed? ... I think not. ... Where did the ˜magic' of Dumbledore go? 82

In fact, far from being behind-the-game, J.K. Rowling's Dumbledore continues to run steadily ahead, even at the end of Goblet of Fire , after Harry's confrontation with Voldemort has already taken place:

"He said that my blood would make him stronger than if he'd used someone else's' Harry told Dumbledore. "... And he was right ” he could touch me without hurting himself, he touched my face."

For a fleeting instant, Harry thought he saw a gleam of something like triumph in Dumbledore's eyes. 83

Unfortunately, one repercussion from Newell's decision to have Gambon portray Dumbledore in this mistaken manner ’ a decision that is proved to be directorial rather than scriptural, due to the calmer version of the character evidenced in the shooting script 84 ’ is more detrimental than having raised the ire of fans; that being the effect it will have on the next installment of the franchise.

One of the main issues that Harry must deal with in the fifth book is his relationship with Dumbledore and how it has, inexplicably (to him), become estranged. This separation, or distance, that Harry feels causes him great distress as he wonders why the headmaster doesn't seem to care about him anymore. This leads to continued misunderstandings which result in the death of a main character and the discovery of a prophecy. Unfortunately, due to the portrayal of these relationships in the fourth movie, Harry would be unlikely to wonder if the headmaster cared about him in the first place, nor would it really matter to him either way. And the revelation given to Harry at the end, that Dumbledore "cared about [him] too much" and did all he had done because he "acted exactly as Voldemort expects [the] fools who love to act' 85 would scarce be believable from Gambon's discredited caricature. Of course, as Newell has not even read the fifth book, his failure to set it up properly is unfortunately explained.

What's not as easily explained is his failure in setting up even his own film, as he did read the fourth book in preparation. 86 As one critic wrote:

If the film version of [Prisoner of Azkaban] was missing some major plot points, and therefore felt like it was missing a vital organ or two, this one was like finding a skeleton that had been stripped of every conceivable scrap of flesh, leaving only the bare bones behind. Many character motivations were fuzzy at best; my mother, who hadn't read the book, had a million questions for me after we left the theatre. 87

But perhaps this weakness can be understood in reading Newell's approach to creating the film, in his own words: "What you do is you pack it with references and suggestions and so forth which, of course, you have taken from the book. So that a reader coming to the film goes, "Oh, I see. I get it. They did it that way." 88 The idea that fans would be appeased by a few references to aspects of the book, no matter what the quality of storytelling, is problematic at best, insulting at worst, and condescending either way. "The movie ticks through critical plot points like it's checking them off a list' 89 writes Anita Burkam in the article From Page to Screen: Mike Newell's Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire ; "All that's missing is reasonably paced and plotted moviemaking." 90 That, and the so-called "human truth" that Newell apparently prized above all else: "You become more interested in [Harry's] interior processes, his emotions, than just what goes on' Newell asserts, 91 though it is difficult to understand why he is convinced of this when he, as director, seems more interested in what he can do with Harry's external world than in how to express the character's internal one. "It's one of the most powerful and dramatic scenes' 92 producer David Heyman says, in praise of Newell's work. And which scene is he talking about? The maze in the third task, which, as Dumbledore mysteriously informs each champion, changes people? The graveyard where Harry watches Voldemort's rebirth, duels with him, and comes face to face with the ghost-like shades of his long-dead parents?

No, of course not, that would make sense . Instead, as Heyman clarifies, "We departed from the book a little bit in the sense that the dragon breaks free of the chain that ties him and it leads to a dramatic chase through Hogwarts. Let's just say it doesn't necessarily meet the happiest of ends." 93 Never mind the fact that, as no one dies and Harry completes the task successfully, it does actually meet the happiest of ends, Heyman is talking about a scene in which Harry faces off with the dragon during the first task of the Triwizard Tournament. This is a scene which takes exactly two pages in the book (which includes the detailed description necessary of the medium), but in the film, it clocks in at nearly three minutes ’ a ridiculously long length of time on screen, particularly for Newell, who has said that "all of [these effects] would count for nothing if [audiences] simply didn't feel it." 94

Yet, as de Forest notes, "when a film jumps wildly from scene to scene, frantically flinging in new characters and situations willy-nilly, the seeds of authentic emotional reaction don't have time to be sown and flourish naturally ... the natural rhythm of reaction is massacred." 95 All of this leads to an ending of equal ruination, in what de Forest terms "a thrown-together mess of a conclusion. It seems unsure whether to end on a hopeful note, a tragic note, a portentous note, a humorous note or a poignant note, so it compromises by fizzling out with a flat uncertainty. ˜Everything's going to change now, isn't it?' asks Hermione. Yup. Sure is. Well. Will you sign my yearbook?" 96

While several critics enjoyed the film ’ and several film audiences, too ’ the question of whether or not Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire was a good film is not the one that is asked in this essay. Instead, the question of whether or not it was a good film of the book must be considered, and while Mike Newell's Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire might be considered a fun, and even wild ride of a film, it remains on the surface, granting only a superficial and distorted glimpse into the story of Harry's fourth year. J.K. Rowling's Dumbledore warned; "You have to make a choice between what is right, and what is easy." 97 It is unfortunate that Mike Newell did not heed this advice.

Harry Potter and the End of This Essay (2007)

"Books have one of the highest ratios of conversion from development to film of any source, including original screenplays' 98 and yet the process of adapting the Harry Potter book series into films is unique in many ways. Perhaps the most important cause of its uniqueness is the fact that the seven book series is being adapted one novel after the other, and yet the seven book series is not yet complete. With the intense secrecy surrounding the story and revelations still to come from the original author, filmmakers must attempt to adapt each of these films from an incomplete overall source text. This only heightens the difficulty and the scrutiny that are already present in the adaptation process. That is why the question of fidelity, though it "cannot be considered a valid yardstick with which to judge any adaptation' 99 must figure in more heavily than it might otherwise. John Tibbetts and James Welsh wrote that "movies do not ˜ruin' books, but merely misrepresent them' 100 as "the accumulation of minor details can create a markedly different experience between a book and a film' 101 and while usually that may not create any problems, Mike Newell's Dumbledore aptly demonstrates that in an ongoing ’ and unfinished ’ series, certain changes have far-reaching effects.

Still, while fidelity holds more importance in this case than in others, "changes made by the screenwriter and director might not necessarily destroy the original. In the best adaptations, narratives are translated and effectively transformed into the medium of film." 102 With the seventh, and last, Harry Potter novel being released this summer, perhaps the remaining films will have a better chance of achieving this transformation.

Mireia Aragay writes in Reflection to Refraction: Adaptation Studies Then and Now , that the real aim of adaptation is

to trade upon the memory of the novel, a memory that can derive from actual reading, or, as is more likely with a classic of literature, a generally circulated cultural memory. The adaptation consumes this memory, aiming to efface it with the presence of its own images. The successful adaptation is the one that is able to replace the memory of the novel. 103

Although Harry Potter is not widely considered a classic of literature, the same philosophy can apply. An adaptation must be more than a filmed novel, without compromising the text it is meant to represent. A good film does not make a good adaptation, and though the Harry Potter film series had a promising start, future directors would do well to keep those words in mind. Notes 1. Cartmell, "Shakespeare on Screen' 33.

2. Tibbetts and Welsh, Novels Into Film , 279.

3. Havens, Genius Behind Buffy , 24.

4. Elrick, "Chris Columbus talks¦."

5. McNamara, "When Steve Met Harry."

6. Elrick, "Chris Columbus talks¦."

7. Hopkins, "Behind the Scenes¦."

8. McNamara, "When Steve Met Harry."

9. Vander Ark, "The Ages of Snape and the Marauders."

10. Rowling, Philosopher's Stone , 102.

11. Millman, "To Sir, With Love' 43.

12. Rowling, "Edinburgh Book Festival."

13. Scholastic editor Arthur Levine, suggested that Rowling change the title of the book for its American release as he felt it was "too esoteric' and the change would convey "more immediately the sense of magic that's in the book" (Heiberger). This, despite the fact that the Philosopher's Stone is an object of legend, often found in myth and folklore (Anderson), and referred to in many areas of study, including religion, alchemy, the occult ¦ while the Sorcerer's Stone means nothing.

14. Hennigan, "Films ¦ Philosopher's Stone ."

15. Krevolin, How to Adapt¦ , 52.

16. Aragay, "Reflection to Refraction' 20.

17. Cartmell and Whelehan, "Fidelity Debate' 37.

18. Ebert, "Sorcerer's Stone."

19. Kloves, Sorcerer's Stone, 22.

20. Ibid., 43.

21. Ibid., 55-56.

22. Krevolin, How to Adapt¦ , 54.

23. Gupta, Re-Reading Harry Potter , 143.

24. Nel, "Bewitched, Bothered, and Bored."

25. Mzimba, "Conversation with¦."

26. Nel, "Bewitched, Bothered, and Bored."

27. Butler, " Potter has the stuff¦."

28. Spelling, "Leaving School' 44.

29. Elrick, "Chris Columbus talks¦."

30. Spelling, "Leaving School' 44.

31. "Y tu Harry¦' 22.

32. Ibid, 19.

34. Spelling, "Leaving School' 44.

35. Puig, "Harry hits his teens."

36. Nazarro, "The New Magician' 39.

37. Puig, "Harry hits his teens."

38. Nazarro, "The New Magician' 38.

39. Trout, "Alfonso Cuarón Interview."

40. de Forest, "Fractured Fairy Tale."

41. Turan, "Prisoner of Azkaban."

42. Nazarro, "Alfonso Cuarón Interview."

43. Z, "Elegantly Woven Tapestry."

45. Rowling, Prisoner of Azkaban , 257-68.

46. Z, "Elegantly Woven Tapestry."

47. Kelly Parker, e-mail message to author, 12 April 2007.

48. Puig, "Harry hits his teens."

49. Rowling, Prisoner of Azkaban , 152.

50. Ibid., 271.

51. Kloves, Prisoner of Azkaban .

52. Rowling, Prisoner of Azkaban , 261.

53. Ibid., 286.

54. Ibid., 213.

55. Kloves, Prisoner of Azkaban , 80.

56. Rowling, Prisoner of Azkaban , 259-60.

57. Nazarro, "The New Magician' 38.

58. Kloves, Prisoner of Azkaban , 125.

59. Fischer, "Exclusive Interview."

61. Geri, "News: Mike Newell¦."

62. Fischer, "Exclusive Interview."

63. Ibid., "Interview: Mike Newell."

64. Associated Press, "Newell puts the Brit¦."

65. Fischer, "Exclusive Interview."

66. Hately, "Hogwarts School of¦."

68. Rowling, Philosopher's Stone , 181.

69. Ibid., Goblet of Fire , 182.

70. Fraser, Conversations with J.K. Rowling , 21.

71. Associated Press, "Newell puts the Brit¦."

72. Kloves, Goblet of Fire , 66-67.

73. Fischer, "Exclusive Interview."

74. Solomon, "J.K. Rowling Interview."

75. Hately, "Hogwarts School of¦."

76. Morone, "Cultural Phenomena."

77. Rowling, Chamber of Secrets , 243.

78. Simms, "Action! Harry Potter¦."

79. Aloi, "Grown Up Magic."

80. Whitehead, "Interview: Mike Newell¦."

81. Witherwings, "Fractured Fairy Tale."

82. Simms, "Action! Harry Potter¦."

83. Rowling, Goblet of Fire , 604.

84. Kloves, Goblet of Fire , 32.

85. Rowling, Order of the Phoenix , 739.

86. Fischer, "Exclusive Interview."

87. Moondaughter, "Under the Microscope."

88. Geri, "Newell discusses¦."

89. Burkam, "From Page to Screen."

92. Geri, "Update: Heyman talks¦."

94. Nathan, "This boy¦' 90.

95. Witherwings, "Fractured Fairy Tale."

97. Rowling, Goblet of Fire , 628.

98. Hopkins, "Behind the Scenes¦."

99. Aragay, "Reflection to Refraction' 20.

100. Tibbetts and Welsh, Novels Into Film , xvii.

101. Nel, "Bewitched, Bothered, and Bored."

102. Tibbetts and Welsh, Novels Into Film , xx.

103. Aragay, "Reflection to Refraction' 20.

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”””. "Interview: Mike Newell for Mona Lisa Smile and Harry Potter 4 ." Dark Horizons 9, December 2003. http://www.darkhorizons.com/news03/mona2.php .

Fraser, Lindsey. Conversations with J.K. Rowling . New York: Scholastic Press, 2001.

Geri. "Newell discusses the challenges of ˜ Harry Potter '." HPANA , 30 November 2004. http://www.hpana.com/news.18430.html .

”””. "News: Mike Newell won't split ˜ Goblet of Fire '." HPANA , 30 January 2004. http://www.hpana.com/news.17863.26.html .

”””. "Update: Heyman talks about first task and Fiennes." HPANA , 11 Oct. 2005. http://www.hpana.com/news.18913.html .

Gupta, Suman. Re-Reading Harry Potter . New York: Palgrave MacMillan, 2003.

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets . Directed by Christopher Columbus. Burbank: Warner Bros. Pictures, 2002.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire . Directed by Mike Newell. Burbank: Warner Bros. Pictures, 2005.

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone . Directed by Chris Columbus. Burbank: Warner Bros. Pictures, 2001.

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban . Directed by Alfonso Cuarón. Burbank: Warner Bros. Pictures, 2004.

Hately, Shaun. "Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in the Context of the British Public Schools." HP InkPot , 13 December 2005. http://www.fictionalley.org/authors/shaun_hately/HSOWAWATBPS01.html .

Havens, Candace. Joss Whedon: The Genius Behind Buffy . Dallas: BenBella Books, 2003.

Heiberger, Sara. "Harry Potter and the Editor's Pen." Brown Alumni Magazine Online , November/December 2001. http://www.brownalumnimagazine.com/storydetail.cfm?ID=421 .

Harry Potter Archive

Harry Potter Essays

Short Essay And Paragraph On Harry Potter For Students

Here you can read a five-paragraph essay about the Harry Potter books in serious terms. The following selected paragraphs are valuable for learning purposes, especially for young students.

Table of Contents

A Paragraph About Harry Potter

1. Harry Potter is a series of seven fantasy novels by J.K. Rowling. The series tells the adventures of the young wizard Harry Potter and his friends Ron Wesley and Hermione Granger, who are all students of the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and want to conquer the world.

2. Since its release in 1997, the series has sold more than 450 million copies worldwide, making it the best-selling book series in history. The first four books’ film adaptations grossed more than $7 billion at box offices worldwide. The Harry Potter stories have been recognized for their themes of true friendship , courage, loyalty, and morality.

3. They have also been criticized for their negative portrayal of certain groups, such as the Slithery, and for promoting witchcraft and wizardry. Even so, the series has become one of the most popular in history, and its influence on popular culture is undeniable.

4. So here’s a quick rundown of the Harry Potter franchise: Whether you’re a fan or not, there is no denying that these books have had a huge impact on the world. Did you know? The final book in the Harry Potter franchise, Deathly Hallows, was published in 2007 and became the fastest-selling book in history. In the first 24 hours of its publication, 11 million copies were sold.

5. The Harry Potter series has been translated into over 60 languages and made into eight blockbuster films. Rowling said she got the idea for the series while on a train ride from Manchester to London. Soon after, she began writing the first book. Harry Potter is often credited with reviving the children’s book genre , which made reading popular among young people again. Research has shown that it encourages children to buy books by other British authors, such as Roald Dahl and Diana Wynne Jones.

500 Words Essay On Harry Potter

Harry Potter is a series of fantasy novels written by British author J.K. Rowling. The series chronicles the life of a young orphan boy named Harry Potter, who discovers on his eleventh birthday that he is a wizard. He is taken to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, a magical boarding school in Scotland, where he makes friends and enemies, and learns about magic and the magical world.

The series is made up of seven books, with the first book, “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone,” being published in 1997 and the final book, “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows,” being published in 2007. The books were later adapted into eight successful films, with the final film being released in 2011.

The Harry Potter series has become one of the most popular and successful book and movie franchises of all time. It has been translated into over 80 languages and has sold over 500 million copies worldwide. The series has also been credited with revitalizing interest in reading among young people and has been used as a tool for teaching reading and critical thinking skills in schools.

One of the reasons for the series’ success is its relatable and well-developed characters. Harry Potter, the protagonist of the series, is an orphan who is forced to grow up too quickly, and the series follows his journey from a neglected and mistreated child to a brave and confident young man. His friends Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley are also well-developed characters, each with their own unique strengths and weaknesses. The series also features a wide variety of memorable and dynamic villains, such as Lord Voldemort, the main antagonist of the series, and his followers, the Death Eaters.

Another aspect of the series that has contributed to its success is its rich and detailed magical world. Rowling’s imagination and creativity are on full display in the series, as she creates a world filled with a wide variety of magical creatures, spells, and magical objects. The series also features a complex and intricate plot, with many subplots and twists that keep readers engaged and guessing until the end.

In conclusion, the Harry Potter series is a masterpiece of modern literature that has captured the hearts and minds of millions of readers and viewers around the world. It has become one of the most popular and successful book and movie franchises of all time, and its relatable characters, rich magical world, and complex plot are just a few of the reasons why it has stood the test of time. It is a story of friendship, love, and the power of good to triumph over evil that will continue to be enjoyed by people of all ages for years to come.

Hello! Welcome to my Blog StudyParagraphs.co. My name is Angelina. I am a college professor. I love reading writing for kids students. This blog is full with valuable knowledge for all class students. Thank you for reading my articles.

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Essays on Harry Potter

This 7 book saga about a young wizard, written by a British author Joanne Rowling, has captivated both children and adults for years, making Harry Potter essay writing a frequent task in schools. The first book was published in 1997 and since that time people were mesmerized by the wizard's world and its many wonders. Harry Potter essays follow the story of a young boy Harry Potter. We accompany Harry and his friends throughout his education at Hogwarts and frequent confrontations with Lord Voldemort – an evil wizard who murdered Harry's parents. Essays on Harry Potter portray it as a coming-of-age story about love, friendship, loyalty, duty, and sacrifice that, once discovered, leaves you forever enchanted. Explore our Harry Potter essay samples below – we prepared comprehensive essay samples that analyze the world of Harry Potter. We can also help manage your mischief and write essays for you.

Setting and Theme The main setting in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is the Hogwarts Castle Wizardry and Witchcraft School. It is the place where Harry and his fellow students spend their school year. This Castle is accessible via a magic train which takes the students from the normal...

Words: 1141

‘The Fringe Benefits of Failure and The Importance of Imagination was a speech delivered by J K Rowling at Harvard University during the graduation ceremony of the ‘Class of 2008’. In the speech, Rolling talked about two main issues; the benefits of failure and the importance of imagination basing all...

Words: 1051

J.K. Rowling speech: “The Fringe Benefits of Failure, and the Importance of Imagination” Rowling’s Speech J.K Rowling is one of the prominent people who has been able to achieve much success in this world as a result of her personality. She is known for being the author of Harry Potter which is...

By the age of two I was learning to read. Not very long passages, and not with perfect enunciation of course, but words on a page, a cereal box or most often a flashcard became interpretable, no longer a mystery to me. As the years progressed, I became a voracious...

Words: 1538

Harry Potter and the Chambers of Secrets Harry Potter and the Chambers of Secrets is novels that false under the genre of fantasy. The novel was written by J.K Rowling, who is a British author. The plot of the novel is a continuation of Harry’s second-year attendance at Hogwarts School of...

Words: 1621

Harry Porter: A Magical World with Endless Possibilities Harry Porter is a series of films that have been adapted from the novels called Harry Porter by JK Rowling. The film is set in a world of magic where possibilities exist yet not known by the characters. It is evident how sorcery...

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Originality and Global Recognition Due to the magic and universality in his movies and novels' creations, which receive positive criticism from all over the world, the Harry Potter series and stories are so original to the world. His stories rose in popularity with all of the readers of his novels and...

The term "Harry Potter" refers to a series of fictional books that portray the life and experiences of a young wizard named Harry Potter, especially his friendships with Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley (Vezzali, Loris, et al. 105). The three are pupils at the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry....

Words: 1723

Women have often been looked down upon in past realities and epics, with claims that they are incapable of performing such tasks. Gender inequality has been noted in some myths, where women are only portrayed as men's helpers. They're often referred to as "pleasure instruments" in some plays. Gender and...

Words: 3184

Introduction On September 1, 1998, the first Harry Potter book was published in the United States, aimed at children aged nine to eleven. It was well-received by young readers at the time, and as a result, it became even more successful among the older generation. Another explanation for its popularity, especially...

Harry Potter: A Story of Marginalization and Hope Because of their universality and magic, the Harry Potter series and stories are exceptional. It revolves around an outcast young boy. Harry Potter is a young kid. Outcasts have been viewed as a relegated and undesirably typecast community throughout history. The story depicts...

JK Rowling's portrayal of women empowerment in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone seems to stick to gender expectations. Rowling articulated the desired qualities for women in modern culture through the roles of Hermione Granger and Professor McGonagall. Hermione and Professor McGonagall all play supporting roles in the male characters....

Words: 1216

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Harry Potter Books and Movies Compare & Contrast Essay

• To find inspiration for your paper and overcome writer’s block
• As a source of information (ensure proper referencing)
• As a template for you assignment

One of things that make life fascinating is the diversity and variance that different people and things exhibit. These differences may be obvious or deeply disguised requiring one to take a critical look at the item in order to notice them.

In this paper, I shall set out to compare two items; J. K. Rowling’s “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban” the Book and its movie adaptation. By so doing, I shall demonstrate that there do exist significant differences as well as similarities between the two items despite them appearing to be wholly similar.

A Comparative Analysis

Both the book and its film adaptation share the character set. The lead character is the hero Harry Potter, a famous wizard whose adventures are the central focus of the book and the movie. In the wizard world, Harry Potter is engaged in a prolonged fight to defeat the immensely powerful and evil wizard Lord Voldemort. Harry potter is assisted in his noble quest by his two best friends Ron and Hermione. These two characters play significant roles in the plot development of both the movie and the book.

The magical school that Harry and his friends attend so as to learn about wizardry is represented in an identical manner in both the book and the movie. The school building is a gigantic and daunting castle which is inaccessible to non-magical people. According to the book, the castle has a lake, extensive grounds and a forest.

The Movie properly depicts this as a lake can be seen as the students arrive at the school by use of a train. The imposing nature of the castle is evident and in many scenes from the movie, Harry Potter and his friends venture out into the fields and forests that are part of the school grounds.

However, the representation of one of the lead characters Hermione in the movie is not a true depiction of what she is in the book. In the book, Hermione is described as a brightest girl in the school. Her know-it-all attitude alienates her from the rest of the students.

Nothing to the book indicates that Hermione is an attractive girl and she is in fact describe as having large protruding teach and bushy brown hair. However, the movie presents Hermione as a physically attractive and likable character. This is inconsistent with the image that one builds form reading the novel.

In the book, the prisoner of Azkaban, the character Sirius Black who is Harry’s godfather, plays a minor role despite him being central to the plot of the book. His appearances in the book are relatively few considering that he is the focal point of the book.

The book instead focuses on developing the story around Sirius and therefore, despite his not being mentioned every now and then, one can sense his involvement throughout the book. In the movie, Sirius plays a more predominant role and he is afforded relatively more screen time than one would expect from the book.

The movie adaptation contains numerous omissions of events that are recorded in the book. This is to be expected considering the relatively small length of the movie compared to the size of the book. Harry Potter’s exchanges with his uncle’s family are left out and one can therefore not correctly gauge the nature of the relationship from watching the film. From the book, it is clear that Harry Potter hates staying with his relatives who despise him.

In this paper, I set out to compare two items so as to highlight their similarities and differences. From my comparison of the book “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban” and its movie adaptation, it is clear that there are a lot of similarities and differences between the two. Nevertheless, both the movie and the book prove to be equally entertaining despite their differences.

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IvyPanda. (2018, June 27). Harry Potter Books and Movies. https://ivypanda.com/essays/a-comparison-of-j-k-rowlings-book-harry-potter-and-the-prisoner-of-azkaban-and-its-movie-adaptation/

"Harry Potter Books and Movies." IvyPanda , 27 June 2018, ivypanda.com/essays/a-comparison-of-j-k-rowlings-book-harry-potter-and-the-prisoner-of-azkaban-and-its-movie-adaptation/.

IvyPanda . (2018) 'Harry Potter Books and Movies'. 27 June.

IvyPanda . 2018. "Harry Potter Books and Movies." June 27, 2018. https://ivypanda.com/essays/a-comparison-of-j-k-rowlings-book-harry-potter-and-the-prisoner-of-azkaban-and-its-movie-adaptation/.

1. IvyPanda . "Harry Potter Books and Movies." June 27, 2018. https://ivypanda.com/essays/a-comparison-of-j-k-rowlings-book-harry-potter-and-the-prisoner-of-azkaban-and-its-movie-adaptation/.

Bibliography

IvyPanda . "Harry Potter Books and Movies." June 27, 2018. https://ivypanda.com/essays/a-comparison-of-j-k-rowlings-book-harry-potter-and-the-prisoner-of-azkaban-and-its-movie-adaptation/.

Screen Rant

Every harry potter in order (and & how long their runtime is).

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Harry Potter: Every Clue That Snape Wasn't A Villain

Harry potter & fantastic beasts official timeline (including fantastic beasts 3), harry potter star admits she briefly forgot she was in the magical franchise.

• The Harry Potter franchise is incredibly successful, making over $9.5 billion in worldwide box office sales and selling millions of copies of the books.
• The first two movies, directed by Chris Columbus, are the most faithful adaptations of the books, staying true to the narrative beats.
• As the series progressed, the movie runtimes varied, sometimes leading to pacing issues and the exclusion of important characters and plot points. However, the split of the final book into two movies allowed for a more comprehensive adaptation.

The Harry Potter franchise is one of the most successful movie franchises in history, although the Harry Potter movie lengths are much longer than usual for young adult movies. The Harry Potter series has brought in over $9.5 billion in its worldwide box office (via The Numbers ), with the original franchise and the Fantastic Beasts movies combined. While the flagship series has ended, The Wizarding World lives on, both in the world of movies and video games, with Hogwarts Legacy and the Harry Potter TV show reboot .

However, the future of the franchise on the big screen remains in question. Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore was the lowest-grossing movie in the franchise by almost $250 million. That has caused Warner Bros. to pump the brakes on that specific spinoff franchise for now. However, Warner Bros. also said that the Harry Potter franchise remains valuable to the studio, and fans should expect to see more of the property in one way or another, with the Harry Potter reboot TV show in the works at HBO.

Severus Snape turned out to not be the villain everyone believed, and there were clues to this throughout the Harry Potter saga.

Harry Potter And The Sorcerer's Stone (2001)

152 minutes, harry potter and the sorcerer's stone.

The movie that started it all established the series' structure with this Harry Potter movie length of two-and-a-half hours . In the film, Harry Potter learns his parents were great wizards, and receives an invitation to study at Hogwarts, a prestigious wizarding school. Daniel Radcliffe took on the role of Harry Potter at the young age of 12, along with fellow child actors Emma Watson and Rupert Grint. The cast was rounded out by some of Britain's top acting talent, and the film went on to an impressive $975 million at the box office for director Chris Columbus .

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone is the shortest book in J.K. Rowling's series but boasts one of the longer Harry Potter film lengths. Despite this, numerous beloved characters like Peeves were still cut from the final product. That said, Columbus' first two movies are the most faithful adaptations of the books, leaving out only what could be considered extraneous (Peeves aside) and following Rowling's narrative beats almost to a T. The runtime reflects this fact as, at times, Sorcerer's Stone can run at a glacial pace compared to the relatively quick read that is the book.

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Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets (2002)

161 minutes.

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

Released one year after Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone , Chris Columbus finished up his two-film run with Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets , and the Harry Potter movie runtimes increased. Columbus had previously worked well with children as a director on films like Home Alone and a writer on The Goonies , so he was perfect to launch the franchise. This second movie showed what dangers Harry faced in the future as the past of Lord Voldemort, the franchise's main antagonist, is delved into. The film made $879 million and was the second highest-grossing film of 2002.

Much like Sorcerer's Stone , Chamber of Secrets and its ending stick relatively close to the source material. Of what was cut were various encounters with secondary antagonist Gilderoy Lockhart that only further served to enforce his buffoonery and much of Percy Weasley's role in the narrative. Of all the Harry Potter film lengths, Chamber of Secrets is the longest and is sometimes regarded as the worst Harry Potter movie. Chamber of Secrets exacerbates Sorcerer's Stone 's pacing issues, but at least Harry is seen actually performing magic in this film, and characters like Lucius Malfoy and Dobby are introduced.

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Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban (2004)

144 minutes.

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban has a complex ending and while Columbus made his Harry Potter movies mostly about children discovering magic, Academy Award-winning director Alfonso Cuarón ( Gravity ) took the helm for this one and made one of the most adult films in the series — with one of the shorter Harry Potter movie runtimes . Cuarón cut back the runtime, although it was still over two hours. Sirius Black, a man once held at the Azkaban prison, was introduced as Harry's godfather, and the film changed the franchise's tone drastically.

Prisoner of Azkaban is widely regarded as the best Harry Potter movie in the series, and it doesn't contain the main antagonist Voldemort at all. The film moves at breakneck speed without sacrificing important exposition and its noticeable tonal shift was necessary to usher in Goblet of Fire , as the Harry Potter stories themselves grew darker with each subsequent book. However, with the cut runtime came cut characters, and side characters like Neville, Dean, or Seamus had minimal screen time.

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Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire (2005)

157 minutes, harry potter and the goblet of fire.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire really showed that character deaths could be serious in the series, but with one of the middling Harry Potter movie runtimes, audiences experienced major cuts for the first time. In this film, Harry Potter took part in a Triwizard Tournament that saw him battle in a series of tests to determine the school with the best young wizard. However, that was just to move the plot along as the true importance of this movie, directed by Mike Newell, was to bring Lord Voldemort back from the dead.

Despite having a runtime of almost 2 hours and 40 minutes, Goblet of Fire was the first Harry Potter film that saw huge cuts to the narrative to reach its conclusion while still providing enough exposition. For starters, fans who have only watched the Harry Potter movies have never heard of Ludo Bagman, Hermione's House Elf rights campaign, the importance of Winky the House Elf, or how Barty Crouch Jr. managed to escape Azkaban and eventually orchestrate his evil plan. Had the Goblet of Fire runtime been expanded, certain things going forward would've made more sense.

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Harry Potter And The Order Of The Phoenix (2007)

138 minutes.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

While Order of the Phoenix is the longest Harry Potter book , it is the shortest in terms of Harry Potter movie runtimes. David Yates directed this film and remained with the franchise to the end. This movie saw the rise of the powerful Order of the Phoenix to battle the Death Eaters, and Harry learned who his real allies were. This was the step in Harry's journey where he found himself betrayed, as the Ministry of Magic refused to believe Voldemort was back and left the Order to fight alone.

Thanks to Goblet of Fire , fans of the novels were prepared for how much cutting Order of the Phoenix would undergo. Despite this, it seems almost criminal that the longest book in the series got the shortest runtime. Much of Harry's inner turmoil and scenes that displayed his increasingly troubling connection to Voldemort didn't appear, with the attack on Mr. Weasley being one of the only major instances included. Because of its short runtime, Harry's angst is downplayed to a degree, and the most integral part of Snape's worst memory doesn't happen.

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Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince (2009)

153 minutes.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince arrived in 2009 and added a new twist to the story, as Dumbledore's close companion proved to be a possible Death Eater sent into Hogwarts. Snape, the Half-Blood Prince, left a notebook behind that Harry found and used to aid him through the year. By the end of Half-Blood Prince , things looked dire as the Death Eaters began to infiltrate Hogwarts. While Voldemort demands that Draco Malfoy kill Dumbledore with the wand tied to him, it's Snape who steps forward and murders the headmaster, taking away Harry's beloved mentor.

While Half-Blood Prince has one of the more appropriate Harry Potter movie runtimes, Voldemort's backstory could still have been expanded upon. The film only includes two out of the seven memories that relate to Voldemort's overall backstory , which would've included how he procured the locket, cup, and ring Horcruxes, the Gaunt family, and Tom Riddle's gradual decline into Voldemort. However, Yates decided to keep the Half-Blood Prince runtime down to about the same length as Goblet of Fire , with the latter being slightly longer.

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Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (2010)

146 minutes.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1

The final book in the Harry Potter series is Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, and it was split into two movies, both having some of the shorter Harry Potter movie runtimes. The first of the films came out in 2010 and saw Harry, Hermione, and Ron on the run after the death of Dumbledore. This entire movie focuses on the relationship between the three leads as their friendship fractures, breaks, and is eventually mended to make them stronger than ever as they return to battle Voldemort and the Death Eaters to end the war once and for all.

Splitting The Deathly Hallows into two movies worked well for covering the final book, and the film cut off the story at the perfect place. Due to having two films to tell the entire tale, much of what happened in The Deathly Hallows book was included . The only thing that felt somewhat pushed to the wayside was Dumbledore's backstory and how Harry wrestled with that relationship and trust. In addition, Harry's internal struggle between pursuing the Hallows and the Horcruxes wasn't addressed in the tight two and a half hours.

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Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (2011)

130 minutes.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2

The final movie in the initial Harry Potter franchise saw Harry and his friends join forces with the wizards that had survived the Death Eaters. It was the Battle of Hogwarts, and everyone gathered to take on the villains and save their school. Most characters had their heroic moments, many beloved heroes died in battle, and Harry had his final battle with Voldemort to end the war and save his school. By the final scene, Harry was allowed to live happily ever after. Concerning the Harry Potter movie runtimes, this movie was shorter than any other in the series.

Despite having the shortest of all the Harry Potter movie runtimes, Deathly Hallows Part 2 covered the second half of the novel well and ended the series on a bombastic note. Certain elements were changed from the book for the better, with Harry and Voldemort's final battle being much more action-packed and taking place in the courtyard rather than the Great Hall. The only unfortunate part of this was that the tight runtime didn't allow proper impact for major character deaths like Fred, Lupin, and Tonks.

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Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them (2016)

132 minutes.

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

Five years after the Harry Potter franchise, the Wizarding World came back to the big screen, but the film wasn't based on books and was instead a story J.K. Rowling created for cinema . Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them told the story of Newt Scamander , whose books about fantastic beasts Harry studied in school. Newt is an adult fascinated with the fantastic beasts in the world. However, this series had a bigger arc - the rise of Grindelwald. These Harry Potter movie runtimes were still over two hours, but not as long as many of the earlier films.

The Fantastic Beasts franchise started out strong, and audiences welcomed the new protagonist Newt Scamander with open arms. No books to follow meant runtimes would tell the proper amount of story in the proper amount of time and the future of Fantastic Beasts seemed bright. While it was clear that Rowling's talents as a screenwriter didn't match that of her authorship, the film's runtime felt comfortable and introduced new magic into the franchise along with an entirely different setting and time period.

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Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes Of Grindelwald (2018)

134 minutes, fantastic beasts and the crimes of grindelwald.

Fantastic Beasts and the Crimes of Grindelwald is only slightly longer than the first movie. This was the second movie in the Fantastic Beasts series, and while Newt Scamander was still the main protagonist, there was a lot here to set up a battle mentioned in the original Harry Potter movies between Albus Dumbledore and his greatest rival , Gellert Grindelwald. This saw both Jude Law and Johnny Depp arrive as Dumbledore and Grindelwald, but the movie was mostly a set-up for the upcoming battle with Grindelwald preparing to start a Wizarding war with humanity.

Crimes of Grindelwald is famously where the Fantastic Beasts franchise went wrong, and while the runtime was longer, it still didn't give enough breathing room for audiences to understand the complexity of the plot with one watch. Crimes of Grindelwald was packed to the brim with information and tie-ins to Harry Potter which worked more to its detriment than its success. Canon was retconned many times and despite only being two minutes longer than the first film, Crimes of Grindelwald felt much longer.

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Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets Of Dumbledore (2022)

143 minutes.

Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore

Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore ended up as the lowest-grossing movie in the entire Harry Potter franchise at the box office. When it comes to Harry Potter movie runtimes, it is the longest of the prequels. This caused concern for Warner Bros., and the studio has seemingly given up on the Fantastic Beasts franchise. In the movie, Newt takes even more of a backseat to the war between Dumbledore and Grindelwald, recast in this movie by Mads Mikkelsen. There was still more of this story to tell, but Fantastic Beasts 4 isn't happening .

Secrets of Dumbledore was still an improvement on Crimes of Grindelwald, and Mikkelsen's performance was a particular highlight. Unlike some of the other Harry Potter movies, runtimes were never the issue with Fantastic Beasts . Rather, the series didn't make its intentions clear from the start, canon was broken, Mikkelsen should've been the casting team's first choice, and Newt was slowly ousted as the protagonist. Audiences did get to see Dumbledore's backstory that should've been in Deathly Hallows , but the Fantastic Beasts' shorter runtimes work for casual fans of the series that aren't married to book canon.

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From Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore to Harry Potter & The Cursed Child, we explore all the main beats in JK Rowling's complex timeline.

What About The Harry Potter Extended Versions?

Though streaming sites will boast “extended versions” of the Harry Potter movies, Warner Bros. has only officially released two of the original Harry Potter movies as extended. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone as well as Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets both had extended versions released in which director Christopher Columbus chose which deleted scenes would be edited back in.

The extended version of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone only has about seven minutes of additional footage, making it 159 minutes long. Those seven minutes come from six additional scenes and the extension of one more. Most of the extra scenes are less than a minute long.

One of the best of those extended scenes, however, is only 37 seconds long. In the sequence, Harry’s Aunt Petunia cracks open a series of eggs as she’s preparing to cook. As she does, each egg contains a Hogwarts letter for Harry. It’s a great way to showcase how the magic of Harry’s new world will work early on.

The extended version of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets has about 13 extra minutes of scenes, making it 174 minutes long and includes 19 more short scenes. Some of those scenes include a look at Knockturn Alley and Harry meeting some other Hogwarts students for the first time. The scenes being cut from the movie is understandable, but fans will like the additional details they get from them.

Of the Fantastic Beasts movies in the Wizarding World, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald got an extended cut officially released by Warner Bros. It features just seven more minutes of originally cut scenes , giving more screen time to characters like Leta Lestrange and Nagini in most of them. While the scenes aren’t needed for the movie, hence why they ended up on the cutting room floor, they do help fans get a better idea of the personalities of some of these Harry Potter franchise characters.

Image credit: Scarlet Page

The Role That Changed My Career

Five performers tell us about the roles and people who made their careers. .

Every role an actor plays gives them the opportunity to showcase their skills and make their mark on the industry, but some roles are so well-received, so pivotal, that they can catapult your career to new heights and audiences.

At the CDG Awards 2024 , we asked a variety of successful actors about the role that changed their career and the casting directors who gave them these opportunities. As you journey towards your own breakthrough role, gain inspiration from the experiences of those who have walked this path before you. Your own career-changing role may be just around the corner!

Here’s what they shared:

‘Harry Potter and the Cursed Child’

For Anthony Boyle ( Masters of the Air , Shardlake ), his big break came from an obscure play you may have heard of called Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. Not only was he the original ‘Scorpius Malfoy’ in the West End and Broadway versions of the show, but he also won the Olivier Award for Best Supporting Actor in 2017 and was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play in 2018.

“My mother would say [the role that changed my career] was playing one of the three bears in The Teddy Bears Come to Picnic ,” Anthony says. “But what actually happened was I was at drama school, and I left to do Harry Potter and the Cursed Child .” 

“It opened up a lot of doors for me and a lot of people saw it,” he continues. “It was an absolute blessing to get that coming out of college.”

Performing in Los Angeles

Luke Millington-Drake ( The Cuphead Show , Loot ) gained popularity thanks to his comedic impressions of public figures (such as Keira Knightley ) on Instagram and TikTok and his work at the Groundlings Theatre in Los Angeles.

“I was performing at the Groundlings Theatre in Los Angeles,” he explains. “Doing insane human beings in crazy wigs, a lot of times double-stacked wigs, being an idiot on stage. And that’s how I got my start. And also being insane on the internet as well.”

‘Billy Elliot’

Layton Williams ( Bad Education , Cabaret ) was the original ‘Jamie New’ in the West End run of Everybody’s Talking About Jamie , but it was a different leading role in a musical that provided the pivotal moment of his career.

“I actually got my first big break in a musical called Billy Elliot ,” Layton says. “I was cast by Jessica Ronane.”

Layton was the second person of colour and the first mixed-heritage performer to play the lead role of ‘Billy Elliot’, and has since gone on to star in various shows, films and TV shows – including being a finalist on BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing .

‘Matilda: The Musical’

Sindhu Vee ( Sex Education , What’s Love Got to Do with It? ) has flourished as an award-winning comedian and writer, with her career-changing acting role coming fairly recently in Netflix’s film adaptation of Matilda the Matilda, where she played ‘Mrs. Phelps’ .

“In acting, my major career change was when I was cast in Matilda: The Musical on Netflix. And that was thanks to a number of different people – the director, Matthew Warchus, but also I cannot deny it had a lot to do with Lucy Bevan, who saw me and was like, “I think she would be great.” So yeah, that was the big one.”

Championed by Casting Directors

For Tanya Moodie ( Motherland , A Discovery of Witches ), there is no one pivotal role that stands out as the turning point of her career. 

“I think there’s been lots of different life-changing things that have helped me hang around for over 30 years,” she says. “I mentioned two different casting directors: Doreen Jones and Maggie Lunn. And to be honest, it was actually them that brought me into rooms that I wouldn’t normally have been able to get into at that time. It was starting to get into those rooms, people like that who just had faith in me, and so then I could build my confidence and just keep at it.”

Thank you Anthony, Luke, Layton, Sindhu and Tanya for telling us about your career-changing roles!

Take a look at our website for more interviews with actors, agents and casting directors .

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