12 Harry Potter Movie Changes That Were Completely Justified

2. The Removal Of SPEW

In The Book

Hermione forms SPEW - the Society For The promotion Of Elfish Welfare - as an expression of her humanity and her desire to see the least of Hogwarts' creatures looked after properly. Linked to that sub-plot closely are Winky and Dobby the House Elves.

In The Film

Rather than introduce Hermione's campaigning, Winky was cut out entirely and Dobby was dropped out of relevance for four films, only returning in The Deathly Hallows to help Kreacher capture Mundungus Fletcher.

It's a shame that Dobby gets sidelined (though having him in more would just have made his death more upsetting), but SPEW would have been no more than a needless distraction. So, yeah, maybe it's heartless, but it was the right decision in story-telling terms.