You're a wizard "Harry".
- The boy who lived.
"Casey" it is about time we got around to this series.
- I know, "Clint".
The "JK Rowling" novels published from 1997 to 2007 were immediate hits and
didn't take long to land on the screen.
So let's do right, let's look at the whole thing at once.
Non of this one book at a time business.
We're talking the whole series of books compared to the entire film franchise.
Bu,t because there are seven books and
eight movies, we're gonna break it into three parts.
Seven books and eight movie, and three parts?
This could have been so much easier.
Ladies and gentlemen, without further ado, no restraint on spoilers- (Sound) Here
comes part one, 'Harry Potter' and the 'Sorcerer's Chamber of Azkaban'.
What's the difference, IE?
(Sound) You got your cockney accent all dusted off then, "Casey".
- I do not, no.
- Well, that's all right, because I'm not using mine either.
- Thank God.
So, right off the bat, the books and movies start off in different places.
The 'Sorcerer's Stone's' opening chapter follows "Vernon Dursley", 'Harry Potter's'
straight-up abusive uncle, as he goes about his normal, very non-magical day.
But "Vernon" notices strangely dressed people celebrating in the streets,
hordes of owls flying, and
even bumps right into a man who shares the joy of 'You-Know-Who's demise'.
It's not until later that night that "Dumbledore", "McGonagall", and
"Hagrid" leave the freshly orphaned 'Harry Potter' on the doorstep of 'Number 4
Privet Drive'.
The movie begins straightaway with the wizard and witch leaving "Harry" with
the only family he's got left even though they're stupid, idiot muggles.
While the scene plays out basically the same in both mediums it's
interesting the movie decided to lop off "Vernon Dursley's" day.
While the movie drops you in with our lead characters,
magical characters the book instead opens on the muggle world.
A world that we, as readers, are familiar with.
The magical world them slowly seeps in as "Vernon" sees
glimpses of it on the street.
This allow the reader time to let the magical world seep in as well.
But, the movie is best served to open from the prospective of its main characters.
>From there, the 'Sorcerer's Stone' moves along to the same beats as
both the book and the movie.
We see "Harry's" brutal childhood as ward of the "Dursleys",
living in the cupboard under the stairs.
His discovery of the wizarding world along with his very famous place in it,
making both friends and enemies at "Hogwarts".
All the way to discovering "Voldemort" hiding on the back of "Professor
Quirrell's" noggin.
Of course, the usual liberties of adaptation are taken throughout the movie.
For example, "Hagrid" picks "Harry" up on his birthday, on July 31st, and
whisks his off to "Diagon Alley" and
to 'Kings Cross Station' to catch the 'Hogwarts Express' the very next day.
Which completely skips the month of August, by the way.
A month which is not skipped in the book,
that finds "Harry" returning to the "Dursley's",
where he's almost completely ignored until school starts on September 1st.
But that's time spent in the muggle world.
The movie chooses to skip it in favor of devoting more screen time to
details of the wizarding world, where they shop,
how they bank, what their candy's like, important stuff.
Of course the brilliance of "JK Rowling" is learning about these
everyday wizarding activities doubled as important
plot points in Harry's investigation Should be into the 'Sorcerer's Stone'.
"IE, Hagrid" picking up the stone from "Gringotts",
learning about "Nicolas Flamel" from a chocolate frog box and so on.
The important point here is that the plot as well as the main character and
their arcs stay in tact from the book to the movie.
"Harry" is brave and loyal to his friends, "Ron" is well on his way to finding
his self worth and "Hermione" discovers that book learning ain't everything.
- And more important things.
- The one character however whose scenes get trimmed and
ultimately loses a little something is "Draco Malfoy".
- The book features a chapter called 'the Midnight Duel',
in which "Draco" baits "Harry" and "Ron" into meeting in the trophy room for
a wizards duel at midnight.
However, "Draco" had no intention of ever going,
only to set them up to be caught out of 'Gryffindor House' at night.
A real douchey move.
The book also has a lot more additional "Draco" shit talking.
In fact, "Ron" finally snaps and
lays him out at one of Gryffindor's quidditch matches.
And while the entire quidditch match against "Hufflepuff" is left out of
the movie losing this much of "Draco's" antagonism in the first film will start to
add up as we go through the rest.
Of course, the movie still paints "Draco" as an entitled little (Sound) who is
clearly the bad guy.
And "Tom Felton's" performance which is probably the best out of all the kids in
the movie, really sells him as "Harry's" primary foil.
But it's still in a, the viewer's gonna know this guy's "Harry's" primary foil so
we can use a little short hand, kind of way.
But outside of that, the story of 'The Sorcerer's Stone' proceeds with Harry and
his friends discovering 'Fluffy, the three-headed guard dog',
learning about "Nicholas Flamel" and the elixir of life.
And besting the 'Devil's Snare', 'the flying keys', and 'the giant game of
wizard's chess' on his way to confronting "Lord Voldemort" himself.
And with very few twists and turns aside, the movie does basically the same thing.
The changes made to the movie
actually seem to make it a cleaner retelling of the novel.
For example, "Draco" sees "Harry", "Ron", "Hermione" in "Hagrid's" hut with a baby
dragon, and immediately runs to tattle on them unwittingly getting detention for
himself as well.
Which sets up their journey into the forbidden forest to find
an injured unicorn.
In the book, however, "Draco" sees everybody with the baby dragon,
then weeks goes by while "Harry" and the gang hatch a plan to smuggle the dragon to
"Ron's" brother "Charlie" in Romania and nervously anticipating "Draco" tattling.
And finally, when the night comes to ship the dragon off,
"Draco" springs another trap for
them to be caught out of bed, only to be caught himself and given detention.
However, "Harry" and "Hermione" are so relieved to be rid of the dragon,
they get careless and end up in detention as well, which sets up their journey
into the forbidden forest to find an injured unicorn.
See, my way is cleaner.
- Well, it's not your way.
It's the screen writer.
- Point is, the movie did an admirable job of keeping basically everything in.
And in fact, telling the same story in a more efficient way.
By making the plot cleaner,
the film adaptation was allowed to keep all of the details that fleshed out, and
made real the world we'll be inhabiting for seven more films.
And that, my dear "Casey", brings us to year two at "Hogwarts",
'Harry Potter' and the 'Chamber of Secrets'.
- Wait, why'd you do it so spooky?
- I don't know.
It felt right. - Okay, fair enough.
'The Chamber of Secrets' picks up right where 'The Sorcerer's Stone' leaves
off in both mediums.
"Harry" is once again stuck in the "Dursley's" house like a prisoner when
'Dobby the House Elf' shows up determined to prevent "Harry" from returning to
Hogwarts.
Then "Ron" and his misfit brothers "Fred" and
"George" show up in an enchanted flying car to rescue him,
bringing him back to the "Weasley's" home before heading off to school.
Again, the movie fast forwards past much of the month leading up to "Harry's"
second year at Hogwarts because the second installment in the series is designed to
build upon the first.
The movie keeps only what it needs to further explore the wizarding world.
So, the movie keeps things like traveling by flue powder which we hadn't
seen before.
While cutting things from the book like "Harry" practicing quidditch at the burrow
with the "Weasley" boys which we have seen before.
- (Applause) - We do also get to meet "Gildaroy
Lockhart" the celebrity wizard set to be the new defense against the dark arts
professor.
In the book, he announces his new post in the bookstore.
But, the movie saves that reveal for the first day of class.
- Me. (Sound)
- The movie also rearranges a few days
worth of conversations at the burrow into one scene at the breakfast table.
Choosing to put much less emphasis on the raids "Mr Weasley" is
carrying out at the ministry.
Skipping much of their discussion about "Mr Weasley's" job policing the misuse of
muggle artifacts does have an effect that trickles down to the "Malfoy" family which
once again gets mildly short change in the deal.
- While the movie finds "Harry" shooting out the wrong grate in the flue network
and winding up in 'Knockturn Alley' he quickly stumbles into "Hagrid" who sets
him back on his way safely with the "Weasleys" In the book though,
"Harry" first overhears "Draco" and his father,
"Lucius Malfoy" attempting to sell suspicious items.
Fearing one of "Mr Weasley's" raids could find some questionable and
dark magical artifacts.
But because the movie cuts this thread entirely, we lose bit of the adversarial
relationship between the "Malfoy's" and our heroes.
Granted, it's only one bit, the "Malfoy's" are still entitled [BEEP], mind you;.
Losing the political nature of the "Arthur Weasley", "Lucius Malfoy" rivalry allows
the movie to focus on some of the darker ideas present in the story.
Underneath everything else,
'The Chamber of Secrets' deals with issues like racism and slavery.
- "Dobby" has vowed to serve one family forever.
- The chamber itself is built over 1000 years ago by "Salazar Slytherin",
the pure blood advocate founding member of "Hogwarts"
- The movie has"Professor
McGonagall" explain the legend, while the book uses Professor Binns,
the ghost who teaches History of Magic,
which is one instance where the book version makes way more sense.
- I was wondering if you could tell us about the chamber of secrets.
- Either way the story is based around the discrimination of the so
called 'Mudbloods' by the so called 'Pure Bloods'.
While the adaptation is littered with little trims to the plot in the name of
efficiency like 'The Sorcers Stone',
the movie does not loose the more grown up allegorical themes.
One function of the second entry into the 'Harry Potter' franchise is to get
slightly more adult.
The darker elements like, the monstrous snakelike "Basilisk" that wants to
rip flesh from bone, the bald face racism of the "Malfoy's".
And the decidedly bloodier and dangerous climatic fight,
they all served to bridge the gap into the subsequent, more dramatic.
"Harry Potter" adventures, and
the smaller changes to the mechanics of the plot become irrelevant.
Like the fact that in the movie "Harry" and
"Ron's" voices Don't change when they drink the 'Polyjuice Potion',
a difference that becomes more troubling and inconsistent later in the series.
Maybe they did it not to confuse the audience, or maybe it was so
"Hermione" didn't have to sound like a cat.
Who knows, either way, it doesn't matter much in the context of the series.
- Yeah, why doesn't she sound like a cat.
- I don't know.
Point is, 'Sorcerer's Stone' and 'The Chamber of Secrets' are more or
less the same from book to movie, efficient in direct translations of
the short books made for slightly longer than average movies.
And the world of 'Hogwarts School for Witchcraft' and
"Wizardry" is richly set up.
We understand what the stakes are and what the fight for "Harry", and his friends,
will be moving forward.
But let's get a year older, shall we?
And move on to 'Harry Potter and The Prisoner of Azkaban'.
- You're sticking to that spooky voice then?
Maybe you should worry about your own lines.
The third "Harry Potter" opens the way they all do.
"Harry's" stuck under the thumb of the "Dursley's".
The book finds him smuggling his wand and a few textbooks up to his room and
hiding them under the floorboards to do some secret summer homework.
(Cough) Nerd.
"Harry" also gets a handful of birthday wishes from those friends, and
a book from "Hagrid", the toothy and dangerous 'Monster Book of Monsters' argh!
But the film skips all of that with in favor of a cold open
with "Harry" secretly practicing "Lumos Maximo"
in his bedroom while infuriating his stupid mogul uncle that we hate.
The movie issues some of the let's get caught up housekeeping in order to more
firmly establish "Harry" as a rebellious teen coming into his own.
>From there, 'Prisoner of Azkaban' hustles through many of the same beats.
"Harry's" horrible aunt "Marge" shows up, talks (Sound) About "Harry's" parents, and
then "Harry" gets straight up pissed and
inflates her to 'Thanksgiving day' parade levels of floating obesity.
- Bye auntie.
- Then he bolts running away from 'Number 4 Privet Drive' and
encountering a big scary wolf, before being picked up by the 'Knight Bus'.
- Welcome to the 'Knight Bus'.
- It's on the 'Knight Bus' where "Harry" learns about 'Sirius Black's escape
from Azkaban' before being dropped off at famed wizard pub,
'The Leaky Cauldron' - The only significant part of the book
that's cut from this section is a scene in which "Harry" overhears "Mr and Mrs.
Weasley" discussing 'Sirius Black' before "Mr Weasley" brings it up with Harry at
the train station the next day.
The movie skips straight to"Mr.
"Weasley" telling "Harry" directly of 'Sirius' supposed
intentions to murder him.
- And kill me.
- Once again, the screen writers decided what to cut based on a thematic decision
to get a little older, to treat "Harry" with a little more emotional maturity.
As soon as "Harry" heads off to school, he encounters a dementor as well as their new
defense against the 'Dark Arts teacher on the Hogwarts Express'.
And the first days of class proceed without change is well.
- It's an omen of death.
- (Noise) - It isn't until their first
Defense Against the Dark Arts class when things change slightly.
Instead of allowing the boggart to change into a dementor in front of "Harry",
'Professor Lupin" steps in before it has a chance to.
But even then, "Snape" filling in for 'Lupin" and
assigning a paper on recognizing werewolves, the quidditch match, and
"Harry's" injuries at the hands of the dementors all make it on-screen.
Some of "Harry's" other classes and
Quidditch practices, as well as his stay in the hospital ward are left out.
Aside from changing the location of the conversation in during which "Harry"
overhears his professors discussing ,Sirius Black's relationship',
to "Harry", the movie matches up with the book pretty well from there.
"Harry'" learns about the patronus charm, the kids uncover the truth about
Peter Pettigrew and Scabbers after chasing "Sirius" to the shrieking shack.
Then "Harry" and "Hermione" use the time turner to save both "Sirius" and
"Buckby" the hippogriff in the climactic sequence.
- Expecto, Patronum!
- The one major bit of info the movie leaves out is the identity of "Mooney",
"Wormtail", "Padfoot", and "Prongs".
The message are credited as creators of the 'Marauder's Map in the film', and
"Lupin" clearly knows what the map is and how to use it.
But the fact that it was "Lupin", "Sirius", "Peter" "Pettigrew",
and" Harry" own's father, "James", is not mentioned at all.
One of the most emotionally charged moments in the entire series is when
"Harry" realizes that his patronus manifests itself as a stag.
And makes the connection to his father, "Prongs".
The movie on the other hand has Harry mistaking his own patronus for his father.
Of course this is cleared up with just a little bit of 'timey-wimey time travel'.
The purpose of this difference is no doubt one of a kind, and
explaining all that takes up valuable screen time in a movie based on a book,
that's a good 100 pages longer than the first two entries.
The spirit of the novel however remains in tact.
- You helped uncover the truth and save an innocent man from a terrible fate.
(Laugh) It made a great deal of difference.
- While the book sees "Harry" learning more about his parents,
the movie version focuses on "Harry" coming into his own as an adolescent, and
growing confident in his own abilities to face what he must in the coming years.
So, while the mechanics of the plot differ slightly, and
an entire quidditch match is once again cut, 'The Prisoner of Azkaban'
hangs on to the important parts as "Harry" and his friends growth as young wizards.
- Do you want to move a bit closer?
- "Ron" and "Hermione's" burgeoning romance is also featured
more predominantly in the movie than in the book.
Which might not actually be a difference, seeing the accidental hand holding and
awkward interactions on screen just brings the flirtation to the forefront.
We'd also be remiss if we didn't mention the "Malfoys" again here.
The movie version of "Draco" is largely comic relief.
He goes from snarling racist in 'Chamber of Secrets' to sniveling leader of "The
Three Stooges"-like band of physical comedians being
bested by snowballs in "Hermione's" right cross,
only to return to his straight-up evil nature later on in the series.
But that's for, well, later in our series.
Hope you enjoyed part one of our adventure into the wizardry world with 'Harry
Potter' and 'The Sorcerer's Chamber of Azkaban'.
Make sure to like and subscribe, and stick around CineFix for part two.
'Harry Potter' and 'The Goblet of The Phoenix'.
- So, that voice is still spooky to you.
- Absolutely, right "Harry"?
- Spooky.
- Thanks dude.
(Sound)