Do you think the movies would have been better if they were animated?

[Oreo55]

So, what's your opinion? Do you think the movies would have been better if they were animated? Discuss.

[imacheeto]

God no! that would have been really retarted.

[kbarrett8907]

Honestly, I don't like most animated movies. When watching a movie, I like it to be as realistic as possible unless the plot means for the movie to not be realistic (such as Harry Potter). The only animated movie that I could name that I like is The Lion King, and we all know how long ago that movie came out, so you can imagine how I feel about newly realeased animated films.

[pygmY_PufFer]

Hmm... interesting idea, you actually really got me thinking. It would kind of in a way be more suited for animation, but somehow what comes to my mind is an animated tv series. But if you're talking in terms of a movie, that would really make people think that it's something for kids only. I can imagine the first two books being an animated movie, but after that the stories start to get older, more emotional and dark. I dunno, I guess in general it's probably still better for the movies to be live action ones, otherwise it would be weird.

[kbarrett8907]

Oh wait, were you talking about only the Harry Potter movies or just movies in general? Now I'm confused. Doesn't take a lot... Haha...

[witchygurl]

i don't know it wouldn't seem real enough.
but the upside is that they could create the characters to really look like how they are portrayed in the books, and the actions of them would be up to the animators, not the actors.

[Lillbet]

Not really. I think one of the reasons the movies resonated for me personally, and have attracted such a wide audience in general, is that they aren't animated. Watching an animated Harry age would not have been as engaging as watching Daniel Radcliffe's growth as an actor (and person) has been.

On the other hand if they had chosen different styles of animation for each successive movie that might have been interesting- from Disney inked cels to CGI to claymation/stop motion, to what Linklater did in "A Scanner Darkly".

[Oreo55]

Sorry, I should have been more specific. I meant the Harry Potter movies.

I think there are pros and cons if HP was animated. For the sake of the argument, I'll list them:

Pros: The characters would be able to look how they're portrayed in the book. Ron would have freckles, Hermione's hair would be bushier, Harry would have green eyes, etc. There would be no (or less, at least) bad or amateurish acting; when the characters cry or display raw emotion, it would be more believable. The movies might be longer and/or more true to the book, too, because making an animated movie would be less expensive (I'm assuming) than a non-animated one.

Cons: It would make the movies seem very childish. Generally, when people think of animated movies, they think "kid's movie", dismissing movies like The Simpson's Movie and the majority of anime movies. The animation may be bad; if it was inconsistent or unrealistic looking, no one would want to go. And because it would be labeled as a kid's movie, I doubt many people would attend the theater or buy the movies unless they were hardcore Potter fans or families with children.

But then again, with the technology we have today, if we made a computer animated movie (like Shrek, Over the Hedge, Cars, Monster House), the characters would look very realistic. Look at The Polar Express -- I think it would be very cool if the HP movies were animated like that, but if they were animated like Curious George, with characters with distorted forms and bright animation, it would be a mess.

This is all my assumption, however. I could be completely wrong.

[hedwig_3180]

I agree with Oreo55; the movies would seem very childish if they were animated. It would be cool though to see what they would make everything look like...maybe then they'd get everyone's eye color right!

[YellowPoofBall]

I think this question to myself constantly. I definitely think the movies would be substantially better animated, especially if animated as you said like The Polar Express. I don't mean to insult the people who love the movies as they are, but I just can't watch them anymore.

I don't think much of your con either It's a children's book.

[hedwig_3180]

Originally Posted by YellowPoofBall

I think this question to myself constantly. I definitely think the movies would be substantially better animated, especially if animated as you said like The Polar Express. I don't mean to insult the people who love the movies as they are, but I just can't watch them anymore.

I don't think much of your con either It's a children's book.

Yes, but WB wants the movies to appeal to all ages, not just the book audience. I think the movies would get a smaller audience for animated Harry Potter...and what about all the poor fangirls who have to dote on a cartoon instead of a hot Dan?? He's not hot...

[Oreo55]

Originally Posted by hedwig_3180

Yes, but WB wants the movies to appeal to all ages, not just the book audience.

Very true. To be honest, I think the movies would have been better if they were animated -- but I'm a little biased because I really like animated movies.

But teenagers and adults do go to animated movies -- look at the popularity of Shrek. I do think that the movies would make more money if they weren't animated, though, because a wider audience would attend.

[Fuchsia]

It depends on who did it. Like with all other forms of art then...

The Lord of the Rings and The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe animated films were pretty terrible. I knew they were terrible as a kid with considerably lower standards than I have now...

Even if a master like Miyazaki did them they might be something quite different from the books (Miyazaki is never faithful to the source material).

[YellowPoofBall]

Originally Posted by hedwig_3180

and what about all the poor fangirls who have to dote on a cartoon instead of a hot Dan?? He's not hot...

My friend has a crush on the guy in Mulan, and though I make fun of her for loving a cartoon character, Harry Potter could be the one to remove the stigma around real person/animated person love.

Just kidding, of course. I agree with you, those poor girls would have nowhere to direct their enthusiasm. Not that I'm all too concerned really, because now I can't even read the books without Dan's face popping up in my mind. I don't even remember what I used to think Harry looked like.

Originally Posted by Fuchsia

The Lord of the Rings and The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe animated films were pretty terrible. I knew they were terrible as a kid with considerably lower standards than I have now...

I thought those two movies weren't animated, just had some special effects.

Originally Posted by Oreo55

Very true. To be honest, I think the movies would have been better if they were animated -- but I'm a little biased because I really like animated movies.

Me too, I'll watch almost anything animated

[Oreo55]

Originally Posted by hedwig_3180

...and what about all the poor fangirls who have to dote on a cartoon instead of a hot Dan?? He's not hot...

That's true. But there are tons of fangirls for animated characters (anime characters in particular).

Actually, I think it would be really interesting to see Harry Potter animated in anime style. But, as Fuchsia said, it depends on who produced it and how true to the books they are.

This is going off-topic (somewhat), but I would love it if HP was an animated series, with a new episode for every ten chapters or so. It's never going to happen, but it would be so cool.

[YellowPoofBall]

Actually, I work with animation a lot. I've been drawing comic strips for the past year and I've recently animated them into a cartoon. I was thinking about trying to get permission after the 7th book is out to do an animated HP so that people could watch it, to include all the little hints that JKR throws in. One of my biggest problems with the movies is how they cut so many things out for time. It would be easy to include everything in an animated series. My other huge problem is that I'm not sure if the movies correctly portray JKR's ideas, and there's only two portrayals of the book I'm willing to accept: my own and JKR's. I thought it would be incredible if we could get drawings of what JKR imagines everything to look like and then animate from that, you know, with the actual dialogue in the books.

[Oreo55]

Originally Posted by YellowPoofBall

Actually, I work with animation a lot. I've been drawing comic strips for the past year and I've recently animated them into a cartoon. I was thinking about trying to get permission after the 7th book is out to do an animated HP so that people could watch it, to include all the little hints that JKR throws in. One of my biggest problems with the movies is how they cut so many things out for time. It would be easy to include everything in an animated series. My other huge problem is that I'm not sure if the movies correctly portray JKR's ideas, and there's only two portrayals of the book I'm willing to accept: my own and JKR's. I thought it would be incredible if we could get drawings of what JKR imagines everything to look like and then animate from that, you know, with the actual dialogue in the books.

That would be incredible! I think, if it became a TV show, it would be very popular and attract people to the HP fanbase. I say go for it!

[Muahahaha]

I don't think I would have watched a Hp animated movie. I don't watch a lot of animation really. Not my style.

[PotterFreak0515]

No, no, definitely not. That would make it so... childish. I really don't usually like animated films. And HP is not some.... it's just not. Especially when the later movies come out! That would be hilarious! I don't think I could keep a straight face watching an animated Dumbledore get blasted out the Astronomy Tower by Snape.

But really, it would completely demean the series. It would make it seem like a little kids' movie!

[ginger1]

No. Jo is telling a story about teenagers in a school. OK, so, odd teenagers in an odd school -- but as far as I'm concerned NO animation of human characters has ever come any way near to being as good as live action.

The best drawing, animation etc (IMO) came with Monsters Inc -- with the wonderful hairy monster (was he called Scully?) -- but the human child Boo, was yuk sentimental, and naff. The kids in Toy Story were equally dreadful. Animation just can't achieve the subtlety of live action. Our HP actors are growing up, they are learning their craft. Give them a chance!