Despite being the biggest franchise of all time, there was always bound to be a few issues here and there in the Harry Potter series. Its first entry, The Philosopher’s Stone, sees Harry, Ron (and, to a lesser extent, Hermione) gear up for a fight with Voldemort, who is living on the back of Professor Quirrell’s head.
Considering this film was a bit of a test for the series. It didn’t quite know where it was going yet and hadn’t developed the eye for detailed it required in later years when the eyes of the world were watching every release. As such, here are ten of the biggest continuity errors in the first Harry Potter film.
‘These Are My Letters’ (But Not My Voice)
Early on the in film, we see Harry jubilant about the prospect of letters flying through the air (even though he doesn’t really know where/who they’re coming from, so he should really be a little freaked out) and is really taking on his Uncle Vernon to try and get a hold of them.
During one of these encounters, the camera pans back a little and we hear Harry say, ‘they’re my letters, let go of me!’. As his mouth isn’t moving, we can assume these lines were dubbed over in post-production, and on top of that, Harry’s voice is suddenly a lot deeper. This suggests the dub came when Harry’s voice had already begun to change.
They Shouldn’t Be That Excited By Moving Pictures
Considering the majority of Hogwarts students came from wizarding families, you’d expect them to have a fair bit of knowledge of the wizarding world. There are a few muggle-borns attending the school (Hermione included, but she has done so much reading that nothing could really come as a shock to her), but the vast majority were half-blood or more.
Therefore, when the first years are climbing the stairs, their shock at moving pictures seems pretty misplaced. Sure, maybe they’re just excited by the grandeur of the school, but their newspapers move every day. They must have seen this before?
Everyone Changes Places In The Sorting Ceremony
There are a couple of issues that rear their heads pretty much soon as the new first years arrive at Hogwarts. Firstly, we see Ron get sorted into Gryffindor and sprint away to the left, even though that’s the wrong direction.
He must end up on the right table, though, because a few moments later we see him sitting next to Harry, with Hermione and Percy opposite. The shot changes and all of a sudden Hermione and Ron have both moved; Ron, for example, has somehow teleported to the other side of the table.
What Did Dudley Do With The Cake?
In one iconic scene early on in the film, Harry and his aunt, uncle and cousin have moved into a strange house on an isolated island in order to get away from Harry’s Hogwarts letters. We quickly learn that it’s Harry’s birthday, and a few moments later, we are introduced to Hagrid, who also seems to know this.
He gives Harry a lovingly decorated, hand-made cake, which Dudley soon digs into with his hands. After Hagrid gives Dudley a pig’s tail, he turns around to reveal a squeaky clean face. Maybe Hagrid’s spell had a dual purpose that cleaned up the cruel cousin.
Time Travelling Cars
It’s something that people overlook about the Harry Potter franchise, but the time period its set in is actually quite important. It’s easy to forget, but the night Harry is placed at the doorstep of the Dursleys, it’s 1981 (meaning Harry turns 40 in 2020).
Obviously the director forgot this minor detail and littered Privet Drive with cars from the late 80s and early 90s. This makes sense in the next scene, where Harry is 11 and it is 1991, but if you notice then it can take you out of the moment and really make you remember you’re just watching a film.
Time Travelling Hermione?
It’s pretty well known that Emma Watson took her role as Hermione pretty seriously, and had about as much commitment to education as her character did (in fact, she got a degree in English Literature after the films wrapped).
As such, she knew everyone’s lines just as well as she knew her own. If you watch her mouth while Harry says, ‘why didn’t I see this before?’ when they’re on their way to Hagrid’s hut, you’ll see her silently and subtly mouthing Daniel Radcliffe’s lines. Rupert Grint does the same to her, however, so watch him carefully when they see Snape jinxing the broom.
Time Travelling Harry…?
Despite the opening scene of the entire Harry Potter franchise depicting Harry as a baby, the producers don’t seem to have paid much attention to their own continuity later on in the film.
Hagrid gives Harry a photo album towards the end of the film and it has some pictures of Harry with his parents. A touching gesture? Or an evil book filled with pictures of Harry having been abducted by his zombie parents years after their deaths? In the book, Harry is at least two years older than he was when his parents died. Creepy.
Platform 9¾ Can’t Exist At Kings Cross
As we all know, King’s Cross is the famous central London train station through which all Hogwarts students have to go to access the Hogwarts express. There are a few obvious flaws with this, like why don’t the muggles question that one strange day every year where people in robes disappear through the wall?
Anyway, platforms 9 and 10 aren’t in the same building at Kings Cross, and JK Rowling admits having mixed up King’s Cross and Euston. As a result, the scenes are filmed between platforms 4 and 5. People still take pictures there all the time, but it just isn’t quite as good when you realize it wasn’t really there.
Wood Doesn’t Really Understand Quidditch
Considering he is the captain of the Quidditch team, you’d expect Oliver Wood to know a little something about the magical game. As we all know, catching the Golden Snitch ends a game of Quidditch; without catching it, the game won’t end. That, therefore, is Harry’s job.
Wood explains this, and tells Harry that when he catches the Snitch, the game is over and Gryffindor wins. However, the tactical element that Wood doesn’t seem to know about is that getting the Snitch gets the team 150 and ends the game. This means you don’t necessarily win, which is an important detail Harry should probably be aware of.
Harry Seems Pretty Unfazed By Murder
At the end of the film, Harry watches as Professor Quirrell is turned to stone and destroyed, effectively killing him while the spirit of Voldemort escapes and flees one more. Considering Harry is an eleven-year-old, he seems right as rain pretty quickly after these events, when you’d realistically expect quite a lot of post-traumatic stress and the all-around less-upbeat attitude he displays in the next scene.
It also means he should be able to see Thestrals, but perhaps fans can just put that one down to JK Rowling not having invented those until the 5th book.
