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Harry Potter: 5 Changes From The Books That Make Sense (& 5 That Don't)

The Harry Potter film series is one of the few movie adaptations of books that stay true to the source material. Unlike the hated movie adaptations such as Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief and Eragon, the Harry Potter films perfectly manage to capture the magic (pun intended) of the beloved books.

RELATED: 10 Scenes In Harry Potter Books That Were Too Dark For The Movies

As with every movie adaptation, a lot of content has to be cut due to budgetary and time restrictions (a reason more and more books are being adapted into TV shows rather than movies). There are many changes in the Harry Potter movies that make sense, and just as many that don't.

10 Makes Sense - Cho tells Umbridge about Dumbledore's Army instead of Marietta

In the novel Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Cho Chang's friend Marietta betrays the DA and tells Umbridge about the secret organization. However, in the movie adaptation, this was changed to Cho telling Umbridge about it under the influence of Veritaserum, a truth serum.

This was a good edit, since the writers had to bring some conflict between Harry and Cho, and Marietta had barely any lines, even in the books. Making Cho the betrayer (albeit under truth serum) forwarded the plot just as easily while focusing on the relationships of the main characters.

9 Doesn't Make Sense - Neville The Chosen One?

In Order of the Phoenix, Dumbledore explains to Harry that he might not even have been the Chosen One, as there was one other boy who fulfilled the conditions of the Prophecy - Neville Longbottom. However, because Voldemort went after Harry and gave him the scar, it essentially made him into the boy in the prophecy.

The movies make no mention of this, and fans were left wondering why. Neville is such an important character, especially in Deathly Hallows, and the movies could have easily incorporated this.

8 Makes Sense - Ludo Bagman was Cut

Ludo Bagman was a former international Quidditch player and Ministry of Magic employee in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. The only reason for his presence in the books was as sort of a comedic element and to serve as a red herring for readers, to throw suspicion off Barty Crouch Jr.

RELATED: Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire: 5 Characters With The Most Screen Time (& 5 With The Least)

The decision to not include him in the movie was a sensible one, as viewers already knew Barty Crouch Jr. was alive at the start of the movie. There was simply no reason for the character to exist.

7 Doesn't Make Sense - Harry's Eyes

The one thing Harry has probably heard the most is "You have your mother's eyes." It's perhaps one of the most important physical traits of Harry, since his green eyes are the one thing that connects him to his mother. Almost every character who was close to the Potters has said this to Harry.

When the movies, therefore, showed Lily with different colored eyes than Harry's, the fans of the series got rightly upset, with the change even spawning many memes, and they were left wondering if it was so difficult for the actress to put on contact lenses for a few scenes.

6 Makes Sense - Dumbledore's Backstory

Many fans were upset that The Deathly Hallows movies didn't delve into Dumbledore's scandalous past as deep as the books did, but the decision to not do so made sense - the movies do a good job of introducing the conflict between Harry and Dumbledore without taking up too much time.

Furthermore, since the books are from Harry's POV, readers constantly know what is going on in Harry's mind and why he was angry at Dumbledore. This was difficult to show in the movies, and any attempt to do so would have only unnecessarily added to the runtime.

5 Doesn't Make Sense - The Burning of The Burrow

The Half Blood Prince was drastically changed and ended up looking more like a teen romance movie rather than fantasy. The movie hardly focused on Harry and The Half Blood Prince, Slughorn's Potions classes, or his secret lessons with Dumbledore. One of the biggest changes was Bellatrix and Fenrir Greyback attacking the Burrow during Christmas Break.

RELATED: Harry Potter: 5 Things We’d Change About The Order Of the Phoenix (And 5 For Half Blood Prince)

This was probably done due to pacing, to show some action so the audience doesn't get bored, but the movie should have focused more on the story rather than fleshing out relationships of the characters. Character development is important, but not at the cost of story.

4 Makes Sense - Neville Gives Harry Gillyweed

In Goblet of Fire, right before the second Triwizard Task, Harry is given Gillyweed by Dobby, which will help him breathe underwater. In the movie, Neville does so instead of Dobby. The change was a simple and effective one, as it shows Harry and Neville's friendship and just how proficient Neville is at Herbology. At the end of the movie, Barty Crouch Jr. reveals he had given Neville the idea.

The book, on the other hand, has a truly twisted and complex plan in which Barty Crouch Jr. tells Neville about it, but Harry doesn't ask him for help, so Crouch Jr. makes sure Dobby overhears him talking about Gillyweed.

3 Doesn't Make Sense - Dudley's Character Development

If JK Rowling's plan was to make fans hate the Dursleys, she succeeded with flying colors. The Dursleys are some of the most hated characters in the series because of how they treat Harry. However, the books show one small act of redemption for Dudley - he thanks Harry for saving his from the Dementor and says he cares about him.

Although there was an extended cut of the Dursleys leaving, and a few deleted scenes similar to the one in the books, they were for some reason not included in the theatrical cut, leaving fans disappointed with the change, and wondering why it wasn't just kept in.

2 Makes Sense - Not Using Polyjuice Potion at Godric's Hollow

Harry, Ron, and Hermione are on the run in The Deathly Hallows, hunting down the remaining Horcruxes. In the books, they use Polyjuice Potion to take the appearance of normal muggles. In the movie, however, they don't use the potion, with the exception of the visit to the Ministry.

RELATED: Harry Potter: The 15 Most Heartbreaking Deaths, Ranked

In the movie, when Harry and Hermione go to Godric's Hollow, they don't use the potion (contrary to the book), and the change is appreciated - the scene is quite heartbreaking, and watching some random stranger react to Lily and James's graves wouldn't nearly be as emotional as watching Harry.

1 Doesn't Make Sense - Tom Riddle's origins

The one change fans disliked the most in The Half Blood Prince was the lack of explaining Voldemort's backstory as well as the books did. With the exception of Dumbledore and Slughorn's memory, there is no memory about Tom Riddle's motivations. This change takes away a large part of Voldemort's origins.

The books do a great job of showing through memories Voldemort's family history, his motivations, his powers, his mentality, and his inclination for collecting trophies, all of which help Harry in figuring out Horcruxes and their locations later on.

NEXT: Harry Potter: 10 Plot Holes That Make No Sense (Even If You've Read The Books)



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