Harry Potter is a popular and beloved franchise. And yet, many would agree that its protagonist is the least magical thing about it. Potter is the all-loving, ever-doubting Chosen One. He’s not exactly an intriguing nor original protagonist. In fact, it’s for this reason he remains one of the most boring characters in J.K. Rowling’s magical world.
Yet, since the Fantastic Beasts prequel movies kicked off in 2016, a new spell has been cast – instead of Daniel Radcliffe’s boring hero leading the charge, we now have Eddie Redmayne as Newt Scamander. And this socially awkward, weirdly eccentric young man is the breath of fresh protagonist air the franchise needed. Now three movies in, the Fantastic Beasts movies have proven this time and again.
Here, we explore why Newt Scamander is a more interesting hero than Harry Potter. Wands at the ready!
10) He’s Got the Most Memorable Lines
It’s not a strict rule that every Hollywood hero needs memorable and highly-quotable bangers. However, let’s be honest – it doesn’t hurt any! If you cast your mind back through Harry Potter’s eight cinematic adventures, you’d be hard-pressed to remember any significant lines uttered by Rowling’s hero. This isn’t merely down to the dialogue, either – it’s also a reminder of how ‘so-so’ Harry’s character is.
Newt Scamander, conversely, has some truly great zingers. “My philosophy is that worrying means you suffer twice.” “Imperfect understanding is often more dangerous than ignorance.” “Sorry, but I can’t admire people whose answer to everything that they fear or misunderstand is ‘kill it!’” These lines are powerful not just because of how true they are but also because they neatly summarize Newt’s values and why he is such an endearing character to fans of the movies. They are also more memorable and worldly-applicable than anything Harry Potter ever says.
9) Newt’s Distaste of Inequality
The Harry Potter movies never really highlight Harry’s political ideals. However, it’s implied that Harry isn’t a big fan of oppression and dictatorships under mass-murdering evil wizards. This is best reflected in two scenarios: his joy at seeing Dobby freed from Lucius’s servitude in Movie 2 and, of course, his constant opposition to Voldemort and his merry band of miscreants.
However, Fantastic Beasts has us see Newt’s distaste for magical inequality plain and clear. He feels that there should be no law restricting the marriage between magical and non-magical people (“love is love” after all – rather reminiscent of real-world political struggles). He is also dead-set against Grindelwald’s brand of pro-wizard fascism.
8) Newt’s Development
This applies more to Fantastic Beasts 1 than the films that follow, but it remains significant for Newt. At the beginning of the film, Newt evidently lives a solitary life despite his friendly demeanor. As a rather endearing quirk, the young magizoologist finds more comfort in the presence of animals than his fellow humans.
Now, Harry does undergo development during his movies. He adapts more to the magical world, eventually growing confident enough to man an army during Order of the Phoenix. However, Newt’s development from awkward loner to trusting people and making friends is much more emotive and relatable on a human level.
7) Newt’s Wellpool of Knowledge
The naïve young coming-of-age hero is a timeless archetype, and there will always be room for it in storytelling. However, variety is the spice of life – and it certainly makes stories a little tastier on occasion. While Harry is very much the audience surrogate in his movies, learning about the Wizarding World at the same rate as us, Newt is a different bag of chocolate frogs altogether.
However, for this reason, Newt is more compelling than Harry. Even by his first appearance, the young magizoologist has traveled to places like Egypt and Africa in his pursuit of magical creatures. He’s also past his Hogwarts days, becoming Dumbledore’s favorite student. Newt’s life experience makes him more assertive, and we learn more about magical creatures and the Wizarding World through him.
6) His Approach to Problem-Solving
Harry Potter is a smart kid. But, despite what his glasses imply, he isn’t the stereotypical geek you might expect. In fact, Harry’s intellectual limitations often mean he relies on Hermione’s smarts to overcome challenges (the Polyjuice potion in Chamber of Secrets being a prime example). Without Hermione, Harry often resorts to straightforward, aggressive maneuvers and lacks creativity in problem-solving.
On the flip side, what makes Newt Scamander such an endearing and better hero than Harry Potter is his creativity, which Harry lacks. To escape execution in FB1, Newt uses his loyal pet, Pickett, to escape his cuffs. And in the latest film, The Secrets of Dumbledore, he utilizes the ‘Crab Dance’ to assuage the anger of the fire crabs while he rescues his brother from prison. Next to Newt’s intelligent, creative approach to problem-solving, Harry appears all the more impulsive and clueless by comparison.
5) Newt’s Fantastic Beast Empathy
Harry Potter certainly has a soft, empathetic side to his character. But often, J. K Rowling’s iconic hero is prone to giving in to aggression. This is best exemplified through his rivalry with Draco Malfoy and his fights with Voldemort (a particularly memorable example has Harry angrily declaring that he’s going to kill Sirius in Movie 3). There is nothing inherently wrong with an aggressive hero who wins his battles through fighting. But it’s used so often that it can get tiresome.
On the other hand, Newt is soft down to his very core. His love for magical creatures and his unshakeable passion for saving them is endearing parts of his character. It’s all down to his empathy for them, which he extends to other people, that makes him a welcome change from the relatively aggressive male hero, Harry Potter.
4) Newt Scamander’s Way of Saving the Day
In the Harry Potter movies, the titular teenager’s main form of overcoming his enemies is attempting to ‘out-spell’ them. Harry relies on the classic ‘shoot first, ask question later’ approach during his many scrapes with Voldemort and his cronies. He doesn’t attempt to understand his foe. He sees him as a bad guy to be defeated, and thus, his first thought is to go about ways in doing that.
Newt is more interesting (and, arguably, better overall heroically) because he seeks alternative solutions to defeating the bad guy that doesn’t revolve around winning wizarding duels. For example, in his first film, Newt tries to reason with Credence through his fantastic empathy rather than immediately resort to magical violence. And, by the film’s end, when Newt is forced to resort to such measures, he considers the outcome a tragic misfortune rather than a ‘ding-dong, the witch is dead’-esque victory. It’s a brilliantly subversive take on the Hollywood male protagonist.
3) Newt’s Background
Harry is very much your typical British teenager during the mainline Potter movies. He enjoys sports (Quidditch), is a school student, finds a first love during his school days, and has a brotherly rivalry with cousin Dudley. However, apart from his yawn-inducing status as the Chosen One, Potter doesn’t have an intriguing backstory.
In comparison, Newt isn’t so much the Chosen One, but he is Dumbledore’s former best student. Unlike Harry, Newt Scamander is a Hogwarts graduate passionate about magical creatures. Newt’s specialization in this obscure field and his self-created purpose makes him a better and more interesting hero than Potter.
2) His Lovable Quirks
Newt is adorably awkward and nerdy – and he’s unapologetic about both traits. His tendency to avoid direct eye contact with his friends and associates in the films has drawn comparisons to those on the autistic spectrum. Indeed, Eddie Redmayne thinks of his character in these terms, even though it’s not strictly canonical in-universe.
Whatever you may think of Newt (many movie reviewers find him an unengaging lead), Newt’s adorkable quirks make him a more memorable protagonist than Harry. Harry is your typical goody-good boy hero who wants to do the right thing. But he possesses no unique quirks or attributes that make him stand out among cinema heroes as Newt Scamander does.
1) Newt Scamander Earns His Wings
In the original movies, Harry Potter is The Boy who Lived. From the very moment he is born, he is destined to defeat Voldemort. This is all well and good – but it’s for this reason that he’s unexciting as a character. From the first novel, we get the sense that Harry will face down Voldemort one day. And, given his name adorns each story, we sense his chances of survival are large.
In comparison, Newt Scamander isn’t the Chosen One. Instead, he earns his heroic status through his own feats. Newt was never destined to defeat evil wizards – instead, he chooses to, of his own accord. Through his encounters with Grindelwald and Credence, his survival is a product of his own competence, not a prophesized destiny. And ultimately, Newt Scamander’s perseverance through trial makes him more interesting and respectable than Harry Potter.
So, what do you think of this hot wizarding take? Do you think Fantastic Beasts‘ Newt Scamander is a better hero than Harry Potter? Or are we wrong?
