Tom Felton, who plays Draco Malfoy in the Harry Potter films, recently published his book Beyond the Wand: The Magic and Mayhem of Growing Up a Wizard. In this book, Felton talks about his experience filming these movies, including the relationships he made during this time, especially with Emma Watson.
Fans love to know more about these actors’ dynamics during the films since the films have become such a big part of the Harry Potter fandom. However, even though fans love these movies almost as much as they love the books, it’s impossible to make a perfect adaptation. The movies leave out pivotal scenes from the books or make unnecessary changes that infuriate most of the fans.
Ron’s Characterization
In general, the movies butchered Ron’s character as they attempted to make him funnier and pettier than he actually is in the books. However, fans hate a particular scene because of how different Ron reacts, making him look like a terrible friend. When Snape calls Hermione an insufferable know-it-all in Prisoner of Azkaban Ron agrees with the Potions teacher.
However, in the books, Ron defends her from the abusive professor and even gets detention. This difference is very important because, in the books, Ron deeply cares about Hermione. As Redditor accioupvotes explains, “It’s just one of the many ways they changed Ron’s characterization in the movies to make him look like a massive jerk. I loved the idea of Ron and Hermione together and I feel like the movies just butcher their relationship and its nuance.”
Lack Of Continuity
In the sixth movie, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, they add a scene that wasn’t in the books. The movie portrays the Weasley residence as it burns down, as a way to illustrate the desperate times the wizard community was living in. However, in the next installment, the Burrow is perfectly fine, and they even throw Fleur and Bill’s wedding in there. As Redditor PrivatePapayas says, “If you’re gonna do something batsh*** crazy like that, at least commit.”
This scene doesn’t exist in the books, and while fans can understand while they added it to the movie, it doesn’t make sense that they don’t address such as big even in the following installment. It’s just one of the many times the Harry Potter films display a lack of continuity which can be jarring for fans.
Hermione Knowing The Word Mud-Blood
One of the most disturbing aspects of wizarding society in Harry Potter is the bigotry against those who are muggle-born, like Hermione. Hermione discovers the meaning of the word “Mud-Blood” in the second book when Draco Malfoy uses it against her, and Ron jumps to defend her. However, in the movies, they make it as if Hermione already knew what it meant, which infuriates the fans.
Redditor DelirousDoc explains that this scene is terrible because “It was Ron who was p***** with it because growing up in the wizarding world he knows what it means.” This small detail significantly changes Hermione and Ron’s relationship, but also the world-building and its different and complex cultural barriers, of which Hermione and Harry are not entirely aware because they didn’t grow up as wizards.
Umbridge Finding Out About Dumbledore’s Army
In the books, Umbridge finds out from Cho Chang’s friend Marietta Edgecombe that Dumbledore’s Army is meeting in the Room of Requirements. However, in the movie, they portray Umbridge giving Cho Chang Veritaserum, so she has no option but to disclose the information. On top of that, later they portray Umbridge breaking into the Room of Requirements as if it wasn’t a magical room.
While there are bound to be changes in an adaptation, they should be consistent. Harry getting angry at Cho Chang for something she can’t control, makes him look like a bad person, while in the books it made sense that he was upset with her. As Redditor kinnail explains, “I don’t think it was in character for Harry to blame her for that.”
Snape’s Missing Backstory
The sixth book of the series revolves around Harry’s burrowed Potions book, which is signed by a previous student, the Half-Blood Prince. Eventually, Harry discovers Snape is the Half-Blood Prince, which is an important part of this character’s background and sets the stage for the memories Harry is going to see in the Deathly Hollows.
Redditor Reader-29 points of that the name is so important that it’s literally “the title of the movie.” However, it’s never explicitly explained in the movies why Snape has the name, meaning fans who haven’t read the books are missing some key pieces of context and background.
The Marauder’s Map History
The Marauders are some people’s favorite aspect of the Harry Potter books, especially the relationship between James Potter, Sirius Black, and Remus Lupin. So, it’s a contentious point for certain fans that the movie couldn’t adapt the book scene with the Marauders’ Map backstory in Prisoner of Azkaban since it’s such an important part.
OneRedditor explains that, while the map is still a very cool magical artifact, without its story, “it takes away the sentimental value.” Certainly, the fact that Harry ends up owning an artifact that his father used while going to Hogwarts it’s a very important part of a film that mostly revolves around Harry’s past.
Dumbledore Not Meeting The Dursleys
One of the people’s favorite scenes in the books is when Dumbledore arrives at the Dursleys’ residence and not-so-subtlety calls them out for being terrible guardians to Harry. Not only is this one of the funniest parts of the book, but it’s one of the few times in which Harry’s worlds collided.
However, such a crucial scene wasn’t included in the movie adaptation. It’s understandable that a lot of scenes from the books can’t be in the movies because movies are time-limited. However, the adaptation had time to include, as a Redditor says, “a pointless scene of Harry flirting with a waitress,” but not others that were arguably more important for characterization.
Regulus Black Backstory
After Dumbledore dies, Harry discovers that the Horcrux he and the headmaster retrieved was a fake one since R.A.B had taken the original. Eventually, Harry finds that R.A.B is Sirius Black’s brother, Regulus Black, and Kreacher tells him all about the locket and how his master wanted to destroy it.
However, the movies don’t include Regulus Black’s story, which is crucial to understand Kreacher as a character, and the whole ordeal behind Slytherin’s locket. Redditor waluigieWAAH hates that they left out this information mostly because “I had to explain to my mom what was happening and it was a little tiring” – which is a feeling that lots of avid Potter book fans can relate to.
Harry Casually Doing Magic Outside School
One of the most important plots in the Prisoner of Azkaban and later on in the Order of the Phoenix is the fact that Harry can get in trouble for doing magic outside school. When he accidentally inflates his aunt, he immediately receives a letter from the Ministry of Magic notifying him that he did something illegal. Later on, when Harry uses a Patronus Charm against Dementors, he almost gets expelled from Hogwarts.
However, that didn’t stop Alfonso Cuarón from including a scene of Harry using the Lumos spell in his room in Private Drive. While the scene is a funny and charming way of starting the movie, it’s very inconsistent with everything else that happens in the series. While this is a mistake that most fans of the Harry Potter movies choose to ignore, it completely outrages a lot of the viewers and Redditor Kitty_crossing, who muses “how did they let that happen!”
Durmstrang And Beauxbatons Arrivals
During the Triwizard Tournament, Hogwarts becomes the host of two major magical schools in Europe, Beauxbatons and Dumrstrang. While in the book they make an impressive entrance, mostly due to their means of transportation, they don’t make a performance.
However, the movie introduced them doing a complete act, which irritates a lot of the viewers. Redditor eriikaa1992 explains, “I truly hate the entrance performances by Beauxbatons and Durmstrang and the fact that they made these schools single-sex. Fire-breathing?! Acrobatics?! It’s wizard school, not circus arts.” Certainly, the movie prioritized the entertaining factor over being accurate about these schools’ dynamics.
