How the Harry Potter Films Ruined Ginny Weasley

Ever wondered why Harry Potter fans get so fired up about Ginny Weasley in the movies? Let's dive into how the films took this fierce, hilarious witch who could hex anyone into next week and turned her into... well, that awkward shoelace scene.

I release new Harry Potter videos every week:

Don't forget to Like and Subscribe to the channel!

Follow Me:

Chapters:
0:00 - Intro
1:00 - Growing Up as a Weasley
3:52 - Her Lack of Personality
6:21 - Missing Skills
10:09 - Lost Relationships
12:26 - The Romance Problem

[nairrdlairrd]

I always thought of Ginny as the honorary Third Weasley Twin. In Order of the Phoenix, she’s always part of their shenanigans, and she carries on their spirit when they leave

[raylynne]

I truly think Bonnie Wright COULD have been an amazing Ginny if she'd been given good material to work with!! Completely agree

[BirdieCoit]

They did Ginny dirty. I’m sad because she is my favorite character.

Also, I get the feeling Ginny never had that moment where in the shower she thinks of a comeback.

[DanielRossellSolanes]

and it's not just her personality and interaction with other characters.
Book Ginny is a gorgeous girl, Movie Ginny is a girl you see and forget having seen her.

I assume they made that change to make hermione look even better. I can't think of any other reason.

[dannylagangonzalez]

Book Ginny is my favourite character by far, and you really did a brilliant job of breaking down why that is and why the movies really did her dirty with this video.

I pray the TV show gets her right or I may just quit the fandom.

[Dogsandducks]

The books state that Molly “craved” a daughter. And Ginny was the youngest, so I’m sure Mrs. Weasley was a little precious about her. On top of that, when the youngest kid gets hurt it’s always the older kids who get in trouble, and Mollys temper is as fiery as her hair. Her brothers are very open in admiring Ginny’s magical prowess, so I doubt it’s sexism that keeps them from letting her play. As an oldest sibling myself I think it’s probably fear of Molly if her little princess gets a scratch or bruise. There would be hell to pay.

[filmmakerdreamstudios]

Reading the books right now, and realising how much Ginny is turned into a Prop in the movies

[timburbagereads]

I think the reason Ginny geta shafted is because the films that are closest to the books are the ones where she doesn't do as much. She does a lot in the later books, and these are the pnes the films really streamline

[seanrogers]

Bonnie Wright herself stated how disappointed she was when it came to playing Ginny in the movies. Now I don’t think she’s a bad actress and I do still picture her as Ginny when it comes to reading the books, but I can understand her disappointment with the way the movies portrayed her character. Ginny goes through her own arc of going from being an awkward little girl who has a crush on the main hero to being a confident, witty, funny, powerful woman who finally got Harry’s attention because he started to see her for who she really is. You read the first book Ginny appears in and compare her from who she was there to who she is by the end of the series, you can tell she has come a long way. Hopefully with the new series, we get to see Ginny’s personality shine through.

[arkansaninva]

THANK YOU!! Movie Ginny is a travesty, and it makes me sad that so many people just watched the movies and didn't read the books, because they'll never know how badass Book Ginny is!

[sr]

I think part of the problem is the complete lack of chemistry between Daniel Radcliffe and Bonnie Wright. Like, I think Bonnie would have played Ginny really well if they'd written her like she was in the book (you see that in the only vestige of book Ginny left in the movies - that Quidditch scene). But her and Dan felt awkward together. I also think that you can't really blame the filmmakers for that one as when they hired Bonnie for Philosopher's Stone, they had no idea she'd end up being Harry's love interest and so they didn't bother to do chemistry screen tests with Dan.

The series better get this one right! Even though they'll be very young kids, the two need to have stage chemistry together. They can act awkward at first but then lean into that chemistry in season six. Also, they better let Ginny introduce Luna! Why on earth would Hermione know who this fourth year Ravenclaw was? Another example of Hermione getting other characters lines for no reason.

[chris-hzwd]

There’s not a single book reader who didn’t love Ginny, universally loved and admired. Funny, talented witch and quidditch player also destroyer of bullies and defender of Luna! With a mean bat bogey hex even within the story professor slughorn can see what she’s all about and admires her talent! And the movies did that with her??? If the movies got her right there would be no “Harry should have been with hermione” nonsense, it’s obvious why Harry falls for Ginny she’s awesome!

[filmmakerdreamstudios]

I think it's also because when they started filming, not all the books were out yet and they didn't know how important the supporting characters would become or, more importantly, who would end up with whom. Dan and Emma had much better romantic chemistry, so they pushed Harry and Hermione further and further forward in the films. I think Rupert and Emma would have played the part of Ron and Hermione decently if the script had given them the chance. But Bonnie and Dan didn't have a chance because they hadn't done a chemistry read. As a result, you have these deep and genuine moments between Harry and Hermione, mediocre scenes between Ron and Hermione, and just awkwardness between Harry and Ginny.

[Joel_Nelson]

THANK YOU!!!! Book Ginny is my favorite character of all 7 books and i hate how she was handled in the movies.

[insertcoolnamehere]

the fact the actress herself bonnie wright brought this up shows how universal this is.
also, when's the, making order of the phoenix into a tv series video coming

[maja-kehn]

Book Ginny is my favourite female character in the series.

[anthonyparkernearlifeexp]

I would argue the movies botched dumbledore even worse. Movie dumbledore is nothing like book dumbledore. They botched Harry as well. Book Harry was sarcastic and biting af. Movie Harry not at all. Overall the movies didn’t really develop any of the characters well. I don’t really get why people revere them so much. I can’t wait for the new series.

[chrisbrooker]

The bigger question is not how they ruined her character, but why?
And yes, I don’t think Bonnie Wright is at fault. All right her acting is pretty limited (hence her career not taking off, ditto for most of the movie kids, Emma Watson included), but as you say, you can only act what the script and director allow

[codymills]

0:37 wait that’s you??? I laugh every time that video pops up.

[shawsebastian]

The reason they didn't give her time of day in the films was clearly because the later half of the books weren't out and they had no idea Ginny would end up with Harry, the actress even said she had no idea until she read the book which had come out I think while they were filming Order of the phoenix. So this wasn't a situation where the author told them or specifically her, "hey this is where your character ends up, " like how Alan Rickman was told the crucial bit of information about his character, years in advance. But even then, if I had been the director and I was tasked with filming Half-blood prince. First thing I would have done during prep, was call in the actors for Harry and Ginny and told them to go spent time together, bond, get some chemistry going. Cause from what I can tell looking at the behind scenes footage, David Yates wasn't very helpful. But that is about to lead me into a larger problem with David Yates's worthless directing in the first place. He was just a styless, good little boy who listened to the studio. Which is exactly why he ended up directing every movie since. Worst choice ever! But I digress.