Harry Potter is undeniably one of the most influential and successful franchises the world has ever seen, with fans reading and re-reading the books and constantly rewatching the movies. Despite the darkness of these films, especially in the later installments, they still provide viewers with moments of humor and amusement.
These moments helped Harry Potter find its place in the hearts of millions across the globe. With such a colorful cast of characters, it comes as no surprise that many of them had some pretty funny quotes that undoubtedly amused fans.
10 “Dumbledore’s Got Style.” - Kingsley Shacklebolt
Unfortunately, the character of Kingsley Shacklebolt does not get as much attention in the films as he does in the books, but when he does get the spotlight, he delivers some pure gold. After the secret of Dumbledore’s army is revealed and Cornelius Fudge descends upon Dumbledore’s office with his Aurors, including Shacklebolt, to take him to Azkaban.
With “no intention of coming quietly,” Dumbledore pulls off a daring escape with the help of Fawkes, causing an explosion that puts every person in the room on their backs. Shacklebolt, a double agent and member of The Order of the Phoenix, can finally voice some of his true support for Dumbledore while embarrassing Fudge. George Harris’ rich voice rolls out the line, “You may not like him Minister, but you can’t deny, Dumbledore’s got style.” Priceless.
9 “She Needs To Sort Out Her Priorities.” - Ron Weasley
Hermione’s academic obsession is no secret and even uses a time-turner so she can take more classes. Yet prioritizing her studies over her own life seems a bit far. After the trio almost get eaten by Fluffy the three-headed dog, Hermione berates her two new friends, “I’m going to bed before either of you come up with another clever idea to get us killed, or worse, expelled!”
Having stormed off to bed Ron remarks in complete shock, “She needs to sort out her priorities!”. There are no libraries in the grave, Hermione.
8 “What Exactly Is The Function Of A Rubber Duck?” - Arthur Weasley
After Ron, Fred and George break Harry out from his imprisonment in the Dursley house in the now-famous Flying Ford Anglia, Harry makes his first visit to the Burrow, home of the Weasley family. Here he meets Arthur Weasley, an Order of the Phoenix member, Ministry employee, and a fanatic for all things Muggle.
This obsession gets him in constant trouble, both with his work and with his fearsome wife, but he pursues it nonetheless. Sitting down to breakfast with all the Weasleys, Harry gets to experience life in a wizarding family for the first time. Yet Arthur poses a question, utterly ridiculous to Harry and the audience, with deadly seriousness, “What exactly is the function of a rubber duck.”
7 “It Tastes Like Goblin P***.” - Fred Weasley
The seven Potters scene in Privet Drive provides quite a few funny moments, like Harry wearing a bra or Hermione insulting Hermione’s eyesight, but the interaction between Mad-Eye and Fred Weasley is arguably the best. Passing around the Polyjuice Potion, Mad-Eye gives the dire warning “it tastes like Goblin p***.”
With his trademark quick wit, Fred replies “Do you have a lot of experience with that then Mad-Eye.” Maybe this hardened Auror and Death Eater hunter is not someone you want to be mocking, Fred.
6 “But I Am The Chosen One.” - Harry Potter
Throughout the series, Harry has hated being "The Chosen One." It made him lose his parents, made him different from everyone else, attracted unwanted attention, and caused him no end of grief. Yet for one brief period, we see Harry acting in true teenage hormonal passion.
Trying to warn Harry against the attentions of Romilda Vane, who is trying to slip him a love potion, Hermione argues, “She only likes you because you’re the Chosen One.”, to which Harry replies, somewhat smugly, “But I am the Chosen One.” The Boy Who Lived rightly gets a smack on the head for his youthful arrogance.
5 “I Should Not Have Said That.” - Rubeus Hagrid
Hagrid is a fan favorite, bumbling and caring, a big man with an even bigger heart, and sometimes with too big a mouth. After discovering Fluffy the three-headed dog in the third-floor corridor, Hagrid reveals far too much about what the monstrous dog is guarding, revealing that it has a connection to Nicholas Flamel, the creator of the Philosopher’s Stone.
Following this slip-up, Hagrid says what will come to be one of the most well-known lines of the movies, “I shouldn’t have said that. I should not have said that!” Hagrid’s iconic line has become the fuel for memes everywhere and helped fans fall in love with this legendary character.
4 “Wingardium Leviosa!” - Hermione Granger
This quote needs no introduction and has been quoted again and again to great amusement, with Hermione’s pronunciation often extremely exaggerated. Telling Ron the correct way to do the hovering charm, Hermione chides “it's Wingardium LeviOsa, not Wingardium Leviosaaa.”
While an amusing moment, this also shows the beginnings of Ron and Hermione’s long and complicated path to love, strewn with fights, arguments, and snide remarks.
3 “Not My Daughter You B****!” - Molly Weasley
The Battle of Hogwarts is full of sad moments and the deaths of beloved characters. So when Molly pushes Ginny aside from dueling the brutal and powerful Bellatrix Lestrange, one is not expecting to laugh. Yet from the lips of Molly Weasley comes a line of unbridled power and fury, “Not My Daughter, You B****!”.
Although this is a tense moment, one can’t help but laugh at the fact that one of the few expletives in the eight movies is uttered by Molly Weasley, who once threatened to glue her son’s fingers together for making a rude hand gesture.
2 “The Emotional Range Of A Teaspoon.” - Hermione Granger
Ron and Hermione’s relationship has been fraught with numerous bumps in the road, with each getting on the other's every last nerve on more than one occasion. Yet these squabbles do provide some comedic gold. After Harry laments that Cho Chang was crying during their kiss, Ron fails to understand the complexity of Cho’s emotions.
Hermione, possessed of both emotional and academic intelligence, proceeds to list Cho’s conflicting and stressful emotions. Ron laughs “there’s no way one person could feel all that, they’d explode,” to which Hermione hilariously replies “just because you’ve got the emotional range of a teaspoon.” The ensuing laughter, shared by the audience and the characters on screen, is a funny yet beautiful moment, as we see the trio facing some ordinary teenage challenges instead of fighting Voldemort, dementors, or the Whomping Willow.
1 “Obviously”. - Severus Snape
Over the course of the fifth installment of the Harry Potter Saga, the viewer’s ever-present fear of Voldemort is completely replaced by the hatred of one frilly, pink and venomous character: Dolores Umbridge. As a result, any moment of comeuppance she receives is very deeply appreciated.
But none perhaps more so than during her reign of terror as the Hogwarts High Inquisitor. While observing Snape’s Potions class, Umbridge quizzes Snape about his consistent applications for the post of Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. She asks him while standing in the middle of his Potions lesson, “and yet you were unsuccessful?”, and Severus Snape in that classic languid drawl, so often used to put down Harry and his friends, replies, “Obviously.” A simple yet effective burn.