Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone

With millions of Harry Potter books sold around the world, this CGI-packed fantasy adventure is more than just a big-budget movie adaptation - it's a cultural phenomenon. Eleven-year-old Daniel Radcliffe makes a likeable Harry, the boy wizard who's whisked off to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and is charged with finding the blood red stone of the film's title. A scene-stealing Robbie Coltrane is among a host of familiar adult faces who breathe life into JK Rowling's charming characters - though some such as John Hurt and John Cleese only make cameo appearances. To criticise at all feels like an act of isolationism and yet there is a lack of emotional core - Harry's orphan status fails to move - and, at over two-and-a-half hours in length, the movie is surely too long for the younger fidgets. However, this faithful rendition of the inaugural Potter book demonstrated that the franchise was in safe, sensible hands - writer Steve Kloves (The Fabulous Baker Boys) and director Chris Columbus (Home Alone) were both on board for the first sequel The Chamber of Secrets the following year.