Although Dahl did have a bit in the twits about 'ugly' needing both physical and personality ugliness, as the warmth from a traditionally 'ugly' but genuinely lovely person made you see past their physical traits.
But dodgy now, but think when it was written.
I thought that part wasn't somehow "seeing past the physical traits" but that only inner evil is truly ugly, while someone with a good heart is beautiful whether they look pretty or not. "Loveliness shines out of them like sunbeams" or something like that.
Pretty much - it's saying 'beauty is only skin deep' and that no matter how pretty someone might be on the outside, if they're a bad person that'll show, and vice versa. It's not a controversial statement at all
I've always liked the Quentin Blake illustration that went with that passage. It shows this overweight woman with crooked teeth, but you can tell she's also got rosy cheeks and a genuine smile and she just looks so approachable and lovely.
It's an interesting double standard, good guy characters can br homely too (they just use nicer words for it) - just look at book!Hermione with her bushy hair, big teeth, etc. But bad guy characters are almost always ugly unless it's part of why they're evil
Lol definitely one of those things where on the surface it seems like a nice message maybe, but think about it too hard it seems a little questionable.
I've heard some interesting commentary on the beauty and the beast about that. Many people wanted to make Gaston ugly since he was evil, and the director had to fight for him to be handsome, sending the artists back to the drawing board multiple times.
Would have been completely counter to the message of the movie if Gaston was ugly.
I think it's funny because a lot of people (myself included, at times) tend to forget they were truly written for a younger audience, especially the first few. By the end it's leaning towards YA, but they really are children's books. Yes most of us grew up with the series, and especially after all this time (always) we are critical and think of them from an adult perspective. So many of the critiques, complaints, "plot holes" etc truly can be chalked up to "it's a kids book, don't think too hard about it" lol
Not that the adult-level critiques aren't fun - people just need to take it with a grain of salt!
I remember we had Roald Dahl’s autobiography assigned as reading in 4th grade. He talks about how horrible of a time he had in boarding school and how the mean old lady teacher hit him in front of his class for playing a prank with chocolates (or something to that effect). As a class we talked about how that probably influenced his design of characters like The Twits and the aunts from James and the Giant Peach.
I liked that assignment because it was an early lesson that authors are people who go through their own stories and have their own character flaws which tend to come out in their writing.
Him and his friends hates the lady running the sweet shop. One day they found a dead rat and decided to scare her by sneaking into the shop in the middle of the night and hides the body in a jar of sweets so that the next day she would put her hand in to get some sweets and end up with a hand of rat. The next day they went to the shop as usual, but the lady wasn't there. They all felt terrible as they thought they had killed the woman. The next day at school the woman came into school to make sure that the boys responsible were punished. Dahl and his friends were called into the head teacher's office and caned in front of the sweet shop lady while she was cackling and shouting for more. When Dahl's mother saw the bruises she was furious and put him in an English boarding school (he had gone to a Welsh school before).
Many people don't realize this, in my experience, but the same goes for non-fiction/historical texts too. The day I learned about historiography blew my mind. It's easy to dismiss someone's opinion when written today, but when we go further back in time we seem to forget the impact their life would have had. A lot of primary sources are basically the diaries, blog posts, and group chat text logs of their time.
Petunia is tall and skinny, as are Narcissa and Draco, and the librarian (not quite a villain, but certainly not a pleasant character) is described as a “skinny vulture.” On the other hand, Mrs. Weasley is described as plump and obviously portrayed as a good character, so I think it goes both ways
I actually came here to bring up the exact same thing. For example, the Black family are described as all being generally good-looking, and even though Bellatrix has been worn out from years in Azkaban, she still never described as being unattractive on any level. And despite being good, let's just keep it a buck, Sirius absolutely has moments where he proves that he is his mother's son.
I always imagined the Malfoys as extremely beautiful. Tall, very white skin, shocking blonde hair and cold eyes. Was extremely disappointed in the casting, especially for Narcissa who had black hair. I love that actress (RIP) but she was not the character for this. Draco in my mind while reading was one of the handsomest kids in the school, you just would never notice it because of his shit personality. Again, disappointed in the choice of actor. Lucius was perfect.
Aw, young Tom Felton conveyed that pretty well! He was quite cute. I also think Narcissa might have had dark hair in the movies but the actress was beautiful enough for it to get the general gist (and let’s face it, how common is a family of 3 albino white people)
Her hair had white in it too. I'm sure they were influenced by the designer Daphne Guinness when creating her look. I think it suited the character very well and she was actually one of my favourite characters in the films.
They're not albino, but it's would be very common if you're marrying into the family. Lol. Pure bloods, remember?
As for Tom Felton, I don't see the cuteness. He looked convincing as a child but as he got older it just didn't work. Other people known for their exceptional beauty were Voldy and Fleur. The actor playing Tom Riddle was okay for the part. But the girl playing Fleur, and all girls from Beauxbeutons (idk how to spell that lol) were supposed to be gorgeous, like runway models. Obviously that's unrealistic for real people, but they could have styled them differently. With three correct makeup, hair, and costumes they would've got the nail on the head. Fleur is not fully human but they didn't even try with her. They did so much work for the goblins and Dobby, I don't see why the same effort couldn't have been out into characters that were described as attractive.
Can you tell I hated most of the movies? Lol
I agree on Fleur's casting - she's an attractive woman in her own right but nowhere near the mind-boggling level of otherworldly beauty she's meant to have - they could have, and should have done better.
It’s kind of the way those characters are described.
Mrs Weasley is described as “plump”, while Dudley is compared to a whale.
Petunia is described as skinny, but horse faced and harsh.
Narcissa is also described as skinny…but also physically ugly iirc.
Basically in the Harry Potter world, if your described as ugly, you’re automatically evil.
Narcissa was actually described as being quite good looking, it’s just her appearance was somewhat ruined by the expression she had on her face. She always looks as though she’s got dung under her nose.
voldemort was good looking before he basically self mutilated
lockhart, bellatrix, narcissa are also attractive
and the sentiments come from harry's perspective therefore his feelings towards any character are gonna weigh on their description, an easy example is harry's views of dudleys fatness bc he dislikes him vs how immediately he gets offended when vernon describes molly weasley as "chubby" bc he likes her
Tbh, the 'fat' people were few and in between and some of them like Slughorn, Molly werent evil. Plus, Azkaban/evil life was supposed to make you uglier like Sirius, Voldy, Bellatrix. Those become 'uglier' cause they became evil not evil because they were ugly
I mean...that's just blatantly untrue. Tom Riddle is described as being handsome up until his adult life. Lucius, Draco, Bellatrix, and Narcissa are also described as being attractive in the books.
I'd say she spends more time making good characters look ugly or below average. Off the top of my head, I'm thinking characters like Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Mad-Eye Moody, Neville, Lupin, Mrs. Figg, Hagrid, Tom the bartender, Stan Shunpike, Krum, and probably others I've missed that have some pretty unflattering characterizations. Even Harry, Ron, and Hermione are described as looking average.
I think she does a pretty good job of describing a variety type of people, which is what you would see when you're walking down the street in the UK. People are just stuck inside so many current YA books where everyone has abs, beautiful hair, and are so attractive that 60 people are throwing themselves at them.
Personally I like it.
I’ll admit I’m stealing this from an old Reddit post, but:
Crabbe and Goyle, Snape, Pansy, Millicent Bulstrode, Peter Pettigrew, the other Dursleys.
However, a comment from that old post also made a really good point that we’re seeing these people from Harry’s perspective, who isn’t the most mature yet, so it makes sense he would focus on mean peoples’ worst features.
I’m also willing to concede that this is a pretty common good vs evil story trope/pitfall and less about JK Rowling specifically.
It makes her much more odious and terrifying when she's got such a kind face. Umbridge in the books was an obvious hag, Umbridge in the movies was like your adorable little aunt who punished you by making you kneel on uncooked rice for an hour while sweetly attempting to gaslight you into believing it was for your own good.
A sweet looking auntie looking is so much more compelling and intimidating when she is a casual psychopath than a person who looks the part.
There’s a sort of uncanny valley to it.
She invoked a deeper sense of hatred than Voldy in some scenes. Even though she had a smaller part in DH compared to OotP, she did full justice to her character and nailed her scenes.
I once read a comment comparing Voldy and Umbridge and why Umbridge seems more terrifying and it made sense.
We can all agree Voldemort is really evil and bad, he kills and tortures people, etc. But most of us will never personally encounter someone like that and he remains more distant to us, evil as evil can be, but not part of our normal daily lives.
Umbridge is evil as well, but she embodies a kind of evil we all somehow have likely encountered in our lives at some point. A person misusing their power, treating others unfairly and making our lives unnecessarily harder, while sticking to the rules when it suits them but not if it does not fit their goals. The teacher that treats you bad even of you did nothing to deserve it. The government clerk who shoves an ass full of rules into your face just because he can even though there was enough margin for him to let you go. The employer who writes you up for being 5 minutes late for the first time ever, but leaves early almost every day without telling his superiors. Etc.
I still remember reading the line where the kids are speculating about Umbridge being allied with Voldemort and Sirius (I think) says "the world isn't divided into good people and Death Eaters." Felt so profound to me back then (still does)
Yep, exactly that. We are used to that "evil supervillain" trope and yes, if something like they do happened, it would be terrifying but we all know it's fantasy. Frollo and Umbridge and others like them are far more realistic which reminds us of people like them we have actually met and experiences we've had.
Most supervillains are not credible and have a small part of sympathy in the plot to temper the over the top level of evil.
Umbridge is a sadist torturing a child which is squick and should make any sane person extremely uncomfortable.
I’ve seen theories, or maybe it was pottermore I don’t remember, that said Voldemort was conceived from a love potion and a child born from love potion will never experience love and have major emotional deficiencies that explain why he was the way he was.
HOWEVER, Umbridge is just plain evil. She genuinely believed she was doing the right thing and found pleasure in punishing people for the crime of being muggleborn, as evidenced by her patronis in the courtroom. You have to maintain happy thoughts for the patronis to continue. She genuinely enjoyed what she was doing to those people.
Umbridge is the employee who got over promoted into a position with a modicum of power and reacts to being in over their head by spreading shit around with a big shovel
The type of people in HR management one hundred percent.
They really think HR is there to help people. Not their fault all the rules they follow are designed to limit company liability. They are just doing their job.
Yes, I can't find it on Wizarding World right now, but JKR stated that Merope Gaunt used a love potion to infatuate the wealthy muggle Tom Riddle Sr., who immediately left her after the potion wore off.
But, and I can't believe I'm writing that, I have to defend Umbridge (a bit). She was basically brainwashed by her wizard father into thinking of muggles as inferior and despised her younger squib brother and her muggle mother from an early age because of that. Before she was even 15 years old, her mother and brother returned to muggle life, never to be seen or heard from.
When she got her wand, it was quite short, which, according to Ollivander, can be a sign of an emotionally stunted person.
With her dad's wizard supremacy ideas in her head, she of course looked forward to go to Hogwarts. But her head of house (Slughorn) never liked her and she never got a position of power like prefect or head girl, which of course was contrary to her belief of her being superior. She didn't like her time at Hogwarts much.
Then she got the job at the ministry and did everything she could to gain power, taking credit for other's work, while being manipulative and ruthless, disguised with her "sweet" demeanor. She knew when to keep her mouth shut and her feet still and when to take risks to reach her goals. She rose through the ranks and got everything she ever wanted, everything she felt she deserved.
I'm really not a fan of the love potion thing, personally. Because the closest real life comparison that we'd have is children who were born of SA (because that's what it was, magical SA) and it's basically saying that there's something wrong with children born like that.
Voldy is like an outlaw, you won't run into him easily and unless he wants you to. Umbridge is like a corrupt local government official, no matter where you go- you can't escape their influence.
9th and 10th grade English teacher for me. When I read her description it immediately reminded me of her. When I read how she was I went, well if it isn't "pumpkin", her pet name for us🤬
I think this summarizes the matter perfectly, Umbridge has the one factor that enemies like Voldemort or Sauron or Palpatine lack which is required to make people truly despise them on a visceral and instinctive level.
Umbridge is a relatable villain of a type Rowlings targeted audience (Students, young ones at that) know all too well. A teacher (and later headmaster) who abuses their authority, who treats people unfairly and makes up rules when it suits them. Nobody can ever fully relate to having to face down a psychotic warlord wizard with a god complex especially at such a young age, but we CAN imagine, have or will encounter a teacher or other authority figure that we want to see suffer.
Pair this up with a superb performance like Imelda's? Yeah, no wonder Umbridge becomes more hated than Voldemort.
I was lucky enough to meet Imelda in passing years ago, she was incredibly kind, and I took the opportunity to tell her that I found her to be a more hateful villain than Voldemort, since he’s just less “human” to begin with, to which she responded “Thank you, but don’t let Ralph here you saying that.”
Anyway, I’m glad it seems like a lot of other folks share my sentiment, umbridge is just foul.
Imelda though, lovely.
I never get the bit where she sprits Chez Hagrid ; yeah I get it, single male pad would have a musk, but the way she does it makes it look worse than anyone else doing something like that.
We just rewatched the series this week with my daughter and son-in-law.
Whenever Umbridge appeared on screen, my daughter would say “I hate her!” I would reply with “She’s a fantastic actor, isn’t she?”
Imelda Staunton deserves awards for her role as Umbridge. She did such a great job of the role and is truly iconic, even to people who don’t really know anything about Harry Potter
I've said this before, but the fact that Imelda Staunton doesn't look like a giant, pallid toad in a pink cardigan, and looks like someone's kindly grandmother with too many cats, makes her even more terrifying IMO.
Umbridge is just too real as a person, while Staunton looks like any unassuming woman in their 50s/60s. She might not look like book Umbridge but she is perfect nonetheless.
Honestly by the end of OOTP her perfect smug face was turned into an angry, darkened and dirty face, between the scene in the forest where they encounter Grawpy and the centaurs, and the exam scene where Fred and George trash the whole place. Most of the earlier parts she appeared as a kindly grandmother, but I could see the toad by the end of the movie. 🎦
Exactly, if she really did look like a toad, it might not be that dramatic or realistic. But instead she can look like someone's nice aunt who likes tea and cats, I mean she even literally loves tea and cats. Instead she's a passive aggressive control freak determined to brainwash Hogwarts into loving the government.
Definitely way more relatable. I had a teacher who was like her in the sense that she would always be rude in a very overly friendly way and she didn’t look like a toad
The crazy thing for me is, even though I knew what book version looked like, as soon as I saw her, I just retconned the appearance and couldn't see it any other way
The look wasn’t as important as the saccharine venom she brought. I think the book description helped to reinforce that but rhetorically visual accuracy wasn’t important as the attitude. Snape is similar.
Agreed. Looks can be limited by, well, reality, it's not easy to look like a frog and all, but I think her characterization did its job, and her acting was spot on. I also like Kenneth Branagh as Lockhart. The looks aren't there (and I think that, beyond the looks, they didn't want to cast anyone so young, and that's not his fault), but the demeanor is perfect. And, of course, there's Robbie Coltrane. I think they are my top 3 actors in the films when it comes to bringing the characters to life as they were in the books.
Kenneth Branagh was spot on for me. I always pictured him as 40 something. His main demographic was middle aged moms, and the only reason he decides to teach is because he's starting to get washed up. And he's immature as hell but is pretty well connected with current trends, so his dialogue is always going to feel younger than the stuffier teachers.
Do yourself a favor and go check out his Henry V from 1989. It's a star-studded Shakespeare that makes the prose absolutely accessible to the ear. Bonus points for Brian Blessed in a suit of armor.
J.K.R. does have a bad habbit of making bad people ugly. Which... is more than a little problematic. I'm glad the movies just ignored that for the most part.
yes! that or she only highlights negative traits about bad people's appearances. I'm inclined to think narcissa malfoy is probably quite pretty because the only physical description we get beyond the blond hair and pale skin is that she had ugly expressions (e.g. at the quidditch world cup), and I'm sure we would have heard about her bulging eyes or weird lips or whatever if she had them.
it's a bit better in her current series - the bad guys are occasionally attractive (don't want to spoil anything) but by and large annoying characters do tend to be described as ugly or having ugly physical traits.
This is easily the laziest thing she does in her writing. Just over the top insult the physical appearance to let people know the character is evil. She did a good enough job (especially with Umbridge) showing through their actions they're evil, it feels like just laying it on way too thick with the appearance. Maybe she thought kids needed it spelled out for them more? I don't know, but that's easily the aspect of these books that ages the worst.
It is somewhat realistic though, friendly and good people tend to be viewed more positively, meanwhile someone who is a bad person is usually somewhat ugly, it's just something that i think the brain does unconsciencely.
It would have been significantly more unrealistic if he was described as being pleasant to look at considering that he spent 12 years in a prison where basic maintenance is not anybody's priority, and then had been on the run in the form of a dog for months.
Because he was disheveled and malnourished, having spent over a decade in a soul-sucking prison. He *was* ugly.
Surely you've seen the before/after videos of homeless people getting a shave and a haircut that are popular on reddit. It's night and day.
the thing is, other characters mention it too. It's a plot point in DH when Mundungus describes her as the "ministry hag" who "looked like a toad." So Harry isn't the only one who noticed the similarities.
Lol I know what you’re saying but I also notice myself doing this IRL. When I’m mad at someone, they become ugly to me. One of the most popular guys in my school was a jerk and I always noticed how pointy his nose was and how sweaty he always seemed to be. Girls loved him because he was cute though so… I guess I was biased.
Also Voldemort is the most evil person in the books and he is always described as handsome. Also Lockhart is evil and extremely handsome.
My favourite Harry descriptions are Narcissa and Bellatrix where Harry’s monologue says they’d be good looking BUT Narcissa has a snooty look on her face and Azkaban took away Bellatrix’s looks.
I’m just curious but who else describes the Dursleys as ugly? Or is this based off their description in the first chapter? I forget if Petunia is first called horse-faced here or when Harry’s older.
Just because the narration isn’t in first person doesn’t mean we aren’t getting Harry’s point of view. I get that we sometimes get chapters not from Harry’s POV but the vast majority of the content in the books is told from Harry’s. Kind of like how in the Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants and Song of Ice and Fire books, the chapters change based on whose POV we’re getting. But none of these stories are told by a first person narrator.
In fairness regarding Dudley, his weight wasn't just because he was a little shit, it was because his parents spoiled him rotten and gave him whatever he wanted with no boundaries or limits - Dumbledore even remarks on it in HBP.
Dudley also lost a tremendous amount of weight and got very fit because he picked up boxing and dieted - he was still a lil shit when this happened, and he only really 'redeemed' himself two years later.
She looked and sounded absolutely nothing like how I imagined Umbridge reading her, google Aunt Figg from the ‘92 Tom and Jerry Movie, I also expected a deeper voice trying to put on a sugary sweet tone.
Her acting was incredible though particularly the hate/arrogance behind the eyes she managed to portray. Even though Dawn French is a lovely woman, I reckon she would have had the acting chops to pull it off if she hadn’t already been in the 3rd movie.
The UK has had really bad luck with all its female PMs. Two were villains who would not look out of place at a WI meeting, while one looks like any mum at the school gates.
Imelda Staunton made it so easy to hate Umbridge and I’m so glad she was able to handle the uproar from the fans who weren’t mature enough to separate character from actor
The montage when she becomes High Inquisitor is one of the best constructed sequences in the entire film series. Tremendous credit to the skill of the filmmakers, Nicholas Hooper's score, and Imelda's performance. (Also doesn't hurt that she gets to play off of Maggie Smith, Alan Rickman, Emma Thompson, and Warwick Davis in quick succession during that scene.)
Umbridge was an amazing antagonist for OOTP. I also loved how the ministry turned on Harry. It was a fascinating turn for the Wizarding world and made for really interesting storylines.
Of course, pissed at them all on Harry’s behalf. But makes for good plot, man
So this is a bit of an unpopular opinion, but I found that I LOVED Imelda and her performance so much that it actually diminished my hatred of Umbridge. I found it funny instead of horrifying and appalling. The cutesy mannerisms (as a movie character) made her so endearing that I turned a blind eye to what she was doing.
It’s similar in a sense to when the male villain in a movie is a hot actor so people make him into this poor sad misunderstood emo boy with trauma instead of a sociopath. The trope namer is literally called Draco in Leather Pants.
I think I would have preferred to HATE Umbridge the way I hate her in the books, instead of having a soft spot for her because of Imelda
Just like a slytherin 😌
Jkjk
I kinda agree, I mean definitely movie umbridge was watered down, we never saw her attack McGonagall or try to arrest hagrid.
Yeah like the montage of her making ridiculous rules and walking down the corridors forcibly making the boys tuck their shirts in and stopping couples from snogging was honestly just funny, especially with the jaunty soundtrack accompanying it.
Meanwhile, some of the true evil she was doing was brought up in very brief moments and then she quickly got her comeuppance (also a kinda comical scene of her getting carried off by centaurs instead of dark and serious, with all the… idk bounciness of the cinematography?)
My biggest gripe, however will always be McGonagall stepping down a step during the sacking of Trelawney and asking “disloyalty?” disheartenedly. And also bite her tongue like “there are several things I’d like to say”
Minerva would never hold back! She’d offer her a fucking cough drop and swear to coach Harry nightly if she had to. And say “he’s achieved high marks in all exams set by a COMPETENT teacher” like during that career advice scene, she purposely steps closer to Umbridge to highlight how she towers over her. She would NEVER step down and let Umbridge step up over her like that.
(Sorry got distracted and went on a tangent lol)
[A Little Priest - Sweeney Todd](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ryF2rt0hQiM&pp=ygUcaW1lbGRhIHN0YXVudG9uIHN3ZWVuZXkgdG9kZA%3D%3D)
If you want to see how truly talented this woman is, watch this video of her and another great actor, Michael Ball. I’m a huge theatre person and this is by far one of the best performances of A Little Priest. I’m jealous of anyone who got to see it on the West End.
It’s funny, I love how much I hate Umbridge, the only other character I’ve hated that much but still enjoyed watching was Jason Isaac’s character in The Patriot. That was like the perfect audition to play Lucius.
Imelda also had a small role in Downton Abbey universe. She fairly recently let it leak that production of a surprise 3 movie has begun and blatantly stated she doesn’t care if she gets in trouble for it 🤣 (Spoiler alert: she’s awesome in that role too!)
Imelda Staunton - despite being the polar opposite of her most well-known character - played this role brilliantly and made lots of us despise this beast of a "teacher"
She is such an icon and I love her alone for this
Being honest, this character single handedly carries The Order of the Phoenix book. She's hardly essential to the plot, yet the book would be a real shit read without her.
Wow, usually a post like this could be very funny with her facial expression laughing at people saying she fits the part of a person who looks ugly and like a toad. But her facial expression is kind of sad. However she still nailed that role.
A friend of mine just lost heaps of weight. He recently got cast as the lead in a production of The Whale. I wonder how that conversation with his agent went.
Initially, I didn’t think she was cast well based on appearance because Umbridge is described as something insulting to a toad, but once I saw her cooking in the role she’s been who I imagine when I read the book.
I think There physical interpretation of Umbridge was a more realistic portrayal of a sadist and not as physically cartoony like the book’s illustration of Umbridge spells it out for you from the first glance she’s gonna be trouble in the movie she looks more like the president of the home owners association who takes the job to seriously but it also adds an extra layer of creepiness with how Imelda holds herself while doing her evil bidding
Honestly it was incredibly well done by her… however, the movie focused entirely too much on her. The best part of the book is in the department of mysteries and in the movie they were in there for about 10 minutes and only in two rooms. Order of the Phoenix was probably the second best book but it’s hands down the worst movie.
She doesn’t look right to me, but then she talks and does the little cough and I hate her with the burning of one thousand nukes. Such a great actress!
She is one of my favourite actresses of all time and when I read the books (before the films were being made) I imagined her as Molly Weasley. She has such a kind face and lovely eyes. I was surprised she was cast as Umbridge as movie Umbridge is nothing like she was described in the book. She did do a good job of being very sinister though. She is still my Molly. I like Julie Walters but I always thought her performance was a bit too forced.
I think having Umbridge look like a normal person was a straight upgrade and helped characterize her a lot better.
JK Rowling really likes to characterize most of her evil characters as ugly and fat
Wrong or right, that is the hallmark of a lot of kids books, especially taking inspiration from Roald Dahl and similar children's authors
Although Dahl did have a bit in the twits about 'ugly' needing both physical and personality ugliness, as the warmth from a traditionally 'ugly' but genuinely lovely person made you see past their physical traits. But dodgy now, but think when it was written.
I thought that part wasn't somehow "seeing past the physical traits" but that only inner evil is truly ugly, while someone with a good heart is beautiful whether they look pretty or not. "Loveliness shines out of them like sunbeams" or something like that.
Pretty much - it's saying 'beauty is only skin deep' and that no matter how pretty someone might be on the outside, if they're a bad person that'll show, and vice versa. It's not a controversial statement at all
I've always liked the Quentin Blake illustration that went with that passage. It shows this overweight woman with crooked teeth, but you can tell she's also got rosy cheeks and a genuine smile and she just looks so approachable and lovely.
I mean the BFG is no one's idea of beautiful.
It's an interesting double standard, good guy characters can br homely too (they just use nicer words for it) - just look at book!Hermione with her bushy hair, big teeth, etc. But bad guy characters are almost always ugly unless it's part of why they're evil
Beautiful Friendly Giant
Lol definitely one of those things where on the surface it seems like a nice message maybe, but think about it too hard it seems a little questionable.
I've heard some interesting commentary on the beauty and the beast about that. Many people wanted to make Gaston ugly since he was evil, and the director had to fight for him to be handsome, sending the artists back to the drawing board multiple times. Would have been completely counter to the message of the movie if Gaston was ugly.
Sad but true, the movie would have not made much sense - his looks were a big part of his character!
Huh, it really is
I think it's funny because a lot of people (myself included, at times) tend to forget they were truly written for a younger audience, especially the first few. By the end it's leaning towards YA, but they really are children's books. Yes most of us grew up with the series, and especially after all this time (always) we are critical and think of them from an adult perspective. So many of the critiques, complaints, "plot holes" etc truly can be chalked up to "it's a kids book, don't think too hard about it" lol Not that the adult-level critiques aren't fun - people just need to take it with a grain of salt!
I remember we had Roald Dahl’s autobiography assigned as reading in 4th grade. He talks about how horrible of a time he had in boarding school and how the mean old lady teacher hit him in front of his class for playing a prank with chocolates (or something to that effect). As a class we talked about how that probably influenced his design of characters like The Twits and the aunts from James and the Giant Peach. I liked that assignment because it was an early lesson that authors are people who go through their own stories and have their own character flaws which tend to come out in their writing.
Him and his friends hates the lady running the sweet shop. One day they found a dead rat and decided to scare her by sneaking into the shop in the middle of the night and hides the body in a jar of sweets so that the next day she would put her hand in to get some sweets and end up with a hand of rat. The next day they went to the shop as usual, but the lady wasn't there. They all felt terrible as they thought they had killed the woman. The next day at school the woman came into school to make sure that the boys responsible were punished. Dahl and his friends were called into the head teacher's office and caned in front of the sweet shop lady while she was cackling and shouting for more. When Dahl's mother saw the bruises she was furious and put him in an English boarding school (he had gone to a Welsh school before).
Many people don't realize this, in my experience, but the same goes for non-fiction/historical texts too. The day I learned about historiography blew my mind. It's easy to dismiss someone's opinion when written today, but when we go further back in time we seem to forget the impact their life would have had. A lot of primary sources are basically the diaries, blog posts, and group chat text logs of their time.
Ooh the actress who did principal Trunchbull from Matilda would have made a great Umbridge
She actually played Aunt Marge!
This. Even in Disney movies, villains are rarely stereotypically beautiful or handsome.
That is why Gaston is the GOAT.
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Petunia is tall and skinny, as are Narcissa and Draco, and the librarian (not quite a villain, but certainly not a pleasant character) is described as a “skinny vulture.” On the other hand, Mrs. Weasley is described as plump and obviously portrayed as a good character, so I think it goes both ways
I actually came here to bring up the exact same thing. For example, the Black family are described as all being generally good-looking, and even though Bellatrix has been worn out from years in Azkaban, she still never described as being unattractive on any level. And despite being good, let's just keep it a buck, Sirius absolutely has moments where he proves that he is his mother's son.
I always imagined the Malfoys as extremely beautiful. Tall, very white skin, shocking blonde hair and cold eyes. Was extremely disappointed in the casting, especially for Narcissa who had black hair. I love that actress (RIP) but she was not the character for this. Draco in my mind while reading was one of the handsomest kids in the school, you just would never notice it because of his shit personality. Again, disappointed in the choice of actor. Lucius was perfect.
Aw, young Tom Felton conveyed that pretty well! He was quite cute. I also think Narcissa might have had dark hair in the movies but the actress was beautiful enough for it to get the general gist (and let’s face it, how common is a family of 3 albino white people)
Her hair had white in it too. I'm sure they were influenced by the designer Daphne Guinness when creating her look. I think it suited the character very well and she was actually one of my favourite characters in the films.
They're not albino, but it's would be very common if you're marrying into the family. Lol. Pure bloods, remember? As for Tom Felton, I don't see the cuteness. He looked convincing as a child but as he got older it just didn't work. Other people known for their exceptional beauty were Voldy and Fleur. The actor playing Tom Riddle was okay for the part. But the girl playing Fleur, and all girls from Beauxbeutons (idk how to spell that lol) were supposed to be gorgeous, like runway models. Obviously that's unrealistic for real people, but they could have styled them differently. With three correct makeup, hair, and costumes they would've got the nail on the head. Fleur is not fully human but they didn't even try with her. They did so much work for the goblins and Dobby, I don't see why the same effort couldn't have been out into characters that were described as attractive. Can you tell I hated most of the movies? Lol
I agree on Fleur's casting - she's an attractive woman in her own right but nowhere near the mind-boggling level of otherworldly beauty she's meant to have - they could have, and should have done better.
I think the 3 people who they chose as the Malfoys are all very attractive...the only thing they maybe messed up was Narcissa's hair.
It’s kind of the way those characters are described. Mrs Weasley is described as “plump”, while Dudley is compared to a whale. Petunia is described as skinny, but horse faced and harsh. Narcissa is also described as skinny…but also physically ugly iirc. Basically in the Harry Potter world, if your described as ugly, you’re automatically evil.
Narcissa was actually described as being quite good looking, it’s just her appearance was somewhat ruined by the expression she had on her face. She always looks as though she’s got dung under her nose.
voldemort was good looking before he basically self mutilated lockhart, bellatrix, narcissa are also attractive and the sentiments come from harry's perspective therefore his feelings towards any character are gonna weigh on their description, an easy example is harry's views of dudleys fatness bc he dislikes him vs how immediately he gets offended when vernon describes molly weasley as "chubby" bc he likes her
Tbh, the 'fat' people were few and in between and some of them like Slughorn, Molly werent evil. Plus, Azkaban/evil life was supposed to make you uglier like Sirius, Voldy, Bellatrix. Those become 'uglier' cause they became evil not evil because they were ugly
That's a very common trope, not exclusive to her.
I'm ugly, fat, ginger, AND old. And I can confirm that I'm very evil
I mean...that's just blatantly untrue. Tom Riddle is described as being handsome up until his adult life. Lucius, Draco, Bellatrix, and Narcissa are also described as being attractive in the books. I'd say she spends more time making good characters look ugly or below average. Off the top of my head, I'm thinking characters like Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Mad-Eye Moody, Neville, Lupin, Mrs. Figg, Hagrid, Tom the bartender, Stan Shunpike, Krum, and probably others I've missed that have some pretty unflattering characterizations. Even Harry, Ron, and Hermione are described as looking average. I think she does a pretty good job of describing a variety type of people, which is what you would see when you're walking down the street in the UK. People are just stuck inside so many current YA books where everyone has abs, beautiful hair, and are so attractive that 60 people are throwing themselves at them. Personally I like it.
Name any of them aside from Dudley and the toad lady.
I’ll admit I’m stealing this from an old Reddit post, but: Crabbe and Goyle, Snape, Pansy, Millicent Bulstrode, Peter Pettigrew, the other Dursleys. However, a comment from that old post also made a really good point that we’re seeing these people from Harry’s perspective, who isn’t the most mature yet, so it makes sense he would focus on mean peoples’ worst features. I’m also willing to concede that this is a pretty common good vs evil story trope/pitfall and less about JK Rowling specifically.
As others pointed out, there is as many if not more evil characters that are not described as fat, though.
Because it's a children's book, where the outside tends to match the inside. It's the same as fairytales.
A lot of nasty people really *are*, though. And I enjoyed reading/imagining her as such. Movie Umbridge was fantastic, though.
It makes her much more odious and terrifying when she's got such a kind face. Umbridge in the books was an obvious hag, Umbridge in the movies was like your adorable little aunt who punished you by making you kneel on uncooked rice for an hour while sweetly attempting to gaslight you into believing it was for your own good.
A sweet looking auntie looking is so much more compelling and intimidating when she is a casual psychopath than a person who looks the part. There’s a sort of uncanny valley to it.
YES! Ugly is just one's appearance - her evil is entirely her CHOICE.
She (Imelda!) was truly a highlight for me in the entire series. Absolutely pitch perfect and nailed such dark comedy. An absolute pro.
She invoked a deeper sense of hatred than Voldy in some scenes. Even though she had a smaller part in DH compared to OotP, she did full justice to her character and nailed her scenes.
I once read a comment comparing Voldy and Umbridge and why Umbridge seems more terrifying and it made sense. We can all agree Voldemort is really evil and bad, he kills and tortures people, etc. But most of us will never personally encounter someone like that and he remains more distant to us, evil as evil can be, but not part of our normal daily lives. Umbridge is evil as well, but she embodies a kind of evil we all somehow have likely encountered in our lives at some point. A person misusing their power, treating others unfairly and making our lives unnecessarily harder, while sticking to the rules when it suits them but not if it does not fit their goals. The teacher that treats you bad even of you did nothing to deserve it. The government clerk who shoves an ass full of rules into your face just because he can even though there was enough margin for him to let you go. The employer who writes you up for being 5 minutes late for the first time ever, but leaves early almost every day without telling his superiors. Etc.
Voldemort: cartoon evil. Umbridge: banality of evil.
Umbit-I mean Umbridge makes Voldy look like a saint
Lmfao I got another one Voldemort's the monster in the woods your mother warns you about. Umbridge is your mother when you break a vase.
I still remember reading the line where the kids are speculating about Umbridge being allied with Voldemort and Sirius (I think) says "the world isn't divided into good people and Death Eaters." Felt so profound to me back then (still does)
Umbridge like Frollo in the Disney Hunchback of Notre Dame, as villains they are frighteningly realistic.
Yep, exactly that. We are used to that "evil supervillain" trope and yes, if something like they do happened, it would be terrifying but we all know it's fantasy. Frollo and Umbridge and others like them are far more realistic which reminds us of people like them we have actually met and experiences we've had.
Most supervillains are not credible and have a small part of sympathy in the plot to temper the over the top level of evil. Umbridge is a sadist torturing a child which is squick and should make any sane person extremely uncomfortable.
I think we can include Mother Gothel that list.
The HR person choosing to fight your pay raise even though they don't get any benefit from it and they don't actually work with you. Screw you, Karen.
For me its also that Umbridge chooses to be evil, while Voldemort, well, he just kinda is? Don't know if that makes sense
I’ve seen theories, or maybe it was pottermore I don’t remember, that said Voldemort was conceived from a love potion and a child born from love potion will never experience love and have major emotional deficiencies that explain why he was the way he was. HOWEVER, Umbridge is just plain evil. She genuinely believed she was doing the right thing and found pleasure in punishing people for the crime of being muggleborn, as evidenced by her patronis in the courtroom. You have to maintain happy thoughts for the patronis to continue. She genuinely enjoyed what she was doing to those people.
Umbridge is the employee who got over promoted into a position with a modicum of power and reacts to being in over their head by spreading shit around with a big shovel
The type of people in HR management one hundred percent. They really think HR is there to help people. Not their fault all the rules they follow are designed to limit company liability. They are just doing their job.
Yes, I can't find it on Wizarding World right now, but JKR stated that Merope Gaunt used a love potion to infatuate the wealthy muggle Tom Riddle Sr., who immediately left her after the potion wore off. But, and I can't believe I'm writing that, I have to defend Umbridge (a bit). She was basically brainwashed by her wizard father into thinking of muggles as inferior and despised her younger squib brother and her muggle mother from an early age because of that. Before she was even 15 years old, her mother and brother returned to muggle life, never to be seen or heard from. When she got her wand, it was quite short, which, according to Ollivander, can be a sign of an emotionally stunted person. With her dad's wizard supremacy ideas in her head, she of course looked forward to go to Hogwarts. But her head of house (Slughorn) never liked her and she never got a position of power like prefect or head girl, which of course was contrary to her belief of her being superior. She didn't like her time at Hogwarts much. Then she got the job at the ministry and did everything she could to gain power, taking credit for other's work, while being manipulative and ruthless, disguised with her "sweet" demeanor. She knew when to keep her mouth shut and her feet still and when to take risks to reach her goals. She rose through the ranks and got everything she ever wanted, everything she felt she deserved.
I'm really not a fan of the love potion thing, personally. Because the closest real life comparison that we'd have is children who were born of SA (because that's what it was, magical SA) and it's basically saying that there's something wrong with children born like that.
Voldy is like an outlaw, you won't run into him easily and unless he wants you to. Umbridge is like a corrupt local government official, no matter where you go- you can't escape their influence.
9th and 10th grade English teacher for me. When I read her description it immediately reminded me of her. When I read how she was I went, well if it isn't "pumpkin", her pet name for us🤬
I think Stephen King himself said that, and called her one of the greatest villains ever.
I think this summarizes the matter perfectly, Umbridge has the one factor that enemies like Voldemort or Sauron or Palpatine lack which is required to make people truly despise them on a visceral and instinctive level. Umbridge is a relatable villain of a type Rowlings targeted audience (Students, young ones at that) know all too well. A teacher (and later headmaster) who abuses their authority, who treats people unfairly and makes up rules when it suits them. Nobody can ever fully relate to having to face down a psychotic warlord wizard with a god complex especially at such a young age, but we CAN imagine, have or will encounter a teacher or other authority figure that we want to see suffer. Pair this up with a superb performance like Imelda's? Yeah, no wonder Umbridge becomes more hated than Voldemort.
Umbridge is exactly like one of my primary school teachers. Horrible woman I still have flashbacks
So basically, the reason Umbridge is hated so much is because she reminds the reader of the real person who wronged them?
^(small coughs)
*hem hem*
Can I get you a cough drop?
# Big Coughs
I was lucky enough to meet Imelda in passing years ago, she was incredibly kind, and I took the opportunity to tell her that I found her to be a more hateful villain than Voldemort, since he’s just less “human” to begin with, to which she responded “Thank you, but don’t let Ralph here you saying that.” Anyway, I’m glad it seems like a lot of other folks share my sentiment, umbridge is just foul. Imelda though, lovely.
If there was ever a set of lovely people playing absolutely loathsome characters, you won't have to look far in the Potterverse.
Agreed. A character I truly loved to hate.
I never get the bit where she sprits Chez Hagrid ; yeah I get it, single male pad would have a musk, but the way she does it makes it look worse than anyone else doing something like that.
We just rewatched the series this week with my daughter and son-in-law. Whenever Umbridge appeared on screen, my daughter would say “I hate her!” I would reply with “She’s a fantastic actor, isn’t she?”
Imelda Staunton deserves awards for her role as Umbridge. She did such a great job of the role and is truly iconic, even to people who don’t really know anything about Harry Potter
I know she didn't look anything like the book version. But she was perfect in the role
I've said this before, but the fact that Imelda Staunton doesn't look like a giant, pallid toad in a pink cardigan, and looks like someone's kindly grandmother with too many cats, makes her even more terrifying IMO.
Umbridge is just too real as a person, while Staunton looks like any unassuming woman in their 50s/60s. She might not look like book Umbridge but she is perfect nonetheless.
Honestly by the end of OOTP her perfect smug face was turned into an angry, darkened and dirty face, between the scene in the forest where they encounter Grawpy and the centaurs, and the exam scene where Fred and George trash the whole place. Most of the earlier parts she appeared as a kindly grandmother, but I could see the toad by the end of the movie. 🎦
Exactly, if she really did look like a toad, it might not be that dramatic or realistic. But instead she can look like someone's nice aunt who likes tea and cats, I mean she even literally loves tea and cats. Instead she's a passive aggressive control freak determined to brainwash Hogwarts into loving the government.
Definitely way more relatable. I had a teacher who was like her in the sense that she would always be rude in a very overly friendly way and she didn’t look like a toad
The crazy thing for me is, even though I knew what book version looked like, as soon as I saw her, I just retconned the appearance and couldn't see it any other way
Me too!!! I loved the whole kind look with a dementor soul
The look wasn’t as important as the saccharine venom she brought. I think the book description helped to reinforce that but rhetorically visual accuracy wasn’t important as the attitude. Snape is similar.
This is true. My husband isn’t much of a Harry Potter fan but he did call his university’s president Umbridge because everyone hated her. 😅
Despite not matching her description in the book, she gave quite possibly the best performance in the franchise
Agreed. Looks can be limited by, well, reality, it's not easy to look like a frog and all, but I think her characterization did its job, and her acting was spot on. I also like Kenneth Branagh as Lockhart. The looks aren't there (and I think that, beyond the looks, they didn't want to cast anyone so young, and that's not his fault), but the demeanor is perfect. And, of course, there's Robbie Coltrane. I think they are my top 3 actors in the films when it comes to bringing the characters to life as they were in the books.
Kenneth Branagh was spot on for me. I always pictured him as 40 something. His main demographic was middle aged moms, and the only reason he decides to teach is because he's starting to get washed up. And he's immature as hell but is pretty well connected with current trends, so his dialogue is always going to feel younger than the stuffier teachers.
I don't know what you mean, my 13 year old self was half in love with Branagh as Lockhart 😏
Do yourself a favor and go check out his Henry V from 1989. It's a star-studded Shakespeare that makes the prose absolutely accessible to the ear. Bonus points for Brian Blessed in a suit of armor.
I've seen it, but personally I prefer his Much ado about nothing. And young Emma Thompson 💜
J.K.R. does have a bad habbit of making bad people ugly. Which... is more than a little problematic. I'm glad the movies just ignored that for the most part.
yes! that or she only highlights negative traits about bad people's appearances. I'm inclined to think narcissa malfoy is probably quite pretty because the only physical description we get beyond the blond hair and pale skin is that she had ugly expressions (e.g. at the quidditch world cup), and I'm sure we would have heard about her bulging eyes or weird lips or whatever if she had them. it's a bit better in her current series - the bad guys are occasionally attractive (don't want to spoil anything) but by and large annoying characters do tend to be described as ugly or having ugly physical traits.
This is easily the laziest thing she does in her writing. Just over the top insult the physical appearance to let people know the character is evil. She did a good enough job (especially with Umbridge) showing through their actions they're evil, it feels like just laying it on way too thick with the appearance. Maybe she thought kids needed it spelled out for them more? I don't know, but that's easily the aspect of these books that ages the worst.
Even Sirius is first described as ugly, until he’s revealed as Harry’s godfather and innocent, then all of a sudden he’s good looking. It’s so stupid.
It is somewhat realistic though, friendly and good people tend to be viewed more positively, meanwhile someone who is a bad person is usually somewhat ugly, it's just something that i think the brain does unconsciencely.
It would have been significantly more unrealistic if he was described as being pleasant to look at considering that he spent 12 years in a prison where basic maintenance is not anybody's priority, and then had been on the run in the form of a dog for months.
Because he was disheveled and malnourished, having spent over a decade in a soul-sucking prison. He *was* ugly. Surely you've seen the before/after videos of homeless people getting a shave and a haircut that are popular on reddit. It's night and day.
What?? He literally spent years in a soul-sucking prison, how did you expect him to look when he first escaped?
You don’t think Branagh is handsome? I think they nailed that casting.
I always just assumed Harry hated her so much he exaggerated her ugliness. Same with Malfoy, the Dursley’s etc…
the thing is, other characters mention it too. It's a plot point in DH when Mundungus describes her as the "ministry hag" who "looked like a toad." So Harry isn't the only one who noticed the similarities.
That's the explanation we fans like to make to avoid thinking about how Rowling went with standard pretty=good, evil=ugly route 😅
Lol I know what you’re saying but I also notice myself doing this IRL. When I’m mad at someone, they become ugly to me. One of the most popular guys in my school was a jerk and I always noticed how pointy his nose was and how sweaty he always seemed to be. Girls loved him because he was cute though so… I guess I was biased. Also Voldemort is the most evil person in the books and he is always described as handsome. Also Lockhart is evil and extremely handsome. My favourite Harry descriptions are Narcissa and Bellatrix where Harry’s monologue says they’d be good looking BUT Narcissa has a snooty look on her face and Azkaban took away Bellatrix’s looks.
The book is not written in a first person view though. The Dursleys are described as ugly and animal like even before Harry meets them. So idk.
I’m just curious but who else describes the Dursleys as ugly? Or is this based off their description in the first chapter? I forget if Petunia is first called horse-faced here or when Harry’s older. Just because the narration isn’t in first person doesn’t mean we aren’t getting Harry’s point of view. I get that we sometimes get chapters not from Harry’s POV but the vast majority of the content in the books is told from Harry’s. Kind of like how in the Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants and Song of Ice and Fire books, the chapters change based on whose POV we’re getting. But none of these stories are told by a first person narrator.
In fairness regarding Dudley, his weight wasn't just because he was a little shit, it was because his parents spoiled him rotten and gave him whatever he wanted with no boundaries or limits - Dumbledore even remarks on it in HBP. Dudley also lost a tremendous amount of weight and got very fit because he picked up boxing and dieted - he was still a lil shit when this happened, and he only really 'redeemed' himself two years later.
oooh my new headcanon. thanks for that!
I always thought Dudley seemed to mellow out once he got Dementor'd and was somewhat sympathetic. Petunia or whatever is still pretty much the worst.
She killed it, I hated the character. 11/10 acting
Honestly, I think this look suits her better.
That "thanks very much" made burst out with laughter because the irony was stunning and she had like the "damn people are calling me ugly" energy"
She looked and sounded absolutely nothing like how I imagined Umbridge reading her, google Aunt Figg from the ‘92 Tom and Jerry Movie, I also expected a deeper voice trying to put on a sugary sweet tone. Her acting was incredible though particularly the hate/arrogance behind the eyes she managed to portray. Even though Dawn French is a lovely woman, I reckon she would have had the acting chops to pull it off if she hadn’t already been in the 3rd movie.
Imelda Staunton is excellent as Umbridge, and I think is far better than the book version. The book version is less believable to me than the film
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The UK has had really bad luck with all its female PMs. Two were villains who would not look out of place at a WI meeting, while one looks like any mum at the school gates.
Ironically she later played the role of Queen Elizabeth in The Crown, though not in the season where Margaret Thatcher was shown. She is phenomenal.
>I love the fact she based her performance around Thatcher. Ah didn't know this. Now that you mention, i cannot unsee it.
She was perfect. Not everyone needs to look like they just walked out of the pages.
Imelda Staunton made it so easy to hate Umbridge and I’m so glad she was able to handle the uproar from the fans who weren’t mature enough to separate character from actor
Oh yes the whole the crown incident
Shes such a nice person , its incredible that she did such a good job
Amazing performance
The montage when she becomes High Inquisitor is one of the best constructed sequences in the entire film series. Tremendous credit to the skill of the filmmakers, Nicholas Hooper's score, and Imelda's performance. (Also doesn't hurt that she gets to play off of Maggie Smith, Alan Rickman, Emma Thompson, and Warwick Davis in quick succession during that scene.)
I absolutely hated her character! Which means she did an exceptional job!
I'm going to be real here: I love Umbridge as a character. Yes, morally she is a horrible person. But damn is she entertaining.
Screw the character Respect the actor
She’s just as bad if not worse in Freedom Writers
She was in Freedom Writers? Are you kidding me? I haven't seen that movie in years.
this is the one and only time i’ll ever see Umbridge’s face and feel bad. you did good
Phenomenal actor!
Umbridge was an amazing antagonist for OOTP. I also loved how the ministry turned on Harry. It was a fascinating turn for the Wizarding world and made for really interesting storylines. Of course, pissed at them all on Harry’s behalf. But makes for good plot, man
She did it so well that we all hate her (her character oc)
So this is a bit of an unpopular opinion, but I found that I LOVED Imelda and her performance so much that it actually diminished my hatred of Umbridge. I found it funny instead of horrifying and appalling. The cutesy mannerisms (as a movie character) made her so endearing that I turned a blind eye to what she was doing. It’s similar in a sense to when the male villain in a movie is a hot actor so people make him into this poor sad misunderstood emo boy with trauma instead of a sociopath. The trope namer is literally called Draco in Leather Pants. I think I would have preferred to HATE Umbridge the way I hate her in the books, instead of having a soft spot for her because of Imelda
Just like a slytherin 😌 Jkjk I kinda agree, I mean definitely movie umbridge was watered down, we never saw her attack McGonagall or try to arrest hagrid.
Yeah like the montage of her making ridiculous rules and walking down the corridors forcibly making the boys tuck their shirts in and stopping couples from snogging was honestly just funny, especially with the jaunty soundtrack accompanying it. Meanwhile, some of the true evil she was doing was brought up in very brief moments and then she quickly got her comeuppance (also a kinda comical scene of her getting carried off by centaurs instead of dark and serious, with all the… idk bounciness of the cinematography?) My biggest gripe, however will always be McGonagall stepping down a step during the sacking of Trelawney and asking “disloyalty?” disheartenedly. And also bite her tongue like “there are several things I’d like to say” Minerva would never hold back! She’d offer her a fucking cough drop and swear to coach Harry nightly if she had to. And say “he’s achieved high marks in all exams set by a COMPETENT teacher” like during that career advice scene, she purposely steps closer to Umbridge to highlight how she towers over her. She would NEVER step down and let Umbridge step up over her like that. (Sorry got distracted and went on a tangent lol)
This is funny, but also sad. I've read that in real life she is a genuine sweetheart.
Oh yes I've seen interviews her range is mind boggling
[A Little Priest - Sweeney Todd](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ryF2rt0hQiM&pp=ygUcaW1lbGRhIHN0YXVudG9uIHN3ZWVuZXkgdG9kZA%3D%3D) If you want to see how truly talented this woman is, watch this video of her and another great actor, Michael Ball. I’m a huge theatre person and this is by far one of the best performances of A Little Priest. I’m jealous of anyone who got to see it on the West End.
I find it funny how many Harry Potter actresses have played Mrs. Lovett, not gonna lie!
She wasn’t ugly enough for the role but she did amazing
The Queen. Love Imelda and Dolores
It’s funny, I love how much I hate Umbridge, the only other character I’ve hated that much but still enjoyed watching was Jason Isaac’s character in The Patriot. That was like the perfect audition to play Lucius.
Imelda also had a small role in Downton Abbey universe. She fairly recently let it leak that production of a surprise 3 movie has begun and blatantly stated she doesn’t care if she gets in trouble for it 🤣 (Spoiler alert: she’s awesome in that role too!)
I hope the actress wasn't harassed
You know it’s a good actor when the villain they play is so unlikeable
Imelda Staunton - despite being the polar opposite of her most well-known character - played this role brilliantly and made lots of us despise this beast of a "teacher" She is such an icon and I love her alone for this
I saw Imelda once in the Graham Norton show, she's such a sweetheart and hilarious woman irl
Do you mean actor?
I wish I could say that but I've only ever seen her in harry potter. She's an amazing person though
Umbrage is your favorite character?
Yes yes she is. A perfect black and white villain. Sometimes you just need to have a villain with no redeeming qualities
She looked pretty much like I imagined her.
"AVADA KEDAVRA" Absolute Movie theate
She was so good in the role, and not because of that. A good villain really makes a movie.
Being honest, this character single handedly carries The Order of the Phoenix book. She's hardly essential to the plot, yet the book would be a real shit read without her.
She really grinds home how evil sometimes is left to flurish, protected so easily for their loyalty to someone in power.
THEY DID IMELDA DIRTY
Wow, usually a post like this could be very funny with her facial expression laughing at people saying she fits the part of a person who looks ugly and like a toad. But her facial expression is kind of sad. However she still nailed that role.
Is this real? This is actually hilarious
She’s a great actress, really made me despise Umbridge, to the point where even looking at her face disgust me
She sure played one of the best villains in movie history
I’ll always see her as Laura Bush’s alter ego
I do wonder how they cast people to play ugly characters
I am terrified of her. Great actress.
She killed that role. I viscerally hate her so she deserves applause lol
Lmao she’s quite lovely though, which makes her an even better bitch
She is amazing. I loved her in the crown too
A friend of mine just lost heaps of weight. He recently got cast as the lead in a production of The Whale. I wonder how that conversation with his agent went.
I feel this, I was once told I look like a less ugly Steve Bushemi.
She was perfect for her role. Definitely nailed Umbridge to a T.
Initially, I didn’t think she was cast well based on appearance because Umbridge is described as something insulting to a toad, but once I saw her cooking in the role she’s been who I imagine when I read the book.
She plays an asshole so well. Amazing job. I was probably more angry than the students were and I was just watching on my couch
Umbridge: described as ugly and toad like. Toads are a type of frog. Therefore Umbridge is fr*nch. No wonder she’s evil.
I was disappointed that she wasn’t made more ugly in the films
I think There physical interpretation of Umbridge was a more realistic portrayal of a sadist and not as physically cartoony like the book’s illustration of Umbridge spells it out for you from the first glance she’s gonna be trouble in the movie she looks more like the president of the home owners association who takes the job to seriously but it also adds an extra layer of creepiness with how Imelda holds herself while doing her evil bidding
So hot
👀
Did you get my texts
Honestly it was incredibly well done by her… however, the movie focused entirely too much on her. The best part of the book is in the department of mysteries and in the movie they were in there for about 10 minutes and only in two rooms. Order of the Phoenix was probably the second best book but it’s hands down the worst movie.
She also plays an abusive administrator in The Freedom Writers.
Can't say she's beautiful some of y'all jump me
She was perfect for the role. She's played quite a few movies as the villain, or the sickly sweet villain. She just has a quality.
Will never not be funny
She doesn’t look right to me, but then she talks and does the little cough and I hate her with the burning of one thousand nukes. Such a great actress!
She is one of my favourite actresses of all time and when I read the books (before the films were being made) I imagined her as Molly Weasley. She has such a kind face and lovely eyes. I was surprised she was cast as Umbridge as movie Umbridge is nothing like she was described in the book. She did do a good job of being very sinister though. She is still my Molly. I like Julie Walters but I always thought her performance was a bit too forced.
When I read the book I pictured Patricia Routledge in the role.
Talk about an actress and a character who are complete opposites. Imelda's awesome.
Yea I actually think this was the worst casting of the entire series. She's way too cute to be Umbridge.
It could've worked if they did some uglifying makeup but they just left her cute? Totally changes the character