Harry Potter and The Lord of the Rings are my favorite book series that have been turned into major motion pictures, and I think there can be an argument about which are better: books or movies.
The Harry Potter series is my favorite book series of all time, and I think the books have a lot more to offer than the movies. Movies can’t be too long or else your eyes would explode, so the producers and the directors shorten the actual stories and leave out some scenes, details, and even characters.
For example, in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, there’s a very exciting scene from the book when Harry and Hermione are on their quest to find the Sorcerer’s Stone. After making it through the giant Wizard’s Chess set, they come across a table with a variety of potions. With only a riddle for their clue, they have to figure out which potion would allow them to continue safely versus which of the potions would send them back or even kill them! I was so disappointed this scene was not in the movie because I really like how Hermoine uses her logic to decipher the riddle.
When I read these series, I imagine what the characters and settings look like, but when I watch the movies I am seeing what the director visualized. In The Lord of the Rings, I imagined Helm’s Deep is a big, magnificent castle in a big, prosperous kingdom. But, when I saw the movie, it was a long wall with only one tower, one passageway, and only offered the refugees one small cave in the mountain behind the castle.
With The Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter series, I love the books because I can use my imagination to create pictures of the characters and scenes in my mind. But I also enjoy all the movies because the action scenes are a lot more intense than I would have thought… which is a good thing! Plus, all the cool background music adds to the intensity!
Overall, both the books and the movies have their advantages. Personally, I always read the books first so I can have fun creating the imagery myself– but then I like to watch the movies and see how someone else looks at the books. And all the cool special effects and computer graphics are really awesome!
What do you think? You can leave a comment below and tell me which you think are better: BOOKS or MOVIES?
-Kyle H., 6th grade
Mission Viejo Library Teen Voice 
First off, I just want to say how excited I was when I first saw your post, and how much I appreciate your review choice of such a reflective and reoccuring confliction. Personally, I prefer the books over the movies, OBVIOUSLY. 🙂 Your review reminded me of this quote and it helped me to determine my answer…
Of course it is happening inside your head…but why on earth would that mean that it is not real?
-Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore
When I read the first HP book, I was able to imagine the characters however I fancied. But then I watched the movie, and throughout the rest of the series, my subconscious took over, and I started visualizing the characters as the movie actors instead. When I realized this, I was dissapointed and forced Daniel, Emma, and Rupert into the recesses of my brain in my conquest to stay true to Rowling’s original vision. So….
BOOKS. BOOKS. BOOKS. IOO PERCENT BOOKS. Great review; keep posting!
I read the Harry Potter series in third grade and love them! If I could, I would read the entire series over and over, and never get tired of reading them.
I do agree with you… I recently saw The Hobbit and The Hunger Games. Books are always way better than the movies.
This is a wonderful review that describes the big difference between books and movies. Great job!
I went to Harry Potter World during spring break this past year and it was really fun to see Harry Potter books come alive in a different way than in the movies! That being said, nothing beats the books! Great review bro
-blogger sister 😉
I am a HUGE Harry Potter fan and absolutely love all the books. Although the movies are incredibly done and just plain brilliant, the books really do give the reader so much more imagination and creativity within the mind. I remember reading the first Harry Potter book and imagining the characters, Hogwarts, and so much more. I definitely prefer the books over the movies, also because of the scenes that are not mentioned in movies (one of my pet peeves) and the books seem to hold more detail . Thanks for such an awesome post, keep up the great reviews 🙂
I agree that the books are generally better than the movies, because they let you use your imagination and interpretation of the novel, not others’ visions. This was a great post!
In my opinion, books are better than movies!