Hey everyone,
Welcome to another installment of Harry Potter Theory. In today’s video, we’re going
to be discussing the introductory chapter to the entire Harry Potter story - the Philosopher’s
Stone. Now, let me just start off by saying that the Philosopher’s Stone isn’t everyone’s
favourite- some felt that it was too juvenile- TOO innocent. But, I for one am a huge fan
of the first film and the immense nostalgia that it brings. The Philosopher’s Stone
was the preliminary introduction and gateway to the wizarding world on the big screen,
and for that, it will forever remain in my heart. But, no film production goes without
its fair share of mistakes. Prop failures, misread lines, bloopers- these are elements
of a production- they’re an inevitability. However, what I want to discuss today are
those elements of filmmaking that slipped through the cracks- the ones that made it
to the final cut- I am of course talking about movie mistakes. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s
Stone, though a masterpiece, is certainly not without ITS fair share of mistakes, and
today, I wanted to share 20 of them with you all. These ‘mistakes’ come in many forms-
simple oversights, visible equipment/crew, and continuity errors. If you like this style
of video, I can do it for all of the films- just leave a comment letting me know down
below.
Let’s get started
Kicking things off we’re brought to the quidditch pitch, where Harry is hanging on
to his jinxed Nimbus 2000 for dear life. This scene occurs just after Hermione sets Snape’s
cloak on fire- and here, if we look closely, we can actually see the wire rods taped to
the broomstick- leading to underneath both of Harry’s sleeves.
Next up we have another mistake in the same quidditch scene where Harry is upright and
trying his best to stay on his unruly broomstick. Just before panning to this still, we see
Hermione say to Ron “leave it to me”. With the close up on Harry, we can actually
see a seat underneath his broomstick (which made it more comfortable for the actors to
sit on)
Next up we’re brought to one of the opening sequences at the Zoo. At the zoo Dudley is
being unruly and harassing the snake- also pushing Harry aside. This leads to a disgruntled
Harry removing the glass between Dudley and the snake. In the first still- we can see
here that the snake actually disappears. However, once Dudley has actually fallen in, we can
see the snake REAPPEAR in the frame.
Next up we’re brought to the girls lavatory during the fated troll attack. Here we have
young Hermione trying to get away from the troll- backing towards the cubicle doors.
The issue here? The cubicle door seems to go all the way to the ground. However, in
the next scene Hermione can be see scrambling underneath the cubicles- which shouldn’t
be possible.
Here we have a scene where the trio have made it past Fluffy, the devil’s snare, and-
in this moment- the keys. Harry throws Hermione a key which she then catches and runs over
to the door with. It’s at this point that we can see electrical cable hanging in plain
sight in the background (that wasn’t visible in previous shots).
This is an interesting one. When Quirrell enters the great hall and tells everyone that
there’s a troll in the dungeon, Dumbledore proceeds to shout ‘silence’, followed
by ‘teachers will follow me to the dungeons’. At this point, it pans to a shot of McGonagall
and some candles that are very clearly hanging via visible wires.
At the start of term feast, just after being sorted in to Gryffindor, Harry sits down on
Ron’s side of the table. However, VERY shortly after- the feast appears on the table, and
at this point Harry is sitting opposite Ron, next to Percy and Hermione.
In this scene Petunia is bringing Dudley over to his vast pile of presents. In perhaps one
of the most blatant equipment-related blunders in the film, a black microphone wire can be
seen in plain sight around Petunia’s neck (not to be confused with her apron strings).
In this scene the trio are just vacating the room where they first encountered Fluffy.
After running away, they decide to head back to the Gryffindor tower- and it’s at this
point that we can see a crew member’s feet underneath the door behind them.
This is another weird one that could be up for debate. Here we can see Hermione’s hair
in Madam Hooch’s class with some sort of ‘crimp’ in it. However, in the following
scene- and in all subsequent scenes, Hermione’s hair appears to be completely straight.
Just after being knocked off of the Knight’s Horse in the chess challenge (which is protecting
the stone) Ron Weasley can be seen falling to the ground. It’s in this moment that,
if you look closely, you can see black protective gear underneath his clothing.
In this scene, which occurs just after Dumbledore and Harry have a discussion about the Mirror
of Erised- Harry is walking in the snow outside with Hedwig on his arm. When the shot zooms
in to Harry with Hedwig, we can see a ‘jess’ around Hedwig’s leg- that is- a strap tethering
Hedwig to Harry’s sleeve. However- in the very next shot, this ‘jess’ is no longer
there.
In this scene, which occurs just after the trio escaped Fluffy and the Devil’s Snare-
the trio are faced with a room full of keys and a floating broomstick. When Ron and Hermione
walk away to the door on the other side of the room, we can see Harry standing next to
the broom- and if we look VERY closely, we can see a bar clearly supporting the ‘floating’
broomstick.
Back to the troll scene- here we can see an overhead shot of Harry clinging on for dear
life as he grabs the trolls club. The scene looks fine at first glance- but if we look
closely we can actually see some of the crew’s equipment in the bottom left corner.
Back to Fluffy- in this scene the trio have just entered Fluffy’s quarters- where the
giant three-headed dog is asleep. However- the trio suddenly come to the realization
that Fluffy has woken up when a giant glob of slobber lands on Ron. What’s interesting
here, however, is that in the very next scene- only moments later- Ron is lying in the Devil’s
snare with a completely dry shirt.
In this scene Hagrid has just brought Harry with him to Gringotts to visit Harry’s vault
and conduct some of Dumbledore’s business. The issue here is the envelope. The envelope
we see here is creased, with the bow tied a particular way. However, in the very next
moment- as Hagrid passes the letter over- the envelope is suddenly completely fine (with
no creases) and the bow positions appears to have shifted.
This is a good one. Back at the zoo- just after Dudley falls in to the snake pit, we
can see what looks to be a ‘stick’ prodding the snake in to action. In the very next moment
the stick is gone- in fact, we can actually see it begin to leave the frame. This stick
actually belonged to one of the crew members who was poking the snake in order to make
it move.
In this scene- back at the quidditch pitch- there are actually quite a few mistakes going
on throughout. The main ones, however, are these wires that are attached to these brooms.
The wires in question are attached to the broom handle between their legs and extend
down to a clamped loop around their feet.
In this scene- which occurs just have Harry has retrieved the Philosopher’s Stone- we
see Harry crash and fall to the stairs after Voldemort’s soul flies through him. What
should be noted here, however, is a. That he’s unconscious and b. The way that he
lands. Moments later, in a follow up scene, Harry’s arm position is completely different,
and moved way too much for someone that was unconscious.
I enjoy this one quite a lot as it’s a favourite scene of mine (one of many). Here we can see
Harry carefully taking notes in Snape’s class with careful, neat, and most importantly
SMALL handwriting. However, in the following shot we get a glance of Harry’s notebook
from afar- and the writing looks nothing like what Harry had written down in the previous
frame.
And there you have it- 20 mistakes in the first installment of Harry Potter. Do you
want me to do more of these for the other films? If so, like the video, subscribe to
the channel, and leave a comment down below. Thanks for watching.
Until next time.
YER A WIZARD ARRY