Question: When the sorting hat is speaking, can all children hear it, or only the one who is beneath it? I ask this because when the hat shouts 'Gryffindor!' everyone in the hall seems to hear it.
Garlonuss
14th Jun 2013
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (2001)
10th Dec 2005
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (2001)
Question: I was just wondering why the Sorting Hat speaks out loud in the film, because in the book it was only heard in the pupil's head. Obviously it would need to shout out the house at the end, but everything else could be a bit personal, and shouldn't be shouted to the whole school.
Answer: This is a common movie tactic. Telepathic communication can be confusing in a movie, making it hard to really know where the voice is coming from. Being a kid's movie, they apparently opted to eliminate the telepathic element as it could easily confuse the target audience who may not be very familiar with the concept of telepathic voiceover.
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Chosen answer: In the book, the only words the hat said out loud for everyone were the house assignments. Everything else was said telepathically with the one wearing the hat. In the movie, since we can see the hat's mouth moving the whole time, we're led to believe that everything is spoken out loud.
Garlonuss ★