JK Rowling influenced from "Troll?"

Yes, as hokey as it sounds, has JK Rowling ripped from the old 1986 horror film, "Troll"

This 1986 movie is about an ordinary dark haired boy named "Harry Potter" about the same age as Rowling's Potter, discovers a world of magic, has wizards, and fights a troll, many say that the concept of a magical Harry Potter is in the public domain and is not controlled by Rowling.

This is a quote from an interview with Harry Potter creator Charles Band:

Interviewer: "It's bizarre, isn't it? You have a young boy named Harry Potter who discovers that he has magical powers and uses them to fight a troll.

Charles Band: "I've heard that JK Rowling has acknowledged that maybe she saw this low-budget movie and perhaps it inspired her. Who knows what the story is? Life's too short for a fight as far as I'm concerned but, having said that, there are certain scenes in that movie, not to mention the name of the main character, and this of course predates the Harry Potter books by many, many years. So there's that strange connection."

There's more information listed on wiki if anyone wants to read it. Did JKR pull from this or is it all one big coincidence?

HArd to say really... you sure that the Troll movie is all real? And no work of some lunatic trying to earn money? (:lol:)

Otherwise, I HAVE to see it! There's another Potter :lol: Oh my...

I think you might want to change the title of your thread. She obviously did not remember any details from the movie, otherwise she would not have used the name "Harry Potter".
Like with all the other comparisons there are always going to be similarities. I have compared the books to the Wizard of Oz, the Seven Dwarfs, Peter Pan and Beowulf, to name a few.
There are no completely original ideas any more. That does not mean that Jo stoled the idea,

I think you might want to change the title of your thread. She obviously did not remember any details from the movie, otherwise she would not have used the name "Harry Potter".
Like with all the other comparisons there are always going to be similarities. I have compared the books to the Wizard of Oz, the Seven Dwarfs, Peter Pan and Beowulf, to name a few.
There are no completely original ideas any more. That does not mean that Jo stoled the idea,


Good idea, I'll change the title.

Anywho, I wasn't really saying Jo stole any ideas, what I mainly meant was the name. Is it just a coincidence or maybe this is her favorite horror/fantasty film lol

Is it just a coincidence or maybe this is her favorite horror/fantasty film lol

That was such a memorable movie. :no: I remember seeing it like it was yesterday.:whistle:. I remember all the even passable movies I saw as a kid, and I can only get a vague recollection of Vines and an ugly baby like troll.

I remembred something else I compared the books to. An 80's TV show called the A Team

Let me remember what I did for the A-team. I compared them to the OotP.
Hannible was Mad Eye Moody
Howling Mad Merdock was Lupin
Face man was Dung for the legistics and and Serius for the good looks and charm.
BA was Kingsley Shacklbolt or maybe Hagrid. Both are big, but Hagrid supplies the transportation a lot.

That was such a memorable movie. :no: I remember seeing it like it was yesterday.:whistle:. I remember all the even passable movies I saw as a kid, and I can only get a vague recollection of Vines and an ugly baby like troll.

I remembred something else I compared the books to. An 80's TV show called the A Team

Let me remember what I did for the A-team. I compared them to the OotP.
Hannible was Mad Eye Moody
Howling Mad Merdock was Lupin
Face man was Dung for the legistics and and Serius for the good looks and charm.
BA was Kingsley Shacklbolt or maybe Hagrid. Both are big, but Hagrid supplies the transportation a lot.

Your comparisons may have been a bit more credible for example had Hannible's name been...say Alastor Moody LOL

The point is that it doesn't really have much to do with the names, it is more the characteristics of the character that count. I am sure if Jo had thought that the name may have been used before, she would have Googled it.

HArd to say really... you sure that the Troll movie is all real? And no work of some lunatic trying to earn money? (:lol:)

Otherwise, I HAVE to see it! There's another Potter :lol: Oh my...

Yeah it's real. http://imdb.com/title/tt0092115/

Really all that's the same is the main characters names. It's just a freaky coincidence.

Cashing in though it seems, as a re make is rumoured for 2009. http://aol.imdb.com/title/tt1107849/

Jo's never even seen it! :lol:

((and either have I))

:lol: is this real?

It's probably just coincidence pure and simple. :)

Wow...that is wierd. Jo got a lot of influences. CS Lewis, Troll, Lord of the Rings and also Greek Mythology.

A pure coincindence. Jo, I think, was influenced by many sources. If Jo knew that the name Harry Potter had already been used, then she wouldn't have used it.

I agree, it is most likely a coincidence. After all, Jo did explain where she got the name Harry Potter, and neither of the two names are uncommon.

Yes, as hokey as it sounds, has JK Rowling ripped from the old 1986 horror film, "Troll"

This 1986 movie is about an ordinary dark haired boy named "Harry Potter" about the same age as Rowling's Potter, discovers a world of magic, has wizards, and fights a troll, many say that the concept of a magical Harry Potter is in the public domain and is not controlled by Rowling.

This is a quote from an interview with Harry Potter creator Charles Band:

Interviewer: "It's bizarre, isn't it? You have a young boy named Harry Potter who discovers that he has magical powers and uses them to fight a troll.

Charles Band: "I've heard that JK Rowling has acknowledged that maybe she saw this low-budget movie and perhaps it inspired her. Who knows what the story is? Life's too short for a fight as far as I'm concerned but, having said that, there are certain scenes in that movie, not to mention the name of the main character, and this of course predates the Harry Potter books by many, many years. So there's that strange connection."

There's more information listed on wiki if anyone wants to read it. Did JKR pull from this or is it all one big coincidence?
It could be a coincedence, but perhaps she did have the movie in mind when she wrote the books.

The point is that it doesn't really have much to do with the names, it is more the characteristics of the character that count. I am sure if Jo had thought that the name may have been used before, she would have Googled it.

Not in the mid-90s.

It would only have an unconscious coincidence, not a deliberate one.

Yeah it's real. http://imdb.com/title/tt0092115/

Really all that's the same is the main characters names. It's just a freaky coincidence.

Cashing in though it seems, as a re make is rumoured for 2009. http://aol.imdb.com/title/tt1107849/

Where the name is concerned, I can believe that she heard the name and it bubbled up from her subconscious later. Or it could just be coincidence.

Regardless, the only thing this movie and the books have in common is magic and a boy named "Harry Potter":


In the movie, "Harry" becomes aware there is a witch in his building and that a troll is trying to shove his reality into the magical realm.

In Rowling's books, Harry is part of the magical realm and learns to function in it.


I'd say that's enough of a difference that Rowling has nothing much to worry about. :shrug:

I think you might want to change the title of your thread. She obviously did not remember any details from the movie, otherwise she would not have used the name "Harry Potter".
Like with all the other comparisons there are always going to be similarities. I have compared the books to the Wizard of Oz, the Seven Dwarfs, Peter Pan and Beowulf, to name a few.
There are no completely original ideas any more. That does not mean that Jo stoled the idea,

very true. Lord of the Rings also carries alot of similarities..but thats literature

Harry Potter is such a common name that this must be a coincidence - JKR has said on her website that she's had letters from, or has heard about, people called Harry Potter. And looking on IMDB, that movie seems to have been a bit of a pathetic joke anyway. And the story doesn't seem to be very similar except that it's fantasy. We all know anyway that trolls, witches, wizards, goblins, etc,etc are not JKR's inventions - nor are they the invention of the Troll filmmakers, CS Lewis, JRR Tokien, etc, etc. :)

I would say it's very likely that some of this bubbled up from her subconscious, from a rather forgettable movie.
Remember, she said the story for HP started to come to her on that train, as if from nowhere - this is often a sign of the conscious tapping the subconscious (especially if she was bored half asleep).
I don't think anyone is claiming she deliberately stole anything however, and I don't think anyone is hinting that a lawsuit of some sort is in the works either - it isn't.

It's just another amazing parallel, and very likely a source of influence - but nothing more.
Despite what the outside Rowling detractors claim about her "ripping this and that off", we all know that Jo's universe is an amazingly lucid, consistent, and well thought out creation that has her signature all over it. Even if none of the monsters or characters were totally original on their own (though of course most are) it's still the way she crafted the story, the interaction of characters, the rules and intricate details of her Wizarding world that is so amazing and unique.

So sure, she might have grabbed some ideas or names from elsewhere - and that's okay- it doesn't lessen my opinion of JKR or love of HP one bit.
It's more than the sum of it's parts.

Wow, that's interesting- I never knew this movie existed. I'd have to agree that any similarities are probably an unintentional coincidence. And in any case, though I've not seen the movie, I think the essence of Harry Potter is much different, even if some of the details are similar.

I would say it's very likely that some of this bubbled up from her subconscious, from a rather forgettable movie.
Remember, she said the story for HP started to come to her on that train, as if from nowhere - this is often a sign of the conscious tapping the subconscious (especially if she was bored half asleep).
I don't think anyone is claiming she deliberately stole anything however, and I don't think anyone is hinting that a lawsuit of some sort is in the works either - it isn't.

It's just another amazing parallel, and very likely a source of influence - but nothing more.
Despite what the outside Rowling detractors claim about her "ripping this and that off", we all know that Jo's universe is an amazingly lucid, consistent, and well thought out creation that has her signature all over it. Even if none of the monsters or characters were totally original on their own (though of course most are) it's still the way she crafted the story, the interaction of characters, the rules and intricate details of her Wizarding world that is so amazing and unique.

So sure, she might have grabbed some ideas or names from elsewhere - and that's okay- it doesn't lessen my opinion of JKR or love of HP one bit.
It's more than the sum of it's parts.

I couldn't agree more. J.K. probably heard the name before, or maybe hear the movie, or saw a commericial. I highly doubt that J.K. would purpously steal the main characters name and a bit of the plot. I think if J.K. had stolen the idea she would have more common sense to change the name, which basically rules out the fact that she stole it. It's amazing what our subconscious can do, the name popped into her head, probably because she had heard it earlier.

I beleive this is pure coincidence. And that Troll is being remade is becasue of the harry Potter coincudence :no: