Whether you know it as Harry Potter And The Philosopher’s Stone or the Sorcerer’s Stone, either way, it is the movie that started everything for the magical franchise. It is a truly heartwarming fantasy film that opens up the magical world of Harry Potter in a perfect way.
Introducing all of the characters that we now know and love, the movie took the story from the page in an excellent manner. Bringing magic to life before people’s eyes, fans were left in awe at the incredible details and fascinating sets on display in each scene. However, because there was so much to take in, it meant that some people did actually miss out on a lot as well. There are many clever details that fans didn’t pick up on within the original film, and within this list, we will reveal 10 things you may have missed in the past.
Mixed CGI
Something that many people missed is the CGI that is interwoven into several scenes within the movie. While moments such as the cave troll are glaringly obvious, mainly due to how poor they look, others manage to just about escape without notice.
During the Quidditch game, there is plenty of CGI that doesn’t look very good. While moments, where the characters are just on a broom, were filmed, anything that involved flips like the goalkeepers was very poorly done. When Neville goes flying around earlier in the movie, he also turns into a shocking CGI character, but thankfully it quickly flicks away.
Quidditch Success
Quidditch is something that is introduced early on in the franchise, as it plays a big part in the books and the movies do a great job of bringing this game to life. It is Professor Minerva McGonagall who spots Harry’s talents as he catches Neville’s remembrall, and there is a reason she has a keen eye for Quidditch talent.
Because she was a tremendous player herself! Later in the film when Harry is nervous, he is taken to an old Hogwarts trophy that shows his father, James, was a keen player. While many people pick up on that, there’s another name to the right of that which proves McGonagall was a successful player of her own. That isn’t the only little Easter Egg here though, as R.J.H King is also in reference to John King, who was the supervising art director of the movie, giving a little nod to his work here.
The Remembrall
Speaking of Neville Longbottom’s remembrall, which plays a part in Harry Potter’s Quidditch success, there is another detail missed by fans involving the ball. When it is first delivered to him by his grandmother, Neville can’t actually remember what he has forgotten.
However, the movie smartly films this scene to show all the other students in the background as he gets the parcel. While most viewers take that for granted, this shot actually highlights everyone wearing their long black robes, apart from Neville.
Foreshadowing
Throughout the Harry Potter franchise, foreshadowing is something that takes place quite a lot, and that starts as early as the original movie. Everyone knows all about the famous chess match that takes place at the end of the movie, with the group having to play a life-sized game in order to retrieve the stone.
However, if you had focused on the film throughout this game might not have been a big surprise. There is foreshadowing throughout the movie as Ron Weasely actually teaches Harry how to play the game with a normal board earlier in the film.
Wizards Chess
While there is foreshadowing about the Wizards chess game itself, the game itself sees a hidden detail that many fans miss when they watch the scene. The game obviously causes huge destruction as the characters smash each other to pieces, which ends up injuring Ron.
But you never see Professor Quirrell make his way through these challenges. However, he does still have to go through them himself. Even though you never see him play the chess game, you can see the destruction around the side of the board, proving that a game had already been played here.
A True Seeker
Another moment that fans tend to not notice involves Quidditch once again, this time as Harry Potter learns what the different roles of the game are. He is being brought out to be a seeker for the team, and as Oliver Wood explains the role, he brings out the golden snitch.
When he does that, there is a very small detail that requires people to pay close attention. When the snitch flies out, Harry’s eyes immediately track it, whereas Oliver can be seen looking in the totally opposite direction, proving just how hard it is to be a seeker.
Re-Shoots
Re-shoots in movies can be a pain for everyone involved, but for the original Harry Potter movie, they had to be done for every single mention of The Philosopher’s Stone. This is because, in the US, the book was actually known as The Sorcerer’s Stone.
The decision was made that the film title should match the book to not cause confusion, which makes sense. Therefore it was The Philosopher’s Stone in the UK and Europe, and The Sorcerer’s Stone in the US, causing the actors who mentioned the original title to have to re-shoot for the American audiences.
Child Labor Laws
Because the three main actors in this movie were all children when the filming took place, certain child labor laws had to be followed. This meant that the filming took much longer than was originally intended, as they weren’t allowed to film as consistently as if the movie was made featuring just adults.
The laws meant that Daniel, Emma, and Rupert could only be on site for nine hours per day, maximum. Within that time they had to have one full hour’s lunch break and a 15-minute break every hour, meaning they filmed much less than expected.
Green Eyes
One of the glaringly important changes from the book to film is the color of Harry Potter’s eyes. In the books they are green, yet in the film, they are blue, which might not seem like a big deal but because of how often they are mentioned throughout the series, it was an important detail.
Daniel Radcliffe had blue eyes, but originally the plan was for him to wear contact lenses so that his eyes would change to green to match the book. However, when filming, Radcliffe ended up having an allergic reaction to those and therefore the decision was made to just keep them blue for his comfort.
Changing Sign
The Harry Potter world is full of magical moments and many of those are clearly pointed out throughout the movies. However, one that clearly goes unnoticed by many is in Philosopher’s Stone, when Hagrid and Harry Potter enter the Leaky Cauldron for the first time.
While they are further away from the building, the sign is blacked out and can’t be read. This is so the muggles don’t know that something exists inside, however, when Hagrid and Harry get closer the sign begins to unveil itself. The reason for that is because the sign can sense their magical presence, proving that they are allowed to enter. It’s a clever detail that is missed by most but really helps take the film to the next level.
