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The bestselling Harry Potter series was created by author J. K. Rowling, and, without a doubt, it has had a significant impact on popular culture. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, which made an astounding $90.3 million at the box office upon release, was the highest-grossing movie of 2001, as reported by Box Office Mojo. The success of the premiere film has permanently changed the fantasy genre, the organization of fandoms, and children’s literature. Naturally, the franchise has had an impact on film and cinema. Many of the ideas and motifs from the Harry Potter movies have been borrowed by other movies as a result of its enormous success. But how was it influenced?
When one thinks about it, It seems obvious that everything new is based on something that came before it. Rowling credits a number of writers as inspirations. She even acknowledges connections to folklore and mythology, saying “I feel no compunction about borrowing from that freely, but adding a few things of my own” in a 2005 interview with Stephen Fry for BBC Radio. Numerous other media experts have likened the novels to a wide range of ancient and contemporary works of literature. The books were influenced by several of Rowling’s favorite movies, while contemporary dramas and fantastical movies inspired various filmmakers of the film series. Here is a list of the movies that served as inspiration for the Harry Potter film series.
6/6 The Man Who Would Be King (1975)
In The Man Who Would Be King, two British soldiers who want to become explorers are the subjects of the film. They travel to a strange place where one is treated as a deity because of a Masonic emblem around his neck. It might not seem like this narrative has anything in common with Harry Potter, but according to an interview with BBC, it did inspire something quite specific, the Deathly Hallows, a now iconic symbol of Harry Potter lore.
5/6 The Sword in the Stone (1963)
The Once and Future King by T.H. White served as the inspiration for the 1963 Disney picture The Sword in the Stone. There are clear parallels between Harry Potter and White’s King Arthur tales. Particularly, the personalities of Dumbledore and Harry Potter can be connected to the wizard teacher Merlin and the orphan youngster Wart. Rowling also acknowledged the source of the idea in 2008, claiming that Wart was “Harry’s spiritual ancestor.”
4/6 Star Wars (1977)
The parallels between the concepts and characters in Harry Potter and Star Wars may have arisen accidentally or perhaps as a result of the genre selection, but they are most definitely present. The greatest connection between the two movie sagas, though, is provided by composer John Williams. His music on the first three Harry Potter movies was definitely influenced by his Star Wars franchise score. So much so that the soundtrack from one sequence in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets is exactly the same as another from the earlier Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones.
3/6 Ferngully: The Last Rainforest (1992)
The inclusion of both social and political messages in children’s fantasy movies rose to popularity in the 1990s. For instance, the environmental concerns of deforestation and pollution in Ferngully: The Last Rainforest were prominent. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone took that idea and ran with it. The film established fanciful, coming-of-age children’s movies as the new medium for introducing kids to important issues. Harry Potter addressed issues like racism, the misuse of power by the government, and even the social ramifications of war. Rowling said during her 2007 promotional book tour in the U.S., “I very consciously wanted to show what is one of the great evils of war, which is that totally innocent people are slaughtered… Another great evil of war is that children lose their families.”
2/6 The Chronicles Of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, And The Wardrobe (2005)
The film The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and The Wardrobe is based on the book of the same name by C.S. Lewis. In the film, English children Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy enter a wardrobe and emerge in the enchanted kingdom of Narnia. They are awaiting the predicted return of the lion Aslan, the rightful king of Narnia, as they are threatened by an evil witch who has staked a claim to the kingdom. There are several parallels between Chronicles of Narnia and Harry Potter, notably the inclusion of a magical universe. Charles McGrath of The New York Times draws comparisons between Eustace Scrubb, the spoiled youngster who torments the Narnia characters, and Dudley Dursley, the annoying son of Harry’s careless guardians.
1/6 The Lord of the Rings (2001)
It is clear that The Lord of the Rings, a comparable fantasy series, provided inspiration for both the Harry Potter books and their later cinematic adaptations. To the fervent followers of the fantasy genre, it would be considered sacrilege to discuss a fantasy series without mentioning J.R.R. Tolkien’s works. The places and people created by Tolkien are almost part of the fantasy universe itself. There are so many parallels between Harry Potter and The Lord of the Rings that Screen Rant has listed them in full, including those between Harry and Frodo, Dumbledore and Gandalf, Sauron and Voldemort, Gollum and Dobby, and many others.
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