Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone

Other mistake: When Harry receives his first letter in the mail, Dudley snatches it from him before he has a chance to open it. Then he gives it to his father (Uncle Vernon), and Uncle Vernon says "Who'd be writing to you?" If you watch Dudley carefully, you can see him mouth what Uncle Vernon is saying. (00:08:54)

Other mistake: Near the beginning, when the Dursleys' house begins shaking, none of the objects fall nor do the curtains shake. (00:11:00)

Other mistake: In the scene where Ron and Harry are on the train to Hogwarts, the window to the compartment is open. We know this because the chocolate frog jumps out the window and is swept away by a pretty strong wind. Since the window is indeed open, shouldn't there be a visible breeze thoughout the compartment? (00:35:50)

Other mistake: Albus Dumbledore's name is spelled incorrectly on his card (after the chocolate frog escapes the container). It's spelled with an "E." (00:36:00)

Other mistake: While Harry and his classmates are on their way up to Gryffindor Tower right after the Sorting, Neville reacts with astonishment to a portrait moving. However, we learn in later films that Neville was raised in a magical household (by his grandmother), so he should have been completely accustomed to seeing pictures move. (00:46:30)

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Suggested correction: Not every magic household has moving pictures in the house.

lionhead

No, but being raised in the magical world he will have come across moving portraits. A good example (tho not explained until book 5) is at St Mungo's. He visits his parents regularly. The hospital has portraits there that would move. Thus seeing the one move at Hogwarts shouldn't have startled him.

Ssiscool

I am now doubting it's Neville who is saying it. Can't be sure it's his voice. It can also be he is mentioning they are portraits, not photographs that are moving. Maybe moving paintings are rarer.

lionhead

It could be Dean Thomas. He's a muggleborn. And his first knowledge was when he had a letter, same as Harry.

Ssiscool

Other mistake: When Neville flies away but falls off it is obviously animated. When he falls behind the crowd of students they are covering up Matthew Lewis, the actor who plays Neville, but the place where Lewis and the animated Neville fell are different. (00:54:45)

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone mistake picture

Other mistake: In the scene where Professor Quirrell removes his headwrap to reveal the concealed Voldemort, Quirrell is obviously bald. However, if you carefully watch the scene with the troll, Quirell's sideburns are present after he shudders as the troll exhales, as they are in a couple of other shots. (01:10:43)

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Suggested correction: The incident with the mountain troll took place on Halloween. The incident with Quirrell took place later in June. That is plenty of time for Quirrell to shave his head. Makes sense that he would as, I mean, I would rather shave my head if there was a guy on the back of it! Then I wouldn't have to worry about bumping his nose and him getting mad at me while using a comb. To be a mistake, we would need to see him with hair right before he is bald.

Other mistake: While Harry is sitting on the troll's shoulders, the troll grabs Harry's right leg and pulls him off, but in the next shot the troll now has Harry hanging upside-down by his left leg. (01:11:10)

Super Grover

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone mistake picture

Other mistake: During the Quidditch match, Hermione looks in her binoculars up to where Harry is. If you look at the reflection in the binoculars, you can see Harry flailing around. She then looks over at Snape, but when we see the reflection in the binoculars, we still see Harry, as if she was looking up towards him. (01:20:40)

ACertainShadeofGreen

Other mistake: In the Quidditch scene when Harry and the Slytherin seeker are chasing the snitch and are trying to bump each other off course you can see Hogwarts in the background. They pass Hogwarts twice while going the same direction. (01:22:05)

Other mistake: When Harry, Ron and Hermione rush to Hagrid after the end of the year exams, and Harry is saying something that ends with, "Why didn't I see it before?", Hermione is mouthing part of that line. [Emma Watson did admit she learned Dan and Rupert's lines as well as her own and found herself accidentally mouthing them.] (01:50:40)

Other mistake: When Harry, Ron, and Hermione go after the Philosopher's Stone, the harp stops playing. They look up at the dog, but its shadow is cast on the ceiling above them as well as on top of them. This shows there were lights behind the 3. (01:56:00)

Other mistake: In the scene near the end of the movie where Harry boards Hogwarts Express to go home, Hagrid stands on the platform and waves goodbye. He is wearing a coat and looks huge, as usual, but you can see when he waves, that his hand seems rather small compared to the rest of his huge frame. (02:23:15)

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone mistake picture

Continuity mistake: At the snake exhibit, while Harry speaks with the Python the snake's body lies curled over a long wood log and a large rock. In the shot from outside the Python's exhibit, after the glass pane disappears Dudley falls over the rail and the snake is gone, not positioned differently or blocked from view, but altogether gone. In the next overhead shot inside the Python's exhibit, while Dudley falls the snake is back lying on the log and rock, in the very same position as in the previous shots. (00:07:10)

Super Grover

More mistakes in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone

Dumbledore: It takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to your enemies, but a great deal more to stand up to your friends.

More quotes from Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone

Trivia: The Hogwarts motto, 'Draco Dormiens Nunquam Titilandus', is Latin, and means 'Never tickle a sleeping dragon.'

More trivia for Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone

Question: I get that the DADA role is cursed because of Voldemort being denied the role when he applied for it at Hogwarts, but why does Dumbledore not let Snape take the role like he's wanted to every year? I thought Snape was a double agent (he spies on the Death Eaters and Voldemort for Dumbledore, and he pretends to be on Voldemort's side too), so unless Voldemort decides that he wants to get rid of him for being in the role, he's okay to take it on provided he's given it, and yet every year, Dumbledore turns down his application. Is it because Snape's too involved in Voldemort's side of things or some other reason? I hope I explained it well.

Heather Benton

Chosen answer: There are several reasons. First, the position is cursed, so there is little reason to give Snape the job when he will not last any longer than all the previous instructors. If Snape did become the DADA instructor, something could happen to him that could result in his being harmed, having to leave Hogwarts, or be otherwise incapacitated in some way; that would render him useless to Dumbledore as a double agent. Also, Dumbledore trusts Snape, but putting him in an environment where he is teaching about dark magic on a daily basis would be too tempting and emotionally compromising to someone who had been so easily seduced by the dark side. He could possibly relapse. It would be like having a recovering alcoholic work as a bartender. Of course, he does eventually become the DADA instructor, and lasted no longer than his predecessors.

raywest

In the movies it is never mentioned that DADA role was cursed by Voldemort.

This is true; though it doesn't say it's not either. With trying to fit 7 long books and years worth of pages of HP information in 2 and a half hours; as long as the movie doesn't say it's not cursed, with our knowledge, there is no problem with reporting that it is. Even directors of non-book movies do this all the time; leave background information out that helps explain things they just didn't have time so they explained it behind the scenes.

More questions & answers from Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone

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