20 Biggest Things The Harry Potter Movies Left Out
13. Quidditch In The Half Blood Prince
In The Book
Quidditch is a hugely important part of The Order Of The Phoenix, not least because it shows the triumphant rise of Ron Weasley as someone other than Harry's sidekick. He becomes 'keeper for Gryffindor, and though he starts poorly (leading to a Slytherin-led song mocking him and ending in "Weasley Is Our King!"), he saves the day, and the cup and the song is reappropriated to celebrate his hero status in his own house.
Elsewhere, Harry ends up being banned for life from Quidditch by Umbridge, which is pretty much the worst punishment for him possible.
In The Film
There's not really a pick of it in there, and Ron tries out for the Quidditch team in The Half Blood Prince instead, tying in to Harry pretending to give him Felix Felicis. It's a cruel cut for Ron, who gets one of only a few real solo moments.
Harry's ban from Quidditch could have happened in the background for all we know, but he just wasn't all that into the sport in the movies compared to the books, so who knows?
Was It A Positive Cut?
For Harry, it didn't really make all that much sense to ban him from a sport that wasn't as big a deal in the movies (probably because of costs), but Ron missing out on his Weasley Is Our King arc was an unnecessary cut. But then he was allowed onto the team eventually and did get involved in the Felix Felicis storyline, meaning he couldn't be protected using its good luck during the Battle Of Hogwarts. That in itself was a smart move as it made the stakes and the threat feel just a tiny bit more real.