‘Why did they do that?’: Potterheads Discuss the Biggest Plot Changes From the Harry Potter Books to the Big Screen in a Heated Magical Debate

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Bar Mor Hazut • Senior Editor
Aug 15, 2024 11:30 AM EDT

Even though I read the Harry Potter books countless times, I decided to do something different in the most recent one. Usually, I read all 7 books, and then watch all 8 movies. This time around, I decided to watch each movie as soon as I finished the book it's based on. And let me tell you, it made me really mad about the films.

I know that it is practically impossible to shove a full book into a two-hour movie, and something is bound to get lost in the translation between the two, but some changes made absolutely no sense and were completely unnecessary. Not to mention that I have no idea how people who never read the books even managed to get anything out of the movies, as there are so many things that happened in the films with little to no explanation. 

That is why I tell people that I am actually excited about the upcoming HBO series because having a season to each book feels like a much more appropriate adaptation, and I look forward to seeing the wizarding world come to life in the way that it deserves.

If you want to read about more specific issues Potterheads had with the adaptation, scroll down to read this interesting discussion. After you are done, click here for another magical discussion about habits fans adopted from the wizarding world. 

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  • 01
    What changes from the books to the movies bugged you the most?
    via u/GloomyAd6288
  • 02
    I'm not talking about things that were omitted but rather events that were changed from the books to the movies.
    via u/GloomyAd6288
  • 03
    First that comes to mind for me is Voldermort's doth. The impact of him just being a Copse and a human in the end of it all was totally lost with him flaking off and disappearing.
    via u/GloomyAd6288
  • 04
    RenChepman The way Doth Eaters do the apparition. In the movies it's literally flying. It makes me wonder why do they even need broomsticks.
    via u/RenChepman
  • 05
    ThrowingWine Hufflepuff Has to be the Burrow burning scene from HBP. It made absolutely no sense and then it was magically restored? If it was burned using dark magic one would assume it couldn't just be restored like that. Annoys me so much!
    via u/ThrowingWine
  • 06
    GaviFromThePod The removal of the mystery from goblet of fire, the removal of most of the voldemort backstory from half blood prince, and the changes to horcruxes that was in the 7th movie.
    via u/GaviFromThePod
  • 07
    GloomyAd6288 OP Slytherin Absolutely. The fact that none of Voldemorts backstory other than the memories at the orphanage and with Slughorn were included in the movies was a terrible decision. Sometimes I wonder how anyone who hadn't read the books could make sense of the story from OOTP and onwards.
    via u/GloomyAd6288
  • 08
    LerasiumMistborn Hufflepuff Harry doesn't fix his broken wand. He also doesn't put elder wand back in dumbeldores grave Harry hides and silently watches how Draco threatens to k❤ Dumbledore Sirius mirror fiasco
    via u/LerasiumMistborn
  • 09
    AHOY GandalfTheJaded Ravenclaw Generally speaking, giving Ron's moments of brilliance to someone else and having him be mostly comic relief. Ron may not have been as book smart as Hermione but he was far from stupid.
    via u/GandalfTheJaded
  • 10
    ANO WagnersRing Ron teaches Harry AND Hermione so much about the wizarding world, since they were both new to it. Hermione read up on it, but doesn't have the experience Ron does. That's never shown in the films.
    via u/WagnersRing
  • 11
    SamuliK96 Ravenclaw Voldemort and Harry's final battle, burning the burrow, Dumbledore was supposed to be calm, the aging up of marauders etc., and I maybe would've wanted to see unconscious Snape hitting his head to the ceiling of the tunnel
    via u/SamuliK96
  • 12
    below the whomping willow. Also in PoA when Snape called Hermione insufferable, Ron wasn't supposed to agree. I bet there's plenty of other stuff that I just can't remember on the top of my head.
    via u/SamuliK96
  • 13
    mrrcliff2 The aging up of the Marauders makes me unreasonably mad. There's something so hauntingly tragic about Lily and James dong at such a young age and for the only pictures Harry has of his parents are them looking so young. And for
    via u/mrrcliff2
  • 14
    Sirius to have spent all of his 20s in Azkaban that when he gets out he's still so young and hasn't really had the chance to grow up. idk it hits different having them young as opposed to middle aged.
    via u/mrrcliff2
  • 15
    Dazzling_Candle_2607 Ginny Weasley!
    via u/Dazzling_Candle_2607
  • 16
    Professional_Key7851 Centaurs looking like savage beasts instead of beautiful half men sages. The whole ugly savage beast look is cool and all but the centaurs in the Potterverse were supposed to be scholars and oracles, refined
    via u/Professional_Key7851
  • 17
    and "above" the other creatures of the forest as well as humans. In the book, Firenze was depicted as a beautiful blonde man and the students were gushing over him as their teacher.
    via u/Professional_Key7851
  • 18
    Bunghole2756 Gryffindor I hold an absurd amount of hate for the dumb who had Harry snap the Elder Wand and toss it off the bridge in DH2.
    via u/Bunghole2756
  • 19
    GreenEyes9678 Not explaining the significance of the Marauder's Map. Yeah, it's cool, but it's even COOLER that Sirius, James, Remus (and the rat ) made it during their days as students. That incredibly powerful, useful tool was made, at least in
    via u/GreenEyes9678
  • 20
    part, by the dad that Harry never got to know. Along with the fact that Prongs wasn't just his patronus, but he was also an animagus that could become a stag to support his werewolf friend. POA pied me off so much, but that was the worst part.
    via u/GreenEyes9678
  • 21
    Clearin Hufflepuff Not only did they not explain it, but the future movies just started casually calling the marauder's by their nicknames (mostly Wormtail) like it was common knowledge. Which, for book readers it was, but for film viewers this was brand new information.
    via u/Clearin
  • 22
    SadlyNotDanny DeVito I said it a 1000 times, and I'm gonna say it a 1000 times more: making Beauxbatons an all girls school completely undermines how big it is that Fleur is being chosen as triwizard champion.
    via u/SadlyNotDanny
  • 23
    Pale_Sheet Ravenclaw No peeves
    via u/Pale_Sheet
  • 24
    spiderknight616 Expillearmus doing something different every time it's used
    via u/spiderknight616
  • 25
    paoloposo Us not getting to see the Quidditch World Cup grand final and that they merged Bagman and Crouch into a single character.
    via u/
  • 26
    MegaStifi "Harry, did you put your name in the Goblet of Fire?" vs. "HARRY DID YOU PUT YOUR NAME IN THE GOBLET OF FIRE?"
    via u/MegaStifi

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wand geek hogwarts students Harry Potter voldemort hermione granger horcrux discussion owls entertaining magical hedwig Ron Weasley Dobby potterhead reddit thread Reddit Hogwarts
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