Harry Potter is a franchise that has rightfully attained its status as one of the most popular fantasy series of all time, without a shadow of a doubt. The sheer mainstream appeal of this franchise is something that literally no one could've predicted, and against all odds, the influence of the series became so widespread that studios are still cashing in when it comes to the mainstream appeal of the franchise. The Fantastic Beasts trilogy is a great example of this, with the second movie of a planned trilogy gracing the big screen soon.

However, one constant complaint that you'll constantly be privy to when it comes to the series is the fact that the movies are generally not as comprehensive as the books. This is pretty obvious, especially since the books are just so expansive when compared to the movies. However, this still doesn't excuse a large number of changes from the books to the movies, that are actually pretty significant when one looks at the ramifications of the plot. After all, J.K. Rowling's imagination has led to the creation of this cohesive world after all, and the people behind the creation of the movies should've kept this in mind before they straight up decided to alter these major elements of the series altogether. With this in mind, it's time to take a look at 25 of the worst changes from the books to the movies that have happened in the Harry Potter franchise.

25 Glossing Over Dumbledore's Backstory

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One of the major things that the movies completely skipped out on is the backstory of a character who's gone on to become one of the fan favorites of the series (including the creator of the series herself). Dumbledore is undoubtedly one of the best characters in the history of fiction, which is why the movies missed out on a golden moment to flesh out his character and endear him even more to the Harry Potter faithful.

The backstory regarding Dumbledore's tragic childhood is completely ignored.

This includes the trouble with his sister (by way of Muggles) and the subsequent detainment of his father in Azkaban when he retaliated against these aggressors. The story of Ariana, Grindelwald, and Aberforth Dumbledore is a grave one indeed, and one can only hope that some light will be shed on this story in the upcoming Fantastic Beasts movie.

24 Ignoring The Battle That Occurred After Dumbledore's Demise

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It seems that there were a lot of things that were omitted from the books regarding various events surrounding Dumbledore, which is certainly a disappointing tale of events for obvious reasons. One such event happened after the tragic demise of this beloved character at the hands of Snape, which — while premeditated — is still is a hard thing to look back on.

However, in the books, Dumbledore's Army actually fight against these Death Eaters.

This battle occurs at the Astronomy Tower right after Dumbledore was taken care of. One must wonder why the filmmakers chose to remove this scene from the books, since it would've made for a thrilling and emotional fight right after one of the most beloved characters in the Harry Potter universe had met his end at the hands of these villains.

23 That Infamous Goblet Of Fire Scene Never Happened In The Books

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Before we start off with this entry, let us state that Michael Gambon was a perfectly serviceable Dumbledore, who captured the stern aspect of this character brilliantly. Unfortunately, Dumbledore was known more for his calm and quiet demeanor, rather than the somewhat brash character that was portrayed by Gambon after the previous Dumbledore, Richard Harris, had unfortunately succumbed to Hodgkin's Disease.

Perhaps the most infamous example of this stark difference in character occurs in The Goblet Of Fire, where Gambon storms towards Harry and grabs him by the neck, before violently asking whether he put his name in the goblet of fire. This is in stark contrast to the books, where Dumbledore is the only person who's not accusing Harry, and asks him the same question in a calm manner.

22 Dumbledore (And Other Characters) Performing Wandless Magic Whenever They Want

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Whoo boy, Dumbledore's really done it this time.

We're obviously kidding, but at the same time, it must be stated that wandless magic is something that simply can't be looked over so easily. After all, it has been stated time and time again in the series that only the most experienced wizards can perform magic without a wand, and even then it's highly recommended to use a wand anyway so that an individual's magic power can be channeled properly.

However, it seems that in the movies, this rule is completely glossed over.

While we're certainly not saying that wandless magic can't be performed by Dumbledore at all, the sheer audacity with which many characters (including a random stranger at the Leaky Cauldron) can just perform something so inherently hard must be pointed out.

21 The Quidditch Game In The Goblet Of Fire Is Barely Given Any Screen Time

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The popularity of Harry Potter obviously transferred over to the fantasy sport that J.K. Rowling had imagined, as well. Any person even vaguely familiar with Harry Potter will know that we're talking about Quidditch, a magical sport that's is the focal point during the early moments of The Goblet Of Fire, when the gang goes to watch the Quidditch World Cup final between Bulgaria and Ireland.

However, while the match is described in detail in the books, the movies decided to not spend too much time on this event for some reason. While we certainly understand why the director decided to reduce the movie's runtime by removing this segment, it would've still been quite awesome to witness a World Cup Quidditch match on the big screen nevertheless.

Another discrepancy in The Goblet Of Fire is that...

20 Gillyweed Is Given To Harry By Dobby In The Books

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Anybody who's seen The Goblet Of Fire would state that Gillyweed — the plant that enabled Harry to complete the second challenge — was discovered and given to Harry by Neville. It was only after this that Barty Crouch Jr. (under the guise of Mad-Eye Moody) told Harry to put the Gillyweed in his mouth just before the trial started. However, the people who've read the books find this scene to be a sore sticking point.

After all, it wasn't Neville who gave Harry the Gillyweed — it was Dobby.

The house-elf had heard a pre-planned conversation between the fake Moody and Professor McGonagall. This would've been an interesting angle to take, since it would've given the audience a greater insight into just how crafty Barty Crouch Jr. actually was.

This manipulation eventually led to Harry "winning" the Triwizard Tournament (if one can even call it that), which begs the question — what happened with his prize?

19 Fred And George Managed To Open Their Store With Harry's Triwizard Tournament Money

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After the events of The Order Of The Phoenix, when Fred and George decided to run away from the school after being stuck under Umbridge's thumb for too long, the twins decided to start their own business that would encompass everything they were good at — specifically, pulling off some seriously wicked pranks. So, keeping this goal in mind, Fred and George opened their own store, named Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes.

But how did they find the money to start this venture?

After all, the Weasleys weren't exactly known for their wealth, and we highly doubt that their mother would've encouraged her sons to follow what was seemingly a ludicrous career path. This is explained in the books, where Harry decided to give their business a headstart by gifting them his Triwizard earnings, which was a grand total of a thousand Galleons.

18 The Hogwarts Kitchen Is Not Shown In The Movies

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The sheer amount of tasty food that's on display in the Grand Hall during certain moments of the series is an absolutely mouth-watering spectacle. However, this begs the question — exactly where is this food coming from? After all, simply stating that all this food is being made with the help of magic is too much of a stretch.

All this food is cooked in the Hogwarts Kitchen, which is absent from the movies.

In fact, it's the apparent plight of the house-elves in these kitchens that leads Hermione to start off a movement that would help in the upheaval of their situation as a whole (although it's not like they really mind working for others). This also brings us to the next entry, that is also glossed over in the movies.

17 Hermione's SPEW Movement Is Notably Absent

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The Society for the Protection of Elfish Welfare (or SPEW) is an organization that was started off by a determined Hermione, after she witnessed the appalling state of the house-elves in the wizarding world — at least, in her own eyes. While the motivation behind this movement might seem rather noble, the house-elves find Hermione to be nothing more than a nuisance who's constantly disrupting their work.

This organization is completely absent in the movies.

While at a first glance, it might seem understandable as to why this rather inconsequential movement was removed from the books, it's nonetheless quite disappointing that we weren't able to witness Hermione's righteous — albeit misplaced — sentiments on the big screen.

The absence of this movement is just one of the many reasons why...

16 Winky And Kreacher's Importance Is Severely Undermined

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The house-elves truly are some of the most mysterious and intriguing characters in the Harry Potter universe. We first witness their existence in the second book, when Dobby makes his appearance and constantly impedes Harry's journey (that is, until his good intentions were revealed).

But what about the impact that Winky and Kreacher had on the story?

At least Kreacher is still present in the movies, even though his importance to the story is diminished in several ways. However, when it comes to Winky, it seems that the filmmakers didn't deem her important enough for even one measly appearance. This is pretty remarkable, especially since she played a major part in the story when it came to Barty Crouch Jr.'s side story in The Goblet Of Fire.

15 The Escape Scene From The Dursley's Is Changed In Several Ways

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The Battle of the Seven Potters (as nicknamed by the fans) is the label attached to the escape scene that was staged from Dursleys to the headquarters of The Order Of The Phoenix. As the name suggests, the scene contained six people disguised as Harry, so that the Death Eaters would be confused when it came to which one was the real Harry.

This chase scene was handled differently in the movies.

In the books, the groups make stopovers at several houses before traveling to the Weasley's via Portkey. However, in the movies, the entire party decides to head directly over to the Weasleys, which is understandably not as sneaky as one might've hoped. There's also the rather lore-breaking scene where Harry and Hagrid fly over a Muggle Highway — a scene that completely destroys the illusion among the normal population that magic doesn't exist.

14 The Final Goodbye By The Dursleys Is Completely Ignored

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However, one of the major ways in which The Battle Of The Seven Potters was altered actually happened before the chase scene even happened.

Throughout the entire series, the Dursleys are constantly portrayed as nothing more than horrible and abusive guardians, who had no intentions of letting Harry experience a pleasant childhood.

However, the movies skip out on a scene where a member of the family redeems themselves to an extent.

In the books, there's a scene before this escape where the Dursley's give their final farewell to Harry. However, before they leave for good, Dudley comes over to Harry and shares one final goodbye, thanking him for saving his life from the Dementors. It's a touching scene that was actually shot for the movie, but removed from the final cut.

13 Spells Are Cast Without Incantations, Which Is Just Plain Wrong

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Sometime after the fourth movie, it seems that the filmmakers decided to focus more on mindless action, instead of sticking with the rules of the Harry Potter universe. While the movies ended up being fairly successful from both a critical and commercial perspective, the fact of the matter is that there are a number of things fundamentally wrong with this approach.

The worst thing has to be casting spells without muttering the incantation.

After all, it has been stated time and time again in the books that enunciating incantations in a clear voice is essential to make sure that the spell succeeds. It seems that this golden rule didn't matter from the fifth movie onwards, since most actions scenes became nothing more that visually-pleasing light shows, and nothing else.

12 Peeves Is Not Present Throughout Any Of The Movies

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There are many characters from the books that didn't make it in the series, for various reasons. Whether it might be an unnecessary inclusion, or just the fulfillment of certain purposes that could be done by other characters, the reasons behind these omissions are still pretty understandable.

However, one character that should've been in the movies is Peeves.

The poltergeist was certainly one of the more entertaining and light-hearted characters present in the series, and has also made his fair share of appearances in the various video games based on the series. However, for some reason, it was deemed that his presence wasn't necessary for the movies. It's quite surprising why this is the case, especially since the earlier movies would've benefited from his comedic antics.

11 House Points Become Pretty Irrelevant Over Time

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House points in the books are a major aspect of the Harry Potter universe, governing most of their actions and making sure that each and every house performs to their very best. While this element is certainly quite important in the first movie, where Gryffindor wins as a result of Harry and his friends' actions, it's simply forgotten in the rest of the series.

Similar to how Quidditch is treated, for the most part, house points become highly irrelevant over time. This might be because the filmmakers thought that they only needed to establish these elements of Hogwarts, so that they wouldn't have to come back to it time and time again and waste precious runtime. Whatever the case might be, it's still quite disappointing that the movie didn't choose to explore this mechanic as deeply as the books did.

10 The Potion Challenge For Hermione Was Removed In The Philosopher's Stone

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The first Harry Potter movie was a roaring success that personified the book almost perfectly in video form. It was clear that a lot of thought and effort was put into crafting a movie that followed the source material diligently. However, even keeping this in mind, there are still a few things that were removed from the movie to fit the bigger picture.

The climax of the movie was shortened as well.

In case you're wondering what we're talking about, there's another challenge after the chess sequence where Hermione was supposed to showcase her intellect, in the form of a potions riddle. However, the filmmakers thought that this scene wouldn't translate well to the big screen, and removed it. This meant that while Harry and Ron were able to fulfill their respective challenges, Hermione was left with that one moment where she used an incantation to free up the vines and rescue Ron.

9 Nearly Headless Nick's Deathday Party Is Omitted In The Movies

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The second book is notable for having a slightly darker tone, and one might argue that it actually started the dark shift in the tone of the series (which was subsequently carried on by the brooding atmosphere of The Prisoner Of Azkaban). In fact, one might argue that it was too dark, and a lighter scene in the movies would've certainly helped alleviate the atmosphere.

One such scene that the movie could've benefited from was Nearly Headless Nick's Deathday Party. Having a scene where a person is celebrating the date of his demise would've certainly proven to be an odd and upbeat sequence that would've lightened the tone of the movie.

Also, we have to say that experiencing a Deathday party on the big screen, in general, would've been a one-of-a-kind experience in itself.

8 Firenze Doesn't Come Back To Teach Divination

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You might understandably be scratching your head when we mention the name Firenze. After all, if you've only seen the movies, then you wouldn't really have seen centaur called Firenze, aside from a brief appearance in the first movie after Harry witnesses Voldemort drinking the blood of a unicorn.

However, in the books, this centaur makes another notable appearance.

We witness in the movies that Umbridge decides to dismiss Trelawney from the school after declaring her presence in Hogwarts to be nothing more than a waste. While Trelawney still managed to stay in Hogwarts, her Divination classes were taken over by Firenze — something that the movie decided to not show at all.

7 The Backstory Of The Marauders Is Never Really Explained

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The Prisoner Of Azkaban is perhaps one of the finest pieces of fiction around, which shifts the Harry Potter series into a more serious tone and introduces key characters that will play a major role in the things to come. One of the most interesting things that were introduced in this chapter of Harry's story was the Marauder's Map, which — among other things — provided Harry with a memento of his father's school days.

However, the backstory of Harry's dad and his friends is not really in-depth by any means.

Their story is told in more detail in the books, where we bare witness to the shenanigans of Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs, as they made a name for themselves in the world of Harry Potter. However, in the movies, their existence is summarized in short bite-sized tales that don't do justice to their lofty legacy.

6 The Invisibility Cloak Is Not Used As Heavily In The Movies As It Is In The Books

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A staple of the series from the very first book, the invisibility cloak is certainly one of the most interesting magical items that are present in the world of Harry Potter. It allows Harry to sneak around the school with ease and it opens up the door for a ton of opportunities from a story standpoint as well. Also — and this is just blatant favoritism — it's certainly pretty cool to see in action, as well.

This cloak is used a lot more in the books than in the movies.

While we understand just how much of a pace-killer it would be to include multiple repetitious scenes with the invisibility cloak, it still kinda sucks that the cloak isn't used to its fullest extent. After all, the last few moments of the books involve a ton of sneaking around Death Eaters, and the invisibility cloak helps the gang out a lot.