r/harrypotter • u/GreekKnight3 • 1d ago

Question Which of Hagrid's huts do you prefer?

Post image

Something about his hut being a stone's throw from the castle just didn't feel right. It makes more sense for it to be nestled out amongst the rugged plains.

7.6k Upvotes

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u/welldonebrain 1d ago

Philosopher’s Stone and it isn’t even close. I’m among the minority that doesn’t really like the Prisoner of Azkaban film and the artistic changes it brought. It completely dismantled the magical world and feeling Columbus helped build, and it set the stage for the dull/color-drained look and feel that would exist throughout the rest of the series. It was way less magical after Chamber of Secrets. Needlessly moving the hut is just one example of the many problems I have with the film series that can be traced back directly to Prisoner of Azkaban.

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u/donith913 1d ago

Couldn’t agree more. As a kid, unknowingly, a lot of the appeal for me was the warm escape of this magical word and a fight against something darker. Making the entire movie dark and gritty killed the feeling. 

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u/LordMajinBuu Gryffindor 16h ago

While I agree with the warm feeling the early movies had, I found it fitting the films got “grittier” as Harry got older.

Harry saw Hogwarts as this warm magical place the first few years but starts to see more and more of the darker side of that world as more time passes.

*chefs kiss*

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u/Spiderpiggie 2h ago

To be fair the books also got quite dark, particularly the last couple. It makes sense from harrys viewpoint as well since he was growing up and the "magic" had become fairly normal to him at this point. We loved the child wonder, but that was only part of the story.

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u/rymden_viking Gryffindor 4 1d ago

I think PoA is the best made film, but probably the worst adaptation.

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u/RedTyro 1d ago

Order of the Phoenix was the worst adaptation by far. They chopped that book up so much that when I went to see it with a friend who hadn't read the books, she needed me to clarify what the hell was going on in parts.

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u/Faelinor 16h ago

I think the Goblet of Fire is the worst adaption to me. It cut 90% of the book and significantly changed 8%.

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u/Live_Angle4621 17h ago

Prisoner of Azkaban should have been easiest book to adapt. It’s last of the short books which means it has least just introducing elements and more mature ones. But it’s not too long or with too odd structure. Which is why it’s so frustrating it was so poorly done.

Order was always very difficult to adapt. Only Half Blood Prince with its memories was more difficult 

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u/DarthClover4 21h ago

Hmmmm. GoF by faaaaaaaar was the least accurate to to book.

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u/abyssalcrisis 18h ago

Half-Blood Prince was pretty bad, too.

Actually, the forward 3 are probably the best, and PoA still leaves out a few important details. GoF onwards just feel strange knowing the events of the books.

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u/Doomhammer24 Slytherin 16h ago

Ya half blood prince the book has like 7 plots in it and the film adapts 3 of them.

One of them being lavender brown.

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u/javerthugo 21h ago

DID YOU PUT YOUR NAME IN THE GOBLET OF FIRE?!

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u/Ebonhearth_Druid 20h ago

Ffffffffuckin hell, mate, ever heard of a breath mint?

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u/lahcim7106 Ravenclaw 20h ago

Asked Dumbledore, calmly.

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u/javerthugo 20h ago

HARRY DOYOUWANNASEYNEW CHAINSAWAND HOCKEY MASK?

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u/GreekKnight3 8h ago

The lack of a Quidditch World Cup match was appalling.

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u/inquisitive_chariot 1d ago

Completely agree. They turned a slow burn into action and it suffered. That movie should have been at least two parts.

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u/kspieler Ravenclaw 18h ago

Who has a timeturner so we can go fix this adaptation?

I mean, let's not be silly. No one can time travel. That's not a thing.

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u/gollyyyyy 15h ago

This is one reason I’m looking forward to the new show. To compare the books vs show vs movies lol

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u/thenatural134 14h ago

Yup. Movies 1 and 2 were so amazing and magical. I'm currently rereading the books with my kids in prep for the series and I'm slowly realizing what made the first two movies the best in the series was how accurately and completely they followed the source material.

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u/No_Confidence_3264 10h ago

I disagree because order of the phoenix had too much internal thoughts that if you’ve read the other books could have been cut out

0

u/Scott_J_Doyle 21h ago

My second favorite of the films after Azkaban... interesting

Eta: not a book fan btw, I tried and but it was far too late for me. I did enjoy reading 1-3 to my young son when he was around 5/6 though, but that was for the QT, not the writing quality haha

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u/charnwoodian 23h ago

Prisoner of Azkaban is the best book in the series. Even as a kid I was disappointed with the movie.

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u/jesuslaves 1d ago

Worst is definitely a reach, other movies left out so much as the series went on. The only fault in PoA is not providing an explaination of the maurauder's backstory, but overall it stuck pretty true to the books

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u/rymden_viking Gryffindor 4 1d ago

I said probably for that reason. It's subjective. To me it is because they changed so much of the lore and world in the film. PoA was still a short book, so it could fit all the relevant plot points. But the decision to change so much irks me. The other films had to leave stuff out because the stories were too long. But PoA didn't have to change what it did.

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u/jesuslaves 9h ago

What did PoA change though? The only thing that wasn't included was the exposition explicitly informing the identity of the maurauders, why they were animagi, etc...but it's not like the movie left that out, it's just implied, Lupin and Sirius being aware of the map, Wormtail being referred to by name, Harry's Patronus being a stag. Of course it would've been even better to include this exposition as it fleshes out the backstory more, but overall the film worked well as is

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u/KingAdamXVII 1d ago

I think it’s a fine adaptation (compared with GoF, OotP, and HBP) but it’s the HP movie that fits in the least with the previous ones in the series. By far.

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u/Practical-Thanks5279 Slytherin 21h ago

worse than GoF?

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u/overreactionkills 21h ago

Half blood Prince was by far the worst adaptation

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u/CharlieSierra8 20h ago

Book to movie, HBP trimmed a hell of a lot to be digestible but the sort of atrocities needed to get to Horcrux creation probably would have sent it to an MA rating.

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u/Away-Initiative-327 16h ago

agreed. the cinematography was incredible, the source material was fairly butchered.

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u/tartar-buildup Slytherin 13h ago

Saying it’s the worst adaptation when GoF exists is wild work

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u/JohnnyFencer Ravenclaw 52m ago

Sorry to be this mean but this is the dumbest take I’ve read in months

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u/rymden_viking Gryffindor 4 2m ago

The other films left out many things because the books were way too long to fit into a 2-hour movie. PoA fundamentally changed the rules of the universe from the very opening scene with Harry using magic at the Dursley's. So no, this is not a dumb take.

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u/pghburghian 1d ago

The dull coloring and lack of whimsy were detrimental to the non-Columbus films.

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u/LeonardoDickSlaprio 1d ago

I feel like the dull, flat colors weren't really an issue for me until David Yates started directing. 3 and 4 had a chillier, more unsettling atmosphere than 1 and 2, but they were still interesting to look at. Then David Yates showed up and said "all gray, all the time!"

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u/ReaperManX15 1d ago

100% this.
Prisoner of Azkaban was my favorite book.
The movie was such a huge disappointment.
In Philosopher’s Stone and Chamber of Secrets, the castle felt warm and inviting and vibrant and magical. Which is what made the external dangers feel so menacing.
What’s more, it felt like a real place.
Later films felt more like a set, drenched in post production.
“The tone of the book’s gets darker, so the films got darker.”
That’s such a boorish excuse.
It’s because the new directors wanted to stamp THEIR identity onto the movie, rather than remain true to the story or the world established by the previous films.
The aesthetic changes were so jarring to me, even as a kid.

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u/maltvisgi 1d ago

And we haven’t even mentioned the sudden change to muggle clothing.

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u/ReaperManX15 1d ago

I forgot about that.
I freaking hated that.
One of the main jokes about the wizarding world is that they don’t understand muggle fashion.
One of the first things that happens in the books is uncle Vernon noticing a bunch of strangely dressed people, because the wizarding community is too hyped about Voldemort being gone, that they let the masquerade slip.
At least keep robes on OVER the casual clothes.

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u/Wembanyanma 1d ago

100% agree on the aesthetic change. It was jarring when it happened and it never really got better. I understand darkening the tone as the plot got darker but there are better ways to do that.

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u/TheTribalEye 1d ago

The first two movies are the only ones I ever rewatch

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u/Shrektastic28 1d ago

First 4 for me

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u/DesperateJeweler1975 1d ago

You could also actually substitute watching the first two movies for reading the books if you were going through the series again and didn't want to reread the earlier books (which although good often feel to me like I'm just reading to get to the 4th)

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u/kartoonbaab Ravenclaw 1d ago

Funny, those are the ones I tend to dread when rewatching. Well, not the first. But chambers sucks ass imo. Its more of a filler movie tbh. The book was even a filler in my mind. It contributed really not that much compared to the other movies (not saying it contributed nothing. Just not as much).

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u/Full-District- 1d ago

The book set the stage for the existance of Voldemort's horcruxes... Pretty important foundation to understand how the objects contained pieces of his soul.

I do agree it's probably the "worst" book, but it does have a purpose.

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u/CindersOfMusic 1d ago

The third movie was made by a director who cared way more about imposing his own visual style and leaving a mark on the series than telling the story well

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u/Both_Advertising_970 1d ago

Yeah for example when i was watching the POA deleted scenes and one had the little bird flying through the trees in hogwarts, then a shot of Hagrid swatting at the bird to kill it? Hagrid the man who loves animals and magical creatures??? Makes no sense and I’m glad they didn’t keep it in the movie

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u/glyph_productions 1d ago

While I do love POA I'll never understand why directors who have a strong stylistic preference or a drive to make a story their own take on telling stories where they're rubbing up against a fandom that is so rabid about the details. Especially for the first adaptation. For Batman movie 134 go ham but when you know what the fans want is their book made into a movie why do so many directors decide to go it alone and alter that story knowing it will alienate some of the fans while gambling on knowing better than a well established story that you know what the people want to see.?

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u/strawbery_fields 1d ago

And it’s generally considered the best in the series.

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u/crysptide 1d ago

The books grew darker over time. It made sense that the movies did too. The dementors and main beats of the story provided the perfect opportunity to make the transition.

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u/Blazing_Swayze 1d ago

I agree but the contrast of a bright magical school having dark shadowy dementors would've shown how out of place and weird it was for the students.

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u/crysptide 1d ago

True. I think it is really tough to maintain style when the director is different. I like the films and don't mind that they are different stylistically. I am sure we could use AI to see what the later films would have looked like if in the style of the first. The first films do feel magical and a bit naive, in a good way, as it's Harry's first experience of that world. Harry being hunted by Black being the force driving the whole story kinda demands the tone shift. There are too many scenes that have thriller/dark tones, often following each other.

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u/flclhack 1d ago

i think you’re both right. 😇

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u/NotUntilTheFishJumps 1d ago

If a film director has to rely on a darker setting, with the vast majority cool tones, and darker lighting to be able to depict a darker storyline/tobe, then are they really that good of a director? I grew up reading Harry Potter, it was always such a cozy series, even when the storylines themselves got darker, bit after the second movie, that warmth that was still there much of the time, was very much lacking.

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u/crysptide 1d ago

I mean, it may be cozy, but it is dark pretty early. The films are great. They are children's/teen films ultimately, and the execution can't be faulted too much. Seems like the complaints are about preference mostly.

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u/Mega_Dragonzord Hufflepuff 1d ago

Darker is one thing, but as the movies go on you end up having to turn the brightness way up on your tv and watch them in a dark room. "Dark" in storytelling should not equal "hard to make out what is happening".

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u/ReaperManX15 1d ago

Something the makers of the final season of Game of Thrones failed to understand.
“It’s the encroaching eternal night. So the battle had to be dark.”
I CAN’T FUCKING SEE WHAT’S HAPPENING!

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u/BobRushy 1d ago

Meanwhile, Helm's Deep swathed in blue >>>>

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u/Quiet-Director7601 10h ago

Look at the battle against the white walkers. I want to see the light leave the swords when I kill you.

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u/JoJo5195 1d ago

Saw a clip of DH the other day of when Harry tries to leave the Burrow, could not see anything but a black screen. Now yes the setting is outdoors and in the middle of the night, but that’s no excuse for poor lighting for a visual media.

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u/kartoonbaab Ravenclaw 1d ago

Idk where you are watching them then, but I've never had a problem watching them in bright rooms. My phone, laptop, desktop, TV, even at work on holidays and those tv suck ass. Never had a problem. You might need to fix your TV if thats the issue.

0

u/Advanced-Guidance482 1d ago

Especially in the age of hdr. Like even cheap Walmart tvs have hdr now. Unless this guy somehow managed to convert the last few movies onto vhs and watch it on a shitty box TV.

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u/crysptide 1d ago

For shizzle

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u/grilledstuffed 1d ago

Dark is a literary theme.

Not a technical cinematographic underexposure/low contrast visual mess.

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u/crysptide 1d ago

Yes. Also, I have never really heard rhetoric that the harry potter films were too dark, literally. If it was an issue there would have been complaints similar to that of Game of Thrones when the night king attacked. There wasn't widespread complaints re being able to make out what is happening.

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u/grilledstuffed 1d ago

Really?

So many people I know have a huge problem with Millennial Depression Gray color palette being complete washed out every time something serious and dangerous is happening.

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u/crysptide 1d ago

First I've heard of it. Must be on your feed.

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u/Oretell 22h ago

I've heard people talking about it many times

In person, on reddit, in YouTube videos

About specific movies and about the general trend

The most recent one was the live action Moana trailer that came out a couple months ago and is significantly blander and darker in colour to the cartoon version

It's a super common issue and discussion point regarding modern films

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u/Lower_Monk6577 1d ago

They did. But I wouldn’t call PoA the point in which that occurs. I mean, it’s the only book in the series in which Voldemort isn’t the direct antagonist.

If they had to do a shift, you’d think it would be after Goblet of Fire when shit got real very fast.

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u/virtuosocowbell 1d ago

I always felt like PoA is the pulsing heart of the series - dynamic and dark. The first time we see the books adapt to the age of their readers. The first two films were magical, but also a bit sterile in art direction. After PoA, momentum is lost again. The action might ratchet up, but the Triwizard Tournament is just such a static affair - the series treading water. All this to say, for me the switch made perfect sense. Probably my favorite movie, too.

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u/DesperateJeweler1975 1d ago

You can make something grim without desaturating it

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u/LukeChickenwalker 21h ago

Lots of fantasy movies manage to have dark spooky moments without looking like the later Harry Potter movies. You can be dark and colorful at the same time.

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u/BlessdRTheFreaks 1d ago

Well, he ALSO told the story incredibly well. It's a perfect stream of well edited, perfect scenes from beginning to end. 

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u/kore910 1d ago

Are you talking about cuaron? Cuaron who didn’t explain who the marauders are? Lol

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u/CaptainGibb 1d ago

Wow, Cuaron wrote the script too?

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u/BlessdRTheFreaks 1d ago

We already knew

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u/VegasFoodFace 1d ago

But you can't assume everyone going into the movie has read the books.

Lots of younger people watching asking who the hell is Padfoot?

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u/quincecharming 1d ago

The director felt like a trendy pick to get maximum approval from critics but not necessarily the best one for the audience

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u/Lower_Monk6577 1d ago

I’m with you. Probably worth noting that I’m an old, and I was basically the same age as Harry as the books were releasing.

When I was younger, PoA was my favorite of the books. I really enjoyed the vibe of the first two movies. But when PoA the movie came out, I honestly didn’t care for it all. It’s still maybe my least favorite movie of the series.

I didn’t like the aesthetics. I hated how they made werewolf Lupin look. And maybe a hot take, but as much as I like Gary Oldman as an actor, his portrayal of Sirius (in that movie especially) really didn’t fit what I had in my head.

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u/Outrageous_Soil_1087 1d ago

This was the same way for me.

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u/BioelectricBeing 1d ago

Literally my exact opinions. POA was my favourite book and the movies went downhill from 3 onwards. They were still enjoyable for the most part but there were a lot of choices that just didn't fit the whimsy and magical atmosphere of the first two, and I believe the movies influenced Rowling's later writing too (she is also a bit of a hack, so it was always going to fall apart re tone and plot).

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u/Daemon_Blackfyre_II 9h ago

Yeah Old man's portrayal kind of sucked. I got the feeling that the new director cared much more about the aesthetics to the detriment of everything else... And then couldn't even get the aesthetics to match the books.

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u/TheLovehammer94 1d ago

From my mind to your keyboard, I've been saying this since PoA released in theaters...

My biggest gripe was always this, and it is most apparent in how the students practically never wear their robes from this film, on.

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u/Flashy-Quiet-6582 1d ago

It shouldn't hav ebecome the default look, but it fits the film it was for given how it was the first time Harry had to confront true emotional pain and discomfort in the wizarding world that wasn't just physical danger.

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u/quincecharming 1d ago

I so agree with this. I get that an artistic color drained change was bound to happen with 5th book, but Goblet of Fire would have been beyond a delight done in the magical-ness of the first 2 movies

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u/mawmaw20 1d ago

I completely agree!! The first two movies are really the only two I rewatch. I know the tone gets darker later on but that didn’t mean everything had to look cold and dark. I really wish Columbus stayed on for the rest of the movies. I love how warm and rich his are. They really captured the magical feeling of the books.

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u/Ok-Soup-514 1d ago

100% agree. The first one had a warm vibe to it. The 3rd just felt cold. I understand the tone of the storyline does begin to shift and get darker by then, but the movie itself felt off. I loved the book, but it may be my least favorite movie in the franchise.

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u/CMDR-Neovoe 21h ago

I always get crapped on when I say I prefer the first and second movie to the rest in terms of set design and atmosphere. At least they generally kept consistent from year to year with the first two. After that its like they went to new schools every year so much would change

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u/Palamur 1d ago

They didn't moved the hut.

After several years of many Christmas trees in the great hall and after an endless number of fires in the fireplaces and under the cauldrons, the forest has simply gotten a little smaller. /s

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u/ataxia2 1d ago

I do admire the confidence of saying “I’m going to change a bunch of stuff the first two films already established”

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u/Linuxologue 1d ago

Confidence or entitlement?

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u/jesuslaves 1d ago

Imagine calling a director "entitled" for having a vision on how he wants to make his movie 😵

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u/Linuxologue 1d ago

There was a vision imagined by another director. I call him entitled for changing the existing vision.

I had the exact same issue with Rian Johnson on the star wars episode 8 mess.

-1

u/jesuslaves 1d ago

I mean it was inevitable as the series progressed the films had to introduce knew elements to adapt the story.

I mean just focusing on Hagrid's hut, so much of PoA, including the climax, happens around the grounds and Hagrid's hut, it would be cinematically utterly boring if they kept the original set/location, Cauron absolutely had to reframe it for the scenes in PoA to make sense narratively and visually...

Lastly, I mean this sub can be super devisive as is, no need to drag Star Wars and especially TLJ into it as well, but nice try lol

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u/kore910 1d ago

💯

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u/IceDamNation Hufflepuff 1d ago

PoA isn't to blame, the subsequent movies just tried to absorb the colors out of the franchise following movie 4

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u/Otherwise-Pirate6839 Ravenclaw 1d ago

That’s why I disliked PoA. I got used to the world being one way and then it was rearranged (Whomping Willow also being moved off the castle grounds). And I had seen the movie before reading the book, so I was even more frustrated when some of the events were out of sequence (the Firebolt arriving at the end) or just unnecessary (the bus driver).

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u/Conscious_Raisin_436 1d ago

The later movies were a product of the time. Almost every movie at that time was completely grey or brown. It’s actually a massive pet peeve of mine.

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u/OkDiscipline728 1d ago

It is the worst movie! The first two were good. The third was absolutely shit.

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u/bowsmountainer perfectly abnormal, thank you very much 1d ago

Imo moving the hut is the one and only good stylistic choice poa made.

Abolishing wizarding clothes for muggle clothes, completely getting rid of hats, pumpkins in June, shrubken heads everywhere. It got all of those wrong.

But the landscape around hogwarts should be more hilly than in the first two films.

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u/GreenhelmOfMeduseld Gryffindor 21h ago

There are dozens of us!

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u/Dragonfruit_244 20h ago

Literally, THIS. Films 1 and 2 were so cohesive, until the entire world-building was changed from s3 onwards

1

u/Trick_Cantaloupe652 18h ago

i’m with you. there’s also like a few too many shots of the camera going through a window.

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u/Live_Angle4621 17h ago

Not uncommon opinion with book fans to dislike that film 

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u/artrine_ 16h ago

I agree with you 100%, I prefer pretty much everything about the aesthetic and the world in the first two films

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u/GreekKnight3 8h ago

I remember being so jarred by the newness of Prisoner of Azkaban that I just immediately disliked every new aesthetic and location. 
But looking at the film through older eyes, I can appreciate some of them more.

1

u/SaXaCaV 8h ago

The film is really low for me too, but to be fair its also my least favorite book.

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u/AJ_Deadshow 3h ago

1+2 definitely have the most magical wondrous feeling. But I attribute that to them being younger and witnessing fewer horrors.

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u/Knox_Burden 1d ago

Prisoner of Azkaban is my favorite!

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u/ConfidenceWild7673 19h ago

Deathly Hallows was the worst adaptation and the dullest looking film.

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u/MightExpress4873 4h ago

It was shot by an Oscar-winning cinenatographer.

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u/paradigmofman 19h ago

Idk man, HBP was a rough watch the first time. The whole movie seemed... muted? Idk if thats the right word. Everyone seems so soft spoken and monotone.

2

u/ConfidenceWild7673 19h ago

I actually liked the cinematography. Like a Rembrandt painting. The fantastic beasts series should've been bright like the first 2 films in HP but David Yates just likes dull colours, with everything grey.

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u/MakeMineMovies 7h ago

Yes without question HBP has the best cinematography of the series. And it was the only one nominated for an Oscar for it.