Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is one of the darkest movies in the entire franchise - certainly when compared to its predecessors. It's the blockbuster that saw Hogwarts host the Triwizard tournament, Harry and Ron take their first steps towards finding love and Lord Voldemort return after years of lying low. That's not to mention the Quidditch World Cup and a huge twist involving auror Alastor Moody.
The book is rather big - so cramming everything into a single movie was always going to be difficult. We now take a look at ten things Warner Bros changed from the core material.
Harry's Dream
The movie starts similar enough to the book, with an old Muggle man named Frank Bryce meeting his end after stumbling upon Lord Voldemort plotting the death of Harry Potter. However, there's a slight difference: instead of it being just Voldemort and Peter Pettigrew at the old Muggle house, Barty Crouch Jr is there as well.
Fans of the book will know that Crouch had already been sent to take on the persona of Alastor 'Mad-Eye' Moody, which he'd obtain through some illicit means. More on that later...
The Quidditch World Cup
The Quidditch World Cup takes up a fair chunk of the book, with Harry, Hermione and the Weasleys all getting a thrill out of watching Ireland beat Bulgaria. Until the Death Eaters show up, that is.
However, the movie omits many details surrounding the tournament. Nothing of the match is seen, not even Viktor Krum catching the golden snitch. There's no sense of occasion, with many cameos failing to make it into the script despite the fact Harry and Ron Weasley see numerous people they know. And there's no comedic moments, such as when a Wizard named Arnie wears a women's bathing suit. To us, this feels like a major missed opportunity. And we'd have tolerated the blockbuster being a little longer if they'd found time to include everything.
Beauxbatons and Durmstrang Sexes
This is a detail that's small and insignificant - but a rather random change nonetheless. In the book, there are girls and boys who attend both Beauxbatons and Durmstrang but, in the movie, the two institutions are presented as being same-sex.
It doesn't really make sense by this was changed but perhaps it was with the intention of showing how different they are to Hogwarts. There's not much backstory about either of the schools, even though it would have been interesting to know about Durmstrang's fondness for the dark arts and how Gellert Grindelawald, the second most-villianous wizard of his kind, once attended.
Dumbledore's Goblet of Fire Reaction
We can all agree that Albus Dumbledore is a rather nice wizard, right? He's extremely kind to Harry, almost becoming a second father to the young wizard, and always seems to have the best interests of his students, and the wider wizarding community, at heart.
Which is why his reaction to seeing Harry's name in the Goblet of Fire itself is rather odd. He's very nice about it in the books, concerning and fearful. But, in the movie, he outright assaults the Boy Who Lived, sending him flying into some silverware and coming across as accusatory. They should have re-read the book because there's no way Dumbledore would ever have acted like this.
Rita Skeeter's Role Diminished
Rita Skeeter makes an appearance in the Goblet of Fire movie - but only a fleeting one. For the most part she's sidelined, with Warner Bros choosing to diminish her role so they can cram in many other important details instead.
In the books, however, she's heavily involved. Not only does she write bad and inaccurate things about Harry, but she also obtains secretive information by transforming herself into an Animagus (a beetle, to be precise). There's a whole sub-plot about how she uses that power to spread hate for the Daily Prophet and the storyline ends when Hermione is able to capture her and, through blackmail, prevent her from writing any more vile material.
No House Elves
There's two house elves who play a rather important role in the Goblet of Fire. Winky is a big player in Barty Crouch Jr's assault on Alastor Moody (despite not being directly involved), while Dobby is the one who steals Gillyweed from Professor Snape's private collection, rather than Neville Longbottom.
Warner Bros probably didn't want to shell out even more money on house elves but it would have been great to see the two characters and Dobby in particular, given how popular the little elf is.
No Bertha Jorkins
Bertha Jorkins is a young witch who works at the Ministry of Magic and, unfortunately for her, runs into Peter Pettigrew. Wormtail then brings her before Lord Voldemort before she spills all on Barty Crouch Jr being alive, Barty Crouch Sr's dark secrets, the Quidditch World Cup and the imminent appointment of Alastor Moody as Defence Against The Dark Arts teacher.
But she's never mentioned, not once, in the movie of the same name. Warner Bros chose to tinker with storylines and she was a victim as a result. She doesn't even appear out of Lord Voldemort's wand during his epic showdown with Harry in the Little Hangleton graveyard towards the end of the blockbuster.
Barty Crouch's Death
Not only is Barty Crouch's dark secrets never fully explained - but his death is altered in the movie version.
In the book, Krum and Harry are having a private chat about Hermione Granger when he comes up to them, jabbering. Worried, Harry races back and, when he returns with Professor Dumbledore, he and the Hogwarts headmaster find the Durmstrang student unconscious and Crouch nowhere to be seen. He is murdered by son Barty Crouch Jr, under the guise of Alastor Moody, and his body is transfigured into a bone and buried in the Forbidden Forest.
The Maze Tasks
In the Goblet of Fire movie, Harry has a straightforward route to the Triwizard Cup. Only a bewitched Viktor Krum poses any threat to the Boy Who Lived getting the prize.
But it’s different in the books. He has to go through Boggarts, a Blast-Ended Skrewt, a Sphinx and Acromantula before eventually getting to the trophy he craves. And that’s even with Alastor Moody making things easier for him…
Voldemort's Monologue
The final change on our list regards Lord Voldemort and the monologue he gives in the Little Hangleton graveyard.
In the movie, he talks briefly to his Death Eaters but this is far longer in the book. He talks of his struggles while being a mere shadow, how he came close to death, berates his followers for failing to find him and even spends time mourning those who can’t be there for his grand return. We understand why it was cut, however, with the speed of the scene making it far more entertaining as a result.