12 Harry Potter Movie Changes That Were Completely Justified

8. Removing The Dursleys - The Later Films

In The Book

The Dursleys remains an unfortunately looming presence in the books right up to the final book, where we get to see Dudley's remorseful attempts to apologise to Harry. His mother is also revealed to have had a far closer relationship with Dumbledore, who charged her with protecting Harry.

For their sins, they would be the butt of the joke repeatedly (and rather boringly by the end).

In The Film

With the books increasing in length, the film-makers had to make cuts and in the later films, the Dursleys are almost entirely absent. They were redundant by this point as Harry grew into his independence, and while they served a narrative purpose in the books, it would have felt like retreading old ground if we kept seeing them.

Plus, they were incredibly annoying, so seeing less of them was a good thing all round.