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Are The Harry Potter Books Different From The Movies

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Interesting Statistics Or Facts Of Harry Potter Movie

Harry Potter: Biggest Differences Between The Books & Films

1) Harry Potter has been translated into 67 languages

2) The first three Harry Potter films were the highest-grossing films in history until Avatar surpassed them in 2009

3) The total cost of production for Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone was $63 million

4) In the Harry Potter movies, there are a total of 10 interesting statistics or facts that you might not know.

5) As of 2019, there have been a total of eight Harry Potter movie adaptations.

6) The first Harry Potter film was released in 2001 and the last one came out in 2011.

7) There have been six directors for the eight movies and Christopher Columbus is the only one who has directed both a Harry Potter movie and another blockbuster film.

8) In contrast to that, there have been two directors for just three of the eight movies: Alfonso Cuarón, David Yates, and Mike Newell.

9) The book has sold over 400 million copies worldwide, making it one of the best-selling books in history.

10) The film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone was released in 2001, grossing $379 million worldwide.

Harry Potter: 5 Ways The Books Are Better Than The Movies

I think we can all agree that while the Harry Potter movies do a great job of bringing J.K. Rowlings Wizarding World to life and adapting Harrys story for the big screen, the films dont fully capture the magic of the source material!

For our latest post on The Blog That Must Not Be Named, which also happens to be our very first post for the new year, were listing five ways the Harry Potter books are superior to the movies! While it would be easy to assume that this post is in some way attacking the Harry Potter movies, worry not fellow Potterheads, we will also be publishing our list of the five ways the Harry Potter films are better than the books.

Read our list below:

Differences Between The Harry Potter Books And Films That Got Fans Talking

Adapting any popular book series is a huge challenge, and when it came time to bring the Harry Potter books, written by J.K. Rowling, to the big screen, Warner Bros. had a herculean task before them. With a revolving door of directors that included Chris Columbus , Alfonso Cuarón , Mike Newell , and David Yates , the series cast Daniel Radcliffe as the young boy wizard destined for greatness, alongside Rupert Grint and Emma Watson as his best friends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, and a whole slate of venerated British actors.

However, when you consider how long and intricately plotted Rowling’s books were to begin with, it stands to reason that changes would be made from page to screen. Here are some of the biggest differences between the Harry Potter books and movies that really got fans talking.

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The Marauder’s Ages Are Quite Off

Throughout the entire film series, Harry sees frequent images of his late parents, James and Lily Potter, and even gets to meet their school friends Sirius, Lupin, and Pettigrew , giving him a glimpse into what their lives might have been like. However, his glimpses don’t make a ton of sense, in that all of the Marauders plus Lily are the wrong age.

James and Lily, who got married right after Hogwarts, were in their very early twenties when they died, but every time Harry sees their images, they look like they’re in their early forties. As for Lupin, Pettigrew, and Sirius, they’re all played by legendary British actors, but they’re also too old, since all of these people were in the same year at Hogwarts. This change might not seem important, but it takes away the added tragedy of how young James and Lily were when they were murdered.

The Tale Of The Three Brothers

Harry Potter Book vs Movie Differences

No matter how you put it, fantasy films tend to be exposition heavy. When it comes to world-building, theres a lot to catch an audience up on, whether it be about how exactly that boy lived or years of magical history.

So when it came time to depict The Tale of the Three Brothers, a childrens story about the creation of the Deathly Hollows, filmmakers took a far less traditional approach. Instead of a strict retelling, the story of three brothers and their the magical artifacts, including the much sought after Elder Wand, was revealed in an inspired animation sequence.

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The Rules Around Underage Magic Are Explained Better In The Books

After Dobby uses a hover charm in “Chamber of Secrets” to levitate and drop a dessert in the living room at the Dursley’s, Harry immediately receives a message reprimanding him for the use of underage magic in front of the whole family.

This scene was left out of the film, which makes it unclear how the Dursleys know that Harry isn’t allowed to use magic outside of school in the following movie.

What Is A Harry Potter Movie

Harry Potter is a series of books written by the British author J.K Rowling. The first book was published in 1997 and the last in 2007. The books chronicle the life of Harry Potter, a boy who discovers that he is a wizard and has to face various dangers while trying to learn more about his abilities and his past.

The Harry Potter movie franchise began with Philosophers Stone released on November 16th, 2001. The movie was directed by Chris Columbus, produced by David Heyman, shot by director of photography Eduardo Altena, edited by Chris Lebenzon, and scored by John Williams.

Harry Potter is a British-American fantasy film series based on the Harry Potter books by J. K. Rowling. The four films were directed by David Yates, written by Steve Kloves, and produced by David Heyman and David Barron.

The first installment of the series was released in 2001 to commercial success and critical acclaim, although it was a modest box office performer compared to its sequels. The films success led to eight sequels, two prequels, several video games, theme park attractions, and various merchandise spin-offs being released over the following ten years as well as an American re-release in July 2011 as part of Warner Bros.s 500th-anniversary celebration of Harry Potter worldwide cinematic release initiative.

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The Movies Eliminate Information

Speaking of cutting for time… the movies cut SO MUCH INFORMATION. I’m still peeved that the movies didn’t show Harry mending his wand with the elder wand, or Wormtail’s hand turning on him, or even Rita Skeeter as a beetle. The books have a much richer world because of all this extra information. Not only do these big events raise interesting and important themes, small details such as descriptions of Hogwarts make the book that much richer.

There’s A Connection Between The Wizarding World And The Muggle World According To The Books

Every Single Difference Between the Chamber of Secrets Book & Movie (Harry Potter Explained)

The first book hints that there’s some spillover from the Wizarding World to the Muggle World since Vernon Dursley sees people dressed in elaborate robes and overhears people on the street referencing the “Potters” and “Muggles.”

Even Sirius makes the Muggle news in “Prisoner of Azkaban” when he breaks out of the high-security wizard prison.

The “Half-Blood Prince” movie also leaves out an important scene where the Minister for Magic actually visits the British Prime Ministry to warn him about Voldemort’s rising power.

This connection isn’t really mentioned in the movies, except for a handful of scenes that show Death Eaters destroying London.

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The Films Never Really Explain What A Squib Is

In “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets,” readers learn something about the crotchety caretaker Mr. Filch that makes his character more sympathetic.

The book includes a scene where Harry finds a Kwikspell book, a beginner’s magic course for adults, in Filch’s office. He has the book because he’s a Squib, which is a non-magical person born to at least one magical parent.

This scene, and the explanation of a Squib as a whole, is completely left out of the movies leaving viewers to piece things together for themselves.

Additionally, after the Dementors attack Harry and Dudley in “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix,” Harry’s neighbor Arabella Figg shows up and reveals that she is also a Squib and has been watching over Harry on Dumbledore’s order.

Again, Squibs aren’t explained in the movies, so it’s very unclear to movie viewers why Harry’s non-magical neighbor has a relationship with Dumbledore or knowledge of the Wizarding World.

Rita Skeeter The Beetle

In Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, fans were introduced to Rita Skeeter, a sly, vicious, sometimes downright dishonest journalist known for trying to cause sensationalism with her stories. She could get information about anyone since she was an unregistered Animagus as discovered by Hermione, who later blackmailed Rita to keep her in check.

However, in the movie adaptation, it is never revealed she is an animagus, nor how she came to acquire information so easily. The movie fails to give an alternate explanation of how she was able to sneak around and spy on her subjects.

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The Heir Of Slytherin

  • In the film, Harry, shortly after Riddle rearranged his name to unveil his true identity as Lord Voldemort, explicitly states the latter’s the Heir of Slytherin. Harry does not do so in the book, though it was nonetheless made very clear what Riddle/Voldemort’s connection to the Heir of Slytherin was.
  • In the film, the Basilisk is seen chasing Harry all around the Chamber of Secrets whereas in the book, Harry’s fight against the Basilisk occurs quickly and neatly. In the book, Harry never climbs up the statue nor does he go into the statue.
  • In addition, Tom Riddle’s reaction throughout the fight in the film was significantly calmer compared to the book. In the film, outside of yelling “No!” in shock and stating that the Basilisk can still use its other senses , he does not react in any way to the Basilisk missing Harry. In the book, Tom Riddle is repeatedly yelling at the Basilisk to smell Harry when it is repeatedly missing Harry in their fight.
  • The film also has Riddle claiming that Harry Potter’s parseltongue abilities are of no use against the Basilisk, as it was specifically trained to only obey him, something that was not in the book .
  • In the book, after Fawkes had punctured the Basilisk’s eyes, Riddle stated that it can still smell Harry. In the film, Riddle stated that it can hear him.
  • In the book, pillars hold up the ceiling of the Chamber of Secrets. In the film, there is nothing to hold the ceiling up .
  • The Harry Potter Films Take Place In The 2000’s

    This is how different the

    The films, on the other hand, do not take place in the 1990s. While it is not specified in the dialogue of the first film, it can be inferred from the modern haircuts, technology, and a primary school certificate for Dudley Dursley that it takes place in the year 2001.

    The books and films take place from 1991-1998 and between 2001-2008, respectively, though it’s easy to get confused, considering the final book was released in 2007 and the final film in 2011.

    But there are plenty of debates online between fans who consider the films to have taken place in the same timeline as the books. One reddit user points out that in the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 graveyard scene, “Harry’s parents’ headstone still says they died in 1981” and another said that the movies also take place in ’90s, but it was “laziness” on the part of the filmmakers to include aspects of modern day.

    It would likely be easier for everyone if we had access to a time-turner.

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    The Sorting Ceremony Happens In A Different Order In The Sorcerer’s Stone Film

    In “Sorcerer’s Stone,” the first years are sorted alphabetically in the book, but they are sorted in a random order in the film.

    It would make sense if the filmmakers did this in an attempt to show our main characters back to back which still could’ve been done in alphabetical order to keep it consistent but the sorting appears to be completely random: Hermione Granger, Draco Malfoy, Susan Bones, Ronald Weasley, and Harry Potter.

    The rest of the sorting isn’t even shown in the film.

    The Pensieve Scenes Were Cut Down Quite A Bit

    In the “Half-Blood Prince” book, Harry and Dumbledore spend a lot of time observing memories through the Pensieve. The film cuts out most of these scenes, including the one that reveals that the Defense Against the Dark Arts position at Hogwarts was cursed.

    It turns out Tom Riddle wanted the position, and when Dumbledore aptly turned him down, he cursed the position. This explains why Hogwarts cycles through so many Defense Against the Dark Arts professors.

    Another trip to the Pensieve in the books focuses on Voldemort’s family history. We learn that Merope Gaunt, Tom’s mother, used a love potion to make a Muggle to fall for her.

    Because of this, their child grew up incapable of feeling actual love, which is an important detail left out of the movie that helps us understand how Tom was able to become the heartless villain Voldemort.

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    The Keeper Of The Keys

    • In the book, when Hagrid first met Harry on the island he knew who he was right away, while in the film Hagrid initially mistook Dudley for Harry until Dudley corrected him.
    • In the book, Vernon Dursley warns Dudley not to receive or eat anything that Hagrid gives him when he was making sausages for Harry. In the film, Vernon doesn’t mention this to Dudley, as Dudley is later seen eating some of Harry’s birthday cake, which Hagrid makes him stop by giving him the pig’s tail.
    • In the book, Hagrid grabs the gun and ties it into a knot. In the film he grabs the barrel of the gun and bends it upwards only. The film also has the gun discharging shortly afterward, something that never happens in the book.
    • In the book, Harry does not say “Thank you” to Hagrid when he gives him a birthday cake, but in the film, he does.
    • In the book, Hagrid immediately curses Dudley into getting a pig’s tail after the former threatened Uncle Vernon upon the latter insulting Dumbledore. In the film, he instead curses Dudley after noticing that the latter was eating Harry’s cake.
    • Hagrid never tells Harry about his being expelled from Hogwarts in the film.

    Harry Potter Books Vs Movies: Whats The Difference Best

    Every Single Difference Between the Philosopher’s Stone Book & Movie (Harry Potter Explained)

    The argument surrounding which is much better from these Harry Potter books and movies has raged on as the first movie hit cinemas in 2000.

    There are differences between both, together with many characters playing with a secondary or active function in the books, which are entirely omitted or mentioned only in the movies.

    Charles Weasley and Bertha Jorkins play a much more significant part in the literature than they do in the movie equivalent.

    Afterward, Harry Potter books vs movies: What is the difference? Reading to find out more.

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    The Boggart In The Wardrobe

    • In the book, Harry, Ron and Hermione make their way to Defence Against the Dark Arts class, when Hermione disappears but then reappears a few feet behind them. In the film, Harry and Ron are already in the classroom when Hermione appears during the lesson.
    • In the book, Parvati Patil’s boggart is a mummy in the film, it is a giant snake.
    • In the book, the Boggart which had transformed into a spider to scare Ron, loses its legs when Ron casts the spell on it and rolls over to Harry, where Lupin prevents it from transforming, while in the film Ron conjures some roller blades to appear on the spider’s legs, after which Parvati faced it, and it transformed into a massive serpent, but was again countered, after which it was faced by Harry, upon which it transformed into a Dementor, upon which Lupin stopped it and sealed it back into the cupboard.

    Harry Potter And The Order Of The Phoenix

    • Quidditch isnt featured in any way in the fifth movie, such as Ron being called keeper and Professor Umbridge banning Harry, Fred, and George from Quidditch. Ginny subsequently substituted Harry as a seeker.
    • Hagrid told Harry about Thestrals from the book, while Luna Lovegood failed at the film.
    • The movie does not demonstrate the full scope of Snapes worst memory, which included Lily Potter and the Marauders.
    • Even though Cho Chang spills the beans around Dumbledores Army from the film, Marietta Edgecombe is really from the book.
    • Harry goes on a date with Cho Chang from the publication, but not the film.
    • Ron and Hermione are prefects, although not in the film.
    • Its disclosed in the books, but not the films, that Professor Trelawneys prophecy concerning The Chosen One will conquer Voldemort born to people who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies might have been employed to Neville Longbottom.

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    Peeves The Poltergeist Is Nowhere To Be Found In The Films

    Arguably one of the most notable missing characters in the films is the mischievous poltergeist Peeves.

    All of Peeve’s scenes and big moments like attending Nearly Headless Nick’s Deathday Party, causing mayhem during Professor Umbridge’s time at Hogwarts, and defending the castle during the Battle of Hogwarts were cut out of the movies.

    According to The Independent, the character was originally supposed to appear in the films and he was played by late actor Rik Mayall. But even though scenes with Peeves were reportedly filmed for “Sorcerer’s Stone,” the poltergeist was cut from the movie and the series as a whole.

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