Harry’s eyes are the wrong colour
At one point during every Harry Potter movie, somebody comments that Harry has the face of his father James and his mother’s eyes. This resemblance should have been easy, but the movies fell at the first hurdle. Not only does movie Harry have blue eyes rather than green, since Daniel Radcliffe couldn’t tolerate contacts, but his mother is shown to have brown eyes! Why?
Dumbledore is anything but calm
One movie inaccuracy turned a relatively small moment in the Goblet of Fire book into a legendary meme. In the book, when Harry’s name flies out of the magical goblet, Dumbledore is described as calmly asking Harry if he put himself up for consideration. In the movie, Dumbledore shouts this question at Harry while charging towards him like a bull, single-handedly creating the “calmly” meme.
Voldemort is a hugger now
Voldemort is one of the most terrifying villains in literary history, with his snake-like, noseless face, tremulous voice and ferocious determination. So why in the Deathly Hallows: Part Two movie does the dark lord hug Draco Malfoy? Ralph Fiennes apparently improvised this to surprise and unseat actor Tom Felton, but rather than being scary and unhinged the moment instead just feels surreal and awkward.
There’s no Peeves the Poltergeist
The ghosts of Hogwarts are part of what makes the world of Harry Potter feel so rich and storied. However, one ghost is conspicuously missing from the movies: Peeves. The late British comedian Rik Mayall was cast in the role for the first film, but for some unknown reason his scenes did not make the final cut, and the deleted footage has never been released.
Hermione explains what a Mudblood is
In the Harry Potter books, the so-called Golden Trio work so well because they all have their strengths. Harry is a natural leader, Hermoine is book-smart, and Ron is pragmatic and knows about the wizarding world. Despite this, the movies have Hermoine, who didn’t grow up in magical society, explain the “mudblood” slur to Ron, rather than the other way around.
St. Mungos never appears on screen
The characters of Harry Potter get their fair share of injuries across the movies, so it’s unusual that viewers are never shown St. Mungo’s, the wizarding hospital. Though plenty of time is spent there in the books, the location never made it to the screen, which is especially heartbreaking as it means Neville Longbottom’s parents, who live at the hospital, are never shown.
Harry throws the Elder wand away
At the end of the Deathly Hallows: Part Two, Harry Potter snaps the hugely powerful magical artefact of the Elder wand in half, before throwing it into the Great Lake. While this does definitively end the danger of another evil wizard using the wand for their own ends, it is a significant change from the books, in which the wand is buried with Dumbledore.
Winky the elf is noticeably absent
Dobby the house elf is one of Harry Potter’s most beloved characters, so it may seem odd that one of the book’s other elf characters doesn’t appear in the movies. Nevertheless, Winky the house elf, a freed elf who moves into the Hogwarts kitchen in the later books, is nowhere to be found, maybe because most of her scenes are spent crying and drinking. Yikes.
Dudley never gets his redemption arc
Dudley is one of the most despicable characters in Harry Potter, without ever being a full-fledged villain. Despite this, in the books, he does get a vaguely admirable ending. In his last interaction with Harry, he shakes his hand and says he doesn’t think Harry is a waste of space. This scene was filmed, but never made it into the movies.
Ginny’s feistiness is totally gone
One gripe that Harry Potter readers have with the movies is Ginny Weasley’s portrayal. Far from the hot-headed, caring firecracker that she is on the page, movie Ginny has a reputation for being demure and dull. Certain key scenes, such as her screaming at Ron to stay out of her dating life and her friendship with Luna Lovegood, are totally absent from the films.
