Mugglenet.com's Harry Potter Should Have Died - Emerson Spartz [54]
Which of these scenes from the books should the filmmakers have left in the movies?
Sometimes with a movie that is based on a book, you can miss what’s not there, so these are some things the fans love that were omitted from the movies.
Quidditch (OotP)
The Rupert Grint fans were so looking forward to Ron finally getting his moment of glory on the Quidditch Pitch to the rousing sound of the Slytherin crowd singing the old favorite “Weasley is our King” [OotP, p. 408]. The studios decided not to include Quidditch in this movie even though it is the shortest of the five so far, and it’s a shame because it is really Ron’s coming-of-age story, with him finding his own way separately from Harry, who is sidelined from Quidditch by Dolores Umbridge. Plus, it would have added some light-hearted moments to a very dark movie, and that could only have been an improvement.
Peeves the Poltergeist
He’s not a ghost, but according to J.K.R., he’s an entirely different sort of “indestructible spirit of chaos” who looks like a small man [JKR-OS]. Peeves may not be a hugely important character, but it’s screwy that the sarcastic sprite was written out of the movies. For one thing, he’s wickedly funny, and some of the films need comic relief. A lot of readers were looking forward to seeing Lupin give Peeves a Waddiwasi spell in PoA and send gum up his nose. But even more fans wanted Peeves to join in the attack on Umbridge in OotP, with Minerva McGonagall letting him know that the crystal chandelier “unscrews the other way” so he could drop it on Umbridge [OotP, p. 678], and the Weasley twins advising their kindred spirit to “Give her hell from us, Peeves!” [OotP, p. 675]. There is no reason why the caretaker of Hogwarts, Argus Filch, should be in the movies, and not his hysterical arch-nemesis, Peeves.
The film producers might say that Peeves would have been too expensive to create, but that’s not true! The movies already have ghosts riding horses, house-elves, Dementors, and paintings with wild animals in them. How much more could it cost to show a little man who floats around throwing chalk at people? Walt Disney was doing that floaty effect back in the 1960s with Bedknobs and Broomsticks and Mary Poppins. Maybe they thought it would look too much like Ghostbusters, but they could have shown him more as a little man in a pointy hat, and not just a Casper-like blobby thing. Peeves is a character everyone loves, and he is in every book, including DH. Since he was never introduced at all in the films, Peeves can’t be shown fighting in the Battle of Hogwarts and singing his “Moldy Voldy” victory song [DH, p. 746]. Every movie would have been much more fun with Peeves.
Lily in Snape’s Worst Memory (OotP)
No—the worst travesty in all the movies happens in Order of the Phoenix when Lily Evans is completely left out of “Snape’s Worst Memory.” Peeves isn’t central to the plot and neither is Quidditch, but Lily Evans Potter is the key to major points, including Snape’s anger at Sirius and James, and his willingness to protect Harry. It’s insanity that the moviemakers decided to film around that storyline.
We know that the entire memory of Snape being attacked by James and being rescued by Lily was filmed, because those were some of the earliest shots released before OotP came out. Several of the young actors spoke to the press about their roles and dialogue in interviews, including the actress who plays Lily, but there wasn’t even an extra scene added to the DVD. And that stinks. It’s bad enough that director David Yates concentrated on Umbridge instead of Snape and Occlumency anyway, but to cut “Snape’s Worst Memory” to shreds and make it a silent flashing movie