Subscribe | UPI Odd Newsletter Subscribe WASHINGTON, Nov. 19 (UPI) -- (United Press International has assigned the children of three of its editors to review "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone," which broke all box office records this weekend, bringing in $93.5 million.) Review: Harry Potter 'very good movie' Advertisement By J.T. BECK First of three reports "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" was a very good movie. The wardrobe was awesome and so were the special effects. It was kind of like the book, but I don't remember exactly because I read the book a long time ago. They identified the characters very well, and the beginning was good -- and so was the end. Harry Potter was a movie that made me feel excited -- very excited -- and Quidditch was one of the best parts. Quidditch is a game that is played on a broomstick. The object of the game is to catch the golden Snitch, which will earn your team 150 points. The winner is determined by the number of points. Quidditch players are the Seeker, Chaser, Beater, Keeper -- and both teams have those. Advertisement The characters included Hagrid, Hermione, Ron, Harry, Professor Quirrell, Professor Snape, Professor Albus Dumbledore, Professor McGonagall, Draco Malfoy. Hagrid was the keeper of keys. He had almost every key to Hogwarts -- the school of witchcraft and wizardry. He was a very, very big man and he had a long beard. Hagrid always wanted a dragon. He met a man at a pub and the man gave him an egg, which hatched into a little dragon. But Professor Dumbledore sent the dragon to Romania so it could be in an environment with other dragons. Hermione Granger always paid attention in class and was a friend to Harry. She read almost every spell book there ever was. Ron Weasley also was a good friend to Harry and loved playing Wizard Chess and was very courageous when Harry was in trouble. Harry Potter was, or thought he was, an average boy, but soon found out from Hagrid that he was a wizard. Harry was amazed. Harry was a Seeker for Gryffindor's Quidditch team at Hogwarts. Gryffindor was one of the four houses, or dormitories, for students at the school. Students were chosen for the houses by the Sorting Hat, a big witch's hat that was attached to a chair. As you sat in the chair, Professor McGonagall put the hat on your head. The hat read your mind and said what house you'd be good for. Advertisement The four houses were Gryffindor, Slytherin, Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw. Professor Quirrell was a scaredy-cat -- he always acted nervous until the end, when Harry found out -- well, I'll keep that a secret for now (in case you haven't read the book). Professor Quirrell taught Dark Arts Defense at Hogwarts. Professor Snape was always after Quirrell's job. When Harry was in trouble during Quidditch, Snape tried to save him with a counterspell. But Hermione started a fire on his coat so the counterspell didn't work, but made Professor Quirrell lose eye contact so Harry's broomstick went back to normal. Professor Snape was a potion teacher at Hogwarts. Professor Dumbledore was the headmaster at Hogwarts. He looked after the school. He was a help to Harry. Professor McGonagall was a teacher at Hogwarts. She taught spells to the students. She could turn herself into a cat. Draco Malfoy was chosen by Slytherin, another house at Hogwarts. He hated Harry and wasn't friendly at all. Those are the main characters. But there was one more -- Lord Voldemort. His nickname was "You-know-who." He was a wizard gone bad and he gave Harry a scar on his forehead. At the end of the movie, Harry, Ron and Hermione were each awarded with 50 points for Gryffindor for being courageous. Advertisement The movie's lessons were friends help each other, do your homework (and don't be late for class), and "never judge a book by its cover." And this is an awesome movie from a great book. (J.T. Beck is the 9-year-old son of UPI Executive Editor Tobin Beck.) Harry Potter: 'Best movie I've ever seen' By ISABELLE SALHANI Second of three reports "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" was a good book. It was also a great movie. In fact, "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" was the BEST movie I've ever seen. And that is no lie. As Harry's best friend Ron Weasley would say, it was "wicked!" The film is true to the book, although, they left a number of small details that could have made the movie even better. True Harry Potter fans, who have read the first book, will wonder where was Peeves the Poltergastor, and why were changes made to the chessboard scene? Why was Hedwig, Harry's owl, never mentioned by name? And Scabbers the rat, what about him? He was there, but you only saw him once. But, those are small details and "The Sorcerer's Stone" was still a great movie. Advertisement The Quidditch game was really cool, as Harry and his pals race around on magic broomsticks. And the scene with the wizards' chess game was "Bloody Brilliant!" The special effects were too awesome to be true, and they make you wonder just how they got all those candles to float in the great hall, the brooms to fly, and made professor McGonagall to transform from a cat to a human being. Some people were disappointed when they saw some of the characters, because they weren't what they expected them to be. "I thought Hermione would look different," said sixth-grader, Candice Chu. "I imagined her a lot more curly." Other characters were very loyal to the book, such as Hagrid, the caretaker of Hogwart's School, with his gentle beetle black eyes and big bushy hair. He looks pretty good to what people might have imagined him as. There were a number of scenes that left viewers dazed in awe. For example, the castle, with its magical moving staircases, was one of the things that left viewers bugged-eyed and drooling over its beauty and brilliance. But no matter what I have to say about this movie, the fact remains that the books are better because they allow you to use your imagination. My compliments to the author. Advertisement (Isabelle Salhani is the 11-year-old daughter of UPI Life & Mind Editor, Claude Salhani) Harry Potter 'is missing a lot ' By RUMEN M. HUTCHINSON Third of three reports 0- "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" may seem like a great movie but it is missing a lot that the book has, though the movie would be four hours long if it had the bits it is missing. That brings me to a point that every single Harry Potter book or movie is so long that it would not fit on video. For example, "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" would be 11 hours long since it is over 700 pages! J.K. Rowling's books started well, but each one is longer and more boring than the last. Now I would like to talk about the characters: Harry, the main character, Ron and Hermione his friends, the Dursleys the mean "muggle" family who looked after him after his parents were killed, Hagrid the school caretaker, who seems very like my father, and my favorite character Fluffy, the three-headed dog, who would make a wonderful pet. There are other characters as well. Advertisement Wizards entertain themselves with wizard games, such as Quidditch. Quidditch is a fun but dangerous game that Harry is very good at. It's not a bit like cricket, like the Washington Post said. Another game is wizard's chess. It is a very crazy game that Ron has mastered that looks much more exciting than ordinary chess. I also really liked the crazy candy they have. The Bertie Bots All Flavor Beans are very funny and can be nice or really disgusting. One of the movie's strong features is the special effects. The Dursleys have an SUV--that is very surprising as they live in a wimpy English house. Next is the platform 9 ¾ at the station, which is very weird, as you have to walk through a wall to get to the train. After that the old-fashioned train that seems from the 1930s. Finally the pictures in Hogwarts move and talk to you, which is just amazing. I would recommend this movie to anyone. -- (Rumen M. Hutchinson is the 9-year-old son of UPI Business and Economics Editor Martin O. Hutchinson.)
