With the release of Hogwarts Legacy and the greenlit Harry Potter television series in development, it’s a great time to take a look at where Harry Potter’s visual journey began.
Part I: Philosopher’s Stone and Chamber of Secrets
Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (2001) was the first instalment in the film franchise and the first of two films to be directed by Chris Columbus, along with Chamber of Secrets. Having watched the films recently, remastered in beautiful 4K, you immediately notice how different the colour palette is in the first two films. I remember, when I was a kid, watching PS for the first time at the cinema upon its release in 2001, and being completely immersed. For me, these first two films encapsulate nostalgia and fernweh.
Watching these films is like slipping into a comfortable pair of slippers. The portrayal of Hogwarts, as Harry first sees it, is painted in charming golden hues and the sheer amount of detail on the screen was we see the castle for the first time is incredible. The CGI is ropey, as is to be expected of a film produced in the early 2000s and is quite noticeable with the introduction of the house ghosts.
Speaking of the ghosts, I am reminded that the films omitted Peeves the Poltergeist, the scenes of which were recorded with Rik Mayall. I understand why this was necessary for the runtime, as Peeves doesn’t particularly contribute to the overall plot. I did particularly enjoy his appearance in Hogwarts Legacy, but as a fan of Mayall, I would have loved to have seen him included in the film series.
Part II: Prisoner of Azkaban
Prisoner of Azkaban is the first and only film in the franchise directed by Alfonso Cuarón and anecdotally a fan favourite. Considering Cuarón’s filmography prior to 2004, the decision to direct a Harry Potter film seems quite a change in direction for him as a filmmaker. So the story goes that it was Guillermo del Toro who convinced Cuarón by calling him an “arrogant bastard” for not having read any of the books, and instructing him to go to the bookshop and familiarise himself. I wonder if it’s possible to say that had Cuarón ultimately made the decision not to direct Prisoner of Azkaban, his 2006 masterpiece Children of Men would not have existed.
As the audience ages, we see the third film take on a slightly darker colour palette, representing that the wizarding world is growing more menacing as Hogwarts becomes cooler and with less of its hazy, golden lustre. Although death and loss is a key theme throughout the series, it seems to move from the past to the present and future in this film. For me, I’ve always found the plot of the third film a little murky. When reading the book, the time turner hijinks never really feel as repetitive in the film, and I feel the film would have done better to spend more of its 142 minute runtime on Sirius Black and increasing the tapestry of Harry’s new world than what are nearly the same scenes, just with Harry and Hermione lurking in the bushes.
Part III: Goblet of Fire
We move on to the fourth instalment, Goblet of Fire, and with it, a new director: Mike Newell. Having worked with cast members of the franchise before, such as Alan Rickman, Brendan Gleeson, Jim Broadbent, Miranda Richardson, Sophie Thompson, and Miriam Margolyes, it seems that despite the change in genre, he definitely had a familiarity with cast members.
The audience dives deeper into the new, darker world of Harry Potter, and the threats becoming ever looming. Newell stitches unnerving scenes of a shrivelled Voldemort with the fun and festive Yule Ball, the brutal murder of a schoolboy and the awkwardness of asking a girl to the dance. I’ve always found Goblet of Fire to be one of the most engaging of all the films, and I’m always heartbroken when Amos screams in agony over the jolly sound of the Hogwarts’ March.
The building undercurrent of the threat of Voldemort really cuts the work out for the next director.
Part IV: Order of the Phoenix and Half-Blood Prince
We move onto the David Yates era now, and I’ve decided to split the Yates films into two parts because the Deathly Hallows films are quite different to the rest of the series, despite maintaining the same director. Personally, I really like The Half-Blood Prince, as its a story that sits upon the precipice of two worlds. The film still largely takes place within Hogwarts and most of the characters are familiar, meaning it still has one foot in the door of the wizarding world before the war. On the other hand, the world we’ve come to know and love is transforming from a wondrous atmosphere into a bleak landscape. The children are losing their innocence, with Malfoy directed to kill for Voldemort, and the steadfast Dumbledore is proven not quite so infallible.
Part V: Deathly Hallows (Parts 1 and 2)
I find it quite difficult to separate parts one and two in my memory, as I usually just watch them together, thus forming one longer film. I think the pacing of these two films work really well, thus forming one sort of extended film. Cinematically, by which I mean nostalgia put aside for one moment, the Deathly Hallows hit all the marks, bouncing between peril and calm, despair and joy. Of course, the whole story builds towards the climax of the Battle of Hogwarts, and although it’s not as epic as the final battle in other series, it still builds an apprehensive atmosphere.
Upcoming series
First of all, I personally think there’s no need for this new series to exist. I think the source material and the film series are both great, and although I’m aware they are separate properties, the new series is set to reference to same source material as the original films. My major worry here is we’re going to see a lot of the same things we saw in the film series, and based on how iconic some of the sets and scenes are, it’s a lot for the series to live up to. Basically, I’m treating this as a “what I think should have been included in the film series and issues with the books and/or films that should have been rectified or omitted” but that is not as snappy as a heading.
More House Elves
I hope the new series includes Winky and Hokey, not just the boy elves. Mainly because I’d love to see a house elf drunk on butterbeer in the Hogwarts kitchens on screen. That being said, Dobby’s interaction with Winky does flesh his character out more. If we’re going to include all these house elves, we may as well involve Hermione’s S.P.E.W, as I does feel that adds dimension to her as a character, rather than the hyper-competent sidekick she was in the movies. Also, it doesn’t make any sense as to why Kreacher suddenly becomes helpful in the films, so all in all,
The Longbottom Family
Neville is quite one dimensional in the films, being used a comical character who is bad at everything. Although his character is poked fun at in the books as well, he is a little bit more multifaceted and we see that Harry actually forms a deeper friendship with Neville due to their mutual understanding of loss.
There is a heart-breaking scene in the Order of the Phoenix chapter St. Mungo’s Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries where we visit the titular medical institution and meet the Longbottoms. Neville’s mother, Alice, gives him gum wrappers, and we see the extent of damage Bellatrix Lestrange inflicted on Neville’s life. He is not always the comic relief character or the butt of the joke, but instead he is angry, smart, and as motivated as Harry. If we had seen more of this side of Neville in the film series, I think it would be clearer why Neville was a candidate for the prophecy over biographical reasons.
Ginny Weasley
The Ginny Weasley of the film series is so vastly different than the character written in the books it feels like an entirely different character. The trajectory of her actions don’t seem to match her personality at all, because whilst they line up with key elements from the books, you could hardly imagine film Ginny getting involved in battles. I don’t know what happened with the script in regards to Ginny, but I look forward to a series where she is portrayed as the charismatic, quick witted Gryffindor she is.
The Gaunt Family and Bob Ogden
The Gaunt Family are a huge part of Order of the Phoenix via Bob Ogden’s pensieve memories. Being omitted from the film adaptation, it means non-readers of Harry Potter have to piece together parts of Tom Riddle’s backstory, ultimately leaving him as a fairly shallow villain. The scenes with Voldemort in Deathly Hallows Part II are surely incomprehensibly cryptic for little reason.
Lupin and Tonks
Honestly, Lupin and Tonks’s relationship adds almost nothing to the narrative as a whole, but I think it’s very sweet and it’d be nice to see Harry being a mischievous godfather to Teddy as his own was to him.
Dumbledore and Snape
Film Snape is absolutely lovely but a lot less interesting than book Snape and it would be nice to see more dimension added to his onscreen character. Both Snape and Dumbledore suffer from being painted too positively in the films, but even though we know Snape has made terrible choices, we at least learn in the book that Dumbledore is always worse.
Plot holes
I think many Harry Potter fans flesh the films out by using background information from the books. For example, I have heard people who haven’t read the book ask such questions as “Where did Harry get all his money from if his parents were Aurors?” “Why do Harry and Dumbledore go to the astronomy tower?” “So, Harry doesn’t have a wand anymore?”
That being said, there are still plot holes in the books, of course. Some of them just require suspension of disbelief to maintain the magic and the iconography of the Potter franchise. For example, why would witches and wizards rely on owls to deliver their correspondence? However, I do think the upcoming series has the chance to rectify some of the easily solvable ones.
What would you like to see in the upcoming reboot?
Screen Waffle 