(Credit: Audible)
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After being one of the first people to hear a snippet of Audible’s new Harry Potter audiobooks, complete with a full cast of voice actors and sound effects, I was hesitant to press “play” on the final product, which came out on Nov. 4.
The 10-second clip I heard at an Amazon devices event this fall boomed through multiple speakers in a small room, and was meant to show off the new Alexa Home Theater feature. The scene teleported me to the middle of an intense Quidditch match, with the crowd roaring on one speaker across the room, and the fluttering of the Snitch’s wings and the whoosh of broomsticks coming from all angles.
Unfortunately, that noise made it hard to decipher the narration—you know, the book part. I left with the impression that these new versions were trying to be more like a Marvel movie than the quietly enchanting books I remembered.
Hearing the final product, however, was a welcome relief. When played as background noise on just one Echo Dot as I painted my kitchen, I felt relaxed. The audio is easy to hear and still feels distinctly literary, with just the right sprinkling of cinematic sound effects.
An unexpected joy was the opportunity to return to the books after so many years in a new way. I realized had forgotten simple details over time, like that Hagrid’s first name isn’t Hagrid—it’s Rubeus. The opening scene of The Sorcerer’s Stone spends more time with Harry and the Dursley’s than the movies, and reminded me just how awful they were, and how small Harry’s cupboard under the stairs was at 4 Privet Drive.
The big difference between these audiobooks and the original ones, which came out simultaneously with the release of the physical books from 1999 to 2007, are that there is a full cast of voice actors rather than one narrator. Notable cast members include Keira Knightley as Professor Umbridge, and X-Men’s James McAvoy playing Mad-Eye Moody. A new crop of promising young voice actors scored roles or main characters like Harry Potter (Frankie Treadaway), Ron (Max Lester), and Hermione (Arabella Stanton). Happily, Audible does not seem to have used AI-generated voices.
(Credit: Audible)
The original versions feature Stephen Fry as the voice of the British books (starting with The Philosopher's Stone), and Jim Dale for the American ones (The Sorcerer's Stone). They performed every voice, and came up with them on their own, drawing inspiration from their careers, travels, and even family members.
"Look at the characters in Harry Potter, everything from a giant to a spider to a snake," Dale told Audible in a recent interview. "You still have to get into their headspace, speak, and if they speak they’ve got to be understood and have their character come out through their voice."
Both Fry and Dale are award-winning voice actors, and were perfect for the job. Fry’s grounded, yet energetic voice made him sound like a Hogwarts professor himself. Dale, who was hand-picked by J.K. Rowling for the role, sounded like the fun and friendly grandfather who could gather a group of children in an instant and dazzle them with a tall tale. There were also other narrators for other languages, such as Bernard Giraudeau for the French version.
Instead of being a one-man show, the new audiobooks employ a full cast of voice actors, and sound more like a play or a table read with a group of actors. Constant sound effects flesh out the scenes—doors opening and closing, Hedwig the owl cooing, the wind whooshing behind Hagrid’s flying motorcycle. While it's not a direct replacement for the raw talent of Fry and Dale, it makes for an entertaining alternative.
Audible is gunning for “billions” of streaming hours for the project, surpassing the original versions’ 1.8 billion, according to Deadline. "It has huge implications for the format,” Audible CEO Bob Carrigan says. “It’s a moment that will elevate and redefine what an audiobook can be. In that respect it’s a pivotal moment, not just for us, but for the entire audiobook category."