Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001)

For not having the most nuance of the series in terms of plot, humor, or acting, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone certainly wins out in other areas of arguably equal value.

Wonder-inspiring both in terms of visuals and content, and with optimism aplenty to be enjoyed by all, this first movie in the series easily manages to most appropriately bear the moniker “children’s media”. What’s more, even many years and many films later, I found that HP1 still possesses the delightful boon of being able to inspire an audience of adults to feel like children while they watch. At least I did.

Director Chris Columbus (whose projects include The Goonies (screenwriter - 1985) and Home Alone (director - 1990)) does a good job of conveying the tone of buoyant and naively headstrong first-timer enthusiasm present in the book. He also brings out some surprisingly good character portrayals from the very inexperienced trio of young actors who play the lead characters.

Overall, though this first film is not my favorite in the whole series, there is no denying that it has my heart.