If there’s one thing that frustrates a lot of readers and movie watchers, it is a conflict between the two: missing what they read in a movie and vice versa. For satisfaction, we always want to see what we read play out scene for scene, but this may not always be true! From epic plots to singular contained moments, here are book scenes we missed in great movies.
1. Kaa’s Journey: Jungle Book
When reading The Jungle Book, you’ll find that Kaa becomes a good guy. His journey is significant, and he plays a vital role in evolving the story. He is on the same level as Bagheera and Baloo, Mowgli’s guardians. Sadly, the movie never shows his evolution or interaction with other characters in a positive light. One online user said, “It almost feels like the movie does the book an injustice by omitting these scenes.”
2. Jem’s Interaction With the Old Lady: To Kill a Mockingbird
This book is so epic that taking anything away from the story messes up the whole ending. However, movie producers may not have thought of this fact when they omitted the scene where Jem gets to know the angry old lady in the movie. Although it was a punishment at first, Jem spends his entire summer reading to her. This scene never made it to the film, and it withered Jem’s character.
3. Howl’s Realization: Howl’s Moving Castle
In Howl’s Moving Castle, a young woman named Sophie is cursed to be 90 years old. The movie adaptation poorly explains why she changes back to being young and then old again at various points throughout the story. The book states Sophie was cursed but has magical powers herself and could have lifted the spell; the wizard Howl realizes that Sophie likes being an old lady. As the movie is from Howl’s perspective, it omits crucial scenes, while the book reads from Sophie’s perspective, and readers are given this insight.
4. Gatsby’s Father Showing Up to His Funeral: The Great Gatsby
In the book, Gatsby’s father, Henry, is present at his son’s funeral, but only Nick appears in the movie. Henry plays a crucial role in giving insight into who Gatsby was. He doesn’t talk about the mythical Gatsby but rather about his son, a man who wanted more out of life. This immaculate moment could have added to the movie as it humanizes Gatsby in a brilliant way.
5. Forrest’s Journey in Forrest Gump
In this interesting book, Forrest is quite a character. While hallucinating from indulging in illegal substances, Forrest travels to space with an orangutan, then crash lands into New Guinea, where he learns how to play chess. In his quest to find himself, he also becomes a professional wrestler and joins a band. The movie completely cuts out these parts of his journey, leaving viewers to fill in the gaps in how and why he makes his decisions.
6. Missing Character Development Scenes: Ender’s Game
The book takes time to highlight character transitions for its antagonists and protagonists to a point where readers feel like they understand their evolution. However, the movie was lackluster in taking us through character stories. The pacing was so fast that nothing sank in before the next thing happened. Missing scenes could help us understand why characters made their decisions. To this, an online movie lover said, “Ender’s Game didn’t need a whole series. Just missing scenes. A 12-hour HBO series would have gotten the job done.”
7. Hermione’s Help With the Puzzle: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
While Harry Potter is an ever-so-intriguing movie franchise, it did disappoint when it came to The Sorcerer’s Stone. In the first book, when they have to complete the puzzles, Hermoine plays an essential role in helping Harry figure them out. This scene didn’t make it to the movie. Another user added, “As they removed the puzzle, it doesn’t even appear in the film that Harry helped protect the stone.”
8. Jake Explores a Corner of the Mid-world: The Dark Tower
The movie disappointed fans because it was a wishy-washy representation of the book. On a popular online discussion forum, a film watcher pointed out, “Having plenty of missing scenes in The Dark Tower was quite disappointing. Trying to condense a book series into a two-hour film is a bad idea. “Another said, “It’s supposed to be a sequel, not a short movie.” We didn’t see Jake making decisions like exploring the mid-world, which comprised the book’s most crucial parts.
9. Aunt Petunia’s Howler: Harry Potter and Order of the Phoenix
Here is another scene from Harry Potter that was missing from its movie adaptation! We don’t see Aunt Petunia’s howler in Order of the Phoenix. In the book, the howler sent by Dumbledore plays an essential role in reminding Aunt Petunia about the pact she made regarding Harry’s living arrangements. It’s a moment the movie could have included, mainly because Harry and Dumbledore discuss it later in the film.
10. The Wrong Ending Scene: The Golden Compass
Nothing is more satisfying than reading The Golden Compass from its first to the last page. One paragraph short would ruin the ending. But this is what the movie does by ending the story pages before the final chapter! There are missing scenes that change the end drastically. Let’s just say that the end of the book was more epic than the movie. But you’ll have to read to find out! No spoilers for this one!
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