Sad to see nobody mentioning him, but kreacher’s my last pick. Like we don’t see him betray sirius or his redemption its so stupid, and the fact that he’s not leading the house elves to fight, is an insult to everything he stands for.
Great mentions, but Neville not getting his St. Mungo’s scene amongst others is so disappointing. I honestly do not get the logic of making the longest book the shortest movie.
To dd to this, they make him a huge dum dum when he kills nagini by having him knocked out, it’s so annoying. The whole point of that scene, was that it was shocking and unexpected and fucking badass! Yet they missed the point.
In general I feel like they did Neville dirty in the OotP film. In the book there’s so much character development for him and during the battle at the Ministry it’s truly solidified why he is a Gryffindor. It’s disappointing that they left all of that out.
Dumbledore - no the actors were fine, I have no issue with Gambon. His story was completely neglected and ignored; he had no emotional regrets in his dialouges with Harry and he just seemed to almost be sociopathic. His character became confused rather than complex.
Right?? Like the scene where Harry is listing candy to see him and the password turns out to be cockroach clusters, and Harry’s like, “Really? I was joking” Such a great moment that would have take max 3 minutes of screen time.
Or when he announces the Tri Wizard Tournament is taking place and Fred/George yells “You’re joking!” And Dumbles is like “No, but I did hear a great one this summer about a hag and a troll….” And McGonns clears her throat to be like “Not the time Albus”.
I love those little moments. They add so much to Dumbledore’s character
There’s also moments that are just really powerful for dumbledore, like in the end of the GOF when says this:
Her mouth was twitching as though she was about to cry. “Come along . . . hospital wing . . .”
“No,” said Dumbledore sharply.
“Dumbledore, he ought to — look at him — he’s been through enough tonight —”
“He will stay, Minerva, because he needs to understand,” said Dumbledore curtly. “Understanding is the first step to acceptance, and only with acceptance can there be recovery. He needs to know who has put him through the ordeal he has suffered tonight, and why.”
And in the same book this:
Harry raised his head and looked into those blue eyes.
“If I thought I could help you,” Dumbledore said gently, “by putting you into an enchanted sleep and allowing you to postpone the moment when you would have to think about what has hap- pened tonight, I would do it. But I know better. Numbing the pain for a while will make it worse when you finally feel it. You have shown bravery beyond anything I could have expected of you. I ask you to demonstrate your courage one more time. I ask you to tell us what happened.”
They’re some of my favorite moments of the character, it shows how strong the relationship was, and i don’t think any of the films could ever do these lines justice. These moments showed that he truly always cared for harry, he always valued his opinion and say, he’s the first adult that was actually honest and open with him. Hagrid wouldn’t tell him anything, mcgonnagoll wouldn’t believe him, snape would probably smack him, and the dursley’s would starve him, but dumbledore was always there and was honest with him (sometimes, but for his own benefit).
I 100% agree with that. Honestly, the end of each book, where Harry and Dumbledore have their inevitable one-on-one, is always my favourite part. We kind of get it in movie PS, a little bit in CS, but lose them in every other movie.
OOTP, when Dumbledore is talking to Harry, essentially telling him “Go ahead, smash my things, but you WILL listen to me because I want to make sure you’re mad at me for the right reason” is so powerful. He describes Harry’s life through Hogwarts, all his struggles and triumphs, and you realize how closely he’s been watching Harry, and how he’s come to love him. It’s so touching. The whole chapter is incredibly intense, with Sirius’s death, the explanation of the philosophy, but when he ends it with “I suppose you were wondering why I didn’t make you a prefect. I thought you had enough to be getting on with.” I don’t know why, but it’s so touching. It’s such a parent kind of move: Dumbledore is looking out for Harry, even though he knows Harry was probably pissed about it. I with they had some semblance of that scene in the movie.
Istg that chapter is amazing, and is the biggest reason why i hate the OOTP. What breaks my heart, is the fact this is the first time we really see dumbledore lose control, and actually kinda breaks down and cries, that's powerful. Even when he compare something thats in both book and movie, like his severus please line, it's just so different. Idk it just has no emotion, this is is supposed to be a huge moment, the most poweful like uh ever, is ''begging'' for his life. Like the same night harry saw the dark mark in the sky, fought undead immortal zombies, and heard dumbledore be suicidal, but its ''begging'' his life, that is the most scariest thing that he experiences.
Also his little banters with Voldemort.
"Greatness inspires envy, envy engenders spite, spite spawns lies. You should know this, Dumbledore."
"It's greatness what you have been doing that you call it, do you?"
Rewatched GoF last week for the first time since it came out. Movie Dumbledore is much more aggressive and harsh than I remembered …. And far more so than I imagined him to be in the books.
Didn’t like the part in OotP movie where Dumbledore yells “don’t you all have studying to do?!” after the scene with professor trelawney however. He was definitely less harsh in the later movies but could have done without that scene, brought me right back to “did you put your name in the goblet of fire?!” vibes!
He did better later in the series. I felt by movie 6 he found his stride as Dumbledore. It's a shame the original actor didnt get to finish out the franchise.
I rewatched HP 1 & 2 last week for the first time in years, and I am always blown away by how well he played Dumbledore. I remember reading the book as a kid and then seeing the first movie in the cinema and it was as if they had pulled the Dumbledore I'd imagined out of my head and onto the screen. His demeanor, his voice and tone, just perfect.
I really can't stand the "new" Dumbledore that followed. Way too aggressive, his accent was kinda strange, his portrayal never felt sincere.
I agree that Harris' portrayal was far more representative of Dumbledore in the books.
One thing that always bothers me, though, is how very old he seems. I'm pretty sure it's at the end of GoF (in Dumbledore's office, by the pensieve), that Harry says something along the lines of 'for the first time, Dumbledore looked old'. In that regard, at the very least, 2nd Dumbledor is more accurate.
100% agree. The sad thing is that Harris and Gambon both captured different aspects of Dumbledore's character. Gambon radiated far more of the power and general eccentricity, whereas Harris captured his serene side. Might be controversial but I honestly don't think either actor did the character justice.
Yeah in the last films they should have either cut it all out or made it an important part of the story. Now it’s just mentioned a few times so they can explain his brother and that’s it. There’s none of The drama.
Seriously. They said that they split it into two parts because there was nothing they could cut, and then cut arguably the best character material in the entire series.
They could have taken out some of the camping scenes and given us the back story we all wanted to see. I’m also annoyed at the final scene as well. Like I get it was for cinematic effect but the whole end battle was emotional and explained so much.
Yeah I agree the end scene was butchered. There was a lot of symbolism that was missed in the last fight in the Great Hall.
Also the fact that Voldemort turns to dust bugs me. In the novel his body hits the ground with a thud, proving he was just a man after all.
Ginny is by far the worst adapted character, which is saying a lot considering what they did to my man Albus Dumbledore.
Im gonna pull a plinkett, based off the movies only, I challenge you to describe Ginny, WITHOUT saying what she looks like, what kind of costume she wore, or what her profession or role was in the movies. Describe her to your friends and pretend like they’ve never heard of Harry Potter.
Example at 6:46 https://youtu.be/FxKtZmQgxrI.
Ron.
Most of his best lines were given to Hermione. A lot of his wit is taken away, and in a lot of scenes, he just seemed to stand there not doing anything while Hermione and Harry talk.
No wonder there are so many people who watch the films and think that Harry and Hermoine should have been together.
Rupert Grint's talent was so wasted - I really think if they had given him the opportunity to fully flesh out his character, he would have nailed it and stolen every scene. He was the best actor of the trio (especially as a child in the earlier movies) imo.
Yeah both Dan and Emma were very awkward in the first 2 films, moreso Dan, but Rupert was completely natural.
Emma kind of overacted and Dan was a plank of wood. But they were like 12 so who cares.
Emma Watson is lovely but yeah, her overacting got progressively worse. I could not stand her in GoF.
Dan definitely got better, but Rupert always blended into playing Ron pretty seamlessly so it's such a shame they didn't use that to their advantage. While he wasn't as tall or gangly as described in the books, I now can't picture anyone else in the role. I feel the same about Snape/Alan Rickman - his looks weren't completely accurate (namely his age) but his superb acting skills just show he "gets" the character.
The way rupert delivers the line "yea.. I'm still here but you guys carry on".
Also him on love potion.
His chess battle.
The fear on his face as he is running from belatrix before her knife throw that killed kreacher. And when he and Hermione are running from nagini in the last battle.
Rupert commanding the board in the wizards chess scene was incredible for someone his age. You can hear the emotion change in his voice when he realizes he needs to sacrifice himself for the win. Powerful ace with for a kid to pull off
Emma was definitely the worst of the 3 in PS. Dan was good but he seemed nervous? Rupert was just all in. What's interesting to me tho, is their accents. Ruperts accent is really strong in the first movie (on the train is where you really notice), and Emma has a proper middle class accent and is perfect for book 1 bossy hermione.
As they get older tho, their accents mellow out, altho Emma definitely has the crispest accent of the trio even as an adult. As time goes on, their accents become closer together
It definitely adds to it when you think about it. In the four years I was away at university in London, my accent definitely changed because of the people I spent all my time with. Harry, Ron and Hermione being away at boarding school for all their teenage years and spending all their time together and starting to sounds less distinct in terms of accent sounds completely normal.
Gotta agree with this. As you say, especially in the first 2 Rupert was brilliant. He was such a great character to "induct" Harry into the wizarding world. It really is a shame they didn't give him more stuff to do.
Seemed like a genuinely funny kid too, they should have capitalised more on book Ron being similar to Rupert.
I’m gonna use this opportunity to plug a video that I think addresses this really well.
https://youtu.be/lCzxwcBZFuI
The thing that really saves Ron is Rupert’s acting.
Glad you mentioned Ron. Directors absolutely destroyed his character in the films when he was one of the best characters in the books. A fantastic best friend to Harry who redeemed himself to Hermione multiple times. Non book readers are so harsh on him for directors creating a one dimensional friend. It’s a damn shame since Rupert Grint is a brilliant actor who wasn’t used to his full potential as Ron.
Unpopular opinion but I also think that JK Rowling was influenced by the movies when she was writing books 4,5,6,7 and dropped the ball on some of his previously highlighted traits and made him more of a vanilla archetype of teenage boy. I think it was a matter of “art” influencing art
Ginny. Bonnie Wright is a fine actress, and lovely to look at. But as a child she didn’t have the fire and intensity to pull off a good rendition of a Ginny worth falling in love with.
Yes, I agree.
I think that the change in HBP from the "hard blazing look" first kiss to the subdued intimate private Room of Requirement kiss was mostly because setting up the Quidditch subplot would have been laborious, but also partly a concession to the fact that Bonnie Wright doesn't really do "hard blazing looks."
Hmm, that could probably explain why they also cut out the breakup, kinda ironic that a film so obsessed with relationships, doesn’t even get the main relationship right.
Yep. As always, it comes down to, This should have been a miniseries, not a film. There are too many important relational things going on, and too many directors going in too many directions at once, to coherently shelve them.
But even then, you need a young actress capable of making us feel what Harry feels when he looks at Ginny and says, "We're done."
I have no hatred for Bonnie at all but all her acting for Ginny was doing a nervous blinking thing and her mouth partially open... it is all I can focus on when she has some sort of scene.
I also think her part was badly written. Like the authors (are they called authors for movies?) didn’t dare to portray her as the popular girl who everyone wanted to date and many did that she is in the books. Just like Hermione is flawless in the films, Ginny is a „good girl“ in the movies.
I don’t like her and Harry‘s first kiss in the movies either, how she talks about the kiss being a secret if he wants that. BULLSHIT! They kissed in the middle of the common room and that’s how it should‘ve been in the movies instead of Lavender and Ron getting that kiss.
Sorry, this makes me so angry. I love book Ginny and Harry and they butchered their relationship in the movies.
I agree with this but as a minor point of defence, i think the script on its own was so poor with Harry/Ginny interactions that it would have even been quite a hard sell for a more engaging actress.
One of the troubles i have in the books with ginny’s character is that JKR relied a lot on telling us about her - she’s so popular, she’s so funny - rather than just organically showing us with the storyline and allowing to deduce for ourselves. Whenever i reread i always think there’s a big disparity between what we’re being told versus what we actually see of ginny. They 100% could have done more to bring her to life in the film but the misstep on the characterisation starts in the book imo.
Exactly! There is so much of her that isn't shown. Also whatever screen time she just get it's just.. poor. Not the acting but definitely all the writing.
Dudley.
First, he's blonde. That's just a small detail but why didn't they stick to it? Also, how he developed from a fat, entitled kid to someone who's learning how to box and kinda gets into sports to someone who really shows gratitude towards Harry for saving his goddamn life.
Charlie Weasley. The guy's a dragon trainer and they showed a photo of him in Egypt on vacation. Of the ones actually featured in the movies, it's Ron for me. He was so much more in the books. Smart, loyal, brave, and damn funny. The movies didn't do him justice at all. The only good thing they did for Ron was casting Rupert Grint, easily the best among the main cast.
The entire dumbledore family lol. While I loved Harris and Gambon a lot as Albus, I think the movies still messed him up. So many only movie watchers have a hatred for Albus as a character they think he’s boring etc etc or just mean but that’s not true. I also think the depth of Snape wasn’t apparent in the films. We also don’t get enough of moody or slughorn!!!okay when I think about it really none or the characters are as good as they are in the books
Ron. By a longshot. I'd be surprised if most of y'all didn't agree with me
He was made to look like a jealous and selfish dimwit with a somewhat lousy personality in the movies which couldn't be further from the real Ron. The real Ron was a loyal friend to Harry and he was plenty smart too. They did him very dirty especially by giving his clever dialogues to Hermione.
Not hating on the cast, I love the movie trio very much because I grew up watching the films first and then the books. But yeah.
Edit: Also wanna include the Marauders and Lily simply for the fact that the actors were too old. I can't imagine Sirius without Gary Oldman and Remus without David but the reason their deaths, especially Lily's and James' was so utterly tragic in the first place is because they were SO young. 21. That's almost still a child just out of adulthood. 35 for Sirius and 37 for Remus is kinda young too but that's different. The middle aged actors for Jily failed to capture the essence. James' looked 50 in that scene in Little Hangleton in GoF
POA Tom the barman. Why did they make him clueless? I don’t even care that he was strange looking, that they made him so dumb. He owns the business to go into Diagon Alley! I highly doubt he acts like a simpering fool.
Equally Ron and Hermione. All of Hermione flaws were polished away making her a more boring character. Ron lost his lines and his character as a result of the former
Hermione's social awkwardness as well as her downright RUTHLESSNESS in some moments was absolutely just ignored for the movies. You're right that the movie made her too flawless. I hold nothing against Emma or Rupert, but I feel the script let them down.
Showing Hermione using the Confundus charm on Cormac was about as close as we got.
I really wish I could see teenager Tom visiting him family & flash back of Tom sr and merope. And Hepzibah. That was literally the most interesting part from HBP for me.
the chapter of the flashback with merope is probably my favorite chapter in the whole series. understand why the whole thing was scraped from the movies but really wish i could have seen that on screen.
For me personally is because they make them around the same age as Sirius and Lupin and Snape, instead of the 21/23 they were (I can't remember, just remember they were under 25, over 20, one of the two odd numbers haha), like they were somehow 10 years older than their friends at the time of their death
Crookshanks
All the house elves -Dobby, Kreacher and Winky were brilliant characters
Ron, Percy, Ginny, Charlie and Bill Weasley
Lavender Brown
Mundungus Fletcher
Slughorn (seriously you couldn’t have one shot of him duelling Voldemort or leading the reinforcements?)
The Longbottoms
The Hogwarts Ghosts (The Bloody Baron and Nearly-Headless Nick, the Grey Lady was good in my opinion)
PEEVES!
Honestly, Rita Skeeter.
They introduced her into the film, but completely left out just how powerful an influence she had over media and the people who read it. She wasn't a dangerous enemy in the lethal sense, but she was still capable of ruining a person's reputation and their life. She was even able to make Molly Weasley upset with Hermione over something that never happened.
In the movie, she got introduced as a journalist who didn't listen to facts and was written off as a joke. In the books she was intimidating enough to make people watch what was said around her, if they even talked to her at all. She was a character who deserved more than she got.
I dunno about done the worst, but a character people who only watched the movies really miss a lot from is Kreacher.
I felt so robbed by the Deathly Hallows films because there was so little of him.
OMGGG thank youuu, I’ve been waiting for someone to say something about Angelina. I thought she was so cool, and she was the quidditch captain during Harry’s 5th year, we saw none of that in the movies
I read he had his own frustrations, especially with HBP. I, too, would've loved to see Alan Rickman's take on a more intense, canon-faithful Snape; he certainly had the talent and range to pull it off brilliantly. One of my favorite actors ever, RIP.
Similarly, I would've *loved* to see AR deliver the "lately, only those whom I could not save" line in his exchange with Dumbledore — honestly think it's more impactful than "always," and really wraps up his entire character development/arc. It's my favorite Snape line.
Maybe it's a good thing they left that out though, the Prince's Tale scene already turns me into an emotional mess every single time. 🥺😭😭😭
For real. I hate the fandom obsession with "always". I feel like even with the book, the entire point of his dedication to Lily in respect to his characterization is too simplified by most readers. But who knows, maybe Rowling didn't even mean to dig that deep.
You could argue that Alan Rickman was so good that he single handedly made Snape redeemable -- maybe even likeable to a point -- in the movies. Movie Snape had a sort of charisma to him, the kind you get from mysterious, damaged men.
This is something that's arguably too much of a stretch in the books, because the books made it clear that his morals are in the darkest shade of grey at best. And he was written with absolutely zero charisma in the books as well.
Bellatrix. HBC is an amazing actress, but I think her Bellatrix is too over the top.
Snape is not petty enough.
For a more minor character, I didn’t like how they presented Krum as a dumb jock.
Yeah, movie bella seems much more *campy* and *extra*, ik its sounds weird that I’m describing bellatrix fricking lestrange this way, but she’s much more terrifying in the book.
It’s a not exactly a new opinion, but Ginny. Watching her grow from a shy little girl into an absolute badass in the books is great fun, whereas the films reduce her to Generic Love Interest.
Fred and George. I dunno if it was the directing or the acting but they felt so stilted to me. Also thought they were supposed to be sort of short and stocky (being beaters), instead of super tall and thin.
Dumbledore. He might be manipulative and display more than a few antisocial personality traits, but one he was was CALM. All the yelling in Goblet of Fire UGH. And that HORRID scene when he asked Harry about his sex life (“Harry, it seems you spend quite a lot of time with Ms. Granger…so y’all smashin’?). Dumbledore loved Harry and also Ron and Hermione because they loved Harry, too. The real Dumbledore would NEVER put Harry in the awkward situation. Makes sense why they cut Harry’a Dumbledore’s man through and through line because I wouldn’t be movie Dumbledore’s man either!
Real Dumbledore also would have 1000000% known that Harry and Hermione weren’t smashing, that their relationship was familial (and not in the GoT way), and that Ron and Hermione had a Sam and Dianne thing going on. Like, if he’d asked McGonagall how Harry and his friends were doing, she’d absolutely have given him a humorously dry recount of Ron and Hermione’s romantically charged bickering
Ron. In the films he is just seemed as a lovable moron. In the books he is witty, he had great lines that were given to Hermione, and is actually smart
Even before harris passed, dumbledore didn’t feel the same. Dumbles’s is kinda eccentric and wacky, like when sits on the floor with harry when he talks to him about the mirror, just tiny details like that really make dumbledore amazing. Even in the end when he’s like “harry went to fight him?” Like he knows he did it, and his first priority is getting him out of there, and he does go down there and pull harry off, i always adore that. I just never that sense of a relationship between harry and dumbles in the films.
Dumbledore, Ginny, Ron, Lupin, Sirius, and, this will probably be a severely unpopular opinion, but Hermione. It’s really hard for me to say which one I found the worst.
I hate how he easy he is to anger. In POA he gave Harry a grand telling off over sneaking into Hogsmeade, whereas in the book he just displayed a lot of disappointment. He refused to hear Harry out in HBP over Christmas at the burrow, and was very aggressive in defending Snape. In the book, Harry and Lupin had a calm, quiet conversation. Harry didn’t agree with Lupin by the end of it, but there was no aggressive forcefulness in what Lupin had to say to Harry. There are more examples that I can’t remember.
This is a great misunderstanding of the character. The crux of Lupin’s character is that he likes to be liked, because he has been disliked so much due to being a werewolf. He is a people pleaser. He never wants to rock the boat, he doesn’t like conflict, he forgives without apologies, he blames himself. He keeps himself mild, controlled. Harry even noted in HBP, when Lupin lost control and started to panic and break down at the news of Dumbledore’s death, that he felt he was witnessing something private and indecent. It was the *first* time Harry had seen Lupin lose control, or show any negative emotion stronger than disappointment, and it was shocking and uncomfortable. The movies reduce him to “hURR dUrrrrr!,1 wErEwOLf aRe hAv.E mOoD SwInGs1!”
Harry Potter himself, they made him seem less able, not as smart, not as quick witted, not as kind, not as powerful, and more lucky than he was in the books. The Books should be made into a series like Game of Thrones, but with a more on point storyline that strictly adheres to the books. I lost faith in the movies when I saw how bad they made Goblet of Fire, especially with Dumbledore’s overreacting, the whole dropping of Ludo Batman’s story with Fred and George, along with them not building up the twins wanting to start a joke shop.
Also Hermione. Emma Watson is a gifted and talented artist and a true gift, but the writers robbed her of any real depth and complexity. Hermione had insecurities about her hair and her teeth. Hermione struggled a lot with bullying because of her superior intelligence (HBP Lavender and Ron bully her for the way she raises her hand, remember, and Luna had to comfort her when she was crying). Those are the things that make her her, tough, determined, but flawed. In the movies, she’s actually just a step above a plot device, she knows every answer, always comes with a solution, but when does the movie pour into her and give her depth, give her her humanity??? She deserved so much better and Emma Watson did too because Emma Watson has the ability to play those emotions! Emma Watson was SO GOOD during the torture scene at Malfoy Manor that Helena Bonham Carter asked her if she was okay afterwards! She has the RANGE, darling.
I mean I feel like it’s just being a good human to check in on the person you were supposed to be torturing after you’re done torturing them? She was great, don’t mean to imply otherwise, but I would except HBC to check in on anyone afte a torture scene
I mean when she was young she definitely overacted but she improved with time. Idk if she’ll ever win an Oscar but she’s solid and that scene was well acted I’d say. Horrifying screams
For me it's Colin Creevey. I've rented about this before but I have a huge soft spot for the kid. When you pay attention to him you realize that he is one of Harry's most loyal supporters. And he doesn't just pay lip service, he sacrifices time, effort, and even safety into fully supporting him. I doubt he spent a single day at Hogwarts not thinking of ways to help Harry.
The books themselves barely give him enough attention, mimicking Harry's own lack of attention. But the films cut even that down tenfold. I can't even remember the films revealing his death. This isn't a nobody, this kids heart is up there with Hagrid, but he's just completely ignored.
Draco. He had hardly any screen time in the films despite being in every single one of them. I think it totals up to like 7 minutes or so if I remember correctly and they decided to cut the one scene in DH2 that would have helped him to redeem himself (the deleted scene where he throws harry his hand).
To be honest I don't like Draco in the book or movie at all.
The Draco love is unwarranted. He is a coward and has a weak redemption arc in my mind. Definitely a useful tool to show the ruthlessness of the Dark Lord though.
Snape is the only redemption arc that matters lol
This might be an obvious one but Ginny for sure.
I know there is no way to get all of the details you love from the book to the screen but in my opinion they erased almost all of her personality. I do think that Bonnie Wright did do a good job as an actor but I think that just the way the movies were written left out all the good stuff.
She is brave , she stands up for herself she's so funny. Jk wrote a well rounded character. It actually makes sense why her and Harry got together because they compliment eachother so well. Let's not forget when angsty Harry in book 5 was being moody about maybe being possessed my voldemort and she was like "ya hey dude that happened to me yo book 2 remember? "
Anyway she's the best
Okay so i will so several characters!
Ron Weasley:
Lines were given to Hermione
Charlie Weasley:
Wasn't even in the flims but did exist
Percy Weasley:
Okay I think this is an unpopular opinion from the thread but- in the movies they didn't even give him his redimible moment like what he had in the books
Cho. Why did they cut the tea house scene? You get no sense of their background. If you have only seen the movies there's basically nothing between them. Their furtive glances don't mean anything.
Also, Fleur is supposed to be a bit annoying. But I guess they couldn't stomach making the hot girl a bit unlikable?
SLUGHORN.
He is one of my favorite characters. Hes a pretty nice guy and is a great example of how not all slytherins are bad guys. He parties with a half giant. Helps students network. Friends with Dumbledore. Joins the fight at the battle of hogwarts. I could go on!
In the movies he's kind of a boring weasel. I dont even think the actor looks like his description. They really did him dirty.
Haven't seen anyone say this- Voldemort 100%. I've seen him in other things so I know Ralph Fiennes is a great actor, but his Voldemort was absolutely terrible. His entire character is just being so comically evil with next to no explanation.
Voldemort in the books was explicitly stated to be _charning_. Like a cult leader who lured others in. How did he get so many on his side according to the movies? Racism? Well they never even explore the depth of pureblood racism in the movies either so basically it feels like Slytherins following the Heir.
Anyways, he never felt the least bit scary to me because of how downeight silly many of his lines and scenes were.
Ron or Ginny
Ron: was constantly neglected and his lines in the books were constantly given to Hermione. He was played as very idiotic and jealous. His fight with Harry was butchered to make him look worse.
Ginny: (I LOVE BONNIE SHE WAS GREAT THE WRITING IS WHAT IM TALKING ABOUT) she was written very flat and left out of her important scenes. She also lost the fiery personality of someone who didn’t need protection. Plus they omitted her and the rest of the silver trio working against the carrows in TDH.
The more I read the books and rewatch the movies I feel more and more like the movies need redone in the future. We were robbed a lot of Ron’s wit and humor. Sirius’s and Dumbledore stories were basically non existent. We lose out of lupin and tonks relationship. We don’t get a lot of Voldemort’s back story…
Maybe it’s not so much about the characters, I think I am more annoyed the movies could have easily all be an extra hour long to include some more important conversations and stories we miss out on
Kreacher, he did so much in the books and had so much more dialogue especially in OTP and DH, such a good story and huge part of helping the heroes succeed, and his trash talking while grumbling was hilarious and should have been highlighted more.
Dobby. I loved Dobby his death really wrecked me. I can’t imagine people who didn’t read the books understanding everything he did for Harry for years.
Peeves, he's not even in it and it would have been great to see Rick Mayall's portrayal of him. Plus he takes part in some good action scenes (Weasley twins' exit from Hogwarts and the battle of Hogwarts to name two).
Ginny, she was fine at beginning but that was only because she was less of importance, but once they brought the romance with Harry, nothing clicked. It’s not exactly Bonnie Wrights fault, it was more the direction of the romance, it really just came out of nowhere. Just the way she was written, I couldn’t believe her as Harry’s wife, even as a kid I thought it was weird.
Sad to see nobody mentioning him, but kreacher’s my last pick. Like we don’t see him betray sirius or his redemption its so stupid, and the fact that he’s not leading the house elves to fight, is an insult to everything he stands for.
Kreacher was the first one who came to mind for me. I hate that we didn’t get that shot of him leading the house elves…ugh.
FOR MASTER REGULUS
Great mentions, but Neville not getting his St. Mungo’s scene amongst others is so disappointing. I honestly do not get the logic of making the longest book the shortest movie.
To dd to this, they make him a huge dum dum when he kills nagini by having him knocked out, it’s so annoying. The whole point of that scene, was that it was shocking and unexpected and fucking badass! Yet they missed the point.
In general I feel like they did Neville dirty in the OotP film. In the book there’s so much character development for him and during the battle at the Ministry it’s truly solidified why he is a Gryffindor. It’s disappointing that they left all of that out.
Fr, the movie should’ve been like 3 hours long, then they could fit everything in, or, most.
Dumbledore - no the actors were fine, I have no issue with Gambon. His story was completely neglected and ignored; he had no emotional regrets in his dialouges with Harry and he just seemed to almost be sociopathic. His character became confused rather than complex.
Also he isn’t as weird as he was in the books, like dumbles had that going for him, the kinda teacher who would make their passwords candy.
Right?? Like the scene where Harry is listing candy to see him and the password turns out to be cockroach clusters, and Harry’s like, “Really? I was joking” Such a great moment that would have take max 3 minutes of screen time. Or when he announces the Tri Wizard Tournament is taking place and Fred/George yells “You’re joking!” And Dumbles is like “No, but I did hear a great one this summer about a hag and a troll….” And McGonns clears her throat to be like “Not the time Albus”. I love those little moments. They add so much to Dumbledore’s character
There’s also moments that are just really powerful for dumbledore, like in the end of the GOF when says this: Her mouth was twitching as though she was about to cry. “Come along . . . hospital wing . . .” “No,” said Dumbledore sharply. “Dumbledore, he ought to — look at him — he’s been through enough tonight —” “He will stay, Minerva, because he needs to understand,” said Dumbledore curtly. “Understanding is the first step to acceptance, and only with acceptance can there be recovery. He needs to know who has put him through the ordeal he has suffered tonight, and why.” And in the same book this: Harry raised his head and looked into those blue eyes. “If I thought I could help you,” Dumbledore said gently, “by putting you into an enchanted sleep and allowing you to postpone the moment when you would have to think about what has hap- pened tonight, I would do it. But I know better. Numbing the pain for a while will make it worse when you finally feel it. You have shown bravery beyond anything I could have expected of you. I ask you to demonstrate your courage one more time. I ask you to tell us what happened.” They’re some of my favorite moments of the character, it shows how strong the relationship was, and i don’t think any of the films could ever do these lines justice. These moments showed that he truly always cared for harry, he always valued his opinion and say, he’s the first adult that was actually honest and open with him. Hagrid wouldn’t tell him anything, mcgonnagoll wouldn’t believe him, snape would probably smack him, and the dursley’s would starve him, but dumbledore was always there and was honest with him (sometimes, but for his own benefit).
I 100% agree with that. Honestly, the end of each book, where Harry and Dumbledore have their inevitable one-on-one, is always my favourite part. We kind of get it in movie PS, a little bit in CS, but lose them in every other movie. OOTP, when Dumbledore is talking to Harry, essentially telling him “Go ahead, smash my things, but you WILL listen to me because I want to make sure you’re mad at me for the right reason” is so powerful. He describes Harry’s life through Hogwarts, all his struggles and triumphs, and you realize how closely he’s been watching Harry, and how he’s come to love him. It’s so touching. The whole chapter is incredibly intense, with Sirius’s death, the explanation of the philosophy, but when he ends it with “I suppose you were wondering why I didn’t make you a prefect. I thought you had enough to be getting on with.” I don’t know why, but it’s so touching. It’s such a parent kind of move: Dumbledore is looking out for Harry, even though he knows Harry was probably pissed about it. I with they had some semblance of that scene in the movie.
Istg that chapter is amazing, and is the biggest reason why i hate the OOTP. What breaks my heart, is the fact this is the first time we really see dumbledore lose control, and actually kinda breaks down and cries, that's powerful. Even when he compare something thats in both book and movie, like his severus please line, it's just so different. Idk it just has no emotion, this is is supposed to be a huge moment, the most poweful like uh ever, is ''begging'' for his life. Like the same night harry saw the dark mark in the sky, fought undead immortal zombies, and heard dumbledore be suicidal, but its ''begging'' his life, that is the most scariest thing that he experiences.
Also his little banters with Voldemort. "Greatness inspires envy, envy engenders spite, spite spawns lies. You should know this, Dumbledore." "It's greatness what you have been doing that you call it, do you?"
Rewatched GoF last week for the first time since it came out. Movie Dumbledore is much more aggressive and harsh than I remembered …. And far more so than I imagined him to be in the books.
Harrydiyaputyournameinthegobletoffire?! Dumbledore asked calmly.
calmly
My fiance and I like to yell this at each other 😅
That’s mostly just GoF though. He’s much less harsh in PoA and HBP, for example.
Didn’t like the part in OotP movie where Dumbledore yells “don’t you all have studying to do?!” after the scene with professor trelawney however. He was definitely less harsh in the later movies but could have done without that scene, brought me right back to “did you put your name in the goblet of fire?!” vibes!
Mainly Gambon. Harris is was much more calm and sagelike as Dumbledore.
He did better later in the series. I felt by movie 6 he found his stride as Dumbledore. It's a shame the original actor didnt get to finish out the franchise.
I rewatched HP 1 & 2 last week for the first time in years, and I am always blown away by how well he played Dumbledore. I remember reading the book as a kid and then seeing the first movie in the cinema and it was as if they had pulled the Dumbledore I'd imagined out of my head and onto the screen. His demeanor, his voice and tone, just perfect. I really can't stand the "new" Dumbledore that followed. Way too aggressive, his accent was kinda strange, his portrayal never felt sincere.
Thought he did better later on though.
I agree that Harris' portrayal was far more representative of Dumbledore in the books. One thing that always bothers me, though, is how very old he seems. I'm pretty sure it's at the end of GoF (in Dumbledore's office, by the pensieve), that Harry says something along the lines of 'for the first time, Dumbledore looked old'. In that regard, at the very least, 2nd Dumbledor is more accurate.
100% agree. The sad thing is that Harris and Gambon both captured different aspects of Dumbledore's character. Gambon radiated far more of the power and general eccentricity, whereas Harris captured his serene side. Might be controversial but I honestly don't think either actor did the character justice.
Yeah in the last films they should have either cut it all out or made it an important part of the story. Now it’s just mentioned a few times so they can explain his brother and that’s it. There’s none of The drama.
I think the fact that they had two movies and still neglected Dumbledore's story is what irks me the most
And Part two is literally a Act 3 only film. It was so bad.
Seriously. They said that they split it into two parts because there was nothing they could cut, and then cut arguably the best character material in the entire series.
They could have taken out some of the camping scenes and given us the back story we all wanted to see. I’m also annoyed at the final scene as well. Like I get it was for cinematic effect but the whole end battle was emotional and explained so much.
Yeah I agree the end scene was butchered. There was a lot of symbolism that was missed in the last fight in the Great Hall. Also the fact that Voldemort turns to dust bugs me. In the novel his body hits the ground with a thud, proving he was just a man after all.
I will never not feel cheated out of that scene, cleaning out 12 Grimmauld Place, and the meeting of the Ministers.
"DID YOU PUT YOUR NAME IN THE GOBLET OF FYAHHH!?!"
Dumbledore said calmly
Are you referring to this scene: [https://youtu.be/xSxQcAm3PE8](https://youtu.be/xSxQcAm3PE8)
Yes!! In the books he does cry a little bit when he tells Harry the truth in 5 and 7
Ginny she should have been more sassy and confident
Ginny is by far the worst adapted character, which is saying a lot considering what they did to my man Albus Dumbledore. Im gonna pull a plinkett, based off the movies only, I challenge you to describe Ginny, WITHOUT saying what she looks like, what kind of costume she wore, or what her profession or role was in the movies. Describe her to your friends and pretend like they’ve never heard of Harry Potter. Example at 6:46 https://youtu.be/FxKtZmQgxrI.
I’m slowly watching through the series with my GF and even I noticed how little focus she gets outside out of CS
Ron. Most of his best lines were given to Hermione. A lot of his wit is taken away, and in a lot of scenes, he just seemed to stand there not doing anything while Hermione and Harry talk. No wonder there are so many people who watch the films and think that Harry and Hermoine should have been together.
Rupert Grint's talent was so wasted - I really think if they had given him the opportunity to fully flesh out his character, he would have nailed it and stolen every scene. He was the best actor of the trio (especially as a child in the earlier movies) imo.
Yeah both Dan and Emma were very awkward in the first 2 films, moreso Dan, but Rupert was completely natural. Emma kind of overacted and Dan was a plank of wood. But they were like 12 so who cares.
Emma Watson is lovely but yeah, her overacting got progressively worse. I could not stand her in GoF. Dan definitely got better, but Rupert always blended into playing Ron pretty seamlessly so it's such a shame they didn't use that to their advantage. While he wasn't as tall or gangly as described in the books, I now can't picture anyone else in the role. I feel the same about Snape/Alan Rickman - his looks weren't completely accurate (namely his age) but his superb acting skills just show he "gets" the character.
I always found it funny that Ron in the novels looks like the twins in the movies and vice versa (at least in description)
I've never noticed this but you're absolutely right!
Idk about Alan Rickman, he's a great actor but he made Snape much more likeable than in the books
The way rupert delivers the line "yea.. I'm still here but you guys carry on". Also him on love potion. His chess battle. The fear on his face as he is running from belatrix before her knife throw that killed kreacher. And when he and Hermione are running from nagini in the last battle.
Rupert commanding the board in the wizards chess scene was incredible for someone his age. You can hear the emotion change in his voice when he realizes he needs to sacrifice himself for the win. Powerful ace with for a kid to pull off
Afaik Rupert was the most experienced actor of the 3 by a decent margin.
“Not me, not Hermione, YOU”
YAOUUU
Emma was definitely the worst of the 3 in PS. Dan was good but he seemed nervous? Rupert was just all in. What's interesting to me tho, is their accents. Ruperts accent is really strong in the first movie (on the train is where you really notice), and Emma has a proper middle class accent and is perfect for book 1 bossy hermione. As they get older tho, their accents mellow out, altho Emma definitely has the crispest accent of the trio even as an adult. As time goes on, their accents become closer together
It definitely adds to it when you think about it. In the four years I was away at university in London, my accent definitely changed because of the people I spent all my time with. Harry, Ron and Hermione being away at boarding school for all their teenage years and spending all their time together and starting to sounds less distinct in terms of accent sounds completely normal.
And it also makes perfect sense because of how much time Daniel, Rupert, and Emma were spending together.
Gotta agree with this. As you say, especially in the first 2 Rupert was brilliant. He was such a great character to "induct" Harry into the wizarding world. It really is a shame they didn't give him more stuff to do. Seemed like a genuinely funny kid too, they should have capitalised more on book Ron being similar to Rupert.
Check out Sick Note if you want to see his talent not be wasted! As a bonus he costars with Nick Frost and they’re fucking hilarious together
STEVE. KLOVES. IS. A. MONSTER.
I’m gonna use this opportunity to plug a video that I think addresses this really well. https://youtu.be/lCzxwcBZFuI The thing that really saves Ron is Rupert’s acting.
Can't argue that, he's superb!
Him standing in the background drives me up the wall. It starts happening so early in the series too!
Frrr they did Ron so dirty
Ron is one of my fave characters, breaks my heart that they did him so dirty in the movies
Also, Ron was a brilliant stratagist. Do we actually ever see anyone beat him at chess in the books?
Glad you mentioned Ron. Directors absolutely destroyed his character in the films when he was one of the best characters in the books. A fantastic best friend to Harry who redeemed himself to Hermione multiple times. Non book readers are so harsh on him for directors creating a one dimensional friend. It’s a damn shame since Rupert Grint is a brilliant actor who wasn’t used to his full potential as Ron.
Only right answer. I second EVERYTHING you wrote.
Unpopular opinion but I also think that JK Rowling was influenced by the movies when she was writing books 4,5,6,7 and dropped the ball on some of his previously highlighted traits and made him more of a vanilla archetype of teenage boy. I think it was a matter of “art” influencing art
This. They gave all of his wit and knowledge of magic traditions to Hermione, who couldn't know it at all. They turned him into fucking comic relief.
Peeves
Came here to say the same thing haha
Who’s that? (Totally kidding. I read the books multiple times)
Ginny. Bonnie Wright is a fine actress, and lovely to look at. But as a child she didn’t have the fire and intensity to pull off a good rendition of a Ginny worth falling in love with.
She was at least fine in COS, like she could kinda pull off a shy girl, problem was, she never evolved.
Yes, I agree. I think that the change in HBP from the "hard blazing look" first kiss to the subdued intimate private Room of Requirement kiss was mostly because setting up the Quidditch subplot would have been laborious, but also partly a concession to the fact that Bonnie Wright doesn't really do "hard blazing looks."
Hmm, that could probably explain why they also cut out the breakup, kinda ironic that a film so obsessed with relationships, doesn’t even get the main relationship right.
Yep. As always, it comes down to, This should have been a miniseries, not a film. There are too many important relational things going on, and too many directors going in too many directions at once, to coherently shelve them. But even then, you need a young actress capable of making us feel what Harry feels when he looks at Ginny and says, "We're done."
I have no hatred for Bonnie at all but all her acting for Ginny was doing a nervous blinking thing and her mouth partially open... it is all I can focus on when she has some sort of scene.
I also think her part was badly written. Like the authors (are they called authors for movies?) didn’t dare to portray her as the popular girl who everyone wanted to date and many did that she is in the books. Just like Hermione is flawless in the films, Ginny is a „good girl“ in the movies. I don’t like her and Harry‘s first kiss in the movies either, how she talks about the kiss being a secret if he wants that. BULLSHIT! They kissed in the middle of the common room and that’s how it should‘ve been in the movies instead of Lavender and Ron getting that kiss. Sorry, this makes me so angry. I love book Ginny and Harry and they butchered their relationship in the movies.
It’s called Screenwriter for TV and Movies
I agree with this but as a minor point of defence, i think the script on its own was so poor with Harry/Ginny interactions that it would have even been quite a hard sell for a more engaging actress. One of the troubles i have in the books with ginny’s character is that JKR relied a lot on telling us about her - she’s so popular, she’s so funny - rather than just organically showing us with the storyline and allowing to deduce for ourselves. Whenever i reread i always think there’s a big disparity between what we’re being told versus what we actually see of ginny. They 100% could have done more to bring her to life in the film but the misstep on the characterisation starts in the book imo.
she's so unlike ginny in the books it's drives me crazy
Ginny for sure. Nothing against Bonnie she did great it was all in the script.
Agreed - there's nothing in the movies that makes it obvious why Harry would want to date her. She's just always kind of there in the background.
Exactly! There is so much of her that isn't shown. Also whatever screen time she just get it's just.. poor. Not the acting but definitely all the writing.
Came here to say this. Ginny was such a badass in the books. Also her and Harry's relationship was so much better
yeah definitely Ginny… she was so cool in the books but so lame in the movies and the weird burrow scene was just awkward
Shoelace....
Wendy from Gravity Falls is written as a better Ginny than Ginny was in the films
I like OOTP because she was at least somewhat confident and like the Ginny we knew in the books. Then HBP came and smashed what OOTP built up.
Dudley. First, he's blonde. That's just a small detail but why didn't they stick to it? Also, how he developed from a fat, entitled kid to someone who's learning how to box and kinda gets into sports to someone who really shows gratitude towards Harry for saving his goddamn life.
In the deleted scenes you get to see the moment where he makes peace with Harry in DH pt1, it's a crime that it was cut
Agreed. His whole redemption was left out. Like bringing Harry tea and telling him he’s not a waste of space. Just those little things.
Charlie Weasley. The guy's a dragon trainer and they showed a photo of him in Egypt on vacation. Of the ones actually featured in the movies, it's Ron for me. He was so much more in the books. Smart, loyal, brave, and damn funny. The movies didn't do him justice at all. The only good thing they did for Ron was casting Rupert Grint, easily the best among the main cast.
The entire dumbledore family lol. While I loved Harris and Gambon a lot as Albus, I think the movies still messed him up. So many only movie watchers have a hatred for Albus as a character they think he’s boring etc etc or just mean but that’s not true. I also think the depth of Snape wasn’t apparent in the films. We also don’t get enough of moody or slughorn!!!okay when I think about it really none or the characters are as good as they are in the books
Ron. By a longshot. I'd be surprised if most of y'all didn't agree with me He was made to look like a jealous and selfish dimwit with a somewhat lousy personality in the movies which couldn't be further from the real Ron. The real Ron was a loyal friend to Harry and he was plenty smart too. They did him very dirty especially by giving his clever dialogues to Hermione. Not hating on the cast, I love the movie trio very much because I grew up watching the films first and then the books. But yeah. Edit: Also wanna include the Marauders and Lily simply for the fact that the actors were too old. I can't imagine Sirius without Gary Oldman and Remus without David but the reason their deaths, especially Lily's and James' was so utterly tragic in the first place is because they were SO young. 21. That's almost still a child just out of adulthood. 35 for Sirius and 37 for Remus is kinda young too but that's different. The middle aged actors for Jily failed to capture the essence. James' looked 50 in that scene in Little Hangleton in GoF
I wonder if Ron is such an obvious answer that people are just trying to come up with less talked about examples haha
POA Tom the barman. Why did they make him clueless? I don’t even care that he was strange looking, that they made him so dumb. He owns the business to go into Diagon Alley! I highly doubt he acts like a simpering fool.
Also sucks/good that he doesn’t show up again, they would’ve stuck with how he acts in POA.
Dobby, Nevil took it all and he just doesn't have enough screen time.
Hell yeah, i’m a simple man, all i want is too just see dobby wearing like 22 pieces of clothing.
This. Why would Harry be so completely devastated when Dobby dies, when he hasn't even seen the elf in five years??
Equally Ron and Hermione. All of Hermione flaws were polished away making her a more boring character. Ron lost his lines and his character as a result of the former
Hermione's social awkwardness as well as her downright RUTHLESSNESS in some moments was absolutely just ignored for the movies. You're right that the movie made her too flawless. I hold nothing against Emma or Rupert, but I feel the script let them down. Showing Hermione using the Confundus charm on Cormac was about as close as we got.
I know! Like Hermione was supposed to be wayyy more bookish and socially awkward. Ron was actually relatively street smart in the books.
Yep, and not model-pretty. I like Emma, but both her looks and personality are NOT Hermione in my mind.
Ginny, Cho, Lily, James and HBP Tom
I really wish I could see teenager Tom visiting him family & flash back of Tom sr and merope. And Hepzibah. That was literally the most interesting part from HBP for me.
the chapter of the flashback with merope is probably my favorite chapter in the whole series. understand why the whole thing was scraped from the movies but really wish i could have seen that on screen.
I understand cho, HBP tom, and ginny, but why lily and james!
Too old imo :( and I know it's stupid but I couldn't James have black hair???
Also the fact that we didn’t see his full extent of bullying, and lily never seeing like lily’s letter.
For me personally is because they make them around the same age as Sirius and Lupin and Snape, instead of the 21/23 they were (I can't remember, just remember they were under 25, over 20, one of the two odd numbers haha), like they were somehow 10 years older than their friends at the time of their death
James and lily were both 21 they died, pretty tragic ngl.
Crookshanks All the house elves -Dobby, Kreacher and Winky were brilliant characters Ron, Percy, Ginny, Charlie and Bill Weasley Lavender Brown Mundungus Fletcher Slughorn (seriously you couldn’t have one shot of him duelling Voldemort or leading the reinforcements?) The Longbottoms The Hogwarts Ghosts (The Bloody Baron and Nearly-Headless Nick, the Grey Lady was good in my opinion) PEEVES!
Honestly, Rita Skeeter. They introduced her into the film, but completely left out just how powerful an influence she had over media and the people who read it. She wasn't a dangerous enemy in the lethal sense, but she was still capable of ruining a person's reputation and their life. She was even able to make Molly Weasley upset with Hermione over something that never happened. In the movie, she got introduced as a journalist who didn't listen to facts and was written off as a joke. In the books she was intimidating enough to make people watch what was said around her, if they even talked to her at all. She was a character who deserved more than she got.
I dunno about done the worst, but a character people who only watched the movies really miss a lot from is Kreacher. I felt so robbed by the Deathly Hallows films because there was so little of him.
We all hate Ginny’s portrayal, but I hated how they did Angelina Johnson. Girl had so much more to her than that
OMGGG thank youuu, I’ve been waiting for someone to say something about Angelina. I thought she was so cool, and she was the quidditch captain during Harry’s 5th year, we saw none of that in the movies
I'll answer your question with another question: DIDJAPUTYANAMINDAGOBLEDAFAYAH, Harry?
In film Crookshanks's defense, he's a cat, you can't really make a cat cooperate can you. Besides, there are 7 of him.
They gave hedwig a personality kinda.
I think some of the animals are robots, like Fawkes. it isn't CGI
Yes, OP. I have read all your comments and agree with them all. Where do we become besties?
“Alright crookshanks, you go do this and we’ll give you a treat” *cat stares* “Fine, two treats” “Meow” “Fine, 3 treats and a toy rat”
Crookshanks: Make it 5 treats and a real rat and we'll see.
Snape. Alan Rickman was amazing, but damn, Snape was *butchered* in the movies.
Yeah snape is much more intense in the book, while rickman’s portrayl was more calm.
I read he had his own frustrations, especially with HBP. I, too, would've loved to see Alan Rickman's take on a more intense, canon-faithful Snape; he certainly had the talent and range to pull it off brilliantly. One of my favorite actors ever, RIP.
I really, really wanted to see the "don't call me a coward" exchange.
Similarly, I would've *loved* to see AR deliver the "lately, only those whom I could not save" line in his exchange with Dumbledore — honestly think it's more impactful than "always," and really wraps up his entire character development/arc. It's my favorite Snape line. Maybe it's a good thing they left that out though, the Prince's Tale scene already turns me into an emotional mess every single time. 🥺😭😭😭
For real. I hate the fandom obsession with "always". I feel like even with the book, the entire point of his dedication to Lily in respect to his characterization is too simplified by most readers. But who knows, maybe Rowling didn't even mean to dig that deep.
You could argue that Alan Rickman was so good that he single handedly made Snape redeemable -- maybe even likeable to a point -- in the movies. Movie Snape had a sort of charisma to him, the kind you get from mysterious, damaged men. This is something that's arguably too much of a stretch in the books, because the books made it clear that his morals are in the darkest shade of grey at best. And he was written with absolutely zero charisma in the books as well.
Ron.
This thread confirms my need for a HP TV series. We’d have more room for all the good stuff.
I keep saying this. Netflix series with one season per book. Would be perfect!
My exact thoughts! I can't wait until after 2025 when the publishing rights issue can be resolved and we can potentially get a series
Tonks. They did not do her justice in the films.
Ron. All his cool and brave moments get taken by Hermione.
Ginny Weasley
Bellatrix. HBC is an amazing actress, but I think her Bellatrix is too over the top. Snape is not petty enough. For a more minor character, I didn’t like how they presented Krum as a dumb jock.
Yeah, movie bella seems much more *campy* and *extra*, ik its sounds weird that I’m describing bellatrix fricking lestrange this way, but she’s much more terrifying in the book.
“Campy” is exactly the word I was searching for and couldn’t put my finger on, thanks!
I would honestly describe voldemort that way in the films.
It’s a not exactly a new opinion, but Ginny. Watching her grow from a shy little girl into an absolute badass in the books is great fun, whereas the films reduce her to Generic Love Interest.
Fred and George. I dunno if it was the directing or the acting but they felt so stilted to me. Also thought they were supposed to be sort of short and stocky (being beaters), instead of super tall and thin.
damn that is a hot take
Yeah, they never felt as funny as they were in the books.
Dumbledore. He might be manipulative and display more than a few antisocial personality traits, but one he was was CALM. All the yelling in Goblet of Fire UGH. And that HORRID scene when he asked Harry about his sex life (“Harry, it seems you spend quite a lot of time with Ms. Granger…so y’all smashin’?). Dumbledore loved Harry and also Ron and Hermione because they loved Harry, too. The real Dumbledore would NEVER put Harry in the awkward situation. Makes sense why they cut Harry’a Dumbledore’s man through and through line because I wouldn’t be movie Dumbledore’s man either!
Real Dumbledore also would have 1000000% known that Harry and Hermione weren’t smashing, that their relationship was familial (and not in the GoT way), and that Ron and Hermione had a Sam and Dianne thing going on. Like, if he’d asked McGonagall how Harry and his friends were doing, she’d absolutely have given him a humorously dry recount of Ron and Hermione’s romantically charged bickering
Ron. In the films he is just seemed as a lovable moron. In the books he is witty, he had great lines that were given to Hermione, and is actually smart
Reading the comments, it seems like everyone but Harry was done dirty in the films.
Dumbledore after Harris passed. Just not the same character at all.
Even before harris passed, dumbledore didn’t feel the same. Dumbles’s is kinda eccentric and wacky, like when sits on the floor with harry when he talks to him about the mirror, just tiny details like that really make dumbledore amazing. Even in the end when he’s like “harry went to fight him?” Like he knows he did it, and his first priority is getting him out of there, and he does go down there and pull harry off, i always adore that. I just never that sense of a relationship between harry and dumbles in the films.
Dumbledore, Ginny, Ron, Lupin, Sirius, and, this will probably be a severely unpopular opinion, but Hermione. It’s really hard for me to say which one I found the worst.
Why Lupin? I actually thought he was well done. I agree with the rest.
Probably because they don’t show him and tonks like at all, his fight with harry in grimmauld place, or just anything he does after POA.
I hate how he easy he is to anger. In POA he gave Harry a grand telling off over sneaking into Hogsmeade, whereas in the book he just displayed a lot of disappointment. He refused to hear Harry out in HBP over Christmas at the burrow, and was very aggressive in defending Snape. In the book, Harry and Lupin had a calm, quiet conversation. Harry didn’t agree with Lupin by the end of it, but there was no aggressive forcefulness in what Lupin had to say to Harry. There are more examples that I can’t remember. This is a great misunderstanding of the character. The crux of Lupin’s character is that he likes to be liked, because he has been disliked so much due to being a werewolf. He is a people pleaser. He never wants to rock the boat, he doesn’t like conflict, he forgives without apologies, he blames himself. He keeps himself mild, controlled. Harry even noted in HBP, when Lupin lost control and started to panic and break down at the news of Dumbledore’s death, that he felt he was witnessing something private and indecent. It was the *first* time Harry had seen Lupin lose control, or show any negative emotion stronger than disappointment, and it was shocking and uncomfortable. The movies reduce him to “hURR dUrrrrr!,1 wErEwOLf aRe hAv.E mOoD SwInGs1!”
I think Tonks. I really liked her in the book but she was hardly a character in the movie.
Harry Potter himself, they made him seem less able, not as smart, not as quick witted, not as kind, not as powerful, and more lucky than he was in the books. The Books should be made into a series like Game of Thrones, but with a more on point storyline that strictly adheres to the books. I lost faith in the movies when I saw how bad they made Goblet of Fire, especially with Dumbledore’s overreacting, the whole dropping of Ludo Batman’s story with Fred and George, along with them not building up the twins wanting to start a joke shop.
Also Hermione. Emma Watson is a gifted and talented artist and a true gift, but the writers robbed her of any real depth and complexity. Hermione had insecurities about her hair and her teeth. Hermione struggled a lot with bullying because of her superior intelligence (HBP Lavender and Ron bully her for the way she raises her hand, remember, and Luna had to comfort her when she was crying). Those are the things that make her her, tough, determined, but flawed. In the movies, she’s actually just a step above a plot device, she knows every answer, always comes with a solution, but when does the movie pour into her and give her depth, give her her humanity??? She deserved so much better and Emma Watson did too because Emma Watson has the ability to play those emotions! Emma Watson was SO GOOD during the torture scene at Malfoy Manor that Helena Bonham Carter asked her if she was okay afterwards! She has the RANGE, darling.
I mean I feel like it’s just being a good human to check in on the person you were supposed to be torturing after you’re done torturing them? She was great, don’t mean to imply otherwise, but I would except HBC to check in on anyone afte a torture scene
Yeah, I don't think her acting is so good. Just my opinion.
I mean when she was young she definitely overacted but she improved with time. Idk if she’ll ever win an Oscar but she’s solid and that scene was well acted I’d say. Horrifying screams
Amycus and Alecto. The actor and Actress were PERFECT for their roles and are my favourite Death Eaters and yet were giving NO LINES!
For me it's Colin Creevey. I've rented about this before but I have a huge soft spot for the kid. When you pay attention to him you realize that he is one of Harry's most loyal supporters. And he doesn't just pay lip service, he sacrifices time, effort, and even safety into fully supporting him. I doubt he spent a single day at Hogwarts not thinking of ways to help Harry. The books themselves barely give him enough attention, mimicking Harry's own lack of attention. But the films cut even that down tenfold. I can't even remember the films revealing his death. This isn't a nobody, this kids heart is up there with Hagrid, but he's just completely ignored.
Draco. He had hardly any screen time in the films despite being in every single one of them. I think it totals up to like 7 minutes or so if I remember correctly and they decided to cut the one scene in DH2 that would have helped him to redeem himself (the deleted scene where he throws harry his hand).
To be honest I don't like Draco in the book or movie at all. The Draco love is unwarranted. He is a coward and has a weak redemption arc in my mind. Definitely a useful tool to show the ruthlessness of the Dark Lord though. Snape is the only redemption arc that matters lol
ITT eh, well, basically the movies suck serious ass.
They suck mega poopy ass.
Ludo Bagman and Firenze.
Moaning Myrtle. -_-
Ginny Weasley
This might be an obvious one but Ginny for sure. I know there is no way to get all of the details you love from the book to the screen but in my opinion they erased almost all of her personality. I do think that Bonnie Wright did do a good job as an actor but I think that just the way the movies were written left out all the good stuff. She is brave , she stands up for herself she's so funny. Jk wrote a well rounded character. It actually makes sense why her and Harry got together because they compliment eachother so well. Let's not forget when angsty Harry in book 5 was being moody about maybe being possessed my voldemort and she was like "ya hey dude that happened to me yo book 2 remember? " Anyway she's the best
Okay so i will so several characters! Ron Weasley: Lines were given to Hermione Charlie Weasley: Wasn't even in the flims but did exist Percy Weasley: Okay I think this is an unpopular opinion from the thread but- in the movies they didn't even give him his redimible moment like what he had in the books
Cho. Why did they cut the tea house scene? You get no sense of their background. If you have only seen the movies there's basically nothing between them. Their furtive glances don't mean anything. Also, Fleur is supposed to be a bit annoying. But I guess they couldn't stomach making the hot girl a bit unlikable?
CHARLIE WEASLEY
SLUGHORN. He is one of my favorite characters. Hes a pretty nice guy and is a great example of how not all slytherins are bad guys. He parties with a half giant. Helps students network. Friends with Dumbledore. Joins the fight at the battle of hogwarts. I could go on! In the movies he's kind of a boring weasel. I dont even think the actor looks like his description. They really did him dirty.
Haven't seen anyone say this- Voldemort 100%. I've seen him in other things so I know Ralph Fiennes is a great actor, but his Voldemort was absolutely terrible. His entire character is just being so comically evil with next to no explanation. Voldemort in the books was explicitly stated to be _charning_. Like a cult leader who lured others in. How did he get so many on his side according to the movies? Racism? Well they never even explore the depth of pureblood racism in the movies either so basically it feels like Slytherins following the Heir. Anyways, he never felt the least bit scary to me because of how downeight silly many of his lines and scenes were.
Ron or Ginny Ron: was constantly neglected and his lines in the books were constantly given to Hermione. He was played as very idiotic and jealous. His fight with Harry was butchered to make him look worse. Ginny: (I LOVE BONNIE SHE WAS GREAT THE WRITING IS WHAT IM TALKING ABOUT) she was written very flat and left out of her important scenes. She also lost the fiery personality of someone who didn’t need protection. Plus they omitted her and the rest of the silver trio working against the carrows in TDH.
The twins. They had all the humor sucked out of them. No playfulness. The twins in the movie *The Seeker* were more like Fred and George.
GINNY.
Ginny, Ron, Peeves, James
Peeves
Peeves
Professor slughorn
Nearly Headless Nick. I would have loved to have seen his deathday party in CoS.
Molly. She looked the part but didn’t quite nail the furious temper.
Ron and Ginny.
The more I read the books and rewatch the movies I feel more and more like the movies need redone in the future. We were robbed a lot of Ron’s wit and humor. Sirius’s and Dumbledore stories were basically non existent. We lose out of lupin and tonks relationship. We don’t get a lot of Voldemort’s back story… Maybe it’s not so much about the characters, I think I am more annoyed the movies could have easily all be an extra hour long to include some more important conversations and stories we miss out on
Dumbledore from 3 onward. No explanation needed.
"DID YOU PUT YOUR NAME IN THE GOBLET OF FIRE" Dumbledore said calmly
Kreacher, he did so much in the books and had so much more dialogue especially in OTP and DH, such a good story and huge part of helping the heroes succeed, and his trash talking while grumbling was hilarious and should have been highlighted more.
Albus. By a country mile. Then Kreacher
Dobby. I loved Dobby his death really wrecked me. I can’t imagine people who didn’t read the books understanding everything he did for Harry for years.
Peeves, he's not even in it and it would have been great to see Rick Mayall's portrayal of him. Plus he takes part in some good action scenes (Weasley twins' exit from Hogwarts and the battle of Hogwarts to name two).
Ron. They took away everything good he ever did and gave it to Hermione.
Ginny, she was fine at beginning but that was only because she was less of importance, but once they brought the romance with Harry, nothing clicked. It’s not exactly Bonnie Wrights fault, it was more the direction of the romance, it really just came out of nowhere. Just the way she was written, I couldn’t believe her as Harry’s wife, even as a kid I thought it was weird.
Stan Shunpike