Harry Potter Movies

[susyhomewrecker]

I don't know how much say JKR has over what goes or stays. The explanation of the Marauders was a pretty important plot point for PoA, but was left out completely. In the first two movies, the carriages leading to Hogwarts were pulled by white horses and not thestrals. In the third movie the horses were invisible. So I don't know.

And although it's funny to think about, I don't think a "squishening" is enough to do in Voldy.

[abbynormal]

If Grawp is important in the final book then he'll have to be reintroduced from scratch in the final film anyway, so there's really no point in keeping him in this film. If he shows up out of no where in the seventh film, people are going to be confused. him even if he was introduced in the fifth. Casual movie-goers (who make up a majority of the audience) don't remember these kinds of details. They barely remembered polyjuice potion in GoF, and that was a major plot-point in CoS. Pretty much the only things people know about these movies are: Harry Potter is a wizard and goes to a magical school called Hogwarts. His two best friends are named Ron and Hermione, and the evil Lord Voldemort wants to kill him.

Plus, unresolved storylines in movies don't work; they're viewed by audiences as being pointless timewasters. For example, JKR told the film makers that they had to leave in the Knockturn Alley scene in CoS because it would be important to future plots. Audiences were not impressed.

In case you can't tell, I agree with Georgianna.

Also, for the record, when it comes down to it the Marauders really weren't that important. They provided background information for the readers and gave Harry some more knowledge on his father, but they weren't vital to the plot. Including an explanation would've dragged the shrieking shack on for too long. Movies have time constraints. Books don't. If we can accept that Fred and George knew it was a map, then we can accept that Sirius and Lupin knew it was a map. PoA is the most highly-rated Potter film among fans (despite a really annoying minority of whiners), non-readers and critics alike. Even JKR has said that it was by far her favorite and that director and story were perfectly matched. That's good enough for me.

[franticjoy]

They provided background information for the readers and gave Harry some more knowledge on his father, but they weren't vital to the plot.

I've been to see this movie with two people who had never read the book, and they had no idea what the hell was going on with Sirius as an animagus, or how Remus and Sirius knew each other, or the point of the map and why it said Mooney (spelt wrong, arrrgh), Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs on it. One person thought Sirius was a werewolf who had been turned by Remus. Peter being a rat was completely confusing to these people. Don't get me wrong; PoA was by far my favorite. But a two-minute explanation about the Marauders would have done them well.

[susyhomewrecker]

Oddly enough, franticjoy that's exactly the same scenario my dad came up with in trying to make sense of PoA. It really wouldn't have taken up that much more time for Lupin to say at the end of the movie (when he gives Harry the map) "By the way, this was created by me, Sirius, your dad, and Wormtail. These were our nicknames because they became Animagi to hang out with me when I turned into a werewolf." PoA was, I think, the shortest of the HP movies, so it's not like the audience couldn't sit through another extra minute or two.

[jynni]

In the first two movies, the carriages leading to Hogwarts were pulled by white horses and not thestrals. In the third movie the horses were invisible. So I don't know.

I don't remember any white horses in the first two movies, but then it's been awhile since I've seen them.

PoA is the most highly-rated Potter film among fans (despite a really annoying minority of whiners), non-readers and critics alike.

Have a site for that? Or if I say I thought PoA was a terrible adaptiation and bad film do I just count as an annoying whiner?

[franticjoy]

susyhomewrecker said:

Oddly enough, franticjoy that's exactly the same scenario my dad came up with in trying to make sense of PoA. It really wouldn't have taken up that much more time for Lupin to say at the end of the movie (when he gives Harry the map) "By the way, this was created by me, Sirius, your dad, and Wormtail. These were our nicknames because they became Animagi to hang out with me when I turned into a werewolf." PoA was, I think, the shortest of the HP movies, so it's not like the audience couldn't sit through another extra minute or two.

Exactly. They didn't have to go into as much detail as the books. They put in bloody Prongs as Harry's Patronus, which just made no sense whatsoever out of context. The people I went with: "Why is Harry's happy thought about a Christmas decoration?" So yeah, I think an explanation was necessary. They were able to remove whole chunks of GoF without me protesting, because it didn't ruin the storyline (although Crouch's story was pretty muddled, at least my clueless friends could follow along pretty well), so I'm not such a purist that I want everything to be in the movie. I'd love it if we never heard from Grawp, and think it might be a good idea if they cut out Harry's trial.

[abbynormal]

Alright, so at the end during their talk, Lupin explains to Harry that he, Sirius, James and Peter were the Marauders. Fair enough. But then people will wonder, why on earth did they give themselves such weird nicknames? To reflect their animals, of course, they were animagi. Okay, but why did only three of them become animagi and not Lupin? Then we have to explain that whole situation...see where this is going? What we end up with is a scene that drags on for way too long and poor film-making. In this case, if they had given an inch then they would've had to have given a mile for it to make sense. Long explanations don't translate well to film. Five or even two extra minutes might not seem like a lot of time, but when actually watching the movie, it really is. I suppose we'll have to agree to disagree on this point. *shrugs*

The thing is, if non-readers were as confused by the shrieking shack scene as some fans try to make out they were, then the film wouldn't have been nearly as well-received as it was, and GoF probably wouldn't have done as well as it did either (because of course, how well a sequel does reflects on how well-liked its predecessor was). I also know a lot of non-book readers who saw the movie, and they had no problem understanding what was going on. Honestly, the only thing I had a problem with was the OOC behavior of Ron and Hermione, but that's been going on since the beginning. I blame Steve "I heart Hermione" Kloves.

I don't think the trial should be cut. It's pretty much where the story begins. It can be shortened of course, but not cut.

jynni said:

Have a site for that?

Yep. To start just check out IMDB:

Sorcerer's Stone: 7.2/10
Chamber of Secrets: 7.3/10
Prisoner of Azkaban: 7.8/10
Goblet of Fire: 7.7/10

Then there's the fact that the box office numbers had been steadily decreasing until GoF, which again reflects on how well-liked the previous movie was. Also, even though PoA didn't do as well as the other two, it actually exceeded its expectations. The first two did not.

For critics, Rotten Tomatoes:

SS: 79% positive reviews
CoS: 82%
PoA: 88%
GoF: 89%

So I guess I was wrong there, critics liked GoF slightly better than PoA. I didn't say that all people who didn't like PoA are crybabies, but quite a few of them are! If you have valid reasons for disliking the film unlike the people who scream about the Marauders and other minor changes, then no, I would say you don't qualify as an annoying whiner.

[susyhomewrecker]

The people I went with: "Why is Harry's happy thought about a Christmas decoration?"

For the life of me, I cannot figure out what this means!

Anyway, the PoA/Marauder stuff was something that was more integral to the story than, say, a shrunken head yelling at a lady crossing the street. They did add stuff that wasn't in the movie, but left out things that would have made the plot a little more clear. That's my one small complaint about PoA. On the whole, I like it. It is certainly the best film of the series aesthetically speaking. However, I would still rate it just behind GoF, which I loved for its humor & Voldemort. Just a personal opinion, of course.

(And ;D to "Steve 'I heart Hermione' Kloves!" So true... )

[franticjoy]

susyhomewrecker said:

The people I went with: "Why is Harry's happy thought about a Christmas decoration?"

For the life of me, I cannot figure out what this means!

Sorry about not explaining that- it's just that when Harry's Patronus comes along it looks a great deal like a light-up reindeer you might see on someone's lawn.

[susyhomewrecker]

Oh, thank you! I thought you meant something about that scene where he was with Lupin learning to conjure the patronus...I get it now.