In theHarry Potterbooks, Quidditch plays a huge part for the vast majority of Harry’s time at Hogwarts, yet the movie adaptations shied away from focusing on the sport as the films progressed, which wasn’t the best idea. When Chris Columbus helmed thefirst twoHarry Potterinstallments, a good chunk of time was dedicated to Quidditch games. Later entries either completely left it out or only featured it in small scenes.
Goblet of Fireonly featuring the Quidditch World Cup made sense since that was accurate totheHarry Potterbookbut the third and fifth films left out very crucial storylines relating to the sport, while the sixth movie brought it back for a handful of short scenes. It’s true that there were more important story beats going on asHarry and his friends grew older, but Quidditch shouldn’t have been shelved the way it was.
The Movies Left Out Harry Winning The Quidditch Cup
It Was A Big Moment For Harry
When Professor McGonnagall puts Harry on the Gryffindor Quidditch team as a First Year student, it’s almost unheard of but she did it because of how important it was to win the Quidditch Cup. Oliver Wood is even said to be obsessed with winning, to the point where he’s visibly crushed when it’s announced that the season was canceled due to the Chamber of Secrets being opened in Harry’s second year.
It was one of the better feel-good moments in the franchise but the movie adaptation leaves it out completely.
That makes the Quidditch Cup all the more important in Harry’s third year, which is also Oliver’s final year at Hogwarts. In thePrisoner of Azkabanbook,Gryffindor defeated Slytherin thanks to goals by Angelina Johnson andHarry getting the Snitchbefore Malfoy, winning the cup.It was one of the better feel-good moments in the franchise but the movie adaptation leaves it out completely. The only Quidditch scene in the film is used to showcase how dangerous Dementors are and how they affect Harry. They cause him to fall off his broom and the sport isn’t mentioned again afterward.
“Weasley Is Our King” Isn’t A Storyline In The Films
Ron Has His Greatest Hogwarts Accomplishment In His Fifth Year
After Quidditch is suspended in Harry’s fourth year due to the Triwizard Tournament, the Gryffindor team looked to win a second cup in a row in year five. Ron, who had just been made a Prefect, tried out and earned a spot as the team’s new Keeper. However, he had a problem with his nerves as he struggled mightily whenever he faced jeers in the crowd, especially from Slytherins.
It hit a point where Slytherins made up a song to sing during his games called “Weasley is Our King,” mocking the fact that whenever he was playing the Keeper, he’d let the other team score easily. It weighed heavily on Ron, who already dealt with severe self-esteem issues given everything he had to live up to behind his siblings and his two best friends. Things got even worse whenthe villainous Professor Umbridgebanned Harry, Fred, and George from Quidditch.
Despite this, Gryffindor still managed to be in line for the Quidditch Cup but without Harry, Fred, and George, nobody gave them a chance. So when Harry and Hermione walked toward the pitch after the game and heard “Weasley is Our King,” they suspected the worth. Instead,it was Gryffindors singing it as Ron had stepped up as Keeper and with help from Ginny as Seeker, they won the Cup.This was a massive moment for Ron that the movies unfortunately left out.
Quidditch Would’ve Helped Lighten Up The Darker Later Movies
Levity Was Needed In Some Of Those Films
Having fewer Quidditch scenes after Voldemort’s return at the end ofThe Goblet of Firemade sense because the story was headed in a much darker direction. That said,the films still could’ve used some of the levity that came with fun sports sequences.The Half-Blood Princeis a pretty dark movie but the scene where Hermione throws Cormac McLaggen off with a Confundus Charm was the kind of fun these films needed more of, especially ahead of things like Dumbledore’s death.
The “Weasley is Our King” storyline is a big missed opportunity and we could’ve used a bit more like that in the sixth movie beforeHarry Potterand his friends didn’t return to Hogwarts for the final two installments.
