For casual Harry Potter fans, the films may be all they know, but die-hards who grew up obsessing over J.K. Rowling’s novels are all too aware that certain characters didn’t make the leap from page to screen with their full personalities fully intact. The sprawling book series is chock full of character development details that were often cut from the roughly two-hour runtimes. Unfortunately, this means some characters either lost their best qualities or disappeared entirely when Hollywood made the call.
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Away from the best Harry Potter characters, some Wizarding World characters never truly got a chance to shine quite as brightly in the adaptation as they did in the original books. To put it plainly, the movies often trimmed too much from characters who were vital in the books, flattening their personalities and outright erasing a few. And these three characters suffered the worst cases of adaptational inferiority…
3) Fleur Delacour
Fleur Delacour, played by Clémence Poésy, enters the story as Beauxbatons’ champion in the Triwizard Tournament, first appearing in Goblet of Fire. In the movies, however, she gets the short end of the stick. Nearly every task she faces in the competition ends in failure or embarrassment, and her role is reduced to little more than a background figure. By the time she reappears in Deathly Hallows: Part 1 to marry Bill Weasley, the films have given her so few lines and so little personality that many casual viewers barely register who she is.
The books tell a different story. Book Fleur is outspoken, proud, and more complex than the movies allow her to be. She initially resents Harry’s entry into the Triwizard Tournament, harshly questioning his legitimacy as a competitor, adding a fun tension and realism to the school rivalry, especially since she’s an intimidating presence whom all the boys are crushing on and constantly ogling. Later, her loyalty makes an appearance when Bill is mauled and scarred by Fenrir Greyback. While Molly Weasley assumes Fleur will abandon her son, Fleur proves her love by declaring that Bill’s scars don’t change her feelings. The moment depicts her depth, but in the films, Bill’s attack is reduced to a line, and Fleur’s reaction is missing entirely. While the fourth movie showcases her love for her sister, we primarily see a dull and slightly vapid version of her throughout other scenes. On the bright side, her voice coming out of Harry’s mouth saying, “Bill, look away! I’m Hideous!” was worth the price of admission to Deathly Hallows: Part 1.
Fleur’s fiery devotion and sharp tongue never graced the films, which is a shame because they added nuance to her relationship with Bill and gave her more depth than the “pretty French girl” image the movies rested on. She deserved to be remembered as the fierce and committed sister, wife, and human being she was, rather than a two-dimensional dream girl.
2) Peeves
Fans of the books know Peeves the Poltergeist is supposed to be the most chaotic paranormal entity haunting the Hogwarts corridors. He’s a mischievous spirit who thrives on pranks, taunting teachers, and causing mayhem wherever he goes. While he often irks the wizards and witches roaming the halls, Peeves is also a huge part of Hogwarts’ personality. His antics provided comic relief in the darker books and even played a part in major storylines, such as supporting Fred and George during their legendary rebellion against Umbridge in Order of the Phoenix.
Unfortunately, we never got to see that iconic salute because Peeves never appears in the films at all. What makes this a tough pill to swallow is that he was initially supposed to be in The Sorcerer’s Stone. Beloved British comedian Rik Mayall was cast in the role and reportedly filmed some, if not all, of his scenes before director Chris Columbus decided to cut the character. At the time, the production team wasn’t happy with how the special effects looked. Columbus later admitted that Peeves was a significant technical challenge, as he wasn’t supposed to look ghostly like Nearly Headless Nick, but he also wasn’t a solid, human-like figure. Finding the right in-between appearance proved too difficult with the technology available in the early 2000s.
It may have also been a time factor, because while Peeves is incredibly fun, he’s not essential to the plot, so the filmmakers likely decided the poor poltergeist wasn’t worth the extra effort. By the time visual effects advanced enough to handle him correctly, the series had already moved on, and establishing Peeves in a later film would’ve felt random, disconnected, and unimportant. It’s still a shame he ended up on the cutting room floor, since his mischievous gags added some much-needed comedy to the books, and without Peeves, Hogwarts feels a little less alive. Thankfully, there’s still time for the reboot to redeem him.
1) Ginny Weasley
Ginny Weasley, portrayed by Bonnie Wright, is perhaps the most egregious example of a character who was watered down in nearly every step of the filmmaking process. In the movies, Ginny is quiet and a little bit stiff, with one of her most memorable moments being the painfully awkward scene where she ties Harry’s shoelaces in Half-Blood Prince. While she’s supposed to be Harry’s great love, the lack of chemistry between Wright and Daniel Radcliffe is palpable in any scene they share, and their romance, which should have added an emotional pull to the viewing experience, just ends up feeling false and forced.
In the books, Ginny is the opposite. She’s incredibly witty and bursting with personality. Her sharp sense of humor meant she stood out even in the loud, boisterous Weasley household, where the red-headed siblings were constantly vying for center stage. She’s also an extremely talented witch; one who is on the Gryffindor Quidditch team, plays an active role in Dumbledore’s Army, and even makes it into the Slug Club on merit alone after Slughorn sees her perform a Bat Bogey Hex on the Hogwarts Express. As the book version of Ginny blossomed, and she went from a young girl with a crush to a powerful witch and woman in her own right, her romance with Harry felt natural and inevitable. Yet, none of this really came across in the films.
What makes Ginny’s movie adaptation extra disappointing is that she should have been one of the series’ strongest female characters, standing toe-to-toe with Hermione. Instead, the films depicted her as shy and forgettable, robbing fans of the Gryffindor courage and warmth that made her such a beloved character on the page.
Do you think they’ll do these characters justice in the upcoming HBO series? Let us know your thoughts in a comment below.
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image courtesy of 20th Century Studios
