Why The Harry Potter Film Epilogue Never Stood A Chance
When Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 was filmed, the production team struggled with its famed “19 Years Later” epilogue.
After seven books, eight films, a theme park, and the creation of a veritable merchandising empire, you can hardly blame the Harry Potter production team for wanting to go out on a high note with the final installment of the beloved film franchise. But one final mountain loomed ominously before Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II could wrap: the dreaded epilogue.
This 19 years later segment closes the final Harry Potter book with Harry and company at Kings Cross, sending their own children to Hogwarts. In theory, it provides closure, a happy ending for Harry, and the satisfaction of continuity with another generation of witches and wizards off to school. In practice, it was an absolute beast to film. For one, no one knew the best approach to handle the hair or the makeup required to age the 20-something cast into believable 39-year-old parents of 11-year-olds.
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He Is Disloyal Towards Hagrid
Hagrid is there for Harry from the very beginning, providing him with respite from the arduous Dursleys. He is, if you will, the real OG.
The pair remain close for the first few movies, but Harry soon gets ideas above his station.
It could be said that Hagrid isnt that soundest of characters. Lets face it, he makes some pretty questionable decisions, including advising Harry to follow the spiders .
All the same, Hagrid always looks out for Harry and tries to make sure the boy wizard stays happy and healthy.
Yet how does Harry repay him? By naming his children after two rather dubious characters instead of the man who was basically responsible for making his early teens somewhat bearable.
He Stole A Lollipop From Neville Longbottoms Mouth
Harry uses his invisibility cloak to pull off all kinds of mischief, including sneaking into Hogsmeade.
The first time Harry pulls this trick, he emerges from the passage from Hogwarts into the cupboard of a sweet shop, Honeydukes.
Off Harry goes, most probably in search of Hermione and Ron, when he passes Neville enjoying a lollipop.
In an outrageous display of entitlement, Harry swipes said lollipop straight from Nevilles hand.
Not only is this incredibly disgusting and unhygienic, but it shows a complete lack of regard for poor old Neville, the real hero of the story.
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Being Annoying On Twitter
Perhaps the only thing more annoying than these little “fun facts” that she likes to drop on Twitter about her books is the fact that she never … stops … tweeting. She wants to interject herself into conversations about politics, movies, the environment, etc.
It’s getting obnoxious. Just stick to books, J.K., before it tarnishes the legacy of those books.
Chapter 1: The Very Secret Diary
- When Harry is viewing the memory from Tom Riddle’s diary, Tom Riddle says to Hagrid at one point, “The dead girl’s parents will be here tomorrow.” It is stated elsewhere in the book that Myrtle is Muggle-born. Muggles cannot enter Hogwarts. However, it is possible that an exception was made for them , or it could be that Tom simply assumed that Myrtle’s parents were wizards. Another possibility is that he may have been bluffing in order to scare Hagrid.
- Valentine’s Day in the book is depicted as a typical school day, albeit one where the cupid dressed dwarfs are interrupting classes. 14 February, 1993 was a Sunday, meaning there should have been no classes to interrupt.
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So What Happened To Those Who Didnt Read Harry Potter
Ive been reading Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone for the first time while working on this article. I know how the story goes, because by the time the movie series was reaching its conclusion, I was an adult and a working film critic, and I watched them all.
But Id never gotten around to the books, so now Ive read the first in the series. News flash: Its pretty delightful. I was surprised by the wit and by the clever characterizations, and I like the careful attention given to building out the world of both Muggles and wizards. I wouldnt say Im very invested in it, but its fun.
Would I have liked them if Id read them when they first came out? Probably. In 1998 I was 15, a hopeless bookworm who didnt watch many movies or TV shows but did read books like This Present Darkness. I had read and reread the Narnia series since I was in third or fourth grade, and I loved the movie versions that sometimes aired on PBS. I wasnt into fantasy all that much, but Harrys world feels enough like my own that I would have enjoyed them. And as a conservative Christian teenager, I probably would have found a lot to praise in them just like many others did.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
Chapter 1: Detention With Dolores
- Hermione hides some hats under garbage in the hopes that some house-elves will unwittingly pick them up and inadvertently free themselves. However, this shouldn’t work anyway. Even if house-elves can be freed simply by touching clothes of their own accord , Hermione has no power to free the Hogwarts house-elves, even if they wanted to be freed, as she is not their master, plus it’s unlikely that elves can be freed this way, as this would make them unable to do laundry for their masters. If anyone can give clothes to a house-elf to free them regardless of whether they own the elf, then why did Harry need to resort to the “slimy sock and book” ruse at the end of Chamber of Secrets to get Dobby freed? Couldn’t he have just given Dobby his own sock? And why didn’t the Death Eaters give clothes to Kreacher to free him when he left Grimmauld Place just before Christmas?
- It’s possible that Hermione may not know enough about how elf ownership works to be aware that her ruse wouldn’t work, although given the amount of research she did into the history of elf enslavement, there’s a good chance that she would’ve picked it up.
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But But Harry Potter Is So Popular You Say
Of course it is. Its a hugely creative world that allows readers to project their wish-fulfilment fantasies onto the bland main characters. How could that go wrong at a time when nothing else like it was even being written?
It was a trend that protagonists, especially young ones, needed to earn their power and place in the world. It turns out that all people want is to feel special, and simply being told you are the one, a magic hero, right from your birth and here is the magic letter to make it official, is a very appealing proposition to the little tyrants we all were.
Unfortunately, Rowling lost sight of this and I dare say her editor didnt have the power to stop her. So, gradually, her writing has become sloppy and fat to the point where her screenplays are bloated and confusing. If you can watch the Fantastic Beasts movie and tell me what the function of half the characters were to the plot, I retract every negative thing Ive said. You were right. Mea culpa.
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You know the one who made Luke meditate to death? Read Hogfather. Its got the single most perfect speech describing the human condition.
Christopher writes and facilitates for Writers Write. Follow him on Twitter:
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An excellent article that makes some good points. I never rated HP for quality of writing!
Fluffy’s Origin Story Is Wrong In The First Movie
After the kids discover Fluffy the massive three-headed dog tasked with guarding the Sorcerer’s Stone Hagrid tells them that he bought the creature from a “Greek chappie.”
This makes sense because Fluffy is believed to be inspired by Cerberus, a three-headed dog who guarded the gates of the underworld.
However, in the movie, Hagrid claims to have bought him from an “Irish feller.” The change isn’t huge, but it doesn’t make much sense either.
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Harry Potter And The Sorcerer’s Stone
While it may not be as flashy, refined, or impressive as the rest of the films in the franchise, Sorcerers Stone deserves immense credit for setting up this series so wonderfully, and laying a fantastic foundation off of which the other films could be built. Director Chris Columbus was not only responsible for putting together the incredible cast, but he also captured Rowlings wizarding world on film in a manner that felt relatable and wholly transfixing. Sorcerers Stone is told through the eyes of an 11-year-old, and so the film was always going to skew a bit younger than subsequent installments, but Columbus refuses to talk down to his audience and wisely sidesteps delving into cartoony kids movie land.
And even though its tonally the lightest film of the bunch, Sorcerers Stone still works wonderfully as a fantastic entry in the Potter franchise. The winning combination of charm and smarts permeates throughout, and Columbus nails the founding friendship of our three heroes, culminating in a grand finale that lets each one of them shine. Who can resist adorable Ron Weasley commanding a giant chess set with gusto as he sits atop a stone knight?
The Snitch Is A Terrible Mechanic
Imagine you’re watching a soccer or football game, cheering as your favorite team narrowly edges ahead. But right before the clock runs out, some bloke on the other team grabs a ball so tiny you never even saw it, and their squad wins for it. That’s what the Snitch does. Chasers and Keepers don’t matter unless your team can get ahead by more than 150 points, meaning you’ll win if either Seeker catches the Snitch. This can happen, but it’s so rare that it’s almost forgettable. How often does a soccer team get 16 goals ahead or a football team 16 touchdowns?
Thus, in the vast majority of matches, the Chasers, Keepers, and to an extent Beaters, are playing their own little effort-medal contest that won’t amount to anything, as the victor is determined solely by who catches the Snitch. It was an author cheat designed to make Harry’s position all the more crucial, but in truth, it just wouldn’t fly. In fact, real-life Quidditch teams scale the Snitch down to just 30 points, a fifth of what it was originally worth!
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Rule Breaking Is Okay
None of the conflicts wouldve been resolved had Harry been a nice boy who kept to his own business it was because he had no respect for the rules that he became successful. Harry wasnt shown bearing much of the consequences either, as he walked away on numerous occasions after attacking teachers or using the Unforgivable Curses.
Theres no question that the readers of the series were inclined to be more rebellious with their beliefs, as the main characters got to have their way by overlooking the rules. Kids can definitely assume themselves to be right when they see their favorite fandom promotes this way of thinking.
Subsequent Harry Potter Publications
Rowling has said it is unlikely she will write any more books in the Harry Potter series. In October 2007, she stated that her future work was unlikely to be in the fantasy genre. On 1 October 2010, in an interview with , Rowling stated a new book on the saga might happen.
In 2007, Rowling stated that she planned to write an encyclopaedia of Harry Potter‘s consisting of various unpublished material and notes. Any profits from such a book would be given to charity. During a news conference at Hollywood’s in 2007, Rowling, when asked how the encyclopaedia was coming along, said, “It’s not coming along, and I haven’t started writing it. I never said it was the next thing I’d do.” At the end of 2007, Rowling said that the encyclopaedia could take up to ten years to complete.
In June 2011, Rowling announced that future Harry Potter projects, and all electronic downloads, would be concentrated in a new website, called . The site includes 18,000 words of information on characters, places and objects in the Harry Potter universe.
In October 2015, Rowling announced via Pottermore that a two-part play she had co-authored with playwrights Jack Thorne and John Tiffany, , was the “eighth Harry Potter story” and that it would focus on the life of Harry Potter’s youngest son Albus after the epilogue of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. On 28 October 2015, the first round of tickets went on sale and sold out in several hours.
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Chapter : The Midnight Duel
- Fred tells Harry that the Gryffindor Quidditch team hadn’t won a championship “since Charlie left“. Charlie attended Hogwarts from 1984–1991, and so had only just graduated as Harry arrived Harry filled the seeker vacancy left by Charlie. It is a strange way to put it since no time had really passed since Charlie left, though Fred is still telling the truth as they hadn’t won since 1986 which is when Charlie attended. It is possible Charlie, while still at school, had left the Quidditch team a few years before actually leaving Hogwarts.
He Was Pretty Ungrateful
Do you guys remember Hagrid? Hagrid was nothing but utterly devoted to Harry and his friends, going above and beyond to care for Harry. Heck, let’s talk about Arthur, a man who did not have much to share, but went out of his way to share what he had with Harry â even when it almost cost him his life. At the end of the day, who did Harry name is youngest son after? A headmaster who used him as a pawn in a grander game, and a dude who really only vaguely helped him because he had the hots for Harry’s mom. Okay, it makes sense that he might not honor his current father-in-law due to the idea that maybe Ron would or due to the fact that he probably thought it was an honor enough that he married his daughter. But what about Hagrid?
It goes deeper than that. As a child Harry loved Hagrid, visiting him any chance he got. But as he grew up, he sort of shed his devoted guardian. Did Harry bother to help Hagrid with Buckbeak’s trial? Did he ever once go and visit Grawp after Hagrid asked him to? Did he bother to warn Hagrid that he wasn’t going to take Care of Magical Creatures anymore? No. Once he no longer really needed Hagrid, he basically stopped caring. This was the man who cradled Harry as a baby in Sirius’ flying motorcycle, who cried at the notion of leaving poor Harry on the steps of the Dursleys… what thanks did Hagrid get?
Image: Warner Bros, Giphy
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Religious Debates Over The Harry Potter Series
Religious debates over the Harry Potter series of books by J. K. Rowling are based on claims that the novels contain occult or Satanic subtexts. A number of Protestant, Catholic, and OrthodoxChristians have argued against the series, as have some Shia and Sunni Muslims. Supporters of the series have said that the magic in Harry Potter bears little resemblance to occultism, being more in the vein of fairy tales such as Cinderella and Snow White, or to the works of C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien, both of whom are known for writing fantasy novels with Christian subtexts. Far from promoting a particular religion, some argue, the Harry Potter novels go out of their way to avoid discussing religion at all. However, the author of the series, J. K. Rowling, describes herself as a practising Christian, and many have noted the Christian references which she includes in the final novel Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.
In America, calls for the books to be banned from schools have led to legal challenges often on the grounds that witchcraft is a government-recognised religion and that to allow the books to be held in public schools violates the . The Orthodox church of Bulgaria and a diocese of the Orthodox Church of Greece have also campaigned against the series. The books have been banned from all schools in the United Arab Emirates.
He Was Given A Full Ride To An Amazing School And He Spent Half The Time Copying Off Of His Nerdy Friend
How many of you are still waiting for your Hogwarts letter? Don’t lie, I bet the answer is “every single one of you.” Hogwarts is essentially a dream come true for literally anyone. Every single subject you can study at Hogwarts is utterly fascinating. Charms? PLEASE. Transfiguration? Oh heck yeah. Care of Magical Creatures? Bring on the unicorns! Even History of Magic is more interesting than the most interesting non-magical class you have ever taken. If I went to Hogwarts I would be studying every day, doing extra credit, and thanking my lucky stars that I’m getting a world-class magical education, living in a castle, sleeping in a four-poster bed, and eating gourmet meals three times a day.
After a lifetime of neglect and sadness, what does Harry do when given the magical chance of a lifetime? He barely studies, opting instead to lean heavily on help from Hermione.
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