The “Harry Potter” movies are considered by many to be the best book adaptations ever. But, of course, there were also numerous changes. What are the biggest differences?
It is rarely meaningful or even possible to adapt a book exactly into a film. A film is simply too short for that. Particularly with thicker tomes, much must therefore be cut.
- The longest “Harry Potter” book is, by the way, “Order of the Phoenix” with 960 pages.
- To read all that aloud would take over 32 hours.
- In comparison: the film lasts only 2 hours and 18 minutes.
Also, significant changes were made in the other “Harry Potter” parts. The 10 most drastic differences can be found here in our ranking:
Spoiler warning: The article contains spoilers for the Harry Potter films and books.
Place 10: Winky – yet another house-elf?
In the films, we only see two house-elves: Dobby and Kreacher. But in the books, we also meet another house-elf, namely Winky.
Winky was the house-elf of Barty Crouch Sr., a high official in the Ministry. For ten years, she diligently attended to and guarded her master’s imprisoned son, Barty Crouch Jr. Only so could Crouch Sr. keep his Death Eater son hidden from the public for so long.
At the Quidditch World Cup, she is accused of conjuring the Dark Mark. As punishment, Crouch sets her free. Unlike Dobby, however, Winky does not cope well with her freedom. She misses her work and tries to drown her sorrow in alcohol. It is precisely the contrast between Dobby and Winky that is missing in the films. It shows how special the freedom-loving Dobby actually is.
Place 9: B.ELFE.R.
This point again relates to house-elves, who were given hardly any attention in the films.
However, Hermione gave them a lot of attention in the books. There, she founded the “Society for Elfish Welfare,” abbreviated to “B.ELFE.R,” to advocate for the rights of enslaved house-elves. The absurd part: the elves are actually quite satisfied with their status and do not want help at all.
B.ELFE.R. highlighted Hermione’s stubborn yet just character. It also laid the groundwork for her later profession, provided an exciting conflict, and created many funny moments.
Place 8: Rita the Beetle
Rita Kimmkorn is the annoying reporter from part 4. She spreads a lot of made-up nonsense, but also precarious details that she shouldn’t know at all. But where does she get her information?
In the book, it turns out that Rita Kimmkorn is an unregistered Animagus. That means, she can transform into an animal. In her case, into a beetle. This allows her to overhear many conversations without being discovered.
But that’s not all. When Hermione discovers Rita’s secret, she doesn’t report the violation to the Ministry. She locks Rita in her beetle form in a jam jar. Then she blackmails the journalist into reporting the truth about Voldemort’s return.
This level of criminal energy is something you wouldn’t expect from the Hermione in the films.
