The Lord of the Rings Vs. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone

Harry Porter and The Sorcerer’s Stone is a British American film that was released in 2001. Chris Columbus directed the film which is entirely based on fantasy. The movie is based on the novel by J. K. Rowling; Harry Porter and The Sorcerer’s Stone. On the other hand, The Lord of The Rings is a fantasy movie based on the novel The Lord of The Rings by J. R. Tolkien. The film was directed by Peter Jackson and produced by Fran Walsh. The two popular movies have received huge fame since they were released. However, there is much debate on the differences and similarities and differences among the two fictional stories. The essay below will be comparing and contrasting the elements of the two fictional stories.

Plot

The plot of both movies is based on an imaginary, superficial and magical world. In Harry potter, the plot reflects on a poor, young and orphaned boy who was to rescue his world by defeating an evil force. Similarly, in the movie Lord of The Rings, Frodo was to save his world by defeating an evil power. Harry Potter was to kill Dark Lord Voldemort while Frodo had to defeat Dark Lord Sauron. While the Harry Potter movie is a series suitable for young adults the Lord of The Rings is an epic adventure that is not suitable for all children and has an age limit. The plot in Harry Potter focuses on Harry’s story and is intertwined with a world that is familiar to its viewers and focuses on how one grows and deals with the problems they encounter in the life around them. On the other hand, Lord of The Rings covers the stories of nine companions especially after their separation and the stories of other characters too. The writer also creates an entire new mythical world for the viewer.

Characters

In both movies, the characters are not entirely human although they have human qualities that enable the viewer to easily relate with them. The protagonists in both movies have mentors. The mentors in both movies help to restore calm and security in the scene of the movie when all hope seems lost. The two protagonists Frodo Baggins and Harry Potter are quite similar. They are both orphans, were both cast into a magic world they knew little of and they both had destinies they never asked for. Harry had to face The Dark Lord Voldemort. Frodo had to travel to Mount Doom and cast the One Ring so that Dark Lord Sauron would be defeated. The primary antagonists are also quite similar. Both Sauron and Voldemort sought total control and power. They also used objects that had their own power induced in them which allowed them to survive despite having been destroyed before both stories began. Voldemort had the horcruxes while Sauron had one ring. They were both known as the Dark Lord and people were scared at the mention of their names.

Setting

In the movie Harry Porter and the Sorcerer’s stone, the castle is given a great description without the use of useless Jargon. The producer created the school’s image at the beginning of the movie during the unfolding of the story. On the other hand, in the movie The Lord of The Rings as the movie develops the characters move in many quite different settings. The setting in this movie requires greater depth since it does not incorporate the real earth. However, the writer of this story tries to incorporate some sense of reality to the setting. He therefore gives the setting a feel of the old world. Similarly, to Harry Potter, the setting of the story is in current times although the castle has been there for hundreds of years.

Themes

The themes addressed in the two movies are quite different. Harry Potter and The Sorcerer’s Stone deals with themes of love, death, oppression, survival as well as the theme of good versus evil. On the other hand, the movie Lord of The Rings context is more traditional and it has a typic epic story. It deals with themes such as good versus evil, death and immortality, hope and despair and even knowledge and enlightening. For instance, the theme of magic in Lord of The Rings is reflected but it is not to be celebrated but instead it is to be shunned and completely destroyed. Characters such as Aragorn and Boromir as asked to avoid the magical powers that the ring holds. Boromir dies after he sought the powers of the ring. On the other hand, in the movie Harry Potter and The Sorcerer’s stone, the same theme of magic is viewed quite differently. Magic and sorcery is encouraged and accepted by the human characters in the movie. Conclusively, some themes may seem quite similar in the two movies although they are interpreted differently in the movies.

Motifs and symbols

The lord of the Rings encompasses various symbols such as the ring, the great eye of Sauron and even the minas tirith. The ring is a symbol of the evil that is reflected in the movie, the great eye of Sauron is also a symbol of the elusive evil in the film. Some of the motifs in the movie include geography and race and physical appearance. For instance, the writer uses the physical journey to symbolize the human experiences. There also use of different races such as elves, men. orcs and hobbits to show the realm’s diversity and the various forms of characterization. On the other hand, Harry Potter and the sorcerer’s stone describes the muggle world as an ordinary world with non-magical beings and this in contrast to the wizards who are known for their magical ways. An example of muggles are the Dursleys who are selfish and cruel people. The movie also uses symbols as the scar on Harry’s face which symbolizes astounding and unique facts about him that he did not know of. The lightening scar on his head is much of an honor since it shows how he survived a great battle.

Conclusion

Although the writing of the two fantasy stories is decades apart, the fantasy genre of the two movies has enabled viewers to effectively compare the components of both movies. As seen, each of the movies revolves a fantasy concept. The storylines are similar yet have quite different concepts. Some concepts can be reflected in both movies but be looked at from a totally different point of view because of the conflicting stories. However, it is to be noted that the main idea of the movie was to deal with the evil forces that are reflected. The above discussion encompasses both the similarities and the differences in both movies.