British newspaper reviewers gushed over the year's most eagerly awaited film yesterday, calling Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone 153 minutes of "pure magic".
Critics were unanimous in their praise of the film, based on the book by J.K. Rowling, which had its debut before a star-studded audience in London's West End on Sunday.
Writing in the Sun, Dominic Mohan said the film lived up to its hype and would keep families under its spell for years to come.
Rowling's four books about Harry and his adventures at Hogwarts School of Wizardry are popular with children and adults alike, and have sold 100 million copies in 46 languages.
Daily Telegraph critic John Hiscock said director Christopher Columbus successfully remained faithful to the book. "He has managed to keep the saccharine to a minimum, and instead allows Rowling's story to unfold almost exactly as she wrote it," Hiscock wrote.
Rowling said that she was relieved that Columbus had remained true to her novel and that he had made good on his promise to field an all-British cast.
"Admittedly I had been given a lot of input on how things looked. But they really do look as I'd imagined they would inside my head," Rowling said. "From my point of view it is obviously wonderful." Daniel Radcliffe, the 12-year-old who plays the bespectacled boy wizard, joined fellow cast members Richard Harris and Robbie Coltrane at the star-studded premiere.