Hello Enthusiasts,
With the fairly recent release of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, I decided that today we will be looking at the Harry Potter book series, and how it has transitioned to the big screen. Yes, despite only choosing the cover for my favorite of the books/movies for the photos on this one, I will be taking the whole series into account here.
The first book, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (changed to the Sorcerer's Stone) was released in 1997, and the books were a hit with readers young and old. This is a franchise, and it has become a cornerstone of a lot of people's libraries. The series has been so successful that it is now a major staple of most Universal theme parks. By the time the final book in the series was released in 2007, Hollywood had already released the first five books as successful films. Do these films do the books justice? The short answer is yes, but it's not quite that simple.
Overall, these films are excellent interpretations of the books. The actors and actresses do a fantastic job in portraying these characters, and the movies were the launching point for the actors that palyed many of our main characters. The settings are breathtaking, as one would imagine, and the entire experience can be wholly immersive for fans of the books (as well as for those who are less familiar with the source material). With all of the attention to detail, it's strange that certain aspects of the books are omitted from the silver screen. I remember being young and loving these books, and I loved the tests that each character had to pass at the end of Sorcerer's Stone. Harry had to ride his broom to catch the right key (like he had been practicing in Quidditch), Ron had to win a dangerous game of Wizards Chess with the help of his friends. Hermione had to solve a complicated riddle to discover which potion would allow them to continue and which ones would kill them. Then I saw the movie, and Hermione was left behind to care for Ron, not contributing to the progression like she was supposed to. It was like cutting out the scene from Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade where Indiana figures out which cup is the Holy Grail. I was young, and I was angry. There are little things like this sprinkled throughout the films, little omissions that don't make a lot of sense to me. Another (less anger-inducing) example is when Harry didn't use the Elder Wand to repair his original wand like he did at the end of the final book.
I was also pretty upset with the decision to make the final book two separate movies. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is far from the longest book, being tied for third place in that contest. It was definitely the most emotional movie and has a lot of content, but it was not the movie that needed two films. If anything, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix would be the movie that needs to be broken up, since it is not only the longest book, but has one of the more complex plots. It felt like a cheap cash grab to me, and I cannot be swayed in that opinion. This is a growing trend, as the same thing happened to the final book in the Hunger Games trilogy, and I get a bit more upset than I probably should.
Again, I don't mean to tear these movies down. They are blockbusters for a reason, they are mostly faithful and enjoyable. I will nitpick, but really, the book-to-film adaptation is better here than we see with most other cases. If you look at most Stephen King books, entire portions of the story will be changed or left out all together (see my previous book to movie review, The Running Man, at http://boredenthusiast.blogspot.com/2016/11/book-to-movie-running-man.html) Luckily for fans of the series, Harry Potter gave us something better than that.
To wrap up, the Harry Potter movies do the books justice a good 98% of the time, but the other 2% are obvious to the fans. I would definitely recommend reading the books first and then jumping right into the movies from there, that way you know you're getting the full story. It's not a perfect adaptation, but the films are still a good time.
Sincerely,
The Bored Enthusiast
All images above belong to their respective owners, not me
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