Harry Potter (film)



""Yer a wizard, Harry.""

- Hagrid, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone

Each Harry Potter book was lucky enough to become a film. The films star Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter, Rupert Grint as Ron Weasley and Emma Watson as Hermione Granger. The entire series spans eight films; the seventh book, Deathly Hallows, was split into two separate films in order to encompass as much of the final book's content as possible (a move which was met with decidedly mixed fan reaction).

The first two films, directed by Chris Columbus, place more emphasis on plot than characterization, with most scenes being identical to their counterparts in the books, and are generally regarded as solid but workmanlike. Columbus was succeeded by Alfonso Cuaron, who decided to reverse this and created what is likely the most controversial movie in the series. His Prisoner of Azkaban is either an artistic triumph or a lot of wangsting with a plot incomprehensible to anyone who hasn't read the book (or both). Mike Newell came next, following more-or-less in Cuarón's footsteps, but with a larger eye for spectacle and adventure. As Goblet of Fire was when J. K. Rowling started writing Door Stoppers, the movie version received attention mostly for how much stuff got left out. British TV director David Yates followed, helming Order of the Phoenix and all subsequent films, combining the Cuarón and Newell approaches in terms of style, while embracing the increasingly dark and grim tone of the later novels.

The Harry Potter fandom is rather sharply divided over whether the earlier films directed by Columbus, or the character-driven films which followed, are better; it basically comes down to how important certain subplots and plot points are, and whether the latter films are really exploring the characters or just indulging in angst. Critics are less divided, holding all of the later films in higher regard than the Columbus films. This being said, all of the films have been overall critical successes (the lowest mark on rottentomatoes.com being a 78, the lowest on Metacritic being a 63).

Warning: High chance of unmarked spoilers!

A-F
"Hermione: Maybe we should just stay here, Harry...grow old."
 * The Abridged Series:
 * Coldmirror did some wildly popular German dubs of the 1st ("Harry Potter und ein Stein"/"Harry Potter and a Stone"), 2nd ("Harry Potter und der geheime Pornokeller"/"Harry Potter and the Porn Cellar of Secrets") and 4th ("Harry Potter und der Plastikpokal"/"Harry Potter and the Goblet of Plastic") Movie.
 * Cleolinda Jones has done "Movies In 15 Minutes" treatments of films 1, 3, 4 and 6.
 * Absurdly Sharp Blade: Pettigrew taking off his whole hand with a pithy little blade about four inches long in Goblet of Fire.
 * Action Film Quiet Drama Scene:
 * The end of the first film, with Harry, recovering from the injuries received after stopping Quirrel/, worrying about the condition of his friends and the status of the Philosopher's Stone, and Dumbledore calmly comforting him like a father to his child. Then Dumbledore spots the wizarding candy in front of Harry, and wistfully reminiscing about the first time he tried Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans.
 * The scene in Deathly Hallows Part 1 where Hermione talks about visiting the forest of Dean with her parents when she was little.

"You're lying, Dolores… and you mustn't tell lies!"
 * Adaptation-Induced Plothole:
 * In the third movie, after Harry falls off his broom in the Quidditch match. In the book (and the video game), Harry sees a black dog that he believes to be the Grim watching him from some empty seats. In the film, Harry instead sees the outlines of the Grim appear in the sky. This would theoretically make sense if the Grim he had been spotting before was really a mystical omen of death and not . Could actually be Adapation Induced Fridge Brilliance, as
 * Averted by J.K. Rowling herself, who stepped in after learning the fifth film would be cutting out the character Kreacher, and warned the crew that adapting book seven would be very problematic if he hadn't appeared before. However, so much of his parts were cut from Deathly Hallows Part 1 and completely cut from Part 2 they might as well have cut him out completely.
 * The third movie never mentions who Messrs. Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs are. This caused confusion among some audience members during the fifth movie when Harry wrote a letter to "Padfoot" without mentioning his given name.
 * Plus Pettigrew being referred to exclusively as "Wormtail" in film four. And it's now a mystery how Lupin knows how the map works.
 * The final movie removes Dumbledore's explanation of why, leaving a mystery with no "movie-canon" explanation. While it does explicitly explain why the  in the film (and  could be explained simply by that), and InfoDumpledore also mentions that  is now gone, (implying it might have served as Plot Armor), a question mark is still left behind on the completeness of the answer compared with the book's.
 * Krum has Mind Control Eyes while under the Imperius Curse in the fourth film. In the seventh film, the curse is portrayed more like in the book; the Gringotts goblin just has a vacant smile. This could be Hand Wave'd by the fact that it was Harry who put the goblin under the curse, and he doesn't have as much experience at casting it, so it can't exert as much control on someone as Crouch did.
 * In Book 6, the Prime Minister and the Minister for Magic briefly discuss a terrorist attack by Death Eaters against an unnamed bridge that kills several Muggles. Deathly Hallows Part 1 decides to Show, Don't Tell the attack, setting it in London's famous Millennium Bridge for added drama and Monumental Damage... forgetting that the scene is supposed to take place in mid-1997, whereas construction on the real-life Millennium Bridge began in 1998 and it wasn't opened to the public until 2000.
 * Adaptational Attractiveness:
 * Most notably Hermione (in the earlier films, when she's not intended to be pretty, that may be because the books are from Harry's POV and he doesn't actually take much notice of her looks beyond hair and eye color until he sees her gussied up at the Yule Ball).
 * Snape is never portrayed with the sallow skin and greasy hair that he has in the books.
 * Neville: In the books he's a meek, chubby Foil to Dudley, and then his actor lost his light hair and all his baby fat and gained about three feet in height.
 * Bellatrix, who in the books had lost her beauty after years in Azkaban prison, is played by Helena Bonham Carter in the movies, and looking pretty damn good ... except for her teeth.
 * Dolores Umbridge, in the book, is described as being short, squat, and toad-like in features, which gives her an appearance as hideous as her personality. In the movie, she appears as an woman in her fifties with a relatively average (though still somewhat short) build and a faintly out-of-date hairstyle. She almost, but not quite, appears grandmotherly. This creates a much greater contrast when it becomes apparent to the reader that she is probably more evil than Satan himself.
 * Luna goes from somewhat plain and having slightly bugged-out eyes to quite attractive in the book to film transition.
 * Dudley, while quite tubby in the first few films, seems to be merely stocky by the time the fifth movie rolls around (admittedly this happens in the book as well, as Dudley takes up boxing and becomes more muscular than fat). Harry Melton, the actor who portrays him, actually lost a great deal of weight in between the shooting of the fifth and seventh films (the Dursleys were left out of the sixth film entirely). According to interviews with the actor, the producers nearly died of shock when he showed up for filming a good seventy pounds lighter (likely more than they were envisioning for Dudley). Fortunately for him, instead of recasting, they stuffed him into a fat suit. Unfortunately, the effect wasn't quite what they wanted, and ultimately his scene with Harry at the beginning of Deathly Hallows Part 1 was cut.
 * Pansy Parkinson, in the books, is described as having "a face like a pug," but in the movie's she's not too bad looking. Then again, she's being described by Gryffindors, so maybe that's a jaundiced account.
 * Adaptational Badass: The films are slightly more action packed than the books, and the main characters tend to be able to hold their own against adult wizards.
 * In particular, Harry is able to hold his own during a protracted duel with Voldemort during the climax of the eighth film. Such a feat would be completely beyond him in the books, where Voldemort held off multiple veteran wizards simultaneously.
 * Somehow, even Dumbledore gets upgraded some in the sixth film. In the book, the ring of fire he summoned was barely big enough to circle both him and Harry and had to move with them as they moved within the tiny island. In the film, it’s a spectacular firestorm raging through the entire cave.
 * Hermione benefits from this as well, as early as Chamber of Secrets. In the book, after Lockhart releases the cage full of pixies, Hermione is shown recapturing two or three of them at a time by using "a clever freezing charm". In the movie, once Lockhart flees, Hermione takes out the entire classroom full of pixies with a single spell. She also seems to be able to fly a broom as well as Harry and Ron, as seen in Deathly Hallows Part 2, when in the books she's an atrocious flyer.
 * Adaptational Villainy:
 * Unlike his counterpart in the books, who was definitely under the Imperius Curse, Pius Thicknesse is implied to have joined the Death Eaters and Voldemort of his free will.
 * In the books, Grindelwald and Dumbledore were childhood friends (and maybe lovers), and Grindelwald redeems himself by lying to Voldemort about the Elder Wand. In the movie, basically all of that subplot is cut out, and so is his lying to Voldemort.
 * Adaptation Expansion
 * The final fight between Harry and Voldemort. In the books, Harry appears from beneath his invisibility cloak in the midst of the battle to deliver a Shut UP, Hannibal to Voldemort, just before the Dark Lord . In Deathly Hallows Part 2, the fight sprawls the entire breadth of the castle, from Voldemort stalking him in the hallways, battling in the Astronomy Tower, and pulling a Superman-esque midair fight before landing in the courtyard, where they engage in a Beam-O-War duel which Harry wins when his Expelliarmus reaches Voldy. Yes, it is just as epic as it sounds.
 * To a lesser degree, also . In the book, . In the film, . Yes, also extremely satisfying.
 * We also get to see Ron and Hermione enter, showing a scene only referred to in the books.
 * Adaptation Explanation Extrication. Oh boy, here we go:
 * Order of the Phoenix keeps the plot point that no one believes Harry about Voldemort, since that is part of the Anthropic Principle for that particular book. But, because some points were edited out of Goblet of Fire and never reinstated, viewers never know why no one believes him beyond Fudge's complete denial of the facts and using Sirius as The Scapegoat.
 * Speaking of Goblet of Fire, people who have not read the books would think that would fit under Chuck Cunningham Syndrome, given his absence from later films.
 * The Fidelius charm is never introduced in the films, so certain things go unexplained.
 * A scene explaining the Taboo (Ron mentions hearing about it in the Ministry) was cut from Deathly Hallows Part 1, so it's never explained despite its effects showing up in two plot-critical moments (the book-verbatim Death Eater attack in the café, and a new change to the Lovegood house scene where Xenophilius says Voldemort's name to summon Death Eaters), making them seem like Diabolus Ex Machina rather than a jinx.
 * Fudge is never shown to be directly dismissed. The Minister of Magic makes no appearance in the sixth movie and the seventh just puts a new Minister in office without explanation, except for the small fact that one of the headlines seen at the end of the fifth film reads "Minister to resign?".
 * The reason why Harry doesn't realize in the seventh film is because he is a Parselmouth - snake-talk appears to him as human speech, unlike the gibberish it is to others. In the movie, we hear him and  talk in Parseltongue from an observer's viewpoint.
 * The scene in Prince where Dumbledore explains what the Horcruxes might be is cut. Cleolinda Jones' Movies in 15 Minutes abridgement lampshades this by claiming You-Know-Who was just being Genre Savvy.
 * The material is re-introduced in several ways in Hallows Part 2: merely knowing that Bellatrix was afraid of what they might have taken from her vault lets him know a Horcrux is there, and once they get inside, Harry's scar gives him a Spider Sense, letting him track down the object in question . This same ability allows him to, and later to sense the presence of in , hidden.
 * Dumbledore is set up over the course of parts one and two as being not as kind and fatherly as he appeared. Now, in the book, all of this finally comes together and Dumbledore is revealed to still have been a good man who in the end . But in the movie, most of is cut, and the subplot is left dangling.
 * Remus and Tonks announce their marriage in a blink-and-you-miss-it scene in Deathly Hallows pt. 1, and Tonks is apparently about to announce her pregnancy too, but is interrupted. Their relationship is not mentioned again, until the resurrection stone scene when Harry is magically aware of Teddy's existence.
 * Any scene pertaining to the introduction of the two-way mirrors is left out, leaving it to turn up apparently randomly at various points in the last few films. Its function is given an 'explanation' in Deathly Hallows pt. 2, but you are never told why Harry has it.
 * Adorkable: The awkward moment near the end of Deathly Hallows Part 2, where Neville and Luna sit beside each other and grin goofily.
 * Adult Fear: Induced in Deathly Hallows Part 1 - during the fight with Nagini, Harry falls through a wall and Nagini follows him; the room at the other side? A nursery... now with a GIANT snake in it. Eep...
 * Alternate DVD Commentary:
 * There are Riff Trax for the first six movies.
 * The fansite "The Leaky Cauldron" has recorded commentary tracks for the first five movies by three of the site runners.
 * Wizard People, Dear Reader
 * Ambiguously Gay:
 * Dumbledore, as depicted by Michael Gambon, especially in Goblet of Fire, has a highly theatrical, slightly effeminate flair. After Deathly Hallows came out, Rowling said in interviews that she had always intended Dumbledore to be gay. She also said that she had told each actor secrets about the character that might be helpful in characterization. Presumably this was something about Dumbledore she had told Gambon.
 * She also admitted in an interview after outing Dumbledore that the screenwriters for one of the films had handed her a script once where Dumbledore reminisced about some young witch he loved in his youth, and she handed back the script with the words "HE'S GAY!" pointing to the offending line.
 * It was also suggested in-universe by Rita Skeeter's rather scathing interview book, which gave a cruel new twist on Harry's relationship with Dumbledore.
 * Anti-Hero/Anti-Villain: Snape qualifies for both roles, being between types III and IV on the Anti-hero side.
 * Artifact of Doom:
 * The Mirror of Erised could count, since its power has led people to waste away and die looking into it.
 * Riddle's diary and the locket; the diary possessed Ginny, and the locket caused Harry and Ron's tempers to flare and tried to tempt Ron into killing Harry when it was opened by preying on his fears and jealousy; also, see Green-Eyed Monster below.
 * Ascended Extra:
 * From Half-Blood Prince onward, the character of Blaise Zabini takes over Goyle's role, while Goyle takes Crabbe's, because of the actor playing Crabbe's troubles with the law.
 * Ginny zig-zags through this depending on what film it is. She has one scene in the first film, is a big part of the plot of the second, has two scenes in the third, gets a lot more screen-time in the fourth, is featured but has few lines in the fifth, is a big part of the sixth, and Demoted to Extra again in the seventh and then is pretty important in eight.
 * Scabior receives more screen time in the 7th film then he does in the books with him just appearing in the two scenes in the book while in the movie he appears as early as the first Malfoy Manor scene. Plus the film seems two treat him as a Death Eater rather then a snatcher that he is in the book
 * Ash Face: Seamus Finnigan seems to be subjected to this an awful lot. It's even lampshaded in the final film.
 * Asleep for Days: In the first movie, Oliver Wood says to Harry that he was knocked out for a week after taking a Bludger to the head during his first Quidditch game.
 * Astonishingly Appropriate Appearance: Of all of the many hundreds of Ministry of Magic workers the trio could have used for polyjuice potion, Hermione becomes a petite brunette, Harry becomes an average height guy with black hair, and Ron is, wait for it, a tall ginger. Justified since the trio are implied to have scouted the Ministry before going in and picked which people they were going to impersonate, though arguably the sensible thing to do would've been to find people who looked nothing like them.
 * In an example of Fridge Brilliance, though, it is established in both the books and the film that when the polyjuice potion starts to wear off, for a few minutes you get a blend of the real and disguised features. By picking people that look like them, they can squeeze a few extra minutes out of the potion. Also, since they only get one shot at this, they need to be as comfortable as possible -- they need a form they can quickly adapt to. This is noted by Hermione when she polyjuices into, and by Harry when he polyjuices into a plump red-haired boy to resemble the Weasleys.
 * Author Appeal: Screenwriter Steve Kloves' favorite character is Hermione. Guess which character gets a lot more feature time.
 * Ax Crazy:
 * Bellatrix Lestrange.
 * Barty Crouch Jr. Nothing says Ax Crazy like David Tennant's expressiveness and psycho face.
 * Back-to-Back Badasses:
 * Harry and Ron during the spider attack in Chamber.
 * Harry and Ginny vs. the Death Eaters in Prince.
 * Back for the Finale: Pomona Sprout, Ollivander, the Sorting Hat, even the Chamber of Secrets and the Basilisk (though only in skeletal form).
 * Beautiful All Along: Hermione appearing gorgeously dressed and with neat, beautifully arranged hair in Goblet of Fire has essentially none of the effect to the audience that it had in the books, since the filmmakers had already shown her prettily made-up in the previous film with no given explanation. Her own admission that cleaning up like that takes hours and doesn’t want to bother with it on a daily basis is also promptly ignored, so she looks consistently gorgeous throughout all the films.
 * Berserk Button:
 * In the seventh movie, Umbridge falsely accusing an innocent witch of lying makes Harry so angry that he attacks Umbridge right then and there, in the Ministry courtroom.

"I know who he is! I know what he's done! He defiled it! With dark magic!!!"
 * In the eighth Harry mentions Tom Riddle's name to the Grey Lady and what he did with her mother's diadem, the up-to-then serene ghost becomes enraged:

"* starting to run after Draco, Goyle, and Zabini* That's my girlfriend, you numpty!!"
 * Also in the eighth movie Ron has a minor one in the Room of Requirement when Hermione is attacked:

"Harry: C'mon Tom. Lets finish this the way we started. Together."
 * Beware the Nice Ones:
 * Harry invokes this to Voldemort before chucking them both off of a cliff.

"Harry: You're lying, Dolores. And you mustn't tell lies."
 * Not to mention his refusal to help Dolores Umbridge;

"Hermione: Do you ever stop eating? Ron: (his mouth full) What? I'm hungry!"
 * Big Damn Heroes:
 * The Big Damn Kiss: Between Ron and Hermione in Deathly Hallows Part 2.
 * Big Eater: Ron.

"(Crabbe and Goyle waddle down Great Hall, each carrying a huge pile of sweets) Harry: (whispering, to Ron) You ready? Ron: (whispering) Yeah. (Clears throat) Wingardiu-- Harry: (cutting Ron off) You know what? Better let me do it. Ron: Uhh... right. (The scene then cuts to the Great Hall, where a pair of cupcakes start to rise and hover above the ground as Crabbe and Goyle walk closer. Crabbe notices the cupcakes, and, still holding the wad of food, takes them out of the air and hands one to Goyle. The two each take a bite, chewing for a few seconds before falling back on the floor, unconscious.) Ron: (with a grimace) How thick can you get?"
 * Also Crabbe and Goyle, as of Chamber of Secrets

"Dudley: Who's Cedric?"
 * Big No: Happens a lot. Ginny Weasley cries a couple of rather impressive ones in Deathly Hallows Part Two, when it is believed that Harry, who she's been deeply in love with through the whole series, is dead.
 * Big "Shut Up!":
 * Harry to Aunt Marge in Prisoner of Azkaban.
 * Harry tries to call a Quidditch tryout to order in Half Blood Prince. He isn't quite loud enough, so Ginny intervenes with a very helpful "SHUT IT!"
 * Binocular Shot: The Quidditch matches in the first two films both have one.
 * Bittersweet Ending: With dead as of Order of the Phoenix, Harry's entire family line is now dead. He gains a new family, however, when
 * Blatant Lies: Uncle Vernon comes up with a slew of these in the first act of Chamber of Secrets, the first one being the most interesting, making it both a subversion and a straight example: When Dobby starts to bang his head on the side of the cabinet, the sound of his grunting and head hitting the furniture echoes to the living room where Vernon, Dudley, Petunia, and the Masons can hear it. Uncle Vernon, not knowing there is a house-elf, tries to cover for his nephew by stating that it's "just the cat".
 * Bling Bling Bang: In Deathly Hallows part 1. Voldemort contemptuously snaps off the ornate silver handle of Lucius Malfoy's wand when he 'borrows' it to use against Harry Potter. Remind you of anything?
 * Bloodless Carnage: Played straight as spells don't leave bulletholes, but averted for effect on two occasions: in Half-Blood Prince when Harry uses the Sectumsempra curse on Malfoy, and in Deathly Hallows, Part 2 when
 * Body Horror: In a departure from the books, every time a Horcrux is destroyed, Voldemort is weakened. He realizes what's going on after the Cup has been destroyed - and once he's only left with anchors to keep him alive, his body starts necrotizing…
 * Bond Villain Stupidity: In the climax of Deathly Hallows Part 2, . This may, however, qualify as a result of
 * Book Ends:
 * A musical variation: The ending of Deathly Hallows, Part 2 plays the exact same music that the first film ended with.
 * Harry's life with the Dursleys: when he was 1, Hagrid brought him to the Dursleys riding Sirius' bike. When he leaves the Dursleys, it is Hagrid who takes Harry... riding Sirius' bike. Hagrid even mentions this.
 * Bowdlerise: Order of the Phoenix, as seen on ABC Family:

"Ron: It's just...you can't break an Unbreakable Vow! Harry: I worked that part out myself, funnily enough."
 * Breather Episode: Deathly Hallows, Part 1 notably takes a break from frantically trying to cram as much plot as it can into the movies, instead focusing on long, atmospheric shots of the characters and scenery. It really emphasizes how the Power Trio are now on their own.
 * Brick Joke: After Ron leaves in the seventh movie, Hermione ties her scarf to a tree just before she and Harry disparate. They apparate back into the same location and run into a gang of Snatchers. The leader is wearing Hermione's scarf. It is also the same Snatcher who smelled her perfume while walking through the woods.
 * Broken Heel: While rushing to aid Harry in Godric's Hollow in Deathly Hallows, Part 1, Hermione trips over a pile of books on the floor (ironically for her).
 * Call Back:
 * In Stone, when Harry lands after saving the Remembrall, a background student is heard saying "That was wicked, Harry!" When Harry lands Buckbeak in Prisoner, the exact same line is clearly heard.
 * In Chamber, when Dobby emerges from the closet after being tossed in by Harry to hide from his Uncle Vernon, he finds a blue sock dangling from his head, which he nonchalantly tosses to the side. Near the end of the film, Harry, when returning the damaged shell of Tom Riddle's Diary to Lucius Malfoy, has managed to sneak one of his socks within the covers. When Lucius angrily shoves the tattered remains to Dobby, he notices the article of clothing within, which resulted in Harry, through Lucius, freeing Dobby.
 * Also in Chamber, when the Weasleys save Harry from the Dursleys, Harry asks why they're there and Ron replies "rescuing you, of course." When the Order saves Harry from the Dursleys in Order, Moody says the same thing.
 * Harry says "You're lying, Dolores… and you mustn't tell lies!" in Deathly Hallows, Part 2, calling back to a similar scene in Order of the Phoenix.
 * The toy knights that Harry played with in the first film are still there seven years later.
 * A running gag is Seamus's tendency to set things on fire or make something explode, such as somehow adding an ingredient to make a supposed Draught of the Living Death explode in the sixth film. In the final film, Professor McGonagall suggests enlisting him to set up explosives because of this.
 * In the third film, before Sirius departs on Buckbeak he rests a hand over Harry's heart, saying that's where their loved ones could always be found. In the eighth, when Harry is using the Resurrection Stone, Harry asks his lost loved ones whether they'd be able to be seen by Voldemort- to which Sirius responds "No. We're here, you see", pointing to Harry's heart.
 * In the eighth film, when Harry is in the Room of Requirement trying to get a hold of Ravenclaw's Diadem, he climbs a mountain of stuff and accidentally knocks over a small cage. A second later, Cornish pixies, who were last scene in Professor Lockhart's classroom in movie two, are flying in every direction.
 * The scene in Deathly Hallows, part 2 where Albus Severus enters platform 9 3/4 is almost identical to the scene of Harry entering the platform in Philosopher's Stone.
 * The Cameo:
 * Maybe. Rumor persists that die-hard Real Life Harry Potter fan Drew Barrymore has an uncredited cameo in Philosopher's Stone.
 * At least three of the four directors like these:
 * Chris Columbus cast his own children in various nonspeaking background roles. Most famously, his daughter Eleanor is Susan Bones, who is seen in nearly every crowd scene in the first two films. And then, of course, disappears for the rest of the series (amusingly, Susan is a slight Chekhov's Gunman character in the books and she ends up having a small role late in the series, although one minor enough that the film versions probably would have cut it anyway. Her name does appear on the list of D.A. members in the fifth movie, however. The video game version of Phoenix includes Susan, voiced by a British actress, but physically resembling an older version of the character Eleanor Columbus played).
 * In the third film, there's a portrait of a mother and a baby next to the Fat Lady's portrait. That's Alfonso Cuarón's wife (at the time; they are now divorced) and their then-newborn baby.
 * Ian Brown, of 90s British pop band The Stone Roses fame, appears for a brief period in Prisoner of Azkaban, magically stirring his drink in the Leaky Cauldron.
 * Jarvis Cocker appears as the frontman to The Weird Sisters in Goblet of Fire.
 * Camp Unsafe Isn't Safe Anymore: This is said of Hogwarts in three separate films, starting in Chamber of Secrets. In Half Blood Prince, Harry says it.
 * Captain Obvious: In Half Blood Prince:

"Ron: I learnt that from Harry -- he talks in his sleep, did you know that? Hermione: (looking a bit flustered) No...of course not!"
 * Casting Gag: The first time Harry sees Sirius, Harry thinks that his gaunt appearance makes him look like a vampire. In the film version of Prisoner of Azkaban, Sirius is played Gary Oldman, who played the most famous vampire ever in Francis Ford Coppola's Dracula.
 * In Half-Blood Prince, Rufus Scrigmeour is (according to Luna, who read it in The Quibbler) is actually a vampire. In the film version of Deathly Hallows, Scrigemeour is played by Bill Nighy, who played vampire clan leader Viktor in the Underworld trilogy.
 * Catch Phrase:
 * Harry uses "Brilliant!" a lot.
 * Ron says "bloody hell" a lot.
 * Hagrid has "I shouldnta told ya that." and "I shouldnta said that".
 * Chekhov's Gunman:
 * Regulus Black is mentioned casually as one of Slughorn's favorites in the sixth film.
 * Mafalda and Runcorn appear briefly in the seventh film before they are actually needed. Runcorn is seen with Umbridge and Thicknesse when the Ministry is taken over, and Mafalda is shown on a newspaper with Umbridge.
 * Even better, Mafalda was the one who sent the letters to Harry after Dobby framed him for using magic outside of school in front of Muggles in the second movie.
 * Chessmaster: Dumbledore.
 * Chewing the Scenery:
 * From Philosopher's Stone: "TROLL IN THE DUNGEON!"
 * Daniel Radcliffe in Half-Blood Prince. During the entire Felix Felicis scene, Dan proceeds to eat as much scenery as he can.
 * In the same movie, Ron after accidentally drinking a love potion. (Noticed how both scenes are "under the influence"?)
 * Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: Madam Hooch after Philosopher's Stone, Colin Creevey after Chamber of Secrets, Buckbeak after Prisoner of Azkaban, the unnamed child that showed up just to be whacked on the top of the head by Goyle after Goblet of Fire, Nearly Headless Nick after Chamber of Secrets, The Fat Lady after Prisoner of Azkaban, Moaning Myrtle after Goblet of Fire... one really wonders how Hogwarts can let all these disappearances go unchecked with all the high-intensity security measures it has taken over the course of the series.
 * In Colin's case, this was due to his actor, Hugh Mitchell, going through an impressive growth spurt, to the point where the filmmakers didn't believe he could reasonably portray a character who was supposed to appear small and mousy. He is, for all intents and purposes, replaced by the character Nigel.
 * Narrowly averted with Madam Pomfrey and Professor Sprout, who were brought back in the sixth and eighth films respectively after both having been absent since the second.
 * Where Padma Patil and Gregory Goyle appear in the final film, Parvati Patil and Vincent Crabbe (who was supposed to get ) vanish without explanation, although the latter was due to Absentee Actor.
 * Cliff Hanger: At the end of Deathly Hallows Part 1,.
 * Combat Tentacles: During the final fight between Harry and Voldemort in Deathly Hallows Part 2, Voldemort briefly uses the longer parts of his robes to ensnare Harry.
 * Composite Character: The boy identified in the later films as "Nigel" seems to be a composite of Colin and Dennis Creevey from the books; reportedly, the actor playing Colin had grown up something fierce and no longer looked boyish enough next to Daniel Radcliffe.
 * Compressed Adaptation: Every film from Prisoner of Azkaban on. Can't really be helped, though: there's just too much plot to stuff into a movie.
 * Continuity Nod: In Deathly Hallows, the scene where the Room of Requirement burns features sets and props from the other films, such as Philosopher/Sorcerer's Stone's giant chess pieces.
 * Couldn't Find a Pen: THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS HAS BEEN OPENED. ENEMIES OF THE HEIR, BEWARE. Unlike in the book, it's explicitly stated to be written in blood.
 * Cover Identity Anomaly: In Chamber of Secrets, Harry forgets to take off his glasses when polyjuiced as Goyle. He quickly excuses them as reading glasses, causing Malfoy to remark that he didn't know "Goyle" knew how to read. This also leads to an Adaptation-Induced Plothole in Deathly Hallows Part 1, see above.
 * Cowardly Lion: Ron's persona seems to cater this more so than in the books. He gets freaked out pretty often, but it's obvious he more than has the skill to do what needs to be done on more than one occasion.
 * Creative Closing Credits: From Prisoner Of Azkaban to Half-Blood Prince.
 * Creator Cameo: Averted by choice. For the Mirror of Erised scene, Chris Columbus offered Rowling a cameo as Lily Potter. Jo politely refused, saying that it was best left for a real actor, and didn't want people to think she had written some Self-Insert Fic. A rumor that she was the witch who, in Chamber of Secrets, approaches Harry in Knockturn Alley ("not lost, are you my dear?") was quashed by Rowling on her website, where she confirms that she was only ever offered the part of Lily.
 * However, it does appear that she reversed the decision come film 6, where she can be seen on the cover of the magazine Dumbledore takes from the house due to the "knitting patterns."
 * Alfonso Cuarón is the man seated holding two lit candles when Harry enters Madame Rosmerta's tavern.
 * In Goblet, Mike Newell's voice is heard on the radio in the opening scene with Frank Bryce.
 * Culture Equals Costume: In Goblet Of Fire, Cho Chang wears a silver Cheongsam-style dress to the Yule Ball. The Patil twins wears saris. In Order of the Phoenix and Deathly Hallows pt. 1, Kingsley Shacklebolt wears a daishiki.
 * Curb Stomp Battle: The duel between McGonagall and Snape in Deathly Hallows, Part II, which was moved to the Great Hall. Snape barely puts up any resistance as opposed to the book where the duel only ended because the other Heads of House interrupted. McGonagall also defeats the Carrows in the same duel.
 * Cute Giant: Hagrid's brother.
 * Deadpan Snarker:
 * Our heroes have some great moments of this, especially in Half-Blood Prince, that didn't show up nearly as much in the books.
 * Snape gets a lot of moments of this as well.
 * Death by Adaptation: Poor in Deathly Hallows Part 2. People were probably cheering when  got taken out too, though. Additionally,  replaces  as the one to be killed by the Fiendfyre in the Room of Requirement. Word of God has confirmed that
 * 's fate is left ambiguous in DeathlyHallows during the Gringotts break-in, but in the final film he is seen
 * Let's not forget, who are quite possibly killed by a Blasting Curse during , while in the book, they are merely.
 * Deflector Shields: Hogwarts is surrounded by one during the Battle of Hogwarts in Deathly Hallows, Part 2.
 * Deliberately Monochrome:
 * Riddle's memory in Chamber of Secrets.
 * The Pensieve Flashbacks in Half-Blood Prince.
 * Demoted to Extra:
 * Loads and Loads of Characters have this happen to them - if they aren't simply cut out entirely. "Where'd that Ginny person come from?"
 * It causes some issues as the movies get further along and closer to seven… Harry/Ginny have basically no setup in the films, even though . (Although that's basically true of the books too and Half-Blood Prince and Deathly Hallows actually give the relationship more screen time, . The only real omission is all their dialogue scenes in Order of the Phoenix and Ginny gets a disappointed reaction shot when leaving Harry alone with Cho to compensate.) Everything related to Tonks/Lupin in Half-Blood Prince was cut, only implying their relationship in a added scene, which makes their sudden appearance as a couple in Deathly Hallows Part 1 a tad out-of-nowhere.
 * The Dursleys fit under this. After the first three movies, they were only seen again in Order of the Phoenix and Deathly Hallows Part 1. Heck, they're just barely in that last one.
 * Due to its length, a lot of characters fall into this in Order of the Phoenix.
 * Even with the book adapted into two films, Deathly Hallows has this in spades.
 * Grawp, Hagrid's giant half-brother from "Order of the Phoenix" gets even less scenes than in the book, reducing him to one heartwarming intro scene and one epic Dynamic Entry scene in the Forbidden forest near the end. His one line of speech during that scene is removed as well.
 * The rest of his appearances in the books are completely cut as well as it appears he suffers from Chuck Cunningham Syndrome in the films
 * Dobby get's most of his appearances cut in the films. He appears in all but two of the books but only appears in two of the movies.
 * A rare object example is the invisibility cloak's appearances are far less than in the books. While some scenes that featured it in the books were cut from the films some scenes that did make it into the films are nowhere to be seen. For example The scene where the Trio was following Malfoy into Knock turn Alley and also Harry's big reveal during the final battle.
 * Did They or Didn't They?: Harry and Hermione, type 3. Part 1 of Deathly Hallows builds up as much Will They or Won't They? tension as possible between two characters who are in love with other people, then Part 2, with its coy references to Harry talking in his sleep, seems to invite the audience to ponder what's likely to happen when you leave two hormonal teenagers who know they might be killed any day alone in a tent for several weeks. (Especially when they're probably both virgins.) For a certain section of fandom, it possibly qualifies as Fridge Brilliance.
 * Did You Actually Believe?: Part of Lucius's Trash Talk in the fifth film.
 * Diegetic Switch: "O'Children" starts out playing crackling on the radio, then fades into clear background music when Harry and Hermione start dancing.
 * Disney Villain Death: . Neither were killed in the book.
 * , to an extent.
 * Disproportionate Retribution: After Harry tricks Lucius into giving Dobby a sock by accident, Lucius pulls out his wand and attempts to curse Harry. In the second book, he gets blasted by Dobby before he can say anything. In the movie, he manages to get out an "Avada—" before he's blasted. "Avada" is the first part of "Avada Kedavra", the Killing Curse. Killing Harry in broad daylight in front of Dumbledore's office probably isn't the best course of action...
 * Word of God states that the script didn't specify a curse for that scene, so Jason Isaacs just ad-libbed the first one that came to mind.
 * Dissonant Serenity: Neville gets this after waking up from Voldemort's knock-out blow in Deathly Hallows Pt 2. It's so bad, he's actually completely oblivious to another fighter being thrown back not more than 3 feet from where he is.
 * Did we mention that the guy getting thrown back was on fire?
 * Does This Remind You of Anything?:
 * The Death Eaters' pointed hoods give them a strong resemblance to the Klu Klux Klan, although with the opposite color scheme, of course.
 * In Prince:
 * Cormac inquires about Hermione to Ron, while brandishing his quite large Quidditch broomstick.
 * A bathrobe-clad Ginny points out to Harry that his shoelace is untied, and drops down to a knee, at first out of frame. To tie his shoe, of course!
 * Ron is wiping a lot of things off Hermione's lips... like toothpaste and butterbeer foam...
 * Deathly Hallows pt. 1 has two major ones:
 * The scene where Hermione is tortured by Bellatrix Lestrange. It happens offscreen in the book, but you get to see plenty of it in the film adaptation, and it strongly resembles rape.
 * The Nazi-esque posters and pamphlets being printed from the same film. Another Nazi-esque bit of symbolism is.
 * From Deathly Hallows part 2:
 * Possible as another Nazi-esque reference, Lucius' Azkaban number is tattooed on his neck.
 * Ron opens the door to the Chamber of Secrets with some Parseltongue.

"Griphook: I said I'd get you in. I didn't say anything about getting you out."
 * Dramatic Curtain Toss: In Prince, every time Draco goes to the wardrobe. It gets silly after a while.
 * Dramatic Pause: Alan Rickman as Snape… loves… these.
 * "Oh my God, I think Snape's dead." "No no no, he's just between syllables in the word "equally"." "Ahh."
 * Drool Hello: In the first movie, the gang is alerted to Fluffy's presence by his drool on Ron's shoulder.
 * Earn Your Happy Ending
 * Eerie Pale-Skinned Brunette: Bellatrix Lestrange, Severus Snape and young Tom Riddle.
 * Epic Movie: Deathly Hallows. So big, they needed an entire extra movie for the last ten chapters. The two halves feel very different; Part 1 is very grim while Part 2 has more fantasy.
 * Eureka Moment:
 * Those twin girls from the sixth movie were meant to set up one in which Harry realizes the Vanishing Cabinet has a twin. The scene got cut, but it's included in the deleted scenes on the DVD. Thus, the twins' appearances throughout the finished film might count as The Artifact.
 * Hermione gets one in Deathly Hallows pt. 1 while she's cutting Harry's hair.
 * Even Mooks have Standards: Draco Malfoy has rolled his eyes at the ridiculousness of being taught how to defend himself against Cornish Pixies, tracked the path of Dobby's rogue Bludger out of fear along with Harry, and cringed at the sound of the infant Mandrake Root's cries.
 * Everyone Can See It: Ron and Hermione in Half-Blood Prince, even more so than in the book. Ginny lampshades it in the infirmary scene when leaving Ron and Hermione alone and says, "About time, don't you think?", which also doubles as a huge hint from herself to Harry.
 * Exactly What It Says on the Tin: In Half-Blood Prince, there is a very literal example among the merchandise in Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes: "Candy In A Can"
 * Exact Words: In Deathly Hallows Part 2, in Bellatrix's vault:

""Harry Potter, you give me my wand!" "Harry Potter, you listen to me right now!""
 * Fan Service: The nude kissing scene between Horcrux-Harry and Horcrux-Hermione in Deathly Hallows Part 1 is this to male and female fans alike.
 * Fantastic Racism: Voldemort and his Death Eaters to all Muggle-Borns. The Malfoys employ this egregiously to anyone Muggle-born, who associate with Muggles, the entire Weasley family, and, judging from the reaction Lucius gave when entering Hagrid's hut in Chamber of Secrets, anyone who was not rich. A sort of unifying brand of racism goes through the Death Eaters, the Malfoys, and Dolores Umbridge in regards to members of other magical species as well.
 * Fascinating Eyebrow: In Deathly Hallows Part 1, Emma Watson finally managed control over her infamous overacting eyebrows to be able to just raise one to punctuate the joke of Ron trying to win Hermione over by "voting" for her idea to see Xenophilius Lovegood.
 * Faux Affably Evil: Voldemort has shades of this early in Deathly Hallows Part 1, during the meeting at Malfoy Manor.
 * Flat What: Harry does this when Hagrid tells him that he can ride Buckbeak.
 * Fluffy the Terrible: The three-headed dog, Fluffy, in The Sorcerer's Stone.
 * Fly At the Camera Ending: Harry, on his Firebolt, at the end of Prisoner of Azkaban.
 * Foreshadowing:
 * A blink-and-you-miss-it one: near the beginning of Prisoner of Azkaban, a wizard in the leaky cauldron is seen reading
 * In Half-Blood Prince, Harry has a brief reaction to the ring . This, and other subtle hints towards the events of Deathly Hallows, are due to the fact that this was the first script drafted in conjunction with the following film's script.
 * Deathly Hallows, Part 1: Harry.
 * During the 'Tale of the Three Brothers' segment the elder wand resembles Dumbledore's Wand.
 * In Deathly Hallows Part 2, the music that plays at the very beginning while Snape is looking over a decrepit Hogwarts is.
 * For the Evulz: Presumably the only reason the Death Eaters torch the Burrows in Half-Blood Prince and the Quidditch pitch in the assault on Hogwarts.
 * Full Name Ultimatum: In the Deathly Hallows films:

G-L
"Ginny: Your shoelace is untied. *Her head bobs down nearly to the bottom of the frame.*"
 * Gag Dub: Wizard People, Dear Reader.
 * Gentle Giant: Rubius Hagrid.
 * Geographic Flexibility: Also present in the books, but less noticeably. The books give it a Hand Wave which is alluded to with the shifting staircases.
 * Getting Crap Past the Radar: Occasionally, but especially in Half-Blood Prince.

"Ron: So, did you and Ginny do it? Harry: What? Ron: Hide the book."
 * And then there's this:

"Harry: I'll invite someone I like. Someone cool.
 * Also, there's Mrs. Weasley yelling at Fred and George for scaring her by Apparating in Order of the Phoenix:--->Mrs. Weasley: Just because you can use magic now does not mean you have to whip your wands out for everything!
 * As pointed out in this Cracked article, during the credits of Prisoner of Azkaban, which are modeled after the Marauder's Map, judging by the movements and shoe positions, there's a pair of students who are fairly obviously doing the nasty in a corner.
 * Gilligan Cut: Played for laughs in the sixth film, when Harry and Hermione are discussing their date choices to Slughorn's Christmas party:
 * cut to Luna Lovegood waiting for Harry in her Jane Jetson dress*"

"McGonagall: Why is it that whenever something happens, it's always you three? Ron: I've been asking myself that same question for the past six years."
 * Glass-Shattering Sound: The Fat Lady attempts this in The Prisoner of Azkaban, but has to resort to breaking the glass on her frame.
 * Good Colors, Evil Colors: When Voledomort comes back in Goblet of Fire, he's a nice, sickly green. Notice when Harry fights him in the morning sun in the final movie, he's pretty near a normal skin tone - probably because he's now missing several evil Horcruxes.
 * Good Old Fisticuffs: When Harry and Voldemort are fighting in the Astronomy Tower, Voldemort is so angry that he resorts to slapping Harry around and kicking him as he tries to recover.
 * Gory Discretion Shot:
 * . Even then it's a Nothing Is Scarier moment as we see only a view through a dirty window, but can hear clearly the sound of.
 * Inverted and played straight with the discovery of in Deathly Hallows, Part 1. While you don't see her body, as it is being, the indication that Bagshot was
 * Grand Finale: The two Deathly Hallows movies.
 * Green-Eyed Monster: The locket turns Ron into this in Deathly Hallows part 1 by inflaming his insecurity about his relationship to Hermione, which sparks jealousy over her appearing to dote on Harry. Part of his motivation for abandoning them is seeing them coming back from the close call with the Snatchers and thinking they've been doing...something else.
 * Headphones Equal Isolation: In Deathly Hallows Part 1, the waitress at the diner is in the kitchen with her back turned and headphones playing music on, and doesn't hear the loud and destructive wand battle between the Trio and a pair of Death Eaters.
 * Hoist By Their Own Petard: What ultimately drives Ron to in Deathly Hallows part 1 is, the very thing it was driving him to think was happening earlier on.
 * Holier Than Thou: Draco certainly cops this attitude through films 2-5.
 * Hot Scoop: Rita Skeeter as played by Miranda Richardson in Goblet of Fire. She also seems to be a bit of a Mrs. Robinson.
 * I Always Wanted to Say That: Said by Professor McGonagall of all people, after using the Piertotum Locomotor spell. Considering what it does, can you blame her? Especially cute is the schoolgirl giggle she gives after delivering the line.
 * I Can't Dance: Harry and Ron in Goblet. Subverted with Neville, who actually rehearsed dance steps and ends up having a much better time at the ball than Harry and Ron.
 * If You Can Read This...: The '"Daily Prophet''.
 * I Have You Now, My Pretty:
 * Scabior, the head Snatcher in Deathly Hallows. After he captures Hermione, calls her "My lovely" and sniffs her hair.
 * The actor Nick Moran told Entertainment Weekly they cut out his line: "You're going to be my favorite."
 * "I Know You're in There Somewhere" Fight: Sirius invokes this to stave off Remus's transformation. It doesn't work.
 * "I Know What We Can Do!" Cut: "Maybe we should just go and wait by the car." "The car..."
 * Imperial Stormtrooper Marksmanship Academy: Especially prominent in Order; Death Eaters can't seem to hit a panicked teenager with a spell even from behind.
 * I Never Said It Was Poison: In Goblet,, disguised as , blows his cover by mentioning the graveyard Harry was sent to before Harry does.
 * International Coproduction: The series is a US/UK co-production, with Warner Bros on the American end and Heyday Films on the British end. Additionally, Chris Columbus's company, 1492 Pictures, was involved in the first three films and effects house Moving Picture Company helped produce Deathly Hallows: Part 2 on top of providing effects.
 * Intoxication Ensues:
 * Harry, after imbibing some Felix Felicis in the sixth movie. Hilarity Ensues.
 * Hermione seemed to be feeling some effects from drinking butterbeer in the Three Broomsticks.
 * Intro Dump: Scene Two of the seventh movie, when Bill Weasley introduces himself, his injury from Grayback and his impending wedding, as well as Tonks and Lupin already being married. Partly justified, in the sheer number of subplots left to die in the previous movies.
 * Iris Out: Used frequently in Prisoner of Azkaban.
 * Ironic Echo: In both the book and movie versions, Harry is continuously forced by Umbridge to write "I must not tell lies" in his own blood. In the movie version, after This occurred in the book, but those lines between Harry and Umbridge were left out. In the film version of Deathly Hallows, Harry once again uses the "must not tell lies" line on Umbridge while in the Ministry.
 * Also in Deathly Hallows, when Griphook asked Harry where he got the Sword of Gryffindor, Harry said "It's complicated." Griphook gave the same answer when Harry asked him why Bellatrix thought the sword would be inside the Lestrange vault.
 * Irony: Voldemort is fanatically prejudiced against half bloods almost as much as "mudbloods", yet he's half blood himself.
 * Jittercam:
 * Done very subtly within the first ten minutes of Philosopher's Stone: As the thousands upon thousands of letters begin to shoot down the Dursley's chimney, the camera begins to shake rather wildly to indicate that the house is being bombarded by scores of Hogwarts admittance letters.
 * David Yates is a fan of Jittercam, apparently, as it's used in Order during some scenes in the Ministry, in Prince when Harry is pursuing Bellatrix in the field outside of the Burrow, and in in Deathly Hallows Part 1, particularly in the scene where Ron fights with Harry in the tent and leaves.
 * Karma Houdini: in the movies. But definitely NOT in the books.
 * Keep Reading: When the Marauder's Map insults Snape in the third movie.
 * Lampshade Hanging: In the sixth film:

"Dumbledore: You're probably wondering why I brought you here this evening. Harry: Actually, sir, after all these years, I tend to just go along with it."
 * And earlier in the film:

"Hermione: We've got to plan, we've got to figure it out! Harry: Hermione, when have any of our plans ever actually worked? We plan, we get there, all hell breaks loose."
 * And in the eighth film:

""Well, it may have escaped your notice, but life isn't fair.""
 * Large Ham:
 * Snape, Lucius Malfoy, Lockhart, Voldemort...
 * Of course, Lockhart was a Large Ham even on the page.
 * A rumour exists that when Kenneth Branagh was selected to play Lockhart, he, Alan Rickman (Snape) and Jason Isaacs (Malfoy) competed to see who could deliver the most porktacular performance that would make it into the final cut of the film.
 * And Jessie Cave as Lavender Brown hams it up, especially in the scene in the hospital wing.
 * Mad-Eye Moody.
 * "CONSTANT VIGILANCE!"
 * Bellatrix Lestrange. Helena Bonham Carter completely does justice to her name in her portrayal of Bellatrix.
 * Last-Minute Hookup:
 * There is a build-up between Hermione and Ron in the books, but the movies downplay the Slap Slap Kiss and build them up as a couple earlier, averting the trope. It also manages to avert it for Harry and Ginny in the film version of Prince by giving Ginny more screen time and giving them more scenes together and not having them break up at the end as they do in the book, making their a bit more believable.
 * In the final movie Neville declares that he's crazy about Luna, which is contrary to what J.K had happening to the two characters.
 * Leave the Two Lovebirds Alone:
 * In Order of the Phoenix, the DA does this for Harry and Cho at their last meeting before Christmas.
 * In Prince, Dumbledore does this for Ron and Hermione while Ron is in the infirmary.
 * Lecherous Licking: Barty Crouch Jr. definitely seems to idolise Voldemort a bit too much. It's taken to the extreme Goblet of Fire, when Barty actually wipes blood off Harry's arm, saying that his blood now runs within the Dark Lord, before appearing to lick it off his finger.
 * Letting the Air Out of the Band: Twice during the last round of the Tri-Wizard Tournament in Goblet of Fire; once when Dumbledore calls for silence, causing the band to deflate rather than stop entirely; then Played for Drama as Harry returns from the graveyard with Cedric Diggory's body to the sounds of a jubilant crowd and a marching band. As people begin to realize what's going on, the band sort of dribbles out.
 * Life Isn't Fair: Snape to Harry, in the fifth movie:

"Griphook:"
 * Limited Special Collectors' Ultimate Edition: Apart from two-disc editions, there's the Ultimate Editions, with an extended cut and many goodies in the packaging.
 * The Limited Wizard Edition features almost all of the special edition content including Ultimate Edition content and more in a $500 30 disk set including everything on both blu-ray and DVD, It also comes in a large elaborate case. Did I mention it's limited.
 * Literally Shattered Lives: In Deathly Hallows Part 2,.
 * Loophole Abuse: Done by Griphook

M-R
"Rita Skeeter (throwing Harry into a tiny broom closet): Well, now, isn't this cosy? Harry: Um, Miss Skeeter, it's a broom closet. Rita: Well, then, you should feel right at home."
 * Medium Blending: Deathly Hallows Part 1 has an animated segment for "The Tale of the Three Brothers", the legendary story of the Deathly Hallows. It's CGI that looks like the fantasy Jim Henson productions like The Dark Crystal or Labyrinth.
 * Million Mook March: Averted in Deathly Hallows, Part II. When Voldomort's men think they've won they just shuffle wearily across the bridge to Hogwarts, exhausted after fighting all night.
 * Moment of Silence: After death.
 * Montage and Training Montage: Used in the fifth film, and to good effect. (How else could they compress an 870-page book into two and a half hours?)
 * Mood Whiplash:
 * The Training Montage in Order Of The Phoenix going to the D.A.'s Christmas Party, with is enough Mood Whiplash to give any Potter fan severe neck injury.
 * In Half Blood Prince, the scene goes from funny with Ron being under the influence of the love potion to him convulsing and frothing at the mouth after drinking a poisonous tonic.
 * Multi-Part Episode: Deathly Hallows.
 * Musical Spoiler: In Deathly Hallows. Whenever the Slytherin locket is influencing someone's behavior, there is a characteristic, high-pitched noise.
 * Mythology Gag:
 * This exchange from Goblet of Fire:

""You're lying, Dolores... you mustn't tell lies!""
 * In the fifth film, when they find the Room of Requirement, Ron queries whether it would appear as a bathroom if you really needed it. In the books, the first mention of the Room was when it appeared to Professor Dumbledore as a room full of chamberpots in Goblet of Fire (which didn't make it into the film version).
 * A Nazi by Any Other Name: The "Death Eaters = Nazis" allegory is made quite clear in the books, but emphasized with the posters and pamphlets printed for the anti-Muggle, anti-Muggleborn campaigns; low-grade miserable looking workers in gray striped robes in the Ministry; and the Ministry's elite guard wearing blue Nazi-styled uniforms (arm-scarf included!) in DH.
 * Never Learned to Read: Goyle, if Malfoy is to be believed.
 * Never Trust a Trailer:
 * A good majority of the ads for the sixth movie consisted of wacky modern dance music in the background while trying to imply that it will be nothing but a wacky magical teen romantic comedy movie, which half-right, but that still doesn't excuse there being about... one commercial made that made any mention of, you know... Voldemort.
 * A small and rather cruel one for the seventh film. There was a shot of Harry setting Hedwig free, implying that she wouldn't die like she did in the book.
 * This was done rather sneakily with a few lines in trailers for the seventh and eighth film: most noticeably with some of Voldemort's lines:
 * "I have seen your heart, and it is mine", which in both the book and film is, is used out of context to make it seem like Voldemort is talking to Harry.
 * The frequently used sound byte "Bring him to me!" is always used with a shot of Harry, while in Deathly Hallows Part 2 proper, it's
 * And of course, there's NYAAAA AAAAH! which was used only once by Voldemort in Deathly Hallows Part 1 (after the Seven Potters chase), but shows up very frequently in the trailers for Part 2.
 * The trailers for Part 2 were partial to using Voldemort's line "Only I can live forever." during shots of the final showdown with Harry. It's actually what Voldemort says
 * Never Work with Children or Animals: As Katie Couric pointed out in a TV special about the making of the first film, Harry Potter breaks both rules rather spectacularly. Chris Columbus has said that the first film is full of cuts because the kids would so often ruin takes by laughing, looking into the camera, etc. He was therefore quite impressed that the main trio had progressed enough to be able to do The Oner in later films. And, of course, the UK's child actor laws provided the inconvenience of only being able to use their lead actors for four hours per day while they were still underage. The Great Hall scenes were especially difficult, as they combined the difficulty of working with children and the difficulty of working with crowds.
 * No-Holds-Barred Beatdown: Voldemort vs Harry in the expanded fight scene. As Voldemort's wand won't work, he retorts to using his fists to give Harry a pummelling.
 * No Animals Were Harmed: The fourth film carries the disclaimer "No Dragons Were Harmed in the Making of this Movie".
 * No Body Left Behind:
 * Oblivious Janitor Cut: In Deathly Hallows Part 1, while the hero trio is attacked at the diner, the waiter/cook is in the kitchen, blithely listening to music on her headphones.
 * Obviously Evil: Absolutely no one who is with the Death Eaters seems like they would fit in anywhere else. You have the guy with a snake face, the grovelling servant, the Ax Crazy witch, the sneering rich blonde, and the guy who likes screaming and flailing his tongue around.
 * Of Corsets Sexy:
 * Bellatrix.
 * Hermione when, complete with Cleavage Window.
 * Offscreen Moment of Awesome: Adaptation Distillation led to quite a few.
 * The other contestants in the first round in Goblet of Fire, though you have to wonder just how boring they were if Harry's round helped him Win Back the Crowd.
 * Oh Crap:
 * In Deathly Hallows part 1,.

"Neville: (turning around, grabbing clumps of his hair) Oh my God! I've killed Harry Potter!"
 * Also in Part 2, has a an Oh Crap look on his face when.
 * Neville is prone to these: He gets one in Goblet of Fire during the second Triwizard Tournament challenge, after Harry fails to surface for air after taking the Gillyweed for a certain period of time, believing that he killed Harry.

"Harry: You're lying, Dolores. And one mustn't tell lies."
 * The look on poor Colin's face in Chamber of Secrets, when he realizes that he is in the direct path of Dobby's cursed Bludger can only be described as this.
 * Snape, when he realizes that
 * One-Woman Wail: Lily's new Leitmotif in Deathly Hallows Part 2.
 * OOC Is Serious Business: When gentle Cloudcuckoolander Luna Lovegood yells "Harry Potter! You listen to me right now!", you know she really means it.
 * Ooh, Me Accent's Slipping: Kelly MacDonald plays the Grey Lady with an English accent but when she becomes enraged, her natural Scottish accent comes out.
 * Over the Shoulder Murder Shot: Partial example in the first film when Harry, Draco and Fang accidentally interrupt Voldemort's unicorn meal in the Forbidden Forest. He doesn't turn around, but he does look up, and there is blood on his lips.
 * Palm Fist Tap: Ron does this.
 * Perma-Stubble:
 * Harry gets one in Deathly Hallows while wandering around, away from civilization, for weeks at a time. At one point, we see Hermione cutting his hair (manually, with a pair of scissors), so he may also have shaving equipment that, because of his circumstances, he can't use daily. Or maybe Daniel Radcliffe didn't want to grow his facial hair out further, but the director wanted another visual indicator of Harry's "on the run" status.
 * Lucius Malfoy from both Hallows films, his dishevelment symbolizing how far he's fallen from Voldemort's graces.
 * Pieta Plagiarism: In Deathly Hallows Part 2,.
 * Pimped-Out Dress: Trust Luna to attend a Christmas party in a dress that looks like the lovechild of a Christmas tree and a wedding cake.
 * Practical Voice Over: In the fifth film.
 * Pre-Ass-Kicking One-Liner:
 * The seventh film gives Harry an absolutely glorious one just before knocking Umbridge cold and stealing the locket horcrux back.

"Molly: Not my daughter, you bitch!"
 * The eighth film has Molly's famous line before she :


 * Precision F-Strike: As mentioned just above this sentence, Molly Weasley's line from the novel is kept intact.
 * Pretty Boy: Lucius and Draco Malfoy, Tom Riddle.
 * Promotion to Opening Titles: Of a sort. Half-Blood Prince marks the first time Bonnie Wright is listed in the main credits instead of just on the list of cast members.
 * Punctuated! For! Emphasis!: About half of Snape's lines feature him emphasizing every word.
 * Putting on the Reich:
 * Deathly Hallows Part 1 features a private police force stationed in the Ministry of Magic after Voldemort takes over. They all wear red armbands. Subtle. Not to mention all of those anti-Muggleborn propaganda pamphlets.
 * Albert Runcorn's leather trench coat, when combined with his duties and demeanour, give him the appearance of a Gestapo operative.
 * Also from the seventh film, Bellatrix . You know, just in case the allegory was still too subtle at that point.
 * The way the students at Hogwarts are marching at the beginning of the eighth movie evokes this. The students. Some of whom are eleven.
 * Real Life Writes the Plot / Role Ending Misdemeanor: Because of Jamie Waylett's little run-in with the law, evidently Goyle rather than Crabbe gets the honors of an on-screen death in the last film.
 * Redemption Equals Death: Played straight with Grindelwald in the books, as he refuses to tell Voldemort where the Elder Wand is, possibly to undo some of the damage he caused, or to stop Voldemort from breaking into his old friend's tomb. In the movie, he straight-up tells Voldemort where it is, and gets killed for his trouble.
 * Rule of Cool:
 * In Half-Blood Prince, when Snape appears in the Astronomy Tower and tells Harry to be quiet.
 * One must imagine this is why the "The Tale of the Three Brothers" was animated/CGI.
 * This is pretty much the reason for any and all deviation/alterations in Deathly Hallows Part 2.
 * Rule of Funny: For much of the sixth film, theaters were cracking up -- at least until the final scenes.
 * Running Gag:
 * Seamus Finnigan making everything explode (including his cauldron and a feather) in classes. Acknowledged / Lampshaded in Deathly Hallows Part 2, when
 * Filch prematurely firing off the cannon before/during each round of the Triwizard Tournament in Goblet of Fire.

S-Z
"HEH-HEH-Heeehhh!"
 * Sacrificial Lion: Cedric Diggory.
 * Sad Battle Music: "Courtyard Apocalypse" from Deathly Hallows Part 2, accompanied by watching the Death Eaters and the Order of the Phoenix fight to the bitter end.
 * Scare Chord:
 * In the second film, the hand. You know the one.
 * Holy crap, Half-Blood Prince. You can be forgiven for throwing your drink in the air when the Inferi show up and the music goes SKREEEE. It's all the worse because you know something is coming.
 * Deathly Hallows Part 1. The post-Bathilda Nagini coming from downstairs after being 'killed'.
 * Scars Are Forever:
 * Harry's, of course.
 * Lupin has two long, thin scars across his face.
 * And, as of Deathly Hallows, Hermione has a pretty distinctive scar herself.
 * As of Deathly Hallows, Bill Weasley's facial scars from Greyback's attack.
 * Scenery Gorn: Hogwarts half-destroyed in Deathly Hallows Part 2.
 * Scenery Porn:
 * Much of Prisoner of Azkaban, especially the outdoor scenes and the shots of the spiral staircase. (Maybe not so much scenery porn per se as cinematography porn -- but as that isn't yet a recognized trope, this trope comes closest.)
 * The swooping shot of the sea cliff in Half-Blood Prince.
 * Several scenes in Deathly Hallows while Harry, Hermione, and Ron are on the run. The movie really loves long shots of the trio's campgrounds.
 * Seeing Hogwarts for the first time in Philosopher's Stone, with the camera panning up from the students' point-of-view on the lake, and again at the end of Chamber of Secrets when the camera zooms out from the Great Hall.
 * Schrodinger's Cast: In Deathly Hallows Part 1, . Also a case of Karma Houdini.
 * Scooby Stack: The trio do this on their way out of Hagrid's hut in Prisoner of Azkaban when Fudge, Dumbledore, and the executioner arrive.
 * Screw This, I'm Outta Here:
 * In Deathly Hallows Part 2, as the final battle of Hogwarts begins, Narcissa and Draco are calmly, but quickly, walking away from Hogwarts as Lucius tries to catch up with them.
 * Several of Voldy's men noticeably disapparate the moment Harry turns out to be Not Quite Dead.
 * Secret Government Warehouse: Who would have thought something innocuously named the Department of Mysteries would have one of these?
 * Shadow Discretion Shot: Used in the second film when Fawkes takes out the basilisk's eyes. Justified in that Harry couldn't look the basilisk in the eyes, or he'd, y'know, die.
 * She's All Grown Up:
 * Helloooo Hermione, enough to be lampshaded, if not parodied by Lindsay Lohan.
 * Shirtless Scene:
 * In Goblet, when Harry uses the bath to figure out the secret of the egg.
 * The Deathly Hallows films feature several over their course:
 * Pt. 1: Harry (several times over) during the clothes-changing in the "everyone Polyjuices into Harry" scene, and when he strips down to jump into the pond to get the sword. Ron also has one right after the trio escapes from the Ministry, but it flies straight into Fan Disservice when we see that his shoulder's laid open to the bone.
 * Pt. 2: Harry and Ron changing into dry shirts after the trio emerges from the lake.
 * Shoo the Dog: At the start of DH pt. 1, before the crew are about to fly off, Harry lets Hedwig go. She comes back and attacks one of the Death Eaters chasing Harry during the Battle For Little Whinging, and ends up taking a Killing Curse.
 * Shout-Out:
 * During the reading of dead wizards and witches over the radio in Deathly Hallows Part 1, there is a dead witch named "Ebony Raven".
 * Shout-Out/To Shakespeare:
 * The song "Double Trouble" in the third film uses lines chanted by the three witches in Act IV, Scene 1 of Macbeth.
 * A meta-example from the same movie: Gary Oldman and Timothy Spall had both previously played the character of Rosencrantz.
 * Simple Score of Sadness: The first movie, during Voldemort's last attempt to kill Harry.
 * Skip of Innocence: Luna does this in the fifth film.
 * Slap Slap Kiss: Ron and Hermione. So, SO much.
 * Slow Clap: End of the second film.
 * Smooch of Victory: Ron and Lavender in the sixth film after Gryffindor wins the Quidditch cup. Ron and Hermoine finally snog after destroying the cup Horcrux.
 * Spared by the Adaptation:
 * Subverted. In Deathly Hallows Part 1,
 * Deathly Hallows also spares It also spared
 * Unless you believe that, which is conceivable given that he doesn't appear in later films.
 * Voldemort does not kill Grindelwald, who tells him where the Elder Wand is unlike in the book.
 * The film version of Goblet of Fire seems to spare Barty Crouch Jr, as we do not see what happens to him after the interrogation scene and he is never seen again.
 * Special Effect Branding: When Apparating, Death Eaters are dark smoke and Order members are streaks of white light. Don't ask why (as the more standard one from the books also appears), but it looks cool. Also falls under Color Coded for Your Convenience.
 * Sphere of Power:
 * The Protego Maxima shield charm that envelops Hogwarts in Deathly Hallows Part 2, which not only.
 * The maximized version of the Patronus charm, as cast by Harry in Prisoner of Azkaban and to ward off mass quantities of Dementors, also has this visual effect.
 * Spider Sense:
 * Harry's scar is somewhat used as this, as in each film, the pain it inflicts indicates that Voldemort is particularly angry/happy.
 * In the eighth movie, Harry seems to use this to recognize horcruxes. This plugs the Plot Hole caused by cutting out the dialogue where Dumbledore theorized what they might be.
 * Spinning Paper: Phoenix reinvigorates this Dead Horse Trope. And it's awesome.
 * Spotting the Thread: In the fourth film, recognizes  disguised as  when  in the same manner that he is shown doing during the Pensieve Flashback.
 * Stock Footage:
 * Harry's memories in the fifth film are footage from earlier scenes in that same film and from the previous four installments.
 * Snape inserts himself Forrest Gump-style into the Mirror of Erised scene from the first movie.
 * In the eighth movie, scenes from the other seven are used for.
 * Stop Helping Me!: Harry to Dobby.
 * A Storm Is Coming: Hagrid says "There's a storm coming" in Order of the Phoenix--and this scene is directly followed by the Death Eaters breaking out of Azkaban.
 * Strange Minds Think Alike: In a deleted scene from Hallow, Part 1, Arthur Weasley echos Ron's comment that Yaxley should try an umbrella if it's raining in his office.
 * Summer Blockbuster: Azkaban, Phoenix, Prince, and Deathly Hallows Part 2 were released in the summer. The others were certainly blockbusters, but were released in November.
 * Suspiciously Similar Song: The first part of "Hedwig's Theme" sounds very close to "Greensleeves".
 * Suspiciously Similar Substitute: Colin Creevey being replaced by Nigel could count as this.
 * Sword Cane: A variation. Lucius Malfoy has his wand concealed in his pimp cane. See Throw It In on the Trivia subpage.
 * Take That: It was actually taken verbatim from the books and likely wasn't meant as one, but many people who hadn't read the books thought Ron trying to replace "Twilight" with "midnight" in Hermione's narration as one (it would have looked even more like a Take That had they taken the rest of the line from the book - Ron goes on to say that it sounds better when it's not twilight).
 * Tears From a Stone
 * Temporary Substitute: Goyle is replaced by "Slytherin Boy" for a few scenes in the third movie due to Josh Herdman being unavailable. Goyle in turn replaces Crabbe in the last movie.
 * Tempting Fate: In the eight movie, after Griphook, Ron commented that at least they still had Bogrod. Bogrod was then.
 * Theme Tune Cameo: In the first movie, soon before the climactic pursuit of the stone, Hagrid plays the opening theme on his fife.
 * Three Amigos: Harry, Ron, and Hermione.
 * Timeshifted Actor: Baby Harry in the first movie, the various actors to play Tom Riddle (with 16-year-old Voldemort played by two different actors), the young Marauders, Snape, Lily, and Petunia.
 * Took a Level In Badass: Ron takes a small but noticable level between Half-Blood Prince and Deathly Hallows Part 1, possibly in response to some fans criticising how he was made into a bit too much of a comic relief in the previous six movies. In Hallows he becomes a more mature and reliable sidekick, and some of his greatest moments in the last two movies even have him acting more confident and determined than in the books.
 * Trailers Always Spoil:
 * The Half-Blood Prince trailer spoils just about every major plot point, excluding.
 * Thefirst teaser trailer for the two Deathly Hallows movies starts with
 * The trailer for Deathly Hallows Part 2 shows.
 * Anothere trailer shows Harry
 * Tranquil Fury:
 * In Deathly Hallows Part 2, as.
 * Harry's basic resting-state throughout the movie. Beware the Nice Ones indeed.
 * Translation Convention: In the first film, the audience hears Harry and the snake speaking English. From the second film onwards, the audience hears Parseltongue as the creepy snake language everyone but Harry hears.
 * Trash the Set: Hogwarts gets utterly destroyed in Deathly Hallows Part 2.
 * Underwater Ruins: The arches at the bottom of the Black Lake in Goblet of Fire.
 * Un Evil Laugh: Voldemort has an evil, spiteful chuckle after announcing to a crowd. It's... less than satisfactory and is becoming the stuff of Memetic Mutation.
 * Un Evil Laugh: Voldemort has an evil, spiteful chuckle after announcing to a crowd. It's... less than satisfactory and is becoming the stuff of Memetic Mutation.


 * Unskilled but Strong: Harry is able to stand toe to toe with Voldemort by the time the eighth film rolls around due to this, though without Voldemort's knowledge and experience he is left running away much of the time. This is notable because up until this point anyone Voldemort has battled has been slaughtered, . Dumbledore, described by most characters as the most powerful wizard alive is only able to fight him to a stalemate, making Harry's strength all the more remarkable.
 * Up to Eleven: At the end of the second novel, Lucius Malfoy goes after Harry with intent to harm. In the film, he goes after Harry with intent to kill.
 * This can be explained by the fact that Jason Isaacs ad-libbed the line - he probably shouted the first spell that came into his head.
 * Villainous Breakdown: It's safe to say that this happens to Voldemort as Deathly Hallows Part 2 progresses . This results in him randomly killing when he asks Voldy if he's alright. Of course, the murder is completely in line for the guy. By the end of the night even Bellatrix is tip-toeing around him.
 * Voice of the Resistance: Sends out the message to Remus & co. in Deathly Hallows part 2. "Abrupt weather report; lightning has struck! I repeat, lightning has struck!"
 * Vomit Discretion Shot: In the sixth movie, Cormac is shown leaning down out of camera shot and vomiting on Snape's shoes.
 * We Can Rule Together: Toyed with near the end of the fifth movie when Voldemort "coaches" Harry on how to use the Cruciatus Curse on Bellatrix.
 * What Do You Mean It's Not Awesome?: The way Deathly Hallows, Part 2 handles . If it wasn't for the slow motion, lack of sound, and the Visual Effects of Awesome, it probably would have turned out much more embarrassing than it looked.
 * What Happened to the Mouse?:
 * Wormtail's death is cut from Deathly Hallows Part 1, but
 * Some believe, or that.
 * Crabbe fits this trope when he doesn't appear in Deathly Hallows Part 2 (where Goyle does), although there was a reason the filmmakers cut him out (his actor Jamie Waylett was arrested for possession of drugs). Still, it wouldn't have been too hard to at least give mention to him in the Room of Requirement scene.
 * White-Haired Pretty Girl: Luna Lovegood. Though officially she has dirty blonde hair, it does look white sometimes, depending upon the lighting.
 * Why Don't You Marry It?: In the fourth movie, when Ron is raving about Krum, Ginny's reply is "I think you're in love, Ron."
 * Why Won't You Die?: In Deathly Hallows Part 2,.
 * Win Back the Crowd: In-universe. Harry in Goblet of Fire gets decidedly unpopular when his name gets picked for the Tri-Wizard Tournament - but wins them over with the dragon battle.
 * World Half Empty: Seen in Deathly Hallows Part 1 when the Golden Trio are wandering through Britain, with Scenery Porn of beautiful yet cold and empty fields and highways, the scorched remains of a caravan park where the Death Eaters have struck, and their dark contrails overhead.
 * World of Ham: Just about damn near EVERY adult actor.
 * In Chamber of Secrets, Alan Rickman, Jason Isaacs, and Kenneth Branagh were apparently embroiled in a contest to see who could "out-ham" the others the most.
 * Radcliffe, as well, demonstrated his own potential to unleash the Hog in Half-Blood Prince.
 * It's pretty damn clear with every line she speaks in "Deathly Hallows" that Helena Bonham Carter is now the undisputed ruler of Ham World!
 * For only appearing for five minutes in Goblet of Fire, David Tennant holds his own ground as incredibly hammy as a fellow psychopath. Especially his facial expressions.
 * In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Helen McCrory joked that all of the adult actors hammed it up as revenge for having their subplots cut.
 * You and What Army?: Neville completes his transformation into a badass when he says this to taunt the Death Eaters when they try to get past the protective enchantments It's all the more awesome considering Neville says this to about a thousand Death Eaters who are inches away from attacking.
 * Zip Me Up: Ginny to Harry in Deathly Hallows Part 1.