Hey everyone,
Welcome to another installment of Harry Potter Theory. In today’s video, we’re going
to be, once again, comparing and contrasting the events of the Harry Potter Books and the
Harry Potter films. I’ve done quite a few of these videos recently, but most of them
are addressing specific characters- like Draco and Voldemort. This video, on the other hand,
will be taking a more general look at the differences between them. Today, I’m going
to be discussing 15 big things from the books that were completely omitted from the films.
Now, there were a LOT of aspects of the books omitted, so I certainly won’t be including
everything, but the one’s I’ve chosen here should definitely contain new information
for those that have only seen the films.
Without further ado, let’s get started.
1. Voldemort’s Death
Kicking things off in large fashion, we have Voldemort’s death.In the films, after Voldemort
is defeated by Harry at the end of the Battle of Hogwarts, his body seems to disintegrate
in to nothing. However, this does NOT happen in the books, and seemed to only be included
for dramatic effect. In the books, Voldemort simply simply collapsed on to the ground,
just like anyone else would. Incidentally Voldemort, who sought immortality for his
entire existence, truly died a mortal’s death.
2. The Mock Slytherin Song
The Sorting Hat’s song wasn’t the only song omitted from the films (and if you didn’t
know about that one, that’s an extra). In fact, another important song was omitted as
well- a song RE-created by Gryffindor students that was devised to mock Slytherin house and
their quidditch team. The song ‘"Weasley is Our King" was actually originally devised
by Slytherin students with the goal of mocking Ron- referring to him as their ‘king’
because of all of the goals that he let in as keeper. However, the song was eventually
used against them- and modified by the Gryffindor team in order to increase Ron’s confidence,
which , in turn, helped them to win the cup.
3. Marauders
The Marauders- a group of troublesome young boys who attended Hogwarts in the 1970s- was
comprised of Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, James Potter, and Peter Pettigrew- AKA Padfoot,
Moony, Prongs and Wormail. If you read the books, you’ll know about the Marauders,
but if you didn’t, then you probably don’t know much. In fact, the films never reveal
that all four boys learned to transform in to animals (became animagi) in order to make
Remus feel better, who was a werewolf.
4. SPEW
SPEW, aka the Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare, is an aspect of the books
that didn’t appear in the films AT ALL. In the books, Hermione embarks on a crusade
to ensure that house-elves, who are heavily mistreated, are saved. Hermione starts the
society after she sees Winky (an elf who isn’t in the films) being treated horribly. She
also took the time to read up on and understand the thousands of years of oppression that
they had gone through.
5. Petunia’s Rejection
Petunia Dursley, aka Petunia Evans, aka Harry’s horrible aunt, wasn’t always so horrible.
In 1971, however, her path of darkness began- as it was that year that Lily (her sister,
Harrys’ mum) received her letter to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. It was
a momentous occasion for the family- the youngest daughter of the Evans’ family was a witch!
When Petunia saw Lily receive her letter, she felt a rush of emotions - confusion, anger-
but most of all, jealousy, and despite not being magical, she felt compelled to write
a letter to none other than Albus Dumbledore. Hoping to be a part of the magical school
herself, Petunia stated her case to Dumbledore- and asked if she could study there with her
sister. However, given that Petunia was not magical in any way, Dumbledore had to politely
decline Petunia’s request.
6. Dobby Gave Harry Gillyweed
In the Goblet of Fire film, right before facing the second task, Neville Longbottom gives
him gillyweed- which allows him to breathe underwater. HOWEVER, in the books- though
Harry still gets gillyweed, it’s actually Dobby that gives it to him. Dobby obtained
the Gillyweed from Snape’s office after stealing it using his elfish magic.
7. The Elder Wand
At the end of the films, Harry stands amidst the rubble post Battle of Hogwarts, elder
wand in hand. In the very next moment, Harry snaps the elder wand in half, throwing the
broken pieces off the edge of the path. In the books, however, the elder wand has a different
fate- as Harry ends up laying the wand to rest in Dumbledore’s grave- reunited with
its old master.
8. Marietta Edgecombe
In the Order of the Phoenix, Harry and others form Dumbledore’s Army- a sort of rebellion
that challenged the tyrannical regime impressed upon Hogwarts by the ministry. It was a place
where students could properly learn how to defend themselves- that is, until they were
found out. In the films, Cho Chang is shown to be the reason for the group being exposed,
however, in the books it’s actually Cho’s best friend, Marietta Edgecombe, that rats
out the group.
9. Veela
In the Goblet of Fire, the students of Beauxbatons walk in to the Hogwarts Great Hall and create
quite the spectacle. The male student body is enamoured with the beauty of Fleur Delacour
and other female students- however, it’s never explained WHY. Well, the books DO explain
why- it’s because Fleur was a veela (one quarter anyway). The concept of a Veela isn’t
really touched on much in the film, but those who read the books know that Veelas are semi-human
magical beings resembling beautiful women with white-gold hair. Veelas are known to
enchant men in this form, however, when angry, Veela take on another, less pleasant appearance.
10. Harry and the Cruciatus Curse
After Hogwarts had been breached by Voldemort and the Death Eaters, it took on some new
staff- Amycus and Alecto Carrow. To say these professors were unpopular would be an understatement,
however-fortunately for Harry, he did get a chance to use the Cruciatus Curse on Amycus
Carrow. At one point, Voldemort sends Death Eaters to check on the Ravenclaw Tower. Amycus
was among the followers who demanded entry into the Tower from Professor McGonagall,
but when McGonagall called Amycus a coward, he spat right in her face, which Harry saw
first hand. Unable to contain himself, Harry slammed Amycus in to the wall and cast the
torture curse on him.
11. Rita Skeeter
Rita Skeeter, an infamous journalist who specialized in defamation pieces for the daily prophet,
wasn’t actually included much in the films- but we still got the sense that she was awful.
HOWEVER, in the books- more is revealed about Skeeter, like the fact that she was an animagus!
That’s right, Skeeter was able to transform in to a beetle, which allowed her to sneak
around and collect tons of juicy info.
12. Whomping Willow
The Whomping Willow is a staple of the Hogwarts grounds that’s featured in both the book
and film. In the film, Harry and Ron have a bit of an issue with it when Ron’s Flying
Ford Anglia is struck by the giant tree. However, beyond this, we don’t get a ton of info
on the Whomping Willow. In the books, it’s revealed that the tree was planted on the
grounds in order to cover up a secret passage leading from Hogwarts to the Shrieking Shack.
This allowed Remus Lupin to travel around unnoticed when he needed to transform.
13. Dumbledore’s Past
Dumbledore’s a Harry Potter staple, and we learn a lot about him in both the books
and films. However, what the films essentially gloss over entirely is Dumbledore’s backstory,
which includes his relationship with Grindelwald, the fatal incident involving his sister Ariana,
and his relationship with his brother Abeforth.
14. Voldemort’s Past
Just like Dumbledore, we see a lot of Voldemort in the books and films, however, we certainly
get to know him a lot better in the books. For the most part, the film’s gloss over
Voldemort’s backstory, like the fact that his mother Merope used a love potion on his
father Tom- which was actually the main reason for his inability to feel love.
15. Snowballs and Voldemort
Ending on a lighter note, in a scene that was omitted from the films, Fred and George
Weasley at one point in the Philosopher’s Stone enchanted a bunch of snowballs, which
they directed at the back of Quirrell’s head. I find this one hilarious, because as
is revealed later, that’s where Vodlemort’s face was!
And that’s it for this video! Did you watch the films first or read the books first? Comment
down below.
Until next time
Remember
The truth. It is a beautiful and terrible thing, and should therefore be treated with
great caution.