living pictures

Rating: 8/10 (11 December 2001)

While we all obviously know that the movie is not an exact visual copy of the book, it does stand well alone. Think of it as all the pictures for a fully illustrated copy of Rowling's work thrown together in a whirlwind of color and magic and fanatsy and one can't help but be happy and enthralled when leaving the theatre. And all the nit-picking asside, the most important thing Columbus absolutely had to do right was the casting, which was so perfect, I doubt it could have been better (I'm excited that we have the fabulous Kenneth Branaugh to look forward to in the Chamber of Secrects as Gilderoy Lockheart!).