Harry Potter is one of the biggest franchises, spanning novels, films, spinoffs, plays, and fan creations. Given its success, it is not surprising that other outlets would want to note what consumers have enjoyed and created their own version. With that, Disney Channel's Wizards of Waverly Place, a much more light-hearted and comedic magical story, was told and succeeded. Following wizards in training, Alex, Justin, and Max created chaos and magical mischief throughout four seasons.
With the main characters of each series about the same age and having magic in common, it was not surprising that the two would find similarities and differences. Wizards of Waverly Place even parodied Harry Potter with their counterpart to Hogwarts called Wiztech. Still, given the tone of each series and the stories they were telling, they had vastly different approaches as well.
Similar: Coming Of Age/Wizards In Training
Harry, Ron, and Hermione begin attending Hogwarts at eleven years old. Each year, they grow older throughout the series, become mature, and learn more advanced magic. They deal with what it means to grow older, including first crushes and relationships, heightened emotions, and growing power.
Alex, Justin, and Max all begin as teenagers and pre-teens, growing up with each season as well. As they grow, their knowledge and use of magic increase, as do their adventures in the magical and mortal worlds.
Different: Stakes
With Lord Voldemort and the Death Eaters out and ready for war, the stakes are incredibly high, especially in the second half of the franchise. Beloved characters are killed as war becomes a larger reality. Voldemort's downfall relies on Harry to defeat him, leading Harry, Hermione, and Ron on a mission that is almost impossible to complete. Yet, they are the only ones trusted to succeed.
On Wizards of Waverly Place, there are occasionally high stakes. The Moral Compass, Angels of Darkness, saving their family from falling into oblivion, and more have proven that the Russo family are capable of stepping up to save the world if they have to. However, there were never any villains trying to kill the Russo family.
Similar: Teenagers Don't Always Listen To Adults
Harry understands what adults are saying to him; he doesn't necessarily agree with it. If Harry is told to leave something alone by an adult, odds are it will only cause him to obsess even more about it. However, the result of events has usually been divided overall as to if Harry listening to an adult was actually a good idea or not.
Alex Russo loves loopholes, which means that while she may hear what her parents don't want her to do, that doesn't mean she won't find a clever way around their instruction. While Justin tends to be a rule follower most of the time, he has occasionally broken the rules. Max has also followed in doing his own thing in comparison to Jerry and Theresa's rules.
Different: Lengths Villains Are Willing To Go
Lord Voldemort attempted to kill Harry Potter as a baby. Then he spent years obsessed with murdering Harry. Voldemort was willing to murder hundreds, if not more, to achieve his goals. Umbridge had no problems with torturing students in detentions and having them use blood quills to engrave her messages into their hands. The villains in Harry Potter are willing to go just about any length to get what they want.
That is very different from the family-friendly Disney Channel show. Stevie wanted to destroy the power transfer device so all wizards could keep their powers. Gorog's main goal was to change the world's Moral Compass to bad so that he could take over. Dr. Evilini wanted to drain Justin's powers at Volcano Land.
Similar: Wise Older Wizard
Regardless of whether he acted as a hero or villain, Albus Dumbledore was the wise old wizard of the franchise. Having the most experience fighting dark wizards and very powerful, Dumbledore was looked to have nearly all the answers. He was the only man Voldemort ever feared, and he held onto his own secrets, even going as far as to take them to the grave.
Professor Crumbs is the counterpart to the serious but whimsy Albus Dumbledore. Professor Crumbs calls Alex out on her behavior and he may even be older than Albus Dumbeldore. Still, similarly to him, Professor Crumbs tended to have the answers to nearly everything when he needed to, including knowing the potion ingredients to return Maxine to Max.
Different: The Power Supply
In Harry Potter, the wand chooses the wizard, and there is never a fear that magic won't work one day. Wizards have had their wands snapped, preventing them from casting spells, but magic is always accessible as it seems to come from the person themselves.
On Wizards of Waverly Place, the rules are different. While wizards can do hand magic, proving their powers are within them, their magic is also linked to a power supply, shown during "Fashion Week," when magic is temporarily out of order.
Similar: Numerous Supernatural Creatures
Wizards are not the only thing that exists in either magical world. In Harry Potter, that is proven by their variety of creatures and animals. However, they are joined by the werewolves, Remus Lupin and Fenrir Greyback, and Hagrid, a giant. They aren't even the only ones to appear in the franchise.
Meanwhile, Wizards of Waverly Place shares the uses of werewolves, shown through Mason Greyback, while also including the vampire Juliet van Heusen. There have also been giants seen when meeting Hugh Normous's adoptive parents.
Different: The Wizard Competition
In Harry Potter, there is never a competition that pits siblings against siblings. The Wizard Competition would likely be even more chaotic in the Weasley family as Ron would have to compete against all six of his siblings.
However, the Russo siblings had known about the Wizard Competition for years. It became a great event of discussion for the trio over the years as they studied to prepare to fight over which of the three would get to keep their magic. While many wizards disagreed with the concept of a wizard competition, it tended to be a tradition in the wizarding world that would continue to exist.
Similar: Importance Of Family And Friendship
Family and friendship are prominent aspects of the Harry Potter franchise. Whether it be toward Harry's friendships with Ron and Hermione, the Weasley family as a whole, or the unity that comes with Dumbledore's Army, these elements show a great amount of love between people, something Dumbledore considers essential because Voldemort does not understand it.
Wizards of Waverly Place had similar themes. The Russo family may not have always been the kindest to each other, but they were always there for each other at the end of the day. Alex cared deeply about her family and Harper throughout the series, even if she didn't always show it. The Russo family was not allowed to move forward with the Wizard Competition until they understood to put their family bond above magic.
Different: Muggle/Mortal Involvement
Technically, Muggles aren't allowed to know anything about the wizarding world. While that exception may be made for the parents of Muggleborn students, there is a minimal amount of Muggle participation in the series. While squibs are involved, Harry Potter is mostly made of wizards except for the Dursleys. They mainly appear at the beginning of each installment and are never actually helpful to Harry.
Theresa Russo, Harper Finkle, and Zeke Beakerman are the main mortals of the series. Theresa knows about magic but tends to avoid getting involved in magical predicaments. Although Harper and Alex had been best friends since Kindergarten, Harper didn't learn about magic until "Harper Knows" when they were teenagers. Harper then becomes more involved in Alex's magical schemes. Zeke learns the truth in "Zeke Finds Out" after being friends with Justin for a few years.