Some of them weren’t even shown.
Filming a book is even more difficult than making a film based on your own script. The director and the studio need to cut pieces of the finished work so as not to distort the idea and at the same time bring something of their own. It is even more difficult for those who film unfinished series of books. Well, how did Chris Columbus know that Ginny would become Harry Potter’s wife when he first showed her in Philosopher’s Stone?
However, this is not a reason to ignore hack-work in films. Yes, not all the characters in the books need to be shown in the movies — but since you have added them, then please make the hero a personality.
We talk about the heroes of «Harry Potter» who suffered the most from the directors and the Warner Brothers studio.
Tonks is a charismatic character in books and a dummy in films.
Nymphadora Tonks is a miracle in the Order of the Phoenix book, and her death at the Battle of Hogwarts seems like real grief. None of this is in the film adaptation, where Tonks is the heroine of the fifth plan, who makes funny faces in one film and lies dead in the last one.
In the books, she is a rare non-conformist with punk leanings in the wizarding world. And her rare gift for metamorphoses is a hint of a very lively and mobile psyche. For example, her gaiety and ability to shape-shift nearly disappear when she has an unrequited crush on Lupin.
And in general, the history of the relationship between two werewolves, for one of whom it is fun, and for the other a serious illness, is a very interesting psychological find by Rowling. As well as the dilemma of whether such people have the right to have children. And what a beautiful scene where Harry forces Remus to take responsibility for the baby instead of running away like a coward.
«The Deathly Hallows» was divided into two parts, but there was not enough time for the history of the Dumbledore family
It’s truly unforgivable that director David Yates managed to cut out the story of Aberforth and Albus Dumbledore. But not the longest book was divided into two films! Harry’s key conflict in Deathly Hallows is that he knew next to nothing about the mentor’s life and blindly believed him.
In the books, it turns out that Dumbledore was not just imperfect — his actions are terribly ambitious. He easily left his mentally ill sister with his mother and became interested in politics. He corresponded with Grindelwald and earned the fame of a young talent. The price for exorbitant ambition was the death of the wizard’s sister, Ariana. She died during the fight between Albus and his brother, Aberforth, who chose family instead of the path of glory.
In the book, Aberforth is not a typical faithless character who comes to the rescue of the heroes. He is a broken man: he gave up his career to take care of his sister, but did not save her from himself. Unlike Dumbledore, Aberforth did not find the strength to step over the tragedy and pulled away from the magical world. His confession to Harry at the end of the book is one of the key moments of the entire saga, which shows the real Dumbledore for the first time.
Charlie, Bill and Percy Weasley almost completely disappeared from the plot
Although no. All of the Weasley children should be at this point. Because Ron has become a goofy sidekick for comedic effect, the twins have become bit characters with no plot features, and Ginny has become a half-mute and faceless Harry fan who loves him because the writers said so.
But the rest of the Weasleys are not in the films at all. Percy lost the storyline in which he was on the side of Voldemort after the Death Eaters seized power, and chose between family and duty.
Bill appears for a couple of minutes throughout the saga to announce that he is marrying Fleur. The viewer does not get a story about their feelings, nor a conflict with Molly, who did not believe that a Veela could truly love her son. Mrs. Weasley was convinced of this only when Fleur saw her husband’s disfigured werewolf face and said that she would love him the same way, and her beauty would be enough for two of them.
Charlie was never shown in the movies at all. This is not to say that he had a very important role in history, but still in the book he fought in the Battle of Hogwarts and, along with the rest of the Weasleys, mourned the death of Fred.
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Winky’s story is painfully touching and completely changes Goblet of Fire.
The fourth part of «Harry Potter» is both my favorite book in the series and the movie that I can’t stand. Only the tournament’s trials, oversaturated with special effects, and scenes of teenage embarrassment, got into the film adaptation. All touching moments, message and moral dilemmas remained in the novel.
For example, Barty Crouch Sr. in the film is shown as an obsessive maniac who disappears somewhere until the middle of the story, and then dies at the hands of David Tennant. In the book, his character is revealed through his relationship with Crouch’s house elf, Winky.
Crouch Sr. does not consider Winky a person, humiliates and beats her. The poor elf obsequiously adores her master and mourns for him when he dies. Raised in slavery, Winky is going through a mental crisis — having gained freedom, she drinks to forget.
Winky’s story provides a context through which we understand so much about the wizarding world. For example, that the magicians from the ministry are capable of cruelty no less than the Death Eaters, if their hands are untied. Or that Crouch Jr. would not have fallen so low if he had not seen the example of his father.
By the way, along with Winky’s storyline, Hermione’s struggle for the rights of elves was also removed from the film. It was the suffering of Crouch Senior’s servant that prompted Granger to create the G.A.W.N.E. (Civic Association for the Restoration of Elven Independence). And it was Winky who was the most ardent opponent of Hermione’s initiatives. The example of the Winky tragedy shows how terrible slavery is. And how easy it is for even the most zealous defenders of the law to go astray if they, following it, forget about ethics and humanity.
Harry’s parents are flashback characters, not complex personalities
The functions of Lily and James in the films were reduced to extras from touching flashbacks. Along with the cut characters from the films, the most important scenes have also disappeared: for example, Lily’s meeting with Snape before studying at Hogwarts and James’ cruel actions.
From the movies, we don’t know much about the relationship of the four marauders, about how James and Lily fell in love with each other. And although the scenes with Harry’s parents are very touching, the films lose a lot because of how superficially their characters are conveyed.
Bonus: Great Characters Only a Mention Remains
Petunia. In the movies, Aunt Harry is a mischievous mop who is better than Vernon only in that she is less sadistic towards her nephew. In the books, her life was filled with guilt towards her sister, whom she loved but envied her magical abilities. In many ways, Petunia hates magic not because of stupid superstitions, but because she blames it for her sister’s death.
Zhou Chang. The level of romance between Harry and Chou in the movies is somewhere on par with Padmé and Anakin from the prequels. There was a fair amount of teenage awkwardness in the books, too, but Zhou’s character was far more complex. She liked Harry, but she felt guilty about the death of Cedric. In addition, all references to Quidditch were completely removed from the film, and after all, Harry and Chou were Seekers and competed in competitions.
Peeves and other ghosts. Ghosts in the movie «Harry Potter» turned out to be a vestige. They were briefly shown in the first parts, and then they forgot about them until the eighth, where the daughter of Candida Ravenclaw helped Harry find the diadem. It’s a shame that Peeves, the school’s poltergeist, who pissed off teachers and was Filch’s nemesis enemy, completely disappeared from the films. By the way, not so long ago, Chris Columbus said that the scenes with Peeves were filmed, but not included in the final version of the film. The director hopes they will be restored for an extended edition.
Filch The school caretaker isn’t that important to Potter’s story, but I never understood the idea of turning him into a grotesque clown in the later films. And I will never forgive David Yates for the scene with the pimples bursting into the camera lens.
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And which character from the books was undeservedly simplified in the cinema in your opinion?
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