In the fourth installment of the Harry Potter series, we experience a darker story through the lens of a new director, Mike Newell, as the trio return for their fourth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. With Hogwarts hosting the Triwizard Tournament, students from neighboring wizarding schools join together to compete, putting their lives on the line for fame and glory. Friendships are made and strained as Harry faces threats from both inside and outside the school. In this article, we’ll be going over key elements of the movie, exploring differences between the book and the movie, along with a FAQ to answer some of your questions.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire | Summary & Recap

The Dream

For once, the movie starts somewhere other than the Dursley’s home. We see a snake, a strange graveyard, and an old man who accidentally stumbles upon Voldemort, Wormtail, and another one of his loyal followers. The Dark Lord kills the man and Harry wakes up with his scar hurting. It was all a dream, or so he thinks.

Harry and Hermione are at the Burrow with the Weasleys. They meet up with two new characters, Amos Diggory, whom Mr. Weasley works with, and Cedric Diggory, a fellow Hogwarts student in his seventh year.

The Quidditch World Cup

The group travels using a portkey, an object that teleports the person who touches it to a certain location, to attend the Quidditch World Cup. Once again, magic catches Harry off guard when he sees their tent, small on the outside and huge on the inside. They run into the Malfoys on their way to their seats to enjoy the Quidditch game between Ireland and Bulgaria.

The Dark Mark

The game begins and we jump to the aftermath, where everyone is celebrating Ireland’s win back at the tent. But the celebration takes a sudden turn when the shouts of joy become screams of terror; Death Eaters are attacking the audience! During their escape, Harry is separated from his friends and is knocked unconscious in the stampede. When he comes to, everything is burned to the ground and a mysterious man in the distance has cast a spell into the sky. An apparition of a skull with a snake slithering through its mouth emerges, recognized in the wizarding world as The Dark Mark.

The Triwizard Tournament

Harry and his friends return to Hogwarts without any further incidents. During The Start-of-Term Feast, the headmaster announces that Hogwarts will be hosting the Triwizard Tournament, a dangerous tournament held every five years where three schools join together to compete.

The first school to be introduced is Beauxbatons Academy of Magic from France. The second school is Durmstrang Institute, whose exact location in Northern Europe is unknown. Amongst the students from Durmstrang is a familiar face, Victor Krum, the seeker for the Bulgarian team.

Mad-Eye Moody

Alastor Moody, aka Mad-Eye Moody, a famed Auror (a Ministry of Magic law enforcer) who hunts down dark wizards, makes an appearance during the feast. He is introduced as the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. His first lesson displays his questionable teaching style as he shows the students what the Three Unforgivable Curses are, and what they are capable of. 

• The Imperius Curse: Imperio | Allows the caster to control the actions of the victim of the spell.

• The Cruciatus Curse: Crucio | The torture curse inflicts extreme pain upon the victim, and prolonged exposure may lead to insanity.
  

• The Killing Curse: Avada Kedavra | The spell results in instantaneous death for its victim. Harry Potter is the only known survivor of this spell.

The Unexpected Fourth Champion

We learn that there is a restriction to who can compete in the Triwizard Tournament, only seventh year students are allowed to participate. A week after the start of term, everyone gathers in the Great Hall. The first name to be drawn is Fleur Delacour from Beauxbatons. Victor Krum, from Drumstrang, is called next. The Hogwarts champion is called last and it's none other than Hufflepuff student, Cedric Digory.

Suddenly, a fourth piece of paper bursts from the flames and it has Harry Potter’s name written on it . Everyone, including Harry, is in shock; as he is only a fourth year, he should not have been able to put his name in the cup. Barty Crouch Sr., who is there to oversee the tournament, announces that the magical contract is binding and Harry is forced to compete.

The First Task

Harry gets a tip from Hagrid that the first task will involve dragons. Harry is the last to compete and gets the meanest dragon of them all, the Hungarian Horntail. His goal is to retrieve a golden egg which has a clue for the next task. Harry uses his broom and flying skills in an attempt to outmaneuver the dragon. However, it ends up breaking free of its chain and chases Harry while he’s on his broomstick, all the way to the castle. After multiple brushes with death, Harry manages to escape the dragon, make it back to the arena, and grab the egg.

The Yule Ball

The Yule Ball, as Professor McGonagall tells the students, is a tradition of the tournament that happens around Christmas. Harry has had his eye on a Ravenclaw student named Cho Chang throughout his fourth year. When he finally works up the nerve to ask her to the ball, she reveals she’s already going with someone else. Meanwhile, Hermione is also keeping her partner a secret from the boys.

Ron and Harry end up going with the Patil twins. At the ball, Harry sees his initial choice is with his fellow Hogwarts champion, while Hermione makes a grand entrance with the Durmstrang champion. The ball isn’t so great for everyone; both Harry and Ron are upset that they didn't get to go with their first choice. The night ends with Ron and Hermione arguing, and Hermione crying on the steps of the Entrance Hall.

The Second Task

Cedric gives Harry a hint since he still hasn’t figured out how the egg works, as a way of saying thanks to Harry who gave him a heads up about the dragons earlier on. Harry learns that the task will be underwater and spends up until the very last minute trying to figure out how to breathe underwater. Moody tells Neville to help Harry put his books away, and Neville reveals he knows a plant that will help him.

Harry uses Gillyweed and joins the competitors in the Black Lake, where he has one hour to find what is hidden underwater. He finds Ron, Hermione, Cho, and Fleur’s little sister trapped and unconscious deep below the surface. The merperson warns him that he can only save one. However, when Fleur doesn’t show up to save her sister, Harry chooses to save Ron and the girl, earning himself second place.

Barty Crouch Sr.

After the second task, Barty Crouch Sr. congratulates Harry. Moody interrupts them and Crouch Sr. notices something off about Moody's demeanor before silently stumbling away. Later on, Harry and his friends are walking with Hagrid through the woods, singing and celebrating Harry's victory, when he stumbles upon Barty Crouch Sr.'s dead body.

The Pensieve and the Trial

Harry waits in the headmaster's office alone to discuss what happened. While waiting, he finds a Pensieve, a magical item that is used to store and look at memories of the past. Harry accidentally falls into it and thus into one of Dumbledore’s memories. He appears in a courtroom with a younger Dumbledore, Moody, and Crouch Sr. Ongoing is a trial where Igor Kakaroff, the headmaster of Drumstrang (who is currently at Hogwarts), is trying to barter for his freedom from Azkaban. 

He was once a Death Eater and he is trying to regain his freedom by giving the Ministry of Magic names of former Death Eater followers. One of the names he gives is Severus Snape, but Dumbledore comes to Snape's defense by stating that he changed sides. The last name he gives is Barty Crouch Sr’s own son, Barty Crouch Jr. Harry recognizes him as the unknown Death Eater that has been reappearing in his dreams.

The Final Task

The third task begins, and Harry must figure out a way through a massive maze and reach the Triwizard Cup, hidden deep within the hedges. He faces multiple dangers, one of which being the maze itself. He runs into Victor, who has been bewitched and is attacking everyone except Harry. Victor simply leaves him alone and walks away. Harry and Cedric end up meeting up and both spot the Triwizard Cup. After a brief race, the two decide to work together.

They both grab the Triwizard Cup at the same time and discover that it is a portkey! To their surprise, it doesn’t take them back to Hogwarts like it’s supposed to.

The Rebirth of Lord Voldemort

The portkey takes them to the graveyard from Harry’s nightmares and he sees Tom Riddle’s name written on one of the headstones. Wormtail makes an appearance, holding what remains of the Dark Lord in his arms. He kills Cedric and captures Harry before doing a ritual that gives Voldemort a new and powerful body.

Voldemort, now reborn, summons his Death Eaters, one among them being Lucius Malfoy. The Dark Lord finally notices Harry is there and demands that they duel. Both of them cast a spell at one another which results in Harry's and Voldemort’s wands "connecting." As a result, the ghostly forms of the last four people Voldemort killed appear: Cedric Diggory, the muggle from Harry's dream, and Harry’s parents. The ghosts give Harry the cover he needs to escape as he grabs Cedric's body and the portkey, returning to Hogwarts.

Barty Crouch Jr.

Harry appears with Cedric’s body before the student body and teachers at the entrance of the maze. He tells Dumbledore that Voldemort is back and, as Amos mourns his son’s death, Moody takes Harry away. In his office, Moody begins acting strange and brings up things about the encounter that Harry never mentioned (such as him being in a graveyard).

Dumbledore and Snape burst in just as Moody’s body begins to change, revealing his true identity as Barty Crouch Jr. It becomes clear that he was behind Harry’s involvement in the tournament, aiming to aid Voldemort's revival, a plan he succeeded in. Barty Crouch Jr. had been using Polyjuice Potions while the real Alastor Moody remained trapped nearby in a magical trunk.

The End

The movie ends with Dumbledore giving a solemn speech to honor Cedric Digory. Later, he talks to Harry, apologizing for putting him in danger. Harry mentions that he saw his parents in the graveyard, but the headmaster warns him that no spell can bring back the dead. With the knowledge of Voldemort's return to power and that everything is about to change in the wizarding world, the trio have one last peaceful moment as they watch the other schools depart.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire Review

CGI and Visuals | 7/10

While CGI develops year after year, the fourth Harry Potter movie comes with a unique take, most likely due to a new director, Mike Newell. Details like the snake moving at the very beginning and Voldemort’s skin and body when he returns are depicted beautifully. However, if you take a look at the background, especially during the graveyard scenes, the buildings and headstones look a little off. They look as if they have been painted, and it doesn’t blend in very well with the foreground.

Storyline and Plot Development | 10/10

The story for the fourth movie is unique. The students are competing for fame and glory, all while threats from both inside and outside the castle make the stakes even higher. Even though Voldemort doesn’t return until the very end, it’s the first movie where his real form is present. The plot twist with Moody is one of the best elements of the story. It's easy to believe all his years as an Aurora have made him a little unhinged, but the small hints that there is more to him than meets the eye all makes sense by the very end.

Character Development | 6/10

As the main characters reach their awkward teenage phase, the viewers are introduced to their love interest as well as rivalry between friends. For the first quarter of the movie, Ron is angry at Harry for entering the tournament and believes he’s lying to him. After all these years of knowing each other, this conflict between the two friends could have been easily resolved. It felt like it was added as one of many subplots, and this fourth movie throws all that teenage angst and anger at you. While not all friendships are perfect, it just doesn’t feel realistic for them to not have resolved their differences given their history.

Sound and Music | 10/10

The sound design and music has always been a strong suit in the Harry Potter series, and that remains the same in the fourth one. It still has a magical tone, all the while capturing the intensity of the Triwizard Tournament and the grandeur of the Yule Ball.

Reception and Impact | 8/10

Like most of the Harry Potter movies, fans were raving about seeing their favorite world and characters come to life. However, their biggest complaint remained the same: too many moments from the book were left out that people wanted to see and they felt the story was weaker for it. It also didn’t do as well in the box office as the movies to come.

Final Score | 8/10

Book and Movie Differences

Dumbledore’s Reaction: "Dumbledore asked calmly"

One of the most talked about differences between the fourth book in the Harry potter series and movie has to do with one simple line. “Dumbledore asked calmly.” In the book, after Harry’s name emerged from the fire, Dumbledore approaches Harry and asks him if he put his name in the fire in a very calm and collected manner. In the movie, Michael Gambon’s portrayal of Dumbledore charges at Harry as he aggressively demands answers to his questions.

Winky the House-Elf

In the Harry Potter movies, we only see a select few house-elves. One of the characters that is cut from the movies is Winky the House-Elf. There is a whole subplot in the fourth book that involves Winky. Barty Crouch Sr. was her master and she ends up being framed for casting the Dark Lord's mark earlier in the book. As a form of punishment, Winky is given her freedom, which is the last thing she’s ever wanted, and ends up working in the kitchens at Hogwarts.

S.P.E.W.

Another subplot left out of the movies is Hermione’s movement called S.P.E.W, a.k.a. Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare. The movies don’t showcase her creature loving nature very much, but in the books, she felt creatures, like house-elves, were being abused. She started the movement so that they could gain more rights and not be treated as slaves.

Rita Skeeter is an Animagus

Rita Skeeter is one of the most obnoxious characters in the fourth novel and movie, and actress Miranda Richardson does a great job at bringing her to life. However, a key element about her character is left out of the movie. Somehow, she’s always managing to get tips and news that she shouldn’t have. Hermione reveals at the end of the book that the journalist is actually an Animagus. Her form is a beetle, small and inconspicuous, but Hermione takes it upon herself to stick her in a jar so she can’t escape.

The Hungarian Horntail

The movie definitely makes the first task far more action packed than it is in the book and is, arguably, a good change. In the book, the Hungarian Horntail never breaks free from his chain and there is no epic chase scene. In the movie, the dragon does break free, making for an action-packed moment on the big screen.