History YMMV / HarryPotterAndTheChamberOfSecrets

** Arthur Weasley, patriarch of the Weasley clan. Is he a loving husband and father whose Muggle-studying hobby is just an out-of-control quirk? Or is he a selfish man, clinging to a job that doesn't pay enough for him to provide adequately for his large family, just for the sake of greater license to indulge his fascination with Muggle culture? ''Goblet of Fire'' adds to the confusion when it's revealed that the hobby is specifically why his bosses refuse to promote him. [[spoiler:It's also why Percy Weasley becomes the TokenEvilTeamMate and abandons his family between ''Order of the Phoenix'' and ''Deathly Hallows''.]]

** The Quidditch matches in general tend to be full of conspicuous CGI, but ''Chamber of Secrets'' has a particularly cringeworthy shot where Harry flies through the Slytherin stands, causing the students there to have to jump out of his way. The actors are obviously digitally inserted into the scene and move in an incredibly unnatural way.

** Voldemort claims that before he born he was born, [[ParentalAbandonment his father Tom Riddle, Sr abandoned his wife before Voldemort was born]] after discovering that she was a witch. The sixth book would later reveal that Voldemort was wrong and that his father had a [[ChildByRape very good reason]] for [[ScrewThisImOuttaHere "abandoning"]] Voldemort's mother.

* HilariousInHindsight: In the UsefulNotes/GameBoyColor version, after defeating the Basilisk, Tom taunts Harry that he still has Harry's wand, and Harry retorts that he still has Gryffindor's sword before stabbing it into the diary. This is the one deviation where the Basilisk fang isn't used to destroy it. Come books 6 and 7, we learn that [[spoiler:the Diary is a Horcrux with loads of protective enchantments, one of the only things that can destroy a Horcrux is Basilisk Venom, and that Godric Gryffindor's Sword is enchanted to only ever take in that which makes it stronger which includes the venom.]]

** Arthur Weasley, patriarch of the Weasley clan. Is he a loving husband and father whose Muggle-studying hobby is just an out-of-control quirk? Or is he a selfish man, clinging to a job that doesn't pay enough for him to provide adequately for his large family, just for the sake of greater license to indulge his fascination with Muggle culture? ''Goblet of Fire'' adds to the confusion when it's revealed that the hobby is specifically why his bosses refuse to promote him. [[spoiler: It's also why Percy Weasley becomes the TokenEvilTeamMate and abandons his family between Order of the Phoenix and Deathly Hallows.]]

** [[spoiler: Moaning Myrtle being the girl who died the last time the Chamber was opened]]. She claims to only remember a set of eyes before she dropped dead and was on her way to the afterlife before her spite pulled her back. Did she really only get that much or did she know all along who the culprit was, and merely kept quiet for decades out of pettiness? Was she questioned by authorities, or did the Ministry simply never bother asking [[spoiler: a victim of an unsolved case]] that was haunting the very bathroom she was killed in? In the fourth book, Myrtle mentions that she spent years haunting the girl who bullied her until she was forced to stay at Hogwarts, so she may not have even been around to question until the case was closed.
** [[spoiler:What was Ginny's real motive for stealing the diary back from Harry's dormitory? Riddle claims that she was worried that he might repeat her secrets to Harry, but should we really take his word for that? Some have argued that she was actually trying to save Harry from getting possessed as she had been, a selfless motive that Riddle would have naturally discounted given his inability to comprehend love. Others have suggested that Ginny's relationship with the diary was [[FantasticDrug akin to addiction]], and that once she knew where it had ended up, she couldn't resist taking it back to get herself another fix. In any case, Riddle makes it clear that he considered it an unwelcome development when Ginny took back the diary, indicating that it must have been something that she did of her own volition.]]

* AudienceColoringAdaptation: Lucius Malfoy's appearance is barely described in the book, beyond looking like an older version of Draco. The long hair, velvet cloak and walking stick to conceal the wand were all thought up by Jason Isaacs, and are generally accepted as canon.

* GeniusBonus: The bronze statue of a boar that has a prominent place in the Hogwarts entrance hall is a copy of [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Porcellino Il Porcellino]], a famous statue in Florence, said to have magical powers. The original Il Porcellino figures in one of Creator/HansChristianAndersen's lesser known fairy tales, ''The Metal Hog'', in which it comes to life and tells a poor street urchin that he is destined to become an artist -- not unlike what happens to Harry Potter.

** Although [[spoiler: Gilderoy Lockhart's memory being wiped]] is sort of PlayedForLaughs, it becomes horrifying when we see him again in [[Literature/HarryPotterAndTheOrderOfThePhoenix book 5]] in the [[spoiler: Spell Damage Ward at St. Mungo's]]. Also interesting, considering that the memory charms that Gilderoy Lockhart put on the people who actually did the deeds he claims he did are decidedly ''not'' played for laughs.

** For an example that happens within the same book, instead of in a sequel, Ron jokes that maybe Tom Riddle got an award for killing Moaning Myrtle. It turns out he sort of did; [[spoiler:Tom killed Myrtle for the bad luck of crying in the bathroom where the Chamber of Secrets was held and being Muggleborn. Myrtle's death led to Tom framing Hagrid to keep the school from being closed indefinitely, leading to that award]].

* SugarWiki/HeReallyCanAct: For two kids who were presumably cast for their ability to look hulking and threatening behind Tom Felton, Jamie Waylett and Josh Herdman do a shockingly good job of playing Ron and Harry when transformed into Crabbe and Goyle, particularly since they basically have to carry the movie for those scenes (although they are helped by the voice-over work from Rupert Grint and Daniel Radcliffe).

** Among the people who auditioned for the role of [[spoiler:teenage Tom Riddle]] was one Creator/EddieRedmayne, who apparently bombed hard. Fourteen years later, he finally appeared the ''Potter'' franchise in a big way as [[Film/FantasticBeastsAndWhereToFindThem Newt Scamander]].
** Shirley Henderson gets cast as Moaning Myrtle. She had just starred in the film version of ''Literature/BridgetJones'', where her first scene featured her crying in a bathroom. She'd also star in ''{{Film/Intermission}}'', playing the sister of Kelly Macdonald, who would later also play a Hogwarts ghost; the Grey Lady in ''Film/HarryPotterAndTheDeathlyHallows''.

** When Ginny stands up for Harry after Malfoy taunted the latter, Malfoy jokingly remarks that "[Harry's] got [himself] a girlfriend". Four films later, Harry and Ginny have a RelationshipUpgrade.
** At one point in the film, Ron attempts to turn Scabbers into a goblet only for him to turn him into a rat/goblet hybrid. With the reveal at the end of the next instalment, one can only wonder [[spoiler: how [[BodyHorror Peter Pettigrew was reacting to the failed spell.]] It's this trope rather than HarsherInHindsight when you consider [[DirtyCoward Peter]] thoroughly [[AssholeVictim deserved it]]]].
** Likewise, [[spoiler:Lucius using Voldemort's diary]] becomes amusing when you realize that [[spoiler:he was using the Dark Lord's soul to frame an innocent eleven-year-old girl]]. It even gets lampshaded by Dumbledore in ''The Half-Blood Prince'' where he says that Voldemort probably wasn't happy [[spoiler:about a Death Eater treating it as a Dark Magic knickknacks]].
** The flashbacks in the film to 1940s Dumbledore become pretty hilarious when ''Fantastic Beasts'' shows us a much younger-looking Dumbledore wearing three-piece suits less than twenty years before.
* ItsTheSameNowItSucks: Many film critics talk down to this film for taking a slow-paced, AdaptationDistillation approach like the first film. After the third film came out and the tone of the film series changed profoundly, it's common for only purists to mention this one. The book is also given similar treatment.

** Lucius Malfoy crosses it when he [[spoiler:plants Tom Riddle's diary on Ginny so that she'll be framed for the killings]]. In the movie, Lucius [[spoiler:almost uses the killing curse on Harry.]]
** Then there's [[spoiler:Lockhart's]] attempt to destroy Harry and Ron's minds--and Harry's obviously the only person who can stop the monster and save [[spoiler:Ginny]]--simply because HeKnowsTooMuch. Okay, and also the two had every intent of [[PragmaticHero forcing him to be their human shield otherwise]], but [[spoiler: Ginny]] was an innocent.

* OneSceneWonder: Aragog only appears in one scene but his terrifying appearance and [[AffablyEvil polite but intimidating personality]] mixed with Julian Glover's menacing performance make sure that he leaves a hell of an impression and make up what many fans consider one of the scariest scenes in the entire series.

* SpecialEffectFailure:
** In the film, when Harry wields the Sword of Gryffindor against the basilisk, there are several points where one can tell that Radcliffe was not wielding a sword so much as a ball-pointed prop.
** In the shot where Harry crashes his cart after unsuccessfully trying to enter Platform 9 3/4, Hedwig is briefly replaced by a ''very'' obvious owl dummy.
** The Quidditch matches in general tend to be full of conspicuous CGI, but ''Chamber of Secrets'' has a particularly cringeworthy shot where Harry flies through the Slytherin stands, causing the students there to have to jump out of his way. The actors are obviously digitally inserted into the scene and move in an incredibly unnatural way.

* UnintentionalUncannyValley: Hermione when she's briefly turned into a cat. The fact that the cat head is human-sized does not help the creepiness.

* SugarWiki/VisualEffectsOfAwesome:
** The shot of Harry transforming into Goyle is surprisingly seamless, considering that the movie came out in 2002.
** The [[ThePhoenix Fawkes]] animatronic. To put it into perspective, when Richard Harris first saw it, he initially thought it was a ''real bird'' and was impressed with how "well-trained" it was.
** The Basilisk is perfectly brought to life via a perfect combination of PracticalEffects and wise usage of CGI that still holds up to this day.

** Given J.K. Rowling's disapproval of transgender people, the idea of cis-hetero Harry saving the day by going into the girl's bathroom seems darkly ironic. Not to mention the monster being a giant snake.

* PolishedPort: The UsefulNotes/PlayStation2 version; while it isn't as well optimized as the UsefulNotes/GameCube and {{UsefulNotes/Xbox}} versions, it is often considered the definitive version of the game due to allowing the player to freely walk and fly around the Hogwarts' grounds (the Xbox and [=GameCube=] versions instantly warp the player to a location depending on which direction they walk in).

** Arguably Lockhart. His actions post-reveal are so despicable, that he could have being a rather compelling antagonist or HateSink in another story yet he's treated until the last minute as a PluckyComicRelief [[and receives LaserGuidedKarma barely one chapter after his true nature is revealed]].

* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter: One ''[[FandomVIP Mugglenet]]'' book suggested the basilisk to be this. It's apparently intelligent, centuries old, and Harry can understand its speech, but it only shows up at the end and mostly acts like a generic monster, rather than giving the audience any signs of even ''being'' a character.

** Perphaps the most infamous example of the whole series. The book tries to build up what exactly the monster in the Chamber of Secrets is but given Slytherin is constantly represented with snakes, Salazar Slytherin is established as fluent in parseltongue, the book has a subplot where Harry hears a voice before another attack happens in the same book he's established to be fluent in parseltongue as well, is hardly a surprise when is revealed that the monster is [[spoiler: a basilisk A.K.A a giant snake]].