Both Richard Harris as the long white-bearded Professor Dumbledore and Maggie Smith as Professor McGonagall have a benevolent screen presence exuding the same subtle warmth that their characters in the novel do. The versatile actor, Alan Rickman was an excellent choice for the ambivalent character of Professor Snape. But the star that shines the brightest, carrying the lion’s share of the film, is Robbie Coltrane as the gentle giant Rubeus Hagrid. With hair and stature that would rival any king of beasts, one look in Hagrid’s soft eyes will tell you that this man is full of love and trust. The fact that Hagrid’s trust is easily taken advantage of by the wrong people, only acts to make him more endearing. He has that innocent quality of an overgrown child. While big and strong enough to protect the children, he can speak to them straighter than any adult.

When producer David Heyman asked the novel’s author who she saw playing the adult characters, her first choice was Robbie Coltrane for the part of Hagrid. Though Coltrane was resistant to take the role at first, his son quickly changed his mind. “My son would have killed me if I hadn’t, so there was no question of me not doing it, Coltrane said. Richard Harris was also blackmailed into accepting his role. “I was asked to play the part and I wasn’t going to do it for various reasons,” Harris recalled. “Then my eleven year-old granddaughter Ellie telephoned me and said quite simply, ‘Papa, if you don’t play Dumbledore I will never speak to you again!’ So I didn’t have much choice in the matter!”

While the film, like the book, is written for children, parents and grandparents will really enjoy bringing the younger member’s of their family to this movie, though it’s a good idea to pay attention to the PG rating. There are some scary scenes that may not be suitable for very young children.

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