Harry Potter - It's Not the Book

              This was the first time I had either read Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone or watched the movie adapted from it.  I had never read any books within the Harry Potter franchise as a result of my mother’s strictness, and so these – reading the first book and watching the movie – were new experiences for me. 
               Within five minutes of the beginning of The Sorcerer's Stone, you can see that part of the story behind the Dursley family is missing.  It is not understood fully why Petunia and Vernon hate Harry and his world (the Dursleys had a normal life, but Petunia’s sister was a witch) until later, after Hagrid appears.  Nevertheless, it can be overlooked.  Explanation is provided, and to begin the film from the Dursley’s story would make it a bit odd to make the switch to the mysteriousness of Dumbledore and McGonagall.  It would also add unnecessary length to the film.
               Numerous instances have been excluded from the movie, though because of their brevity in the book, most of these exclusions do not have a lasting impact on the story as a whole.  For example, the details - (in the movie) the Dursleys did not throw a fuss about having to take Harry to the zoo, and Dudley had no friend to come along.  Neither did they move Harry to the upstairs bedroom before they took the road trip to escape Harry’s letters.  The story was expedited by Harry’s leaving for school immediately after Diagon Alley.  In the book he returned to Privet Drive for a few weeks, and the Dursleys dropped him off at the train station.  Part of the development of the rivalry between Harry and Draco began in Diagon Alley, but Draco did not enter the story until they had arrived at Hogwarts.  Norbert the dragon left the story differently than he did in the book, and his time in the movie was abbreviated. 
                None of this is crucial to the plot, so it can be overlooked.  Some of the changes are even for the better, because to include them in the movie would make it drag on for too long.  However, the discovery of the significance of Nicholas Flamel was altered a bit.  Trading cards had already been introduced by Harry and Ron on the train, but were not mentioned when Harry, Ron, and Hermoine discovered Flamel – the trading card was how they learned his identity.  I do not think that including this particular instance would have hurt the film, and perhaps it should have been included.  Of course, the plot got on fine without it. 
               The film was really a quite accurate adaption of the book.  As I mentioned before, minor changes were made, but none were crucial and none created a barrier for understanding The Sorcerer’s Stone or any future books.             
              All in all, my first experience in the world of Harry Potter was not a bad one.  I can understand why he is so popular and why so many children adore him.