Hello there, fellow Potter heads.
We are here to talk about something very near and dear to our hearts: iconic moments from the books that were left out of the movies. There is no way to make us madder than a troll than to bring up characters like Peeves who never got their due in the film.
The AllEars team recently got to discussing what still makes us mad all these years later, and things got…heated.
Here are our top answers! Warning: you may also get retroactively angry reading this list.
Seven Iconic Harry Potter Moments We’re STILL Mad Were Left Out of the Movies
1. Percy’s Arc
First of all, we can all agree, Percy is pretty terrible. But you wouldn’t know just how terrible he is in the movies! He literally betrays his family for the Ministry of Magic, writes Ron to stop being friends with Harry and to stop trusting Dumbledore, and tells his wonderful father that he has no ambition and that’s why they’re poor.
BUTTTTT, he does have a redemption story! In the Deathly Hallows, Percy apologizes for being a “Ministry loving, family-disowning, power-hungry moron” as Fred calls it, and then fights alongside his family in the Battle of Hogwarts.
But in the films, we just see Percy be annoying (classic), and then keen watchers will notice he’s on the Ministry side in Order of the Phoenix when Fudge storms Dumbledore’s office. And that’s about it! We never get the drama, the torment it causes Mrs. Weasley, or — most importantly — the redemption.
2. The Marauders
The Marauders are arguably the BEST part of Prisoner of Azkaban, and while we get the Map in the film, we don’t get ANY explanation of who created it!
This is incredibly annoying for a few reasons:
1. It’s a huge plot hole! Lupin confiscates the Map from Harry and knows EXACTLY what it is, but it’s never explained how.
2. The connection between Harry’s patronus being a stag and his dad being a stag animagi is lost.
3. It’s such a cool story!!! To know that three underage wizards were able to achieve some of the most advanced magic and then run around the school with their werewolf friend?! THIS IS THE SPIN-OFF WE NEED, NOT FANTASTIC BEASTS.
3. Rita Skeeter’s Secrets
Speaking of unregistered animagi, we never find out Rita Skeeter’s big secret!
As you recall in Goblet of Fire, Rita always has the big scoop for her hot columns in the Daily Prophet. But it’s never revealed HOW she finds out all the salacious gossip!
In the books it’s revealed that she, too, is an unregistered animagi — a beetle in fact! She turns herself into a bug and places herself in ear’s reach of private conversations…literally “bugging” Harry, Hermione, Hagrid, and more! But we never see this in the movies, which also means we don’t get to watch Hermione figure it out, trap her in an unbreakable, and blackmail her to stop. Which, IMO, is one of Hermione’s finest character moments, truly taking her from know-it-all rule follower to an A+ sassy witch.
We also don’t get to see Rita interview Harry for the Quibbler about You-Know-Who’s return in Order of the Phoenix, but that’s a total other story, and this post would be 1000 items long if we listed EVERYTHING.
4. Peeves
“Peeves, who’s that?” – people who have only seen the movies
Peeves is the Hogwarts poltergeist, and he is a TROUBLEMAKER. He’s always pulling pranks and tormenting Filch, the caretaker. But without Peeves we miss out on a few iconic moments, namely:
1. When Professor McGonagall whispers to Peeves “it unscrews the other way” when he’s trying to unscrew a chandelier to mess with Umbridge.
2. When Fred and George dramatically fly out of the castle after tormenting Umbridge and say “Give her hell from us, Peeves!”, and he SALUTES THEM.
5. The Elder Wand
At the end of the Battle of Hogwarts in the movies, Harry just…BREAKS THE ELDER WAND.
This is just silliness. Now he has NO wand, considering he didn’t repair his phoenix-core wand first like he does in the books. He also lays the Elder Wand to rest with Dumbledore, which makes way more sense and is a nice moment of closure we don’t get from the films.
6. S.P.E.W
We don’t get to see any of Hermione’s efforts to free the house elves!
It’s some of Hermione’s finest moments, creating the Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare. Mostly, I wish we had S.P.E.W. to see sweet little Dobby wearing all of the hats Hermione knitted thinking she was freeing all of the elves. But also, it leads to great discussions about social hierarchy.
Also…we never even meet Winky, which is another loss… *must contain the list…must contain the list*
7. The Battle of Hogwarts
Okay, fine the Battle of Hogwarts does happen in the Deathly Hallows movie. But we don’t get several iconic moments!
We miss out on Harry doing the Cruciatus curse on Amycus Carrow to defend Professor McGonagall. We miss out on the return of iconic characters such as Oliver Wood and Charlie Weasley (who appears…barely…once in the whole film series. ugh.) We don’t see Luna helping former D.A. students cast their patronuses. We don’t get the thestrals and Buckbeak fighting off the giants. And possibly worst of all, we don’t get to see Kreacher lead the house-elves to battle shouting “”Fight! Fight for my master, the defender of the house-elves! Fight the Dark Lord, in the name of brave Regulus! Fight!”
But we do get a ridiculous face-morphing falling out a window scene with Harry and Voldemort and silly dusting, instead of his poetic normal man death. So…there’s that.
What Harry Potter moment are you still bitter was cut from the movies? Let us know in the comments!
Click Below to RTT Harry Potter Fans Hated These Changes in the Movies!
Join the AllEars.net Newsletter to stay on top of ALL the breaking Disney News! You'll also get access to AllEars tips, reviews, trivia, and MORE! Click here to Subscribe!
Well there’s alot but I really wanted to see the depictions of marvolo gaunt and that whole story about his mother and father. Hepziba smith and you know who manipulating her to get the Hufflepuff cup. It seems like at the end of movie 6 there is absolutely nothing to go on for them to find the horcruxes. Very frustrating if you hadn’t read the books. The story when kreacher tells of how regulus even knew about the locket. Kreacher’s epic tale of going on a trip with Voldemort into a cave by the sea. C’mon!!! And yes SPEW. Voldemort almost catching Harry in godrics hallow. When they set fire to the dursleys and it was back again next movie I was like what the hell??
All of this is so so true
I also don’t think snape is portrayed correctly in the films as there is so much more to him and Harry
This is why they need to do a HP tv series of all 7 books on HBO. Spread them out over 7+ seasons where you can include all the missing details and story arcs!
Someday that will happen, considering how many movies/tv series are remade all the time. I hope that Daniel Radcliffe gets his wish and plays Sirius Black.
There were two parts of the Battle of Hogwarts that I missed that weren’t listed. First, Trelawney using her wand to fling crystal balls at the baddies. Second, I would have loved to see Neville’s grandmother coming out of the tunnel to join the fight.
Why was Sirius blacks second break in of Hogwarts included in the movie? He made it into Harry and Ron’s dorm room and Ron saw him standing over his bed. He was given the password to the common room by crookshanks who stole it from Neville. I don’t understand why this scene wasn’t included? And crookshanks wanting to help black to catch pettigrew
I’m still upset they didn’t make a Half Blood Prince film adaptation.
I was absolutely obsessed with Ludo Bagman and he was NOT in the movies….. so offended!
Oh yessss!! And can we please talk about the sir Nicholas ghost party ?? How come that got cut, i’ll never know.
Ps: LOVE the spin off, please WB!
The scene where Fudge talks to the muggle prime minister is fantastic and short enough it could have been left in.
Dumbledore’s death, this gets me so angry… The fact that the movie makes Harry seem like a coward, just hidding underneath the floor(I think) without trying to help save Dumbledore, just hidding and listening. In the books he did his best to help save Dumbledore but couldn’t cause Dumbledore wordlessly immobilized Harry under the invisibility cloak, once Dumbledore is dead he is freed from the spell and follows Snape through the Castle. I THINK the portrayal of this scene in the movie is plain wrong for Harrys character, throughout the series he is known for being loyal and impulsive always defending the ones he loves, and in this specific scene we dont get to see this.
The Midnight Duel storyline in Book 1 is completely cut out of the movie. What about Harry riding the Knight Bus with Ron and Hermione in Book 5. That is completely cut out of the movie. Harry’s complete stay in Diagon Alley in Book 3 is cut way too short in the movie
What about when Harry goes back to the Dursleys after his Diagon Alley trip with Hagrid in Book 1 and gets Dudley’s second bedroom in book 1 and not in book 2 like in the movie version
What about the fact that Harry first meets Draco at Diagon Alley not on the train. They first meet in Madam Malkins Robes for All Occasions in the book
The part that I really wanted to see was when Neville visited his parents in St. Mungos. I so wanted to see the scene with the gum wrapper! Also the redemption of Petunia and Dudley at the end where they at the very least softened a little. I always have thought, unless you’ve read the books, why would you even like the movies because they don’t really make much sense. They’re just Scooby Doo mysteries without the whole story.
Hagrid mentioning he got that motorbike from Sirius Black at the beginning of Book 1. The fact that Piers Polkiss goes with the Dursley’s and Harry to the Zoo. The Weasleys trying to come through the Dursley’s fire place and the Ton-Tongue Tofee incedent with Dudley in book 4. The fact that Gryffindor wins the Quidditch Cup in book 3. Cho Chang and Cedric Diggory are also in Book 3 but are completely cut out of that movie. Colin Creevey annoying Harry in Book 2 doesn’t go far enough in the movies. Colin Creeveys younger brother Dennis is completely cut out of Book 4. Bill and Charlie Weasley visiting the Burrow in Book 4 is completely cut out. The Ghoul in the Attic at the burrow and the garden gnomes in Book 2 are also cut out. Gilderoy Lockhart at St. Mungos Hospital in Book 5 is completely cut out of the movie
Another thing they left out was the whole day that the Dursley’s had in the first book before Harry was left on their doorstep. They just skipped over that part and went straight to it being night time. What about the Deathday party in book 2 and the Valentines that Ginny give Harry oh there is so much more
Another character that got left out was professor Binns. The History of Magic Ghost. The most boring teacher ever. You know who would have been perfect for the part Ben Stein. But he’s American they only cast British actors. What about Ludo Bagman you never see him either. Also what about the The Dursley’s at the beginning of Goblet of Fire. They are completely left out of that movie.
We never get to see the growth of Neville, he starts out as a boy who looses his toad on the train, being bullied by students and teachers alike, his grand mother who raised him is always comparing him to his parents whom are still alive but in St Mungos. At the battle of Hogwarts, his grandmother shows up and makes a statement that stops all hearts “I am going to fight along side my grandson” and the pride you see from her of the boy he has become, through the DA, storming the ministry, and being a rebel during the rule of Snape as headmaster. That was lost in the movies.
I do not like the way Voldemort was defeated in the films, where it was just him and Harry alone. In the books Harry defeated Voldemort in the presence of many other witnesses. I also always like the resounding ovation Harry got from previous headmasters when he returned to Dumbledore’s office after defeating Voldemort. That was a special moment in the books that was completely missing from the films.
The whole 6th movie. In the books, Dumbledore helps Harry understand Voldemort instead of being able to only feel Voldemort. This also leads to the disappointing end of 8th movie (2nd of 7th book) where Harry explains to Voldemort how he failed and what he didn’t understand and Harry did.
The entire book version of the maze in Goblet of Fire.