I think movie adaptations in general can be a heated topic for book lovers. Everyone has a certain expectation when it comes to their favorite books. Some books should never be made into movies and some books were made for movie adaptations.
I used to be someone who earnestly picked a part movie adaptations to find all the differences and complain about why someone's hair color was different or why a certain scene was gone. That was one of my favorite things to do, however, it took the joy out of watching the movie for me. I spent so much time and energy finding the flaws movie that I didn't enjoy the story the movie presented to me.
I spent a good chunk of my younger years loving Sorcerer's Stone and Chamber of Secrets not because they were good movies but because those movies closely followed the books. I thought because they accurately depicted the scenes from the book, they were great movies. When Prisoner of Azkaban came out, I had high hopes because it was my favorite book of the series at that point. I did not enjoy that movie at all the first time I watched it. There was so many differences between the book and the movie, I was extremely disappointed. I didn't even like the way werewolves were depicted. I had such a strong image in my brain of how everything went down, I couldn't wrap my brain around the differences.
As a result of this, I didn't enjoy several of the Harry Potter films. However, as I got older, I began to realize that everything I wanted in these movies couldn't possibly go into them. There just wasn't enough time, especially for the longer books. And frankly, some of the best scenes in the books wouldn't have played well one screen. I began to appreciate movies as a different medium than books. I looked at movies less as a visual edition of the books and more as their own story telling method.
Now, I enjoy the movies so much more. I still think it's fun to find the differences between the books and the movies, but it doesn't bother me as much anymore. Obviously, there are scenes from the books that I wish had been in the movies, but it doesn't keep me from enjoying the movies.
One day there could be a beautiful miniseries for each book that could encompass way more than the movies, but until then I will continue to enjoy the movies that were created from some of the greatest books of my childhood.
Treating movies like a completely different medium is indeed the only way to enjoy them but with all that there are certain parts in different HP movies that I still can't reconcile myself to)
ReplyDeleteYeah, I think there will always be moments like that in books that have been so beloved by people.
DeleteYes! Exactly. I feel the same. I look at it as more time with some of my favorite characters and with new things to get to experience with them as well. We had so many new quotes with the movies that weren't in the books. While it was fun to get to see some of the things in the books come to life (Snape in a dress?), it was also great to see McGonagall all giddy about performing the piertotum locomotum or the fact that Seamus kept blowing stuff up. The books will always be my favorite medium, but I still love the movie adaptations a lot.
ReplyDeleteAgreed. I sometimes really appreciate the scenes that they altered or added in the movies to create a mood or add humor. Snape in a dress! I still love watching that. :)
DeleteThis is definitely the best way to look at them, and I'm exactly the same. When I was younger, I would pick apart the changes in the film, whereas now, although I might still notice the differences, I don't really let them bother me, and if we talk about them, it's more likely to be about WHY things were changed than complaining about the changes.
ReplyDeleteOne of my favourite things about the films is how social they are - while my friends are big Harry Potter fans, sitting around and reading the books together isn't a particularly likely activity (though we have had a Harry Potter party before!), whereas watching the films together seems perfectly natural.
Yes! I'm much more a WHY person now too! It's fun to watch the movies with people and also discuss how they're different from the books.
DeleteHonestly, I like to complain about how the movies get the books wrong but to be fair, the HP movie adaptations are a superior quality and really they did a WONDERFUL job with all of them. As book lovers we're bound to have issues with what gets changed and what gets left out but in all fairness, compared to some other adaptations out there, they got things mostly right with these and we as a fandom are lucky to have such quality movies at our disposal! I do how we get to see a detailed mini-series at some point all the same though LOL. Excellent point Alex and great post ♥
ReplyDeleteThanks! :D It is fun to complain sometimes, I just have to be careful not to fall back into my younger mode. I agree whether or not I like the changes, I know that these movies are great!
DeleteI saw the Sorcerer's Stone movie before ever reading the books, so I was a little nervous when I did start reading the books that I wouldn't love the subsequent film adaptations as much. That was never a problem, though, and while of course there are a few things here and there from the books that I wish had made their way into the movies, overall I've really loved all of the films.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you were able to enjoy them both!
DeleteYeah, I was really unhappy with the stuff they left out of the later books. I'm currently re-reading Goblet of Fire and I remembered there's no S.P.E.W. in it, or Winky, or Peeves - and I'm sorry they had to cut them. Ooh, a mini series would be great for each of the books but who would play the kids? I have such a firm picture of them in my head now, I'd probably hate anyone they cast as Hermione, for example! :)
ReplyDeleteIt's so true. Because the movies did so well and essentially were a part of my growing up too, I have same hesitation about casting. Whoever would be cast for that would be fighting a big uphill battle there.
DeleteOh, I dream about the day they turn HP into a mini-series or tv show <3
ReplyDeleteI watched most of the HP movies before I read the books, so I've always been pretty forgiving towards them. Truthfully, I kind of consider them to be a separate thing from the books. No matter how close a movie adaptation is, there will always be differences. Sometimes the differences can be annoying, but other times those differences can be good and create a new cannon and provide food for our imagination. I'll always love the movies because they give me another way to experience the story, world, and characters, and that's always enjoyable.