Lost in Adaptation: Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone

Sounds good in theory (except for the part about being worried about being a mudblood, its confirmed in the second book that she has no idea what that means, also you think theres a book on wizard racism in the 1st year curriculum?!) But I don't buy it sorry, in their fist meeting on the Hogwarts express Hermione is described as talking "very fast". Its the first thing Harry notices about her. Thats literally the opposite of how Emma Watson portrays her so she gets no props from me on that. Seeing as you brought it up Emma also lacks the unattractiveness and buck teeth. She's the worst choice they could have gone with for this role.

Dominic Noble

Okay, so over on YouTube I got distracted because I happen to agree with you on the dumbing down of the books for us Americans. But, if you'll forgive me, I think Emma Watson's portrayal of Hermione was spot on with the over enunciation. Hear me out, okay? So here you have this girl, not very attractive, she's got bushy brown hair, buck teeth, she's highly intelligent, and both of her parents are dentists. We all know children are evil, spiteful little things to other kids, especially smart kids who aren't the socially acceptable standard of pretty. So we can likely correctly assume she was bullied to no end. Especially since, like Harry, weird things happened around her that she at first couldn't understand. Then all of a sudden a letter arrives from Hogwarts and everything makes sense. She's a WITCH! She has POWERS! (And her parents, despite them not wanting her to use magic to fix her teeth, seem to accept this. Which often makes me wonder if they were both muggles or if one of them might've been a squib pretending to be a muggle.... but I digress.) But knowing her she likely studied everything she could beforehand. Therefore she knew she would be bullied by bigots for being "a mudblood." So all she can do is what she's always done - over compensate. Enunciate every single word clearly, be perfect in all her classes, constantly prove herself over and over and over again. That's her armor. That's how she protects herself. Of course then she becomes friends with Harry and Ron. Ron, a pureblood, with a large pureblood family, who just automatically accepts her just the way she is. Other kids start to befriend her too. Heck, a professional athlete ends up asking her out! So of course she's going to relax a bit as the years go by. Slur her words a little. Not focus so hard on being perfect. She realizes she doesn't need to be the smartest, the best, to protect herself. That she doesn't need that armor anymore. She can just be - Hermione. Smart and caring but not always perfect Hermione.

Can't stop rewatching this review, it's so enjoyable. I think my favorite jokes are "Yer a cold-blooded killer, Harry" (Thank you! That bothered me SO MUCH as a kid, and still does now! Whose idea was that?!) followed by "Azkaban!", Hagrid endangering students by bringing a fire-breathing monster into the school followed by "Sorry Hagrid old boy, but: Azkaban!" and finally, Albus telling Harry about why Nicolas Flemmel decided to die being left out of the book. "Wow, you really don't give a fuck, do you?" "He was a prick; I never liked him!" I died laughing! Definitely keep it up. ^^

As everyone else has said, great new outfit. Also, I'm shocked you didn't say anything about how the scar was moved in the movies.

A. M. Paulson

Yes, you look positively dashing in that outfit!

Robert Griffith

Another fantastic review, The Dom! I was looking forward to this review for a long time (well, who hasn't?) and I wasn't disappointed. Also, I LOVE the snazzy new threads. Looking sharp, Dom! As for the review itself, it's just as entertaining, funny, informative, and thought-provoking as ever. Keep up the good work! I eagerly await the next installments. ^.^

YAY! So excited about this series! And the new threads have you looking so sharp, you're in danger of cutting yourself! ;) One of my favorite things about watching your videos improve over time is how much more self-aware you've become as you've gone along--admitting here the factors that led you to be a little biased against the film and then ending note of "I'm not angry, I'm dissapointed" is the perfect example of it. You're like fine wine--you keep getting better and better with age!

Amy Reynolds

Great review. I almost want to read the book now.

LS Greger

Great start The Dom! A lot of your complaints seem fair in my eyes.

Mitchell Reid-Tait

Yay! Something you're reviewing I actually both read and saw the movie!

I was so young when the movie came out, so my picture of the books and movies got blended and i guess i inagained a lot of the changes they made to be in the book too. I must go reread them now. Cant wait until Goblet of Fire! Thats my fav.

I think you would really enjoy Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality. It's a fanfic that was entirely plotted out by the author before he started the 5-year process of writing it, so there is TONS of outstanding foreshadowing that you'll totally miss on your first reading. I've read the whole thing 6 times (which is quite a feat, since it's almost as long as books 1-5 combined), and I noticed half a dozen new references to future events in my latest re-reading.

coredumperror

I dunno about that remake idea... the fervor over the HP universe has died down immensely since the book and film series ended. Sure, they may rekindle some of that with Magical Beasts, but making new HP films would be expensive as HELL, and hardly a guaranteed financial success like they were last decade,

coredumperror

Outstanding review. Nice duds!

Dustin Angle

Great review as usual, Dom!

Oh wow, I'd completely forgotten about the retarded change they made to the title of this book and movie. I was 15 when I got into the series, and I'd long since heard of the Philosopher's Stone. So discovering that the title had been changed because the marketers thought Americans were too ignorant really ticked me off something fierce back then. I like how you used a clip from Casper to represent Peeves, since they left him out of the movie entirely.

coredumperror

Good review! Maybe if they one day remake the whole series (yeah, don't flinch, you know they will), they'll learn from their last mistakes for the first movie. I do remember that when I saw this with my sister (I had read all the books that were out, she hadn't read any), she enjoyed it and I liked it as well. It's a good attempt and start at what became a huge franchise, and I'm glad you got a chance to reevaluate it, even if it still deserves some boos. also very nice suit. Es muy guapo

Felicia Angel

Looking good The Dom. I must have read just this book more than a dozen times, to the point that it became pretty worn after just a year. I blame that that on my age, since the books also came at about the same time as my own age. As for the film while I don't remember disliking it when it came out I still think it's definitly one of the weaker ones of the franchise. Also on the entire book series I just loved it's continuity. A lot of minor details referenced on the earlier books suddenly gained importance in the later ones, which made it much more enjoyable to reread even after years.