Are you a true fan?
There is always a constant debate over whether or not true fans of a classic (which Harry Potter is surely on its way to becoming if not already having obtained this status) like the movie version of their beloved book for what it has tried to do (like squeeze an 800 page book into 2.5 hours!) or if they have to turn their noses up to the movie.
I stand by the declaration that true fans of a character or series are only true if they like ALL its major components. In the case of HP, the movies are just as much of a phenomenon as the books. Do not get me wrong, the books are always the way to go, but if you truly love Harry then you will truly love the movies too. To me it is like Star Wars. So many fans scoffed at the newest editions (1, 2, and 3) citing that they could never possibly be as good as the originals (4, 5, and 6). While this may be true, the new ones are awesome in their own right. True fans accept and learn to love any of their story counterparts.
That said, let us get to talking about The Order of the Phoenix book versus movie. This book is by far the dark horse of the Potter series. Harry is cast aside by the Wizarding World, ignored by Dumbledore, ostracized by Umbridge – it is no wonder he’s constantly on the edge snipping at his best friends. All good series must have the one story where the hero is the underdog and this is it for Harry. As she always does, Rowling writes with her usual flair, sending the Weasley twins off with a bang, making us love Dumbledore even more when he rescues Prof. Trelawney from being banned from Hogwarts. Some of us may even feel sorry for Snape when Umbrdige gives him a hard time about his teaching. And of course, there is huge-hearted Hagrid and his attempt to save “Grawpy” his full Giant brother. These minor details plus the addition of some wonderful new characters, Luna “Looney” Lovegood being among the best, make book 5 the most detailed and intricate of the series. On top of this, as if we are not always heartbroken for Harry, we become even more so when Sirious is killed in the Ministry of Magic. Overall, I would say this is the best of the Potter books.
Now, with the movie recently out and on DVD for all to take home and watch, we question how and why the producers chose to keep and cut certain things from the story. For example, a small but I find very significant fact left out of the movie is that Harry is not made a Prefect and Ron is instead. While this may seem unimportant, it is one of the beginning clues to Dumbledore’s distance from Harry and also our first glimpse of Harry as the fallen hero. Very important so why is it left out? Who knows? In the case of adding to the story, it’s unnecessary and obviously for pure entertainment value the ending scene where Voldemort invades Harry’s body and mind. While this is alluded to in the book, this scene plays a HUGE role in the movie. Again, why did they chose to emphasize this particular part? I guess I would have to say that for the entire following of HP fans out there that only watch the movies (and trust me their group may be bigger than the book readers) this is an important piece of the puzzle that the movie is fitting together.
Overall both the book and the movie are excellent and true Harry fans love both equally. Some days we may be more into the book and others the movie, but we true fans are crazy about it all!