Hi! It’s Annie!
I recently watched the first couple Harry Potter movies, which was different for me. After the giant controversy that recently happened, I was kind of boycotting everything Harry Potter. Really, the only thing that got me to re-look at these movies that I still love was Daniel Radcliffe. He is an excellent human being. And it also made me think about all of the people who put so much hard work into the movies that I shouldn’t overlook. So while I may not be going back to the books anytime soon, the movies feel a little safe to me again. But this also made me think about the things that I wish were in the movies now that I’m not going back to the books. Especially character wise. There are characters who seriously got jipped of large character moments or barely have any personality whatsoever in the movies. So, don’t expect to see any of the main characters or main side characters on this list. I’m mainly going to go over characters that people didn’t pay as much attention to, which is probably why the movies left out a lot about them.
Bill Weasley:
I am not exaggerating in the least bit when I say that Bill is quite possibly my favorite Weasley in the books. When Harry first meets Bill he can’t describe him as anything other than ‘cool’. Bill is not the well put together, tweed jacket wearing, responsible man that we see in the movies. Yes, Bill was still top of the class in his Hogwarts days, but he seems to be significantly different from Percy despite his parents comparing Percy to him. Bill, in the books, has long hair that he puts up in a ponytail, fang earrings, and wears black leather. Harry describes him as looking as though he just returned from a rock concert. It is such a shame that we don’t see any of this from the barely used Bill in the films. They didn’t even keep the aesthetic of the character. Bill is also known to goof off with Fred and George but also shows responsibility in how willing he is to help. His kindness is proven in the fourth book when the families of the champions show up for moral support and Molly and Bill show up to support Harry because he doesn’t have much family of his own. Bill is amazingly badass and kind and I wish we would have gotten more of him.
Fleur Delacour:
In a similar vein, my favorite moments of Fleur’s were also cut off from the films. Bill and Fleur get together, much to the chagrin of the Weasley family, and soon afterwards Bill is scratched by a werewolf. Fleur immediately scolds Molly when Molly implies that Bill’s marred features will result in Fleur leaving him. Fleur is a complete badass throughout the tri-wizard tournament despite everything. A fact that is reasonably overlooked by the movies considering the biggest events she is given in the books are being removed from two of the three tasks before any of the male competitors. Yay girl power? Seriously, that one wasn’t the fault of the movies.
Luna Lovegood:
Ok, ok. Luna is not a more obscure side character, but much of her character development was removed from the movies entirely. Luna was actually the last person standing with Harry at the battle of the Department of Mysteries, a fact that is often overlooked. When Luna’s room in the last book is discovered, her friends realize that Luna has painted a giant mural of all of them on the ceiling. Later, when they find her being held captive with Ollivander, it is revealed that Luna has been giving up some of her food to keep Ollivander well. All of these incredibly selfless and strong acts are never portrayed in the movies and are barely even hinted at.
Viktor Krum:
Viktor Krum is dealt such a bad hand in the movies. In the books it takes an incredible amount of both strength and intelligence for someone to be chosen by the Tri-wizard tournament. All of the comments that refer to Krum as just being a dumb jock are not present in the books. It’s almost like they wanted to give Viktor a reason to be dislikable so that the audience would root for the couple of Ron and Hermione instead. Viktor is always nice to Hermione and they actually talk with each other a lot at the Yule Ball. He doesn’t just stare at her all the time.
Charlie Weasley:
Other than a photo in one of the movies, Charlie was cut entirely from the films. Though, to an extent, I understand this decision. Charlie barely shows up in the books either. But it would have been nice to at least see him once. Charlie, like Bill, was very cool but for a different reason. Because he worked with dragons in Romania, he had scratches and burns all down his arms. Charlie was also very much married to his work and never interested in being married himself. He’s probably the most laid-back Weasley and it would have been nice to see at least a cameo from him when the dragons came in for the first challenge in the fourth movie.
Dean Thomas:
We needed more Dean Thomas in both the books and the movies. Dean Thomas is probably the person Harry is closest to at Hogwarts other than the main characters. That’s probably because originally the trio was going to be four and Dean would have been part of the main group. Which would have been nice considering that Dean is one of the only Black characters in Harry Potter as a whole. The movies do even worse with him and you just can’t help but wonder what would have happened if he had been given more. Dean’s friendship with Luna at Shell Cottage, which is both hilarious and adorable, is also skipped over.
Oliver Wood:
A lot of quidditch is skipped over, but they couldn’t have at least showed them all finally winning the Quidditch cup? Oliver Wood really did deserve better and it would have been amazing to see his insane planning and strategies in the movies too.
Angelina Johnson:
Angelina Johnson was a badass and I would have loved to legitimately see her as the next captain of the Quidditch team after Oliver. Unfortunately, the movies barely ever focus on her at all or even give her any screen time. But at least they didn’t do the Fred and George storyline with her that was released after the books. You know, the one where she marries George after Fred dies because she was dating Fred. Because that is messed up in every way it possibly could be and it always has been. What an awful way to say that Fred was replaceable to you.
There you have it! There are plenty more that I just didn’t get to, but I had to talk about these ones. There’s just so much that I wish was in the movies, but there’s also a lot that I’m glad they left out of the movies. Like the house elf storyline for example. So, even though I am disappointed at some of the things they left out (they could have at least given Bill that earring!), I’m kind of content with the storyline being simplified. Especially after everything that’s happened.
See you across the pond!
Sincerely, Annie
Oreos & Peanut Butter 