Well as ITV is currently hosting Harry Potter season and yesterday they showed Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, I thought we could have a chat about that! I am ever so slightly obsessed with Harry Potter - it took up like 90% of my life when I was younger! I used to go to the midnight release of the books and have read most of it by the next day. I love it so much that I cried when it all ended. I streamed the live premiere of the last film, and cried some more, and I went to the midnight showing of most the films. You are dealing with a true Potterhead here.
So I thought that we could talk all about it! This little chatty section will include things from my opinions on characters, the plot, the books V the films, my favourite quotes and whatnot. This will be a really long post I think. So go and grab yourself a cup of tea and some munchies and sit back and relax!
THERE WILL BE SPOILERS IF YOU HAVE NOT READ THE BOOKS.
Characters
Lets first talk about Severus Snape.
Now lets address Albus Dumbledore.
You are all going to hate me now...I dislike Dumbledore. A lot. Yes he might be the greatest wizard bla bla bla, but he is a dickhead! He kept Harry alive simply to make sure he died when it suited him. How is that fair on Harry? He also ends up getting him in shit like every single year. I will admit, he is a wise old man and says some very interesting and true stuff, but I still don't like him. I dunno, I can't put it in to words. Sorry if you love Dumbledore, but look in to it and I bet you will find a teeny bit of dislike.
Now lets talk about Sirius Black.
Sirius Black is another one of my favourite characters. His death was another emotional moment - when he falls back in to the veil...OMG. Siruis' Animagus form is also pretty cool, you have to admit. He is the only remaining relative of Harry's, even though this is not through blood, and he is the only one ever really there for Harry. Plus he is one of the creators of the Marauders Map (Padfoot) so you know he is just awesome. He was also the first person ever to escape Azkaban...so yeah.
Now we have Dobby the House Elf.
I am sorry, but Dobby is the cutest thing I have ever seen in my entire life. Look at his dressed in his pillow cover with his big eyes...awww. Dobby's death was another emotional one I have to say...He was always there to protect Harry and died protecting him, even though Harry made him promise to never try to save him again. So cute. It was also Dobby who gave Harry the gillyweed in the Triwizard Tournament (Neville gave it to him in the films - this is incorrect). Dobby will always be a free elf.
Now we come to the star of the show, Harry Potter.
I have to say, Harry is a bit of an idiot really isn't he? Don't get me wrong, I love him and he is a very brave person, but he gets himself into a pickle at the same time every single year...I wonder if people go to Hogwarts wondering what shit Harry will get in to this time? Although he is pretty awesome as he is known as the only Master of Death having managed to unite each of the three Deathly Hallows. There are some pretty awesome quotes that Harry chucks our way though, aren't there? I do feel for him though.
The there is the awesomeness called Neville Longbottom.
Well Neville sort of made one hell of a transformation, didn't he? He went from this little nerdy kid to one hell of a gorgeous man! And he is a bit of a hero isn't he with all that stuff with the bridge (even if that isn't in the books). He is a bit of a smart cookie, too. If I was a witch I would be making a beeline for him....yum. I kind of love the fact that his boggart is Snape, too. That is highly amusing!
Then there is the Dark Lord himself, Voldemort/Tom Riddle.
Here is a fun fact about Voldemort for you...Contrary to what the films say, the "t" in Voldemort is silent and is actually from the French "vol de mort" which means "flight of death"...interesting! Now I am rather impressed with the depiction of Voldemort in the films, but they miss the back story about him from the movies which kind of explains about the Horcruxes...so if you were left a bit baffled about it...read the fucking books.
Books Vs Films
I am a firm believer in reading a book before seeing the film adaptation. Although the adaptations were quite good, nothing will ever beat the books I am afraid. I saw someone on Tumblr the other day say this: "Why are there only 7 books but 8 films? How fucking lazy must the author be if they only wanted to write 7 books about the films" ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! This person should be thrown off the planet.
In my opinion, the film adaptation of the Goblet of Fire was the best one I think. It had pretty much every element of the book in it and didn't miss anything out really. I don't know about you, but I thought this one was done pretty well. The best bit being in the graveyard where Voldemort comes back. I think the maze bit was so well done! The special effects etc were awesome.
Then we have the adaptation of the Order of the Phoenix. I am unhappy with this completely. I think this was the most poorly done film out of the lot as it missed about 80% of the book out. I think this film should have been done in two parts, or extended considering it is the shortest of all the films, but the biggest book...fail logic. I won't go in to what was missed out etc. because that will be discussed a little further on. Long story short, there were so many things in this film that were just introduced without the explanation about them e.g. the mirror given to Harry by Sirius where people who had not read the books would be completely baffled by. I just think more attention to detail could have been shown here.
Then there is the Deathly Hallows. Even though this was split in to two parts and had most of the elements from the books in it, I still didn't really like the movies. Yeah sure, there was a lot of action and stuff, but there were some important things missed out (will be mentioned further along, so keep reading) and there were some things that were altered. I think the best thing to come out of the Deathly Hallows movies is the animated story telling of the 3 brothers. I found this really good to watch and loved how it was animated using what looked like paper puppets/that sort of thing. I also didn't like the way the movie "killed" Voldemort as he just flutters away but that is not how it is described in the book...What are your thoughts on the Deathly Hallows?
Things that were missed out
There are so many things from the book series that were completely overlooked in the movies. I am simply going to bullet point these as there are loads that I have come across. This is in no way a complete list, but a few that I picked out.
- Peeves the Poltergeist
- The Philosopher's Stone potions challenge
- Detail about Tonks' and Lupin's child
- Voldemort's family history
- Bill and Charlie Weasley
- S.P.E.W
- The death of Peter Pettigrew
- Details on the Marauders/who they were/what it meant
- Detail on the Half Blood Prince
- The taboo on the name of Voldemort in DH
- Detail on squibs/what they are
- Significant quidditch matches
- Winky the house elf
- Pensieve scenes
- What a Metamorphmagus is
- The link of the Black's with the locket
- Ron being chosen as a prefect over Harry
- St Mungo's visit - seeing Arthur Weasley/Lockhart/Neville's parents
- Occlumency lessons resulting from the St Mungo's visit
- The Weasley's dislike for Fleur - calling her "Phlegm"
- Appiration lessons by the Ministry in Hogwarts
- Harry and Ginny's kiss in front of Ron after a quidditch match that was missed out
- Dumbledore's funeral/Ginny and Harry breaking up
- Who the Carrows were
- The Elder Wand - Harry does not snap it in half, he uses it to repair his own wand then puts it back in Dumbledore's tomb as when Harry dies its power will be broken
Well they are a few things I picked out as being the most important details from the book that were missed out. I think there was a significant lack of quidditch matches in the movies, which means a lot of important events were missed out. Some of these events e.g. Ginny and Harry kissing would have made amusing viewing, too!
My favourite quotes
I thought I would share with you some of my favourite quotes from the books and films! Some of these would make awesome tattoos, too....
"Happiness can be found even in the darkest of times, if only one remembers to turn on the light"
- Albus Dumbledore
"Always"
- Severus Snape
"Wit beyond measure is a mans greatest treasure"
- Rowena Ravenclaw
"Dobby didn't mean to kill, only to maim or seriously injure"
- Dobby the House Elf
"Dobby is a free elf!"
- Dobby the House Elf
"It does not do well to dwell on dreams and forget to live"
- Albus Dumbledore
"I solemnly swear I am up to no good"
- Harry Potter
"'yer a wizard, Harry"
- Rubeus Hagrid
"There will come a time when we must choose between what is easy and what is right"
- Albus Dumbledore
"It's levi-oh-sar, not levio-sar"
- Hermione Granger
"We've all got both light and dark inside us. What matters is the part we choose to act on. That's who we really are"
- Sirius Black
"Not my daughter, you bitch!"
- Molly Weasley
"I've always wanted to use that spell"
- Minerva McGonagall
My wizard information
Well if you are a true Potterhead like I am, then you will already have been aware of Pottermore! If not, click here and register!
When you join Pottermore you get to experience everything from the sorting ceremony to choosing your own wand! So I thought I could tell you about my wizard information from Pottermore, and also by using Harry Potter Wikia!
I am a proud member of Slytherin!
I started Hogwarts in May 2012!
This is my wand:
My blood status is Muggle-born.
My boggart is a clown.
My patronus is an elephant calf.
Ok I am going to stop geeking out now....
I am going to challenge you to complete your wizard profile! Comment them below using this template:
Name:
House:
Date started:
Wand length:
Wand wood:
Wand core:
Wand flexibility:
Blood status:
Boggart:
Patronus:
So if you have read this far then you get a prize of a box of Bertie Botts Every Flavour Beans for being simply awesome. If you complete the challenge above I might enter all the people (if I get any) into some sort of give away or prize-related thing....not sure what yet but it is worth a shot.
That is all for today, folks. If you enjoyed this post then don't forget to hit "Join This Site" at the top which would make me really happy!
Toodle-oo!
