10 Famous Movie Characters Ruined By Elaborate Backstories
8. Albus Dumbledore
Although the movies made the wise choice of not telling us too much about Albus Dumbledores beginnings, J.K. Rowling couldnt help herself in the books and in her Pottermore spin-off texts. Albus arguably worked better as an elderly enigma, who we didnt actually know much about. Thanks to Rowlings eye for an elaborate backstory, though, we now know that Albus was born in 1881, that his father died in Azkaban and that his mother and damaged sister also passed away while he was young. We learn that his wayward brother Aberforth outlived Albus, because he later helps the core trio out in a time of need. We also learned that Dumbledore founded the Order of the Phoenix, used the Elder Wand for thirty years and visited Tom Riddle in his youth. There are even more details about his past, if you want to go looking for them. Id argue, though, that youd probably be better off avoiding Dumbledores elaborate backstory for the most part. The problem is essentially that Dumbledore was an enigmatic sage when we first met him. Clearly very old and very wise, he was the perfect mentor to Harry and the gang, with a nice air of mystery to him. But by telling us every single detail of his childhood and early life, Rowling arguably diminished his magic a little.
