15 Facts About The Harry Potter Films Fans Choose To Ignore
Unlike many other book-to-film adaptations, the Harry Potter movie series has won the approval of many fans. Not only are the films visually stunning, but they managed to capture the essence of the books, and deliver a story about good vs. evil, the way author J.K. Rowling intended. But as delighted as fans of the books are to see their favorite characters and locations coming to life on the screen, many have also noticed a few details about the films that don't sit so well. The Harry Potter movies are good, but they're not perfect.
One of the biggest problems when it comes time to adapt a beloved book series into a film series is choosing what to include and leave out-think how long the films would have been if the producers had tried to keep every detail from the books! While fans generally understand that there wasn't time for absolutely everything in the films, a lot feel that there were a few things left out which just should have been included. They've noticed strange character changes, and dare we say it, a few plot holes.
But because the films have brought so much happiness to fans in spite of all that, most don't kick up a fuss. Here are the things about the Harry Potter movies fans turn a blind eye to.
15 Dumbledore Is Super Unfair To The Other Students
Albus Dumbledore, the Headmaster of Hogwarts, is probably one of the most beloved characters in the series, and (spoiler alert!), we were hit hard when we lost him. He's pretty much an expert when it comes to dealing with Voldemort and guiding Harry and his friends along the right path, but fans have noticed that in actual fact, he's not as amazing where the other students are concerned. To say the very least, he plays favorites with Harry.
Take The Half-Blood Prince, for example. In this film, Draco Malfoy essentially spends the whole year trying to take the Headmaster out, and Dumbledore lets him continue because he knows he won't come close. But what about all the students who are hurt in these attempts? “Both Katie Bell and Ron came very close to perishing because of Draco's antics,” writes The Gamer. “Dumbledore was fully aware of this, yet never told Malfoy to stop.”
His refusal to deal with the Malfoy thing led to Death Eaters coming onto the grounds, so he has a lot to answer for. Nobody can deny that Dumbledore goes the full mile when it comes to protecting Harry Potter from harm, but you know, there are other students at Hogwarts too.
14 If Magic Was Real, Hogwarts Would Not Have Survived This Long
As far as Harry Potter fans are concerned, Hogwarts is a heaven on earth. It's the place we all anxiously waited to be accepted into on our eleventh birthdays and the place we still dream about catching a train to during our long, boring commutes to work. You can't argue with the fact that Hogwarts is a sanctuary, if for no other reason than for the long tables of steaming food it provides, but in reality, it probably would have been shut down by now. If magic and Hogwarts really did exist, the school would have been branded unsafe for students.
We know the lives of witches and wizards pose more threats than those of us muggles, but some pretty shady stuff goes down within the walls of that castle, even by magical standards. Fans have pointed out that students have lost their lives playing Quidditch, and before Year Two, a giant snake was casually living in a secret chamber of the school.
One of the very first things Dumbledore teaches Harry's first-year class is that the Forbidden Forest is off limits to all students, but soon enough, Harry and his friends (plus Malfoy) are taken there in the middle of the night for detention. As you do.
13 The Room Of Requirement Is Taken For Granted
One of the major blunders that fans have picked up on is the fact that the amazing Room of Requirement seems to be seriously underappreciated. For those who aren't familiar, the Room of Requirement is basically a huge room which gives you anything that you want, or require, as it were. Unlike Aladdin's Genie, there are no limits to what the room can and can't provide.
That's a pretty great room to have lying around, right? But the weird thing is everyone at Hogwarts kind of takes it for granted. It's only introduced to Harry in Year Five, but after that, he has endless uses for it, and he doesn't really do anything about it. As The Gamer pointed out, it would have really come in handy during the Battle of Hogwarts: “Once Voldemort's army attacks Hogwarts, why wasn't Harry's first move to move every student into the room of requirement, which could have been turned into an impenetrable fortress?”
Harry does enter the castle through the room for the battle but then does nothing else with it which could have made the whole fight against the Death Eaters much easier. If we had a Room of Requirement, rest assured we'd be using it every minute of every day.
12 The Films Portray James Potter In A Bad Light
We don't really get to see a lot of Harry's late father James Potter in the films, other than in a few flashbacks or when he appears as a ghostly form. Even though he's not heavily featured in the movies, those who haven't read the books come away with the feeling that he's kind of a mean guy. The flashbacks that are shown of James's life as a teenager at Hogwarts focus on the fact that he bullied Severus Snape. It's true that he isn't perfect, and does have a few things to answer to, but he makes up for them later on.
One of the things that the film doesn't portray is the fact that when Voldemort came to Godric's Hollow looking for the Potters, James actually tried to battle the dark wizard and protect his family. All we see is him lying lifeless on the floor, so viewers don't really get the sense that he gave his life trying to help his family, the way Lily did.
There are a lot of portrayals that the film does get right, but we can see how fans who have only watched the movies get the impression that James Potter was kind of a tool.
11 Lavender Brown's Appearance Changes Completely
Over the years during which the films were made, several characters were recast. Sometimes there was a good reason for this, and other times, it just confused everybody. One of the most controversial changes of actors was for the minor character of Lavender Brown. This is because not only was the actor portraying her changed, but her whole ethnicity was changed too.
Jennifer Smith initially played the Hogwarts student, though she didn't even get the chance to speak so few fans probably even noticed her. This was in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, where she's seen in the background of a class. In later years, her role becomes more important, as she becomes something of a love interest for Ron. But once her character does become more integral to the story, she transforms from a girl of color into a white girl, played by Jessie Cave.
“Apparently, there's no real reason as to why Smith was replaced by Cave,” explains Screen Rant. “When Jennifer Smith got the role in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, it wasn't even a speaking role. When it came time to give Lavender Brown a solid actor to portray her, casting directors thought that Cave was the best fit.”
10 Crabbe Just Disappears From Existence
Sometimes characters are recast, and other times, they're just eliminated from the script altogether. One of the most well-known cases of this happening in the Harry Potter movies is with Crabbe, one of Malfoy's goons. We get introduced to this student before we're even introduced to Malfoy in the first film (“This is Crabbe and Goyle, and I'm Malfoy. Draco Malfoy.”) so it's kind of hard to forget him. But it seems the filmmakers want us to do just that, because as the series progresses, Crabbe disappears and is replaced by Blaise Zabini, another Slytherin and one of Malfoy's other lackeys.
As it turns out, the producers had their hands tied with this one. Jamie Waylett, the actor who portrayed Crabbe, was arrested after growing some illegal substances at his mother's house, and for possessing a weapon. Following this, he was sent to a “young offender's institution” in England, which explains why he wasn't able to film. There were also rumors that Waylett had been a little rowdy on the set anyways, so the producers didn't want to go to the effort of trying to provide him a defense. After the London Riots of 2011, Waylett was sent to prison for two years for stealing and violent behavior.
9 What Happened To The Other Weasley Children?
There are just too many great characters in the Harry Potter universe to actually include them all in the films and do them all justice. That said, many fans believe that the Weasley family is the most important family in the story, so at the very least, all the children should have had their time on screen. Of course, we get Ron, Ginny, Fred, and George in abundance, but we see far less of the others. Charlie is only mentioned briefly, and we see a little bit of Bill.
The character of Percy featured in the first film, and viewers might have guessed how things were going to go with him from the way he acted like a pompous and power-hungry prefect. But other than very brief appearances, we don't really see him after that. In the books, we get a whole storyline of Percy betraying his family for the good of the Ministry of Magic, which adds another dynamic to the family.
“Harry's relationship with the Weasley family was focused on in the films. They became his family and he saw them in good times and in bad,” Screen Rant points out. “Not highlighting these missing Weasley children/moments was detrimental to the evolution of Harry's relationship with the family as a whole.”
8 Neville Isn't Nearly As Complex As He Is In The Books
Everybody loves Neville Longbottom, the kind-hearted fellow Gryffindor friend of Harry, Ron, and Hermione. In the films, we see him rise up to some brave moments, like when he tries to stand up to Harry and his friends in Year One and is taken down by Hermione. He changes a lot from being the shy little boy who's scared of his Gran, but in the movies, we don't find out half of what has happened in his life, or why he really lives with his Gran in the first place.
The books highlight that after being caught by Death Eaters, Neville's parents, Frank and Alice Longbottom, ended up permanently residing in St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries. In a way, he lost his parents because of Voldemort, the same way Harry did. The difference is that Neville isn't celebrated as a hero the way that Harry is.
As the books continue, Neville becomes more and more important, but we just don't get that sense from the films, since most of his background was cut. We get this was to save time, but still, poor Neville! He doesn't get the recognition he deserves from the magical community, so he should at least get it from the fans.
7 The Marauders Are So Much Older In The Movies
Another plotline that the films don't really get into is that of the Marauders, otherwise known as James Potter, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, and Peter Pettigrew. We are told that they made up the group and used their map to manipulate things in the castle, but this part of the movies can still be pretty confusing if you haven't read the books. One of the things about the Marauders that many fans take issue with (but still ignore) is that in the films, those who are left (Sirius, Remus, and Peter) are so much older than they would be in reality.
As Screen Rant explains, the time difference between Harry being at school and his father being at school means that the Marauders should still be relatively young by the time the story is set. But in the films, Sirius, Remus, and Peter are all quite a bit older than that. “Harry's parents were extremely young when he was born. That means that all of the Marauders should have been in their early to mid-thirties by the time Harry meets all of them.”
Perhaps one of the reasons that fans turn a blind eye to these guys being older when we meet them is because they're played by the truly magnificent actors David Thewlis, Gary Oldman, and Timothy Spall.
6 Harry Should Have Been Able To See The Thestrals In The Fourth Year, Not The Fifth Year
In Year Five, we first get to meet the Threstrals. These skeleton-like winged horses bring students to and from the station and the Hogwarts Express by drawing carriages. It's explained that if you've never seen someone lose their life, then you won't be able to see Threstrals. This is why Harry can't see them during his first four years of being at Hogwarts. In Year Four, he sees Cedric Diggory pass on, which is what leads him to finally be able to see them the next year.
But The Gamer explains that in actual fact, Harry should be able to see these creatures before Year Five. Really, he should be able to see them at the end of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, because this is the year where he first witnesses the loss of life firsthand. As always, the Threstrals draw the carriages from Hogwarts to the station, so Harry should be able to see them then. But we only get introduced to them the following year.
“Harry's temporary blindness might be excused as a matter of plot convenience,” writes The Gamer. It's not clear whether this was intentional because Harry hadn't fully absorbed what he saw, or whether it's just a tiny plot hole.
5 The Films Make No Mention Of S.P.E.W.
From the films alone, we do get the sense that Hermione Granger is a deeply good character who always thinks of others first. We can see she's kind and charitable. But we don't really get to understand the full extent of how charitable she is and the size to which her heart can expand, because the S.P.E.W. storyline is totally left out. In case you haven't read the books, S.P.E.W. is the Society for the Promotion of Elvish Welfare, and it's something that Hermione is pretty passionate about.
Hermione founds this society in the books after she observes some awful treatment of house-elves at the Quidditch World Cup. We know that house elves aren't treated properly by a lot of wizards from looking at the on-screen interactions between Dobby and Lucius Malfoy, but we don't realize that this is happening to many elves, and not just Dobby.
The films briefly highlight the concept behind the movement to gain equal rights for house elves, but we don't get to see Hermione being a true campaigner for equality. Again, this is most likely due to timing constraints, which is why a lot of fans are able to look the other way.
4 Moaning Myrtle Is Not Supposed To Be 37
All Harry Potter fans know the story of Moaning Myrtle. Myrtle was a student at Hogwarts when she retreated to the girls' bathroom to cry after being laughed at by her classmates. And when she emerged from the stall, she came face to face with the basilisk, which had been let out of the Chamber of Secrets. Staring directly into the eyes of the basilisk means an instant loss of life, which is what happened. Many ghosts inhabit the Hogwarts Castle, and Myrtle stays in the bathroom forever, moaning and crying and just being grim. We first meet her in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, when Harry and his friends are trying to brew Polyjuice Potion.
The only problem with the portrayal of Myrtle in the films is that she is played by the amazing actress Shirley Henderson. It's not that Henderson isn't talented; it's just that she was in her late 30s when she was cast. And as we know, Myrtle was a teenager when she saw the basilisk. The producers believed they could get away with it because, according to Screen Rant, the actress looked so young, was so little and played the part so well.
3 Peeves Doesn't Even Make It To The Films
There was one major character who was totally left out of the Harry Potter films, and even though he's not technically alive, fans still mourn his absence. Peeves is one of the ghosts floating through the halls in the books and is a pretty memorable character to totally exclude from the movies.
Originally, the filmmakers intended to include him and even hired Rik Mayall to portray him. But things turned sour once filming for the first movie started, and eventually, they decided to forget about Peeves and Mayall altogether. “According to Mayall himself, 'I got sent off the set because every time I tried to do a bit of acting, all the lads who were playing the school kids kept getting the giggles,'” reports Screen Rant. “He was eventually told to leave the set and was cut from the first movie because he wasn't working out. Producers needed to stay on schedule.”
We understand that trying to include the ghost would have been a challenge after that, but many fans just can't shake the feeling that something huge is missing when they watch a Hogwarts in which there is no Peeves floating around. Thank goodness we still got Nearly Headless Nick!
2 Michael Gambon's Portrayal Of Dumbledore Got A Little Confused When It Came To "The Goblet Of Fire"
Even if you haven't read the books, you've probably heard from fans who have strange Michael Gambon's portrayal of Dumbledore was at times, and particularly so in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. In the books, Dumbledore is described as always being calm and collected, and totally in control of himself. Even under pressure and stress, he doesn't lose his cool. But in the fourth film, he loses his cool majorly when he finds out that Harry's name has been spat out by the Goblet of Fire.
The books describe Dumbledore's reaction as calm and quiet. All he does is ask Harry if he put his own name in the Goblet while remaining very collected, but Gambon's portrayal is much more heated. He basically launches himself across the room and down Harry's throat to ask him the question, and it's so dramatically different to the Dumbledore we know in the books that we can't help feeling a little startled.
Many fans speculate that the major changes in Dumbledore's personality stem from the fact that the character had to be recast in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, after the initial actor, Richard Harris, passed away after Year Two.
1 Harry's Eye Color Isn't Right
One of the smallest and yet clearest details that the producers didn't carry on from the books was the color of Harry's eyes. Rowling describes Harry as having green eyes, to match his mother's eyes. Basically, everyone who meets Harry and who knew his mother tells him that he has his Lily's eyes. But Daniel Radcliffe's eyes are blue, and unfortunately, he wasn't able to wear contacts to match Harry's true description.
Radcliffe tried wearing contacts in initial screen tests, but they irritated his eyes too much. “It wasn't that he was just irritated by the contact lenses, but he was actually allergic to them,” explained Screen Rant. Producers tried to work through it even though Radcliffe's eyes were irritated.”And Harry isn't the only character who looks a little different in the films. Hermione is supposed to have bucked teeth and not be nearly so beautiful, but they had a hard time making Emma Watson look anything less than gorgeous. She did wear fake bucked teeth in the beginning, but they made her dialogue too difficult to understand.
The other odd thing about Harry's eye color is that it's even reinforced in the films that he has his mother's eyes. But when we see a young Lily in one of Snape's flashbacks, she's got brown eyes.
References: screenrant.com, thegamer.com, looper.com