7 Problems With Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban is widely considered the best movie in the Harry Potter series, but there are many things wrong with it that easily go unnoticed. The Harry Potter book series was a global phenomenon since the first book, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, was published in 1997.

It didn’t take long for the books to be adapted to film, with the Harry Potter movie saga beginning in 2001 and ending in 2011 with Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2. As popular and successful as the movies were, some were better than others, either due to how faithful they were to the source material or to their overall quality.

Although which is the best Harry Potter movie is subjective, the one widely considered as the best is the third installment in the series, Prisoner of Azkaban – and while it’s a great movie and story, there are many things wrong with it, from inaccuracies to continuity mistakes and more.

That Awkward Final Shot

Out of all the things wrong in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, this is one is the lesser evil, but it’s still something that viewers have pointed out over the years as a weakness. Prisoner of Azkaban introduces the Dementors, Sirius Black (Gary Oldman), and Remus Lupin (David Thewlis), so it’s a darker story than the previous movies.

Harry goes through a lot in Prisoner of Azkaban – from facing the Dementors to learning the truth about Sirius Black –, and at the end of the movie, Black, after successfully escaping from the Dementors, sends a new Firebolt broomstick to Harry. Harry rides it and Prisoner of Azkaban ends with an awkward close-up freeze-frame of Harry’s happy face.

While the idea for it is to give Harry a hopeful ending after everything he went through, the ending ends up feeling out of tone and place. There’s also an added effect on Harry’s face reminiscent of the Dementors, which only makes it more awkward.

The Invisibility Cloak’s Sudden New Powers

In Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, Harry received the Invisibility Cloak, which belonged to his father, and he had already worn it a couple of times around Hogwarts. As the name says, the Invisibility Cloak grants the wearer invisibility, but there are limitations as well – however, these disappeared during Prisoner of Azkaban.

In the movie, Harry wears the cloak to visit Hogsmeade, where he finds Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle messing with Ron and Hermione. Harry decides to help his friends by throwing snowballs at Malfoy and company, dragging them in the snow, and more, and they have no idea what’s going on.

This is possible thanks to Harry magically not leaving any footsteps in the snow, which isn’t among the powers of the cloak – however, when Harry enters the Three Broomsticks wearing the cloak, Ron and Hermione follow his footsteps in the snow.

The Incomplete Story Of The Marauders

Prisoner of Azkaban is also the movie that introduces the Marauders Map, given to Harry by the Weasley twins and with which Harry is able to travel to Hogsmeade without being seen. The audience later learns that the Marauders were James Potter, Black, Lupin, and Peter Pettigrew, but not because it was explained in Prisoner of Azkaban.

This is mostly a problem, as when Harry sees the Patronus stag at the lake, he’s convinced it’s his dad. For those who read the book, this will be clear, but not for those who only watched the movies.

A lot happens in Prisoner of Azkaban, but a brief explanation of whom the Marauders were, their connection, and the origin of the map wouldn’t have been bad at all.

Scabbers & The Marauders Map

A big plot hole that fans of the Harry Potter saga have pointed out for years is all about Scabbers’ real identity and the Marauders Map. Among the many revelations in Prisoner of Azkaban is that Ron’s pet rat, Scabbers, who had been in his family for many years, was actually Peter Pettigrew (Timothy Spall), who betrayed Harry’s parents to Voldemort.

This big reveal is hinted at early on in Prisoner of Azkaban when Harry is walking through Hogwarts’ halls with the map and sees Pettigrew in it. Harry is startled by his own reflection and sees that Pettigrew has just walked past him.

Now, the Weasley twins had had the map for years and used it many times, and with Scabbers being in their house and with their brother most of the time, it raises the question of why they never questioned why a man named Peter Pettigrew appeared on the map with Ron all the time.

Ron Weasley’s Role

As good as Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban is, it isn’t very loyal to the characters’ portrayals in the books. Prisoner of Azkaban’s Hermione has been criticized for being too aggressive and even selfish, but the worst changes are, arguably, those made to Ron.

In Prisoner of Azkaban, Ron was reduced to a comic relief character and a cowardly but loyal friend, with some truly over-dramatic reactions throughout the movie to enhance that comedic side. What’s more painful about Prisoner of Azkaban’s portrayal of Ron is how it diminished his intelligence, when, in the book, he’s more resourceful and smart.

Ron in the Prisoner of Azkaban movie lacks the depth that the character has in the books and that the previous movies had given him, and it omits some of his best moments, such as him standing up for Hermione in front of Snape and advising Harry not to seek trouble after learning about Sirius’ supposed betrayal.

The Inconsistent Use Of Time Travel

Another key element introduced in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban is time travel, in a wizarding world way, of course. Hermione reveals that Professor McGonagall gave her a time-turner at the beginning of the school year so she could attend all of her classes, as it allowed her to travel back in time to attend those classes she originally missed.

Hermione and Harry, with Dumbledore’s permission, use the time-turner to go back in time and save Black, but there are some rules they must follow – of course, they soon forget the rules, and this makes way for many inconsistencies.

The main rule is not to let anyone see them, but just seconds after traveling back in time, they let themselves be seen by the executioner for the second time. After that, things happen differently than the first time, such as Hermione punching Malfoy, how the vase she hits with a rock breaks, and the execution happens differently, as well.

On top of that, neither the book nor the movie properly explains what happens in the wizarding world when someone uses the time-turner – are alternate timelines created? How much is affected in the future by changing one tiny thing? Luckily, this was avoided in the subsequent movies and books with the destruction of time-turners.

Harry’s Use Of Magic At The Dursleys’ House

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban begins with Harry at the Dursleys’ house, reading under the blankets with the help of the Lumos Maxima spell, and later on, he accidentally blows up Aunt Marge out of pure rage.

The Ministry of Magic lets the latter pass as it was unintentional, and they have bigger things to attend to (this being Black’s escape), but they do nothing about Lumos Maxima. In both the books and the movies, it’s firmly established that underage wizards can’t use magic outside Hogwarts, yet Harry was using Lumos Maxima not only at the Dursleys’ but in the Muggle world, too.

It’s possible that Lumos Maxima isn’t seen as an offense in the use of underage magic or that the Ministry was so busy with Black’s escape that Harry’s use of Lumos Maxima went unnoticed, but still, this raised many questions about the Ministry’s rules.

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

9/10

Release Date

March 1, 2004

Runtime

144 Minutes

Director

Alfonso Cuarón

Producers

Callum McDougall, Chris Columbus, David Heyman, Lorne Orleans, Mark Radcliffe, Michael Barnathan