If you're my age, you probably grew up with the Harry Potter movies instead of the books. When Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone came out, I was two. Not really the age to read the book before watching the movie. Because of this, it took me a while to read all the books and, when I did, they probably didn’t have the same effect on me as it did on other older Harry Potter Fans. Actually, the only book I was able to read before the movie was The Deathly Hallows. Still, while I will always have a close connection to the movies, especially the first few, I have to say the books were better. As they got longer, more and more was left out of the movies. Questionable casting choices and the subtraction of plots meant that the books were much more developed and unconventional. A few of the casting issues are: the age of the Maruaders generation -James and Lily were twenty one when they died, why were the actors so much older?-, Ginny- her actress just didn’t have the same energetic personality-, and Hermoine. Emma Watson was perfect in the first two movies, but after that she lost the Hermoine hair and opted for a style that book Hermoine had to work for hours to obtain. As for excluded subplots,I missed Hermoine ranting about S.P.E.W., and Lupin and Tonk’s adorable son Teddie, and Neville’s family life and connection to the prophecy.
The first two movies In the Harry Potter series are probably the most loyal. The majority of the books were included in the movies. The overall atmosphere was more balanced; there was more of a warm feel to the movies that balanced out all the dark parts. You actually saw Harry, Ron, and Hermoine going to class (I think the movies showed only one class per film after The Prisoner of Azkaban), and having them go on their holiday breaks, and overall actually being students. The movies just didn’t have that sort of vibe to them as they progressed.
I could go on, explain why Voldemort’s death was better in the book, how Hermoine slowly took over for Ron in the movies reducing Ron to a punch line, how Harry and Ginny were awkward and uncomfortable in the movies, but I think you get the idea. These are the movies I grew up with, and I love them, but to say that they were an authentic adaptation of the Harry Potter series wouldn’t be realistic or honest, and I think I prefer the books to the movies.
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