Hey everyone,
Welcome to another installment of Harry Potter Theory.
In today’s video, we’re going to be tackling quite a controversial topic: The Harry Potter
films VS the Harry Potter books.
Now- I was first exposed to the books, they were the first thing that I knew of Harry
Potter- and I think that the general consensus among Harry Potter fans is that the books
are superior- mainly because they have so much more detail- they’re the original story.
The films, on the other hand, took some liberties- some characters looked and even acted differently,
plot points were omitted, and overall- they were just much more condensed.
But, what did you expect?
6 hour long movies?
I LOVE the Harry Potter films- I think they’re great, and while the books did a lot of things
better, and are-in my opinion-superior, it doesn’t mean that there aren’t things
that the FILMS did better than the books.
In today’s video, I’m going to be touching on 20 things that I FEEL the films did better
than the books.
For the die hard book fans, try to watch this one with an open mind.
This is going to be a mix of longer and shorter points, ranging from single lines/moments
that were included/excluded- all the way to major shifts in the way that the films turned
out.
Without further ado, let’s get started:
Hermione Punching Malfoy
In the Prisoner of Azkaban, Hagrid’s pet Buckbeak is at one stage sentenced to death.
Malfoy’s response to this tragic sentencing is to mock Hagrid- who was crushed after hearing
the news.
In the book, Harry, Ron and Hermione all try to get to Malfoy to smack him, but Hermione
gets there first and slaps him across the face.
In the film, however, Hermione sticks her wand in to his neck, and ends up punching
him shortly after.
Omission of Quidditch
Quidditch is a great game, and certainly an integral part of the Harry Potter Story.
However, it does seem to pop up quite often, and I’m not sure that it would have done
the films justice to show us quidditch match after quidditch match.
What the films did wonderfully was show JUST enough quidditch to keep us interested, but
not so much that it became monotonous.
In order to achieve this, certain Quidditch scenes were cut- and I think that this was
a good call.
Comic Relief
At the end of the day even a story like Harry Potter, where the stakes are so high (like
the sanctity of the entire wizarding world), comic relief is certainly needed.
One thing that I feel the films did particularly well was pick and choose WHEN a moment of
humour was appropriate.
One of my favourite examples of this was when Harry drank Felix Felicis.
Mirror of Erised
In the Philosopher’s Stone, Harry first encounters The Mirror of Erised- a magical
mirror that shows us the ‘deepest, most desperate desire of our hearts.’
In the book, Harry sees his parents AND his grandparents, but in the film- Harry just
sees him and his parents.
I feel that this was a positive change, as it provided a more intimate glance in to the
longing that Harry felt for his parents.
Dobby’s Last Words Dobby- the loveable house elf that Harry grew
to care for over the course of the books and films, eventually dies after being struck
with a knife thrown by Bellatrix Lestrange.
In the book, Dobby’s last words were ‘Harry Potter’ mimicking his first ever words to
Harry, which made them fairly significant.
However, in the film, Dobby’s last words were much more heartbreaking, and I felt that
they were more impactful:“Such a beautiful place to be with friends.
Dobby is happy to be with his friend, Harry Potter.”
The Tale of the Deathly Hallows
The story of the Peverell brothers- Antioch, Cadmus and Ignotus- as well as the Deathly
Hallows, was in both the book and film.
It shows the brothers conquering death, obtaining the hallows, and later suffering their own
unique fates.
What the films did wonderfully here, however, was include animation to accompany the story-
in a style that emulated The Adventures of Prince Achmed- a 1926 animation by Lotte Reiniger.
In the film, Hermione reads the tale aloud to Ron, Harry and Xenophilius, and it gives
me chills every time I watch it.
The Sorting Hat
The Sorting Hat, known for sorting students in to their respective houses in both the
books AND films- is actually cut out a little bit from the films.
Here’s how- in the books, the Sorting Hat would sing a song at the start of every year.
The song- in essence- discusses the meaning of each house, and what being sorted in to
that house says about you.The song, though an integral part of the books, probably would
have been long and drawn out on the big screen, and I don’t think it was really that important.
A lot of you may not share my view on this point.
Burning of the Burrow
This scene actually didn’t occur in the books at all, and I think that it was a good
addition to the films.
The scene in question, the burning of the burrow, occurs at Christmas time, and outlines
the Death Eater’s attack on the Weasley’s home after the good guys had finished their
christmas supper.
This scene was effective in illustrating just how much power Voldemort and the Death Eaters
had at this stage.
Re-watchability
The books, though rich with detail and extra pieces of information, do actually require
a lot more time to consume.
This isn’t really a point for the films above the books, as they’re just different,
but I do appreciate how easy it is to pop on Harry Potter at the end of a long day and
absorb the whole thing.
Harry Encountering Snape
In the Deathly Hallows, Snape and McGonagall have an epic showdown.
However, this scene is quite different from book to film.
In the book, Harry remains under the invisibility cloak for the duration- but in the films,
Harry shows his face to Snape, entirely unafraid.
This gave Harry an opportunity to give Snape a piece of his mind, where he delivers some
of the most powerful lines from the film series:
“How dare you stand where he stood!
A man who trusted you Tell them how it happened that night.
Tell them how you looked him in the eye, and killed him.”
McGonagall and the Statues
When the Hogwarts professors and good guys are fortifying Hogwarts in advance of the
Death Eaters Attack, McGonagall casts a very cool looking spell called Piertotum Locomotor,
which animates the statues on the grounds- causing them to march off.
This happens in both the book and film, however- what the film ADDS is a humorous line from
McGonagall:
"I've always wanted to use that spell."
Eliminating S.P.E.W
SPEW, aka the Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare, is an aspect of the books
that didn’t appear in the films.
In the books, Hermione is on a veritable crusade to ensure that house-elves are saved.
Hermione starts the society after she sees Winky (an elf who isn’t in the films) being
mistreated.
I think that the films pretty clearly illustrate that house elves are mistreated, and I just
don’t think it would have made sense to include it- especially given how condensed
the films are.
The Casting
This is a bit of a cheap one, because obviously books don’t have casting- we’re just forced
to use our imaginations to create these characters in our minds.
However, with that said, I think that the casting for Harry Potter was absolutely incredible.
Hagrid, Snape, Dumbledore (both actors), Hermione, Harry, Draco- they were all PERFECTLY cast,
and-though my imagination did a pretty good job here, these actors were excellent.
I guess this isn’t really a point for how the movies are BETTER, but I think it’s
worth mentioning.
Holiday Ambiance The Harry Potter films, though appropriate
for ANY occasion in my mind, are particularly impactful at Christmas, and this is because
of the holiday ambiance that comes with them.
Filmmakers did a particularly good job at setting the scene for the holidays, through
music, set-creation and whatever else was involved in creating this magical holiday
environment.
Again, this is not necessarily a quip at the books, but just something the films did really
well.
Harry and Sirius
The story of the Marauders is more or less glossed over in the films- but that didn’t
stop filmmakers from independently introducing each of the Marauders, in their own capacity,
later in life.
This included Sirius Black, who forms a strong, believable bond with Harry over the course
of the films.
One big difference in their relationship, from book to film, however, is that in the
books Sirius never calls Harry ‘James’.
When Sirius calls Harry James (his fathers name) it illustrates just how much like his
father Harry had become- and it was certainly something that I appreciated.
Dumbledore and Voldemort’s Duel
Now, the epic showdown between Voldemort and Dumbledore inside the Ministry atrium is included
in both the book and the film.
It was a duel of epic proportions- good against evil, light against dark- and it totally overshadowed
all of the boring stalemates that Harry had with Voldemort.
Now, as wonderful as ‘describing’ a battle is, I think that this is the type of thing
that is better suited to the big screen.
It was an impressive looking duel with jets of green and red flying everywhere, and ended
up being the most impressive duel in the whole story.
As descriptive as a book can be, let’s be real- it was epic on screen.
Hedwig’s Sacrifice
During the Battle of the Seven Potters, the Order of the Phoenix are transporting Harry
from the Dursley residence- and they end up having to protect him from the Death Eaters.
In both the book and the film, Hedwig dies here, however- in the book Hedwig simply dies
in a cage by Harry’s side while riding on Hagrid’s motorcycle.
In the films, Hedwig’s death is more grandiose- as Hedwig ends up dying trying to protect
Harry- dying a hero’s death and inadvertently signifying the loss of innocence in the story.
Hermione Using Obliviate
Now, being Harry Potter’s best friend doesn’t come without risk, and certainly not in a
world with Voldemort.
This meant that, when the Death Eaters and Voldemort were rising to power, Hermione knew
that she would need to take action to ensure that her parents would remain safe.
This action ended up being ‘obliviating’ her parents- that is- wiping all memories
of her from their minds.
In the book, Hermione sort of mentions this in passing, but in the film- we’re provided
with an extremely, dark, depressing, dramatic scene- with Hermione aiming her wand at her
parents, uttering the words ‘obliviate’, and watching her face disappear from the family
portraits.
This was an EXCELLENT addition to the films.
The Battle of Hogwarts
The Battle of Hogwarts- the final showdown between the good and the bad guys- is in both
the Harry Potter books and films.
However, the book seems to focus quite a lot on Harry during the battle, and less on the
other characters.
What the film does well here is show us all of the other participants in the battle, and
what they got up to.
This provided us with some extra action, as well as a better perspective on the magnitude/scale
of the battle.
The Development of the Films
This is another one that isn’t necessarily a QUIP at the books, but instead praises the
films for something that they did well.
As time passed, as characters aged, and as stakes increased, the Harry Potter films underwent
a transformation that was evident from film to film.
The innocent, child-like first installment - the Philosopher’s Stone- gradually plunges
in to darkness, and we eventually end up with the extremely dark, serious Deathly Hallows
Pt 2- filled with heartbreak and turmoil.
Though the films were directed by a few different people, there was certainly an element of
continuity from film to film in this respect- and each director did a good job at slowly
setting a darker and darker tone.
That’s it for this video!
There are certainly more things, but here are 20 decent ones that stuck out to me.
What do YOU guys think?
What do YOU think the films did better than the books?
What did I miss?
Comment down below
Until next time
Remember
It is the quality of one's convictions that determines success, not the number of followers