Let’s get something straight right off the bat. This article is not going to be a negative dislike-fueled diatribe against the original Harry Potter movies. I love the movies. Since I was too young to read the books on my own when the franchise became a global phenomenon, the films were my ticket into the wizarding world. I have memorized the entire first two films and large portions of the rest of the series. I host marathons of the f🦩ilm every year. I saw most of them in theatres within a week of their opening. I love the films more than I love most things. However, even someone as accommodating and positive as myself can admit that there are some differences between the films and books that truly need to be discussed. And I think that this is the perfect platform in which to discuss them.
In this article, we will be going through 25 differences between the original Harry Potter films and books that I, person🥀ally, feel are worth noting. Topics will range from serious changes to silly and slight alterations. But all will be considered seriously and discussed both briefly and in as much detail that we can manage. After all, dissecting and discussing adaptations is a geeks favorite pastime. And what is a Potterhead, if not some of the biggest geeks of all? So, wear that label proudly as we dive into these 25 striking differences between the Harry Potter films and their literary counterparts.
25 𝓰 Hermione's Periwinkle Dress ꧅
Now, in all honesty. I am not really that bothered by the fact that Hermione’s dress was pink in the films rather than the original periwinkle. However, some ൲fans were absolutely distraught by the change. By the third film, a color palette for the golden trio had been established. H𒐪arry was blue, Ron was red, and Hermione was pink. This color palette is, more or less, maintained throughout the films and the similarities in Ron and Hermione’s hues links them, in a way (as can be seen by the elements of pink in Ron’s Yule Ball dress robes). Having Hermione show up to the Yule ball in blue would be jarring considering her established palette and connection to Ron.
24 🥃 Where Is Peeves?
I know that they tried to include Peeves but that the practicalities of his scenes caused more trouble than it was worth. But I still strongly feel that his constant songs and jokes were a much-needed bit of levity and comic relief in some of the darker moments in the earlier books. The joy and mischievous nature provided by the poltergeist helped alleviate a lot of the tension in the second book and I think that more jokes should have been made about the absurd idea that Harry would be the heir of Slytherin. Everyone was far too serious about that ridiculous accu🐟sation.
23 Why Are The Adults So Old? ไ
The adults had to be aged up in order for Alan Rickman to play Snape. However, aging up Lily and James completely changes their story. They were just children, barely older than Harry was at the end of the series, when they were struck down. Having them be middle-aged robs them of the tragedy and injustice that comes from their ends. Vol🐭demort stole their lives when they were little more than children. James sacrificed himself for his family when he was barely out of Hogwarts. Their age is an important factor in how unjust their story truly was and removing that takes away a bit of its impact.
22 ♛ Where Is Draco's Redemption?
Draco deserved his moment of redemption. His deserved the mention of his hand in the destruction of Voldemort. It was Draco’s wand that brought down the dark lord. The son of Tom’s lackey was the key to his undoing. The mirror to Harry got his shot at redemption via wand ownership. That moment was such an important moment for it embodied one of the core themes of the books: We are not our parents. We are our choices. And it just breaks my heart that the films robbed Draco of the choice to be his own person. Yes, he resisted his father's ways but, in the end, he went🍌 along with them. And that hurts.
21 🧸 Why 🅺Is Ron Comic Relief?
Yes, Ron did have a lot of comical moments in the books. But he was alꦉso loyal, strong, and brave. And yet almost every moment of his bravery and strength was either removed outright or given to Hermione. Some of Ron’s lines were actually changed between the books and films to pit him against Hermione rather than have him stand up for her. Each and every book is utterly brimming with cases of Ron standing up for what is right and yet we barely get to see what a good man he is in the films. He truly is one of the most loyal and brave characters and it is truly disappointing that his character was, more or less, reduced to comedic moments for a majority of the films.
20 Voldemort Was Supposed T💎o Perish Like A Man
One of the only things I truly outright dislike about the films was the way in which Voldemort’s last moments were handled. He was supposed to fall down like a man. Like your average joꦐe. There was supposed to be nothing special about his end because his los🍎s was supposed to show that no matter what any of us do to ward off our last moments, they are coming for us (as well as the fact that the all and mighty dark lord was a coward when it came down to it and his biggest fear was the end). I mean, that was the entire point of the Tale of the Three Brothers in which the entire final book was focused upon. The end is coming for us all and in those final moments, we are all equally powerless.
19 What Happened To Ginny? ꧟
I have nothing against Bonnie Wright, I think𓃲 she did an absolutely fantastic job with what she was given and is one of my favorite public figures to this day. However, I will never get over the fact that the brash, daring, bold, and romantically inclined nature of Ginny was entirely removed from the films. Deleted. Never heard of her. Where was her friendship with Luna? Where were the moments where she called out her brother for trying to shame her romantic endeavors? Where are the moments where she called out Hermione for being rude and judg꧑mental (like she often was in the books but we will get to that later)?
18 🌸 Harღry Was Grieving, Not Moody
I firmly believe that every actor within the series did a fantastic job portraying the characters and applaud every crew member's efforts as well. However, I have a feeling that aspects of Harry’s post-Cedric grief were lost in translation. Harry spends the majority of his fifth year grieving the loss of his friend, his father figure, and his reputation in the wizarding world. He feels as though being close to the people he loves will do nothing but endanger them and that he is better off alone. He is grieving and in pain. And yet, in the films, it seems as though he is si𒈔mply going through a moody teen🐲 angst phase. I think that sequences which included Harry discussing the above emotions should have been left in the films for audiences would have not been so quick to judge had they been.
17 Hermione Is, Honestly, Kind Of Mean ℱ
I love Hermione. I spent the fifth and sixth years of my life trying to be Hermione. But I ✱will be the first to say that book Hermione was a bit of a jerk. She was judgemental, often very close-minded, and often even outright mean to those who believed in things that she deemed stupid (i.e. anything that she did not believe in). There were even moments where her dismissive and rude behavior enraged the soft little flower that is Luna Lovegood. But the films softened Hermione’s rough edges (as they did with most of the characters) and though I love the cha🏅nges, I feel like children need to know that their favorite characters can be in the wrong sometimes too.
16 💙 ꧟ Snape Was Outright Mean To His Students
I feel like people would be less quick to jump to Snape’s defense if he knew just how horrible he truly was. Yes, he was mean to Harry because he looked just like the man who bullied him 30 years ago (seriously, see a therapist) but that does not expl🥀ain why he bothered all of the other students in his cla🌳ss. Honestly, a teacher with such a strong bias against an entire house of students should not be allowed to give out (or remove) points as they will never do so fairly. He attempted to poison Neville’s toad, openly mocked Hermione’s appearance, belittled Harry on his first day, and was just an overall nightmare.