12 Dumb Decisions In Harry Potter Movies We Can't Forgive

We all loved the Harry Potter series when it was first released, to say nothing of the divisive author JK Rowling’s recent non-canon additions to the beloved books. And most of us are willing to concede that the blockbuster movies made from the seven books were mostly great popcorn fun, an entertaining set of adaptations whose revolving door of big name directors did an admirable job of handling the source material’s sometimes clumsy transition from kid’s fiction fantasy to young adult angst.

Whether you prefer the early, lighter fare farmed out by Home Alone director Chris Columbus, the moodier lone entry from Gravity helmer Alfonso Cuaron, or the more conventional British blockbuster fantasy from Mike Newell and David Yates in the series’ latter half, there’s no denying that the series had something for everyone. However, it also had the creative freedom to jettison some aspects of the source novels, and as usual some elements of the fandom were none too happy about what was altered and replaced.

With that in mind, we’ve endeavoured to list the most inexcusably dumb changes made in the movies which we weren’t able to understand at the time and still can’t really forgive all these years later.

First off, we need to talk about everyone’s biggest complaint when it comes to the tendency within the film series to cut out character who aren’t absolutely vital to the plot of the novels—seriously, this name came up more than any other entry when we polled fans of the series for this article.

In the novels, Peeves the Poltergeist is a mischievous but mostly good-natured spirit who pranks Hogwarts caretaker Filch, plays practical jokes on teachers and students alike, and later even helps terrorize Umbridge out of the school before also joining the fight against Voldemort in the final novel.

Whereas in the films, he’s… Not there.

Despite a brief appearance being filmed for the character in the first flick, Peeves was cut for time and his character was never revisited, meaning we lost the chance to see the late British comedy legend Rik Mayall excel in the role. For shame…