Eight Scenes from the “Sorcerer’s Stone” Movie That Weren’t in the Book

Harry Potter fans adore talking about the events and characters that didn’t make it into the final cut of the films. It’s understandable why lots of moments get excluded from the adaptations, because otherwise, each movie would have to last at least four hours.

But today, let’s turn the tables and remember all those cool scenes that were in the movies but not in the books. Since there are quite a lot of memorable moments that we want to discuss, we decided to make a whole series with an article for each movie, in order not to miss anything. So stay tuned for the next parts coming up very soon!

The first two movies are the closest to the books, and it was quite tricky to find the differences between the written story and the adaptation of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. Most of these “extra scenes” don’t add anything important to the plot, but we reckon they are essential to understanding the characters and their feelings more deeply. Without further ado, let’s take a look!

 

1. Harry plays with his toys.

This moment lasted only for a few seconds, but we’d like to highlight it for two reasons. First and foremost, this scene shows something we often tend to forget – that Harry was just a child, forced to grow up faster than all his friends. He was supposed to play around, have fun, and not worry about saving the world. Second, we love the little flashback we get in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1, when Harry is holding his knight again. It feels like the best metaphor to show how much he’s changed and that the story we grew up with is about to end.

 

 

 

2. Dudley falls into the snake cage and gets trapped.

The first time we see Harry using his magical abilities is in the zoo when he gets angry with his cousin and makes the glass disappear. The same scene happens in the book, but with one big difference: In the movie, as Dudley he tries to get out of the cage, he realizes that the glass is back again and he’s trapped. This was quite a good revenge for all of Dudley’s bullying, wasn’t it?

 

 

 

3. Harry makes a wish on his birthday.

This is such an emotional moment as you realize that a lonely 11-year-old boy is celebrating his birthday all alone with a drawing of a cake instead of a real one. Of course, we don’t know for sure what he wished for, but we can take a guess and say that he wanted his life to change and to find friends, so the dream definitely came true!

 

 

 

4. Harry looks out of the window in the dormitory.

In the book, Harry’s so tired and full from the delicious welcome feast that he falls asleep the second he lies down in his bed. However, in the movie, Harry’s sitting on the windowsill with Hedwig and looking out of the window, finally feeling himself at home. Also, this moment has become a popular meme, so it was definitely worth mentioning.

 

 

 

5. McGonagall transforms.

Imagine it’s your first day at school, and the first thing you see is your teacher gracefully turning from a cat into a human. If that’s not the best motivation to start studying asap to be able to do the same, then we don’t know what else to call it. In the books, McGonagall shows her transforming skills only in the third book, but in the movies, she decided to impress her students from the very beginning. 

 

 

 

6. Seamus blows everything up.

Let’s be honest – every time you think of Seamus Finnigan, you remember his “particular proclivity for pyrotechnics,” don’t you? In the book, he accidentally sets his feather on fire once, but in the movie, he keeps blowing stuff up. In the extended version of the film, we even witness Seamus setting his own hair on fire. How? No one will ever know!

 

 

 

7. Hagrid plays “Hedwig’s Theme.”

Hagrid literally breaks the fourth wall as he starts playing the popular theme song to the Harry Potter series. The melody sounds really nice on the flute, and it was a perfect detail added to the storyline.

 

 

 

8. Harry goes home.

Or to be more precise, he’s “not going home – not really.” This has become something all Potterheads quote every now and then, because Hogwarts has become a shelter, comfort zone, and home not only for Harry and his friends but also for millions of people all over the world.

 

 

These were pretty much all the extra scenes in the Sorcerer’s Stone movie that weren’t in the book. Let us know in the comments which moment is your favorite.