Oscars outrage: 5 races ‘Harry Potter’ movies should have won

“Harry Potter” movies had a hard time at the Oscars. The eight-film series garnered 12 nominations in total but the mammoth franchise failed to turn any of those into wins. One of the most important and beloved film series of all time ended its legacy with zero Academy Awards. That feels egregious, to say the least, but hindsight is 20-20 after all. In any case, let’s try and rectify that oversight a little here with a breakdown of five Oscars that the Harry Potter film series should have won.

Production Design
Designers Stuart Craig and Stephenie McMillan were nominated four times for this category — for “Philosopher’s Stone,” “Goblet of Fire,” “Deathly Hallows — Part 1,” and “Deathly Hallows — Part 2.” They lost on all four occasions.  “Philosopher’s Stone” to “Moulin Rouge!,” “Goblet of Fire” to “Memoirs of a Geisha,” “Deathly Hallows — Part 1” to “Alice in Wonderland,” and “Deathly Hallows — Part 2” to “Hugo.”

Craig and McMillan deserved to win at least once, however. In “Philosopher’s Stone,” they brought to life Hogwarts Castle with such detail and splendor it actually felt magical to watch. Watching the corridors, the great hall, the grounds, the forest, and the common rooms was watching some of the richest sets come to life. Likewise, their work in creating the Ministry of Magic and Grimmauld Place in “Order of the Phoenix,” which failed to land any Oscar nominations, was equally impressive. And their work on the final installments, which included further Ministry of Magic and Gringotts Bank sets as well as the destruction of Hogwarts, was equally impressive. At least one of those four entries should have won.

Costume Design
It’s a similar story in the Best Costume Design category, although, somehow, only “Philosopher’s Stone” was nominated in this category. That was for Judianna Makovsky, who lost to “Moulin Rouge!” The costumes contribute so much to the characters in this film series: Dumbledore’s many robes, McGonagall’s hat and robes, Snape’s billowing cloak, and even Voldemort’s simple yet effective costume are all inspired works.

Jany Temime did the costumes for the rest of the series. She created Professor Umbridge’s gorgeous outfits in “Order of the Phoenix,” Mad-Eye’s rough and ready trench coat in “Goblet of the Fire,” and Bellatrix’s leather garments in the later films. Each character has their own distinct style that helps to aid the actor’s performance and bring the character to life. “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King” won Best Costume Design for similar reasons, so  “Goblet of Fire,” “Order of the Phoenix,” and “Deathly Hallows — Part 1” should have at least been in contention.

Original Score
John Williams has created so many iconic scores across his illustrious career; he’s the second most-nominated individual in Oscars history with 53 bids (behind only Walt Disney). His Potter score is no different — the main theme is one of the most recognizable movie themes in history, up there with the likes of “Jurassic Park” and “Jaws” (two more Williams scores). The Potter film series was nominated twice in this category — for “Philosopher’s Stone” and “Prisoner of Azkaban.” Williams got unlucky with “Philosopher’s Stone” — he lost to Howard Shore‘s equally iconic “The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring.” Shame they didn’t tie. “Prisoner of Azkaban” lost to “Finding Neverland” (Jan A. P. Kaczmarek). However, plenty of other Potter movies could and should have been at least nominated for their music. “Order of the Phoenix” and “Half-Blood Prince” both feature splendid pieces of music from Nicholas Hooper while Alexandre Desplat helped to create the emotional and tense climax with the final two movies. All four pictures should have been nominated, while “Philosopher’s Stone,” in any other year, would have won.

Makeup and Hair
“The Fellowship of the Ring” and “Return of the King” both won Best Makeup and Hairstyling for bringing to life scores of orcs and goblins while also transforming Ian McKellen into an age-old wizard. Well, the Potter movies did the same thing — they brought to life the goblins of Gringotts Bank and turned both Richard Harris and Michael Gambon into Dumbledore. They also helped to create one of the most iconic movie villains of all time with Ralph Fiennes‘ Voldemort. Only “Deathly Hallows — Part 2” was nominated for this category, which isn’t surprising considering that Warwick Davis‘ Griphook and Voldemort feature extensively. However, that film lost to “The Iron Lady,” which transformed Meryl Streep into Margaret Thatcher. “Philosopher’s Stone” and “Goblet of Fire,” the first movie to feature Fiennes as Voldemort, both should have been nominated and perhaps even won, however.

Supporting Actress
This one is a bit more out there but… why not? Fantasy movies are far too often overlooked when it comes to acting. Even academy favorite “The Lord of the Rings” was only nominated for one acting bid — that was for Best Supporting Actor for “The Fellowship of the Ring” for McKellen. Don’t get me started on Andy Serkis being snubbed for playing Gollum in “The Two Towers.” Harry Potter is full of Oscar-worthy supporting performances. Kenneth Branagh delights as Lockhart in “Chamber of Secrets” while Robbie Coltrane brings such warmth and emotion to Hagrid in the first two outings, and Fiennes brings glimpses of vulnerability and humanity in his commanding, fearsome turns as Voldemort.

However, it is Imelda Staunton as Professor Dolores Umbridge in “Order of the Phoenix” that stands out the most. As the Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, the actress is entirely loathsome. That hiccup of a laugh alone is haunting. Her pink outfits, love of cats, and sickly sweet demeanor juxtapose so well with her vicious outlook and nasty penchant for punishment. She makes for one of the most love-to-hate villains in cinema, right up there alongside Kathy Bates in “Misery” and Christoph Waltz in “Inglourious Basterds.” Both of those performers won Oscars for those roles but Staunton, sadly, was overlooked entirely. The nominees for Best Supporting Actress that year were Saoirse Ronan (“Atonement”), Ruby Dee (“American Gangster”), Cate Blanchett (“I’m Not There”), Amy Ryan (“Gone Baby Gone”), and, the winner, Tilda Swinton (“Michael Clayton”). Surely there was room for Staunton’s performance?

Make your predictions at Gold Derby now. Download our free and easy app for Apple/iPhone devices or Android (Google Play) to compete against legions of other fans plus our experts and editors for best prediction accuracy scores. See our latest prediction champs. Can you top our esteemed leaderboards next? Always remember to keep your predictions updated because they impact our latest racetrack odds, which terrify Hollywood chiefs and stars. Don’t miss the fun. Speak up and share your huffy opinions in our famous forums where 5,000 showbiz leaders lurk every day to track latest awards buzz. Everybody wants to know: What do you think? Who do you predict and why?

SIGN UP for Gold Derby’s free newsletter with latest predictions