Enchanted.

Rating: 10/10 (22 November 2001)

I've been a grownup Harry Potter fan since the late summer of 1999, when his name was just beginning to be heard frequently around my area and I was wondering who this kid was. I picked up a paperback copy of the first book at a local shop and spent a couple of hours finding my way around Privet Drive and Hogwarts School. When I finished the book, I went back to the beginning and started to read it again. Since that time, I am, in a word, hooked on the Potter phenomenon.
But the movie had me a little worried. Rarely have books I love been made into movies at all, and when they are I've often found myself disappointed in the results. I didn't want anyone destroying this literarily perfect universe I have so frequently visited. I relaxed a bit when I got my first look at Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, and Emma Watson -- the kids who would shoulder the massive burden of bringing Harry, Ron, and Hermione to life looked the parts, at least. Many adult casting elements reassured me as well -- Maggie Smith, Alan Rickman, and John Hurt, among others. The movie score by John Williams would no doubt be impressive. I bought my ticket for opening day.
I don't know what exactly I expected. What I got was a movie so magical, so engaging, that I've seen it three times so far and am eager to see it again. (My husband worries about my sanity sometimes.) Almost never have I seen a movie that tries so hard to be faithful to the book on which it's based. It succeeds so well at this, in fact, that the things from the book which don't make it onto the screen are rather conspicuous (to me) by their absence. I'm eager to see a director's cut of the film, which would be four hours long. At two hours and 45 minutes, the movie is too short for me.
The casting is something along the lines of ideal. Robbie Coltrane IS Hagrid, the lovable giant with a fondness for dangerous creatures. Alan Rickman is sufficiently creepy and sinister as Professor Snape, though I am disappointed that none of Snape's back story is revealed in the movie. Crisp, stern Professor McGonagall is brought most believably to life by Maggie Smith, while John Cleese does a delightful, if brief, turn as Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington, the ghost who haunts Harry's dormitory. John Hurt has a splendid, though again short, appearance as an eccentric wand-maker, and Zoe Wanamaker is wonderfully spirited as flying teacher Madam Hooch.
This movie is for kids, however, and it is the kids who are the stars. Radcliffe, Grint, and Watson are so adorable that I found myself wanting to reach through the screen and hug the stuffing out of them. Grint is ideal as Ron, the clownish chess fiend with a heart of gold, and Watson IS Hermione, from her brainy smugness to her fierce loyalty. Radcliffe, as the courageous but modest orphan with extraordinary abilities, is utterly captivating. Harry lives, thanks to this talented twelve-year-old. The chemistry and friendship between the three is undeniable.
I have only three major complaints about the movie. As I said, Snape's back story is not told, secondly not nearly enough Quidditch, and lastly, it's just too short!
Other than that, the main thing I'm worried about is what I'm going to do until the fifth book is released.