I think it would be appropriate for Rowling to thank Murphy for all the ideas that Rowling "lifted" from Murphy's work. When does everyone think that will happen?
Should we start a petition to demand that Rowling give Murphy credit?
NEVER I DON'T THINK SHE WILL EVER GIVE HER THE CREDIT
sharehahahahahahaha thats brilliant...and so true!
actually, judging by the last book, she should really thank jrr tolkein as well...the way she kept going on about that bloody ring of slytherins!
totally agree
sharedefiently! she just took the book and, even though they're better, it is still the worst witch ideas, the evil teacher with pale skin and dark hair, the kind headmaster/mistress, the mad teacher (Miss Bat and the teacher Emma Thompson plays), the horrible enemy with a powerful father, the list goes on
shareI agree with those of you who think that there are tons of similarities between HP and WW. Besides the things princess paula mentioned a while ago, there's the more obvious similarities about the big, dark, dank castle, the spells (even though the WW spells sound like nonsense, some of them do sound like they have some latin roots), the scary teacher teaching potions. The similatiries are too obvious to ignore. And no one on this board has said that there are similarities in plot, so arguing that the plots are completely different, though true, is irrelevant.
shareI think really there choices are sterotypical of boarding school stories in general! (except in the case of The Naughtiest Girl in the School... where all the teachers appear to be nice...) The main character will always attract trouble (either acidentally, or because they go looking for it) which is basis for creating interesting adventures to write about in the first place... I don't think people would find "Chapter 8: Lizzie hears cries, and minds her own business" very interesting! There must always be a rival, and they are usually well off, because it is sterotypical of rich people to be mean snobs! (no offence to those who have money) Then you get a nasty teacher and a nice one. Nice teachers are all fuddery Duddery, mean teachers are dark... hence the black! and O my goddess! a huge fly just landed on my screen! *swats* And every main character isn't complete without their sidekick(s) who act as a plot conscience or get them into more trouble! Anyhoo, it's late and i can't think of anymore! analysing done! I blame gcse english... darn annotating!
shareWow JKR must be some talented lady being able to travel through time like that. Since 'Harry Potter and the Philospher Stone' was published in 1997 and 'Worst Witch' didn't premiere until 1998. More like Murphy stole JKR idea. But I highly doubt either of them stole ideas. JKR had the idea in her head for a few years before the books were published. And Worst Witch was probably in the works when Harry Potter came out in 1997. So it is just coincidence.
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I know. The similarities are huge. The funny thing is I remember hearing about J.K. saying something about Jill Murphy. Either she said she had read the books, or she hadn't. I know, I'm not very helpful, sorry.
It always pisses me off when stupid people accuse Jill Murphy of plagiarism!
I mean we have the Hero (Mildred/Harry)
Two best friends (Enid Maud/Hermione Ron)
Bad enemy bully with powerful father, potion teacher's pet (Ethel/Malfoy)
Mean and scary potions teacher (Hardbroom/Snape)
Broomstick riding
Boarding school for people with magical powers in castle
People turning into animals
Weird school song
And plenty more...
There are huge differences too but the similarities are too big to be ignored. They're more than the basic boarding school similarities.
of course she's read jill murphy!!! what english writer hasn't!!!
come to that, what english girl hasn't??
Em xXx
Come join the dark side, we have cookies! Rainbow chocolate chip cookies!
I admit I didn't until recently (I'm twenty one now and I'm getting them with my birthday money).
It's interesting looking at the similarities especially as I'm writing a magic school story myself so I thought I should study a few of the existing ones. Interestingly enough there was one called Wizard's Hall that came out in 1991 before Harry Potter but it is very similar. Apparently the main character even has a ginger haired boy and a girl as his best friends. It had moving staircases and pictures plus the main villain was a former teacher at the school who was trying to take it over.
Then again, the writer herself didn't feel that Harry Potter was a rip off and pointed out that they both used common fantasy tropes and dipped into folklore. Apparently Worst Witch wasn't even the first story involving witches/wizards (by the way, in reality those names don't denote the gender of the magic practitioner).
The only similarity I can see is a boarding school that teaches magic, and even those are completely different. I mean, Cackle's is an ordinary castle converted into a school, Hogwarts is an enchanted building with trick staircases, doors you have to open by tickling them, charmed ceilings, etc. The whole "wizarding world" in Harry Potter is much quirkier and darker than in the Worst Witch. Both of them have strong themes of friendship though. Also, Harry isn't the "worst" kid in school - yes he does get himself into "trouble" but not the same way Mildred does. Eg, Mildred manages to accidentally turn her and her friend invsible for a few hours, Harry Potter gets himself stuck in a grave yard with a maniac trying to kill him and take over the world.
the big, dark, dank castle,Hogwars isn't dark and dank, it's grand and luxurious! They sleep in four poster beds!
I mean we have the Hero (Mildred/Harry)Those are all cliches, pretty much every story set in a school will have those (except potions being the subject taught by the mean teacher).
Two best friends (Enid Maud/Hermione Ron)
Bad enemy bully with powerful father, potion teacher's pet (Ethel/Malfoy)
Mean and scary potions teacher (Hardbroom/Snape)
Broomstick ridingJill Murphy didn't invent the idea of witches riding broomsticks. I'm pretty sure that Harry Potter is the first time I've heard of wizards riding broomsticks, plus in HP they use the broomsticks mostly for a sport, whereas in WW they use broomsticks as transport.
People turning into animalsAgain, thats just another witch/wizard cliche, plus in HP people turn into animals if they become animagi (?) whereas in WW it was from spells.
Weird school songWW school song was not particularly weird, the general idea of striving etc sounds like my school song, the only abnormal thing about the song in WW is all the witchy references (eg proudly on our brooms we fly), but it's a witches school, so you would expect that.
It will never happen because she didn't "lift" anything.
Get a life.
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Veronica Mars died for the CW's sins.
The one similarity nobody ever mentions, but is most amusing IMHO, is that between Fennela and Griselda and Fred and George. Both are a year above the main characters, both are jokers, neither care for rules, and both help the main characters on a few occasions. The funniest thing with these pairs is that whilst Fennela and Griselda are both in the Worst Witch books, they are just names really, one is who Mildred ties up and borrows their broom and cat so she can go to the halloween celebration in year 2 to get the Grand Wizard to transform Algernon Rowan Webb back from a frog (Worst Witch Strikes Again book, Crumpets for Tea TV), and the other leaves which allows Mildred to get her cat to replace Tabby (Worst Witch All at Sea book, Carried Away book). Since Harry Potter was published in 1997, and series 2 of The Worst Witch aired in 1999, if anything, Fennela and Griselda are copies of Fred and George, although I doubt it, afterall writing will have been done much before that, probably not long after HP was published, it's probably just a coincidence. Then again, as with a lot of the characters, they are fairly typical for a school setting, infact as with many of the HP characters, I've both known people who've acted in the same role for me and my friends, and done it myself aswell.
shareI'd liken Hardbroom to Minerva McGonagall rather than Severus Snape. Snape is extremely petty and spiteful just for the hell of it. Hardbroom, like McGonagall was strict, but fair.
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hardbroom is blatantly the lovechild of snape and mcgonagall :P
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I have never noticed any religious person attacking The Worst Witch like Harry Potter. (You know in the Bible "thou shalt not allow a witch to live" they go on and on about how witches are evil, its all Satan. The Worst Witch is about witches. Witch is on the name of the book. So how strange was it never attacked. Even before Harry Potter came out.)
The Worst Witch
Take away all the witchcraft, cats.
-Cackle's Academy is like a prison. Don't some kids think of schools as prisons.
-Bullies like Ethel, but they can't turn you into frogs.
-Mean teachers like Miss Hardbroom.
Harry Potter
A luxury, dream school with marble staircase and four poster beds.
-Draco is nastier than Ethel. Did she want to get rid of people from non witchy families?
-Miss Hardbroom, was she close friends with a wizard from a non magical family when she was a teenager and even fancied him. Then he was killed by an evil witch. Was Miss Hardbroom a member of Agatha Cackle's coven but left to become a teacher?
JK Rowling was born in 1965
Jill Murphy was born in 1949