(HP movies director Chris) Columbus, looking at shots of Dominic McLaughlin's Harry Potter and Nick Frost's kindly but bumbling Hogwarts groundskeeper Rubeus Hagrid, was quite blunt about the shots ... and prescient about the whole thing. "So I'm seeing these photographs ... and he's wearing the exact same costume that we designed for Hagrid," Columbus said on a podcast (via People Magazine). "Part of me was like, 'What's the point?' I thought everything was going to be different, but it's more of the same. It's all going to be the same."

[–] paraphrand@lemmy.world 13 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) (1 children)

Damn, that’s harsh, but true.

The movies really fleshed out a lot of the visual style of what Harry Potter looks like. And I guess they feel they need to slot into that.

Nick Frost seems like he’s gonna do great. But I can’t help but feel like all of the cast are off-brand versions of the original. Just on appearance alone.

[–] zabadoh@ani.social 9 points 3 days ago (2 children)

But you look at something like Dune, which has had a zillion TV and movie adaptations, or even Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy which has TV and a movie, and the lack of creative effort on HP TV so far is remarkable.

If you look at Star Trek, they could at least keep the look similar when the same TV casts came back for their various movies, but the HP movies started 25 years ago in 2001. The cast is obviously completely different, with the then-child movie stars now entering middle age.

But to keep the "look and feel" exactly the same after 25 years is... at best weird, and at worst creatively bankrupt.

[–] paraphrand@lemmy.world 5 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago)

Yeah, I think that’s why it feels “off-brand” to me. It only happens because they hued so close to the original adaptation in appearance. With all those other examples I don’t feel that way.

Also, 25 years? DAMN.

[–] lath@piefed.social 1 points 2 days ago

Nostalgia filter up to the max, because everything else was a choice. It's meant to be about 7 seasons long, with one year explored per season. And in today's state of things, that's a very big gamble to take.

[–] exupulosion@sh.itjust.works 8 points 3 days ago

Read a new book for once guys

[–] Ilandar@lemmy.today 9 points 3 days ago (1 children)

I guess the point (at least for me) is that it's a significantly extended adaptation of the books. Whether you care or not, it's undeniable that the films cut a lot out across the entire series. We will most likely get the Quidditch sub-plot that was almost completely cut from the films, for example. The earlier Harry Potter novels are mysteries and I also think that will work better across a season where the mystery isn't fighting for time with the teen/school drama aspect of the novels.

[–] Kratzkopf@discuss.tchncs.de 0 points 2 days ago (1 children)

This very much. Looking at the teaser, I too think that the style isn't changed a lot, but there will be so many more scenes. The whole prelude of Harry living at the Dursleys and being the outcast at school and at home are scenes that were omitted nearly completely in the Columbus movie. You got to consider also that in the first film, this mostly worked. It was a long movie for a short book and much was left out. With the later books getting longer, the films really had to leave out so much of what was happening. If they give the seasons the right amount of episodes, this can be worked out much better in a series format, although they too will have issues with ageing actors.

I imagine there would be backlash over a change in art style as well because people grew so accustomed to the movies, where I want to point out many things evolved over the multiple movies, too. This series has a much easier starting point, in that regard. I think this actually looks really promising, but there is still no way I am going to throw more money down the throat of this hate and fear mongering author by watching the show.

[–] Ilandar@lemmy.today 1 points 2 days ago

It will be interesting to see how people react to those early episodes. When I read the books I was always very impatient to get to Hogwarts, the opening stuff in the holidays always dragged. I wonder if there will be complaining about this show being boring or slow because it will take its time to get there. I'm sure the people who've read the books won't mind, but I think those whose idea of Harry Potter is based solely on the films could find some of this stuff uninteresting. Or maybe they'll appreciate what is "new content" for them, who knows?

In any case, I'll be watching but not on Netflix! :)