12 Harry Potter Movie Changes That Were Completely Justified

By Simon Gallagher / January 9, 2018

12. The Mirror Of Erised - The Philosopher's Stone

Warner Bros.

In The Book

When Harry looks into the Mirror Of Erised for the first time, he sees many of his relatives, which is implied to be the antidote to his loneliness as an orphan. He wants to belong to a family.

In The Film

In the film, Harry sees only his parents, which is a far more intimate desire and a more profound expression of his emotional state as an orphan. There's something just a bit more devastating about that.

It's also smarter because family doesn't necessarily mean love (since the Dursleys prove otherwise), and what Harry seeks is the same love that ultimately protects him from Voldemort, which came only from his parents.