Harry Potter and Underrated Characters

Theater release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 (sadly, not 3D) gives me the perfect excuse to write about, well, Harry Potter. I guess I am a bit of an huge original book series fan, so I felt disappointed by some of the film adaptations. The reason? The fact that a majority of rather minor characters that I love did not make it to the film, or got the screen time they deserve. The real-world issues, such as budget and overall running time of the movie, are pretty understandable. After all, we don't have goblins running our bank. So to shed some light on those lovable side characters, I'm doing a super-biased list of my favorites. In no particular order, because hey, I love them all. By the way, there may be spoilers, so if you're not caught up with your issue of the Daily Prophet, read at your own risk. I'll try to not spoil what happens at the very very end, though.

1.  Neville Longbottom
I seriously have no idea why his role got super downsized in most of the film adaptations. He's the "mirror" of Harry. If Voldemort didn't pick Harry, Neville would have been the chosen one, and I'm certain he would have been just as great. He does start off as "that rather dorky kid" but he definitely has his super shining kick ass moments, especially in the end of the Deathly Hallows. So really, why is he always holding some cactus plant and being sort of useless in most movies? Sure, the dude knows his Herbology, but he doesn't have to be walking around with some random plant all the time...

2.  Dobby
First off, Dobby is adorable, not annoying. He may not look like My Little Pony and have rainbows coming out of his nostrils, but that's rather shallow standards for the definition of adorable. He should totally get the screen time he deserves. Besides, the mental image I got going for my Dobby is about hundred times cuter than what the special effects people came up with. :)

3.  Tonks
Let's see. Auror. Member of the Order of the Phoenix. Got pink hair but can change hair color (and looks, in general) at will. Sort of clumsy. What's not to love about her? Not to mention, she married my favorite Defense Against the Dark Arts professor of all times. She rocks! I wish her role was more true to the book (aka more screen time!) in the Half-Blood Prince.  

4.  Fleur Delacour
I started off with a neutral "eh *shrug*" feeling about her, because in the Goblet of Fire, she was like your typical super gorgeous girl who gets all the guys, your super secret crush included. But I have to say she did a 180 in the Half-Blood Prince. I love that scene that takes place after Bill Weasley, her fiance, is seriously injured by a baddie-werewolf. Pretty much everyone thinks that Fleur is pretty shallow, only loves Bill for his good looks and now that's all messed up, thanks to the werewolf, and will call off the engagement. Our girl proved everyone wrong by sticking by her fiance. Not every good looking girls are shallow bubble-heads, people. That scene was so touching, it's a shame it didn't make it to the movie.

That's a wrap! Now, I'm going to go get me some magical sweets at Honeydukes. ;)

xx-N