I want to stress at the beginning that this is just my opinion and mine alone. Feel free to express your opinion in the comments section.
The verdict: the book version of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire did a better job at communicating the overall plot than the movie version.
When any book is translated to the big screen things get left out, and the true fans of the book will notice every time. That being said, a 12-hour movie is not appealing to an audience. When a director makes the vital decisions of what to keep in a book made to movie and what to leave out, it affects the fans and the audience differently.
The fans are the people who followed the book from the beginning, waited in anticipation for an addition to their favorite series, and most of the time were disappointed by the movie rendition. The audience are the people who only saw the movie of one of these popular books turned to movie, didn’t read any of the books, and most of the time thought the movie was amazing. Regarding the previously mentioned Harry Potter book, I intend to analyze the missing plot points from the movie version that I felt were essential to the overall story. The missing plot points will include Fred and George developing their joke products, Dumbledore’s reaction to Harry’s name coming out of the goblet, and Bertha Jorkins’ disappearance.
BUT FIRST
Before diving into missing plot points missing characters must be addressed, as characters can very much affect a plotline. In the movie version of the Goblet of Fire, there are a plethora of absent characters that had multiple interactions with Harry throughout the book. Ludo Bagman was not in the movie, though in the book he was constantly around trying to give Harry hints at the tasks, and adding a bit of humor to an otherwise gloomy story. Likewise, Dobby the house elf was not in the movie; however, in the book he is the one that gives Harry the Gillyweed, which allows him to actually compete in the second task. Winky, Barty Crouch’s ex-house elf, was not in the movie, but in the book, she was accused of conjuring the Dark Mark at the Quidditch World Cup, whereas in the movie Harry is accused. At the end of the book, Moody/Crouch Jr reveals to Harry that it was actually him, not Winky. He also explains how he escaped from Azkaban, and how it all leads to that very point and the fact that Voldemort is back.
The movie version leaves all of this unexplained and makes it seem as if Crouch Jr somehow figured out how to get past the Dementors in Azkaban on his own. The crucial part Winky played in the book was identifying Crouch Jr after the Polyjuice potion had worn off, though Dumbledore should have been able to do that himself since he was at Crouch Jr’s trial – this is exactly how the director got around that, thus, making it possible to leave Winky out. Other missing secondary characters include Bill Weasley, Percey Weasley, Charlie Weasley, Peeves, and Denis Creevy.
FRED AND GEORGE
Throughout the book Fred and George’s joke products and novelties are mentioned and showcased; nevertheless, in the movie many of the scenes are completely cut, such as Dudley eating a Ton-Tounge Toffee. This scene is not only fun, but necessary because it leads to Mrs. Weasley getting upset, and destroying all of the order forms that the twins planned to take to school. This only made their ambitions to make wizard joke products greater, and they begin seriously developing their products and began a mail order service in the next book. Their dream of opening an actual joke shop like Zonko’s, their favorite store in Hogsmeade, is realized by book six and they open Weasleys’ Wizard Wheezes; which would not have been possible if Harry had not given them his winnings from the Tri-Wizard Tournament. All of this is left out of the Goblet of Fire movie, so when the twins do open their joke shop in the sixth movie it leaves audiences wondering where they got the Galleons to do so since the Weasleys are regularly portrayed as a poor family.
DUMBLEDORE’S REACTION
The most notable difference in the movie is when Dumbledore reacts erratically to Harry’s name coming out of the goblet. The Dumbledore of the movies is much different than the one in the books. In the movies, he is aggressive and extreme, whereas in the books he comes off as all-knowing and powerful, but with an air of calmness around him at all times. If Dumbledore was angered by Harry’s name coming out of the goblet he would not have shown that to anyone, let alone the other Headmasters and champions – “Did you put your name into the Goblet of Fire, Harry?” he asked calmly,’ is the line from the book as Rowling wrote it (PG. 242). In the book, Dumbledore was constantly being accused of cheating for Hogwarts by Karkaroff, so the book is where he should have been upset and rough with Harry to persuade the other Headmasters that he had nothing to do with Harry’s name being in the goblet. That being said, it does not seem that Rowling wanted him to be conveyed in such a hostile manner, but instead with the exact word she used ‘calm’.
WHERE DID BERTHA GO?
Although Bertha Jorkins was only a mentioned character in the book, she is the entire reason that Harry’s school year was so eventful. Near the beginning of the book, it’s mentioned that a member of the Ministry of Magic (that knows vital information) named Bertha Jorkins had gone missing; throughout the book every time her name comes up it seems pointless, as it is only to state she is still missing. Finally, at the end of the book, it’s revealed that Bertha was the one that told Wormtail of the upcoming Tri-Wizard Tournament and that a loyal Death Eater thought to be dead is actually in hiding, before she was ultimately killed by Voldemort. Said loyal Death Eater is Crouch Jr, who we eventually find out has been at Hogwarts the entire school year disguised as Mad-Eye Moody (under Voldemort’s orders) so that he could make sure that Harry gets into the tournament, and makes it to the last task. Without the information provided by Bertha to Voldemort about the tournament and the whereabouts of Crouch Jr, nothing in the book is possible.
The movie starts in a nightmare Harry is having about a man overhearing Voldemort telling Wormtail and Crouch Jr that he needs Harry in order to complete something. At that point, Crouch Jr is already shown to the audience, so at the end when he is revealed as ‘Moody’ the audience has to assume that he figured out how to escape Azkaban, find Voldemort, make a Polyjuice Potion, learn that Moody was going to be a teacher that year, and discovered there was going to be a Tri-Wizard Tournament all on his own; hence no need for Bertha.
…AND THE MISSING MINOR PLOT POINTS
Along with any major missing plot points, there will be many, many missing or different minor plot points. Some of the minor differences in the movie include Harry waking up from the nightmare at the Weasleys, Harry and the Weasleys sitting in regular seats at The Quidditch World Cup, Harry’s wand is not used to conjure the Dark Mark, Harry is not writing to Sirius, the other schools arrive on the same night as the Hogwarts students, and there are indications that Crouch Jr is Moody. A few of the minor missing plot points are what happened to Neville’s parents never gets revealed, Rita Skeeter is never revealed as an Animagus, Hermoine’s teeth do not get enlarged due to Harry and Draco fighting, there is no Weighing of the Wands, Hagrid doesn’t reveal he is half-giant, ‘Moody’ doesn’t tell Harry he should consider being an Auror (which he aspires to be from that moment on), and there are no obstacles in the maze.
A more substantial but not overwhelming difference is the dragon destroying a lot of the school as it chased Harry during the first task, though this never happened in the book, it makes sense that a director would add such an action-packed scene into a big-budget movie. As well in the book, McGonagall never gives the students dance lessons, she simply informs them that the Yule Ball is coming up, and that is all. Many of these changes have no effect on the story, but the fans of this iconic series wanted to see what the magic would look like.
CONCLUSION?
When the Goblet of Fire came out it should have been the best Harry Potter movie yet, but as a Potterhead I’m left disappointed by how off-book it is. The choices a director makes to keep some scenes in a movie, and leave some out will inevitably impact that final product. When Mike Newell, director of the Goblet of Fire, made those decisions I believe he was making them for the benefit of the audience, not the fans. Of course, the audience is the larger demographic, so it makes sense to change around some facts to please a wider market. That being said, leaving out Fred and George’s antics, Bertha Jorkins, and Dumbledore’s effortless calm does make a difference for the fans that have been paying attention since the series debuted. For all of these reasons, the book form of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is the better version.
