Quidditch World Cup - So many things to love about this part of the book. First off, it is the wizard version of the FIFA World Cup, which is a favorite of mine, so right off the bat I'm pretty happy. I also really liked seeing people live their everyday lives in the wizarding world. Having Harry stay at the Weasly's as they eat, clean, play and figure out basic things like how to get to the Quidditch World Cup with a bunch of kids takes the magic from the classroom to the everyday. We also get to see that wizards are from all over the world, each with their own culture, dress, and ways of doing things. The game itself was wonderfully written and a prime example of why I love these books so much. It could easily get muddled or boring, describing a bunch of people flying around on brooms and hitting balls, but Ms. Rowling shows us the whole thing from Harry's perspective, which is that of a first timer, just like the readers. I could read this opening over and over and over...oh wait I have.
Tri-Wizard Tournament - There is a ton to love about the tournament, starting with our first glimpse of other schools. Hermione makes a point that there obviously has to be more then one school of magic out there as their are thousands of wizards and at most Hogwarts graduates apx 40 kids a year, and that is assuming that they all pass. Seeing the different way's the students are taught, how their enviroment and culture infulence their uniforms and attitudes is pretty neat. The challanges are pretty cool, being varied in nature and once again showing us a bunch of things we have never seen before. Each of the contestants comes at each challange in a different way, showing us that critical thinking plays a part in most magical dealings. I do however feel bad for the rest of the students at all three schools. Durmstrang and Beuxbatons both left the bulk of their students behind with some substitue headmaster, while the Hogswarts students have nothing to do all year except go to the three challanges spread through out the year...and the second two were not even visible to the audiance.
Hermione and the Boys - I love love love Hermione in this book (ok I love her in all the books, but seriously she is awesome in this one). She shows everybody that while she may be super smart and practicle, she is also a girl, with feminine feelings and the ability to clean up pretty when she wants to. This is one of those cases that adds a sense of reality to the books. Hermione is around Ron and Harry so much, in the role of friend, researcher, homework nag, and awesome spell caster that the fact that she is also a teenage girl is totaly lost on them. It takes a boy ( a kind of dumb boy) who has some distance and perspective to make them realize that yes in fact Hermione is a potential love intrest...or at least somebody to ask to a dance. I like that Hermione deals with it partially in a grown-up, roll her eyes at the idocy of boys way, and also in a frustrated, tear filled, teenage girl way. It is good to show that even our smarty mcsmarty pants has emotions, and that they are valid and in no way make her any less of an awesome person.
Ron and Harry - Ron and Harry have always had an interesting relationship. They are mostly inseperable, teaming up when Malfoy gets out of hand, Divination homework is due, or Hermione gets a bit high and mighty for their taste. It has to be hard on Ron though, already being the youngest boy in a very chaotic family, and then the best friend of the kid who everything seems to happen too. When Harry's name comes out of the Goblet of Fire, I imagine Ron just lost it, I'm sure he was thing "of course Harry is going to be in the Tri-Wizard Tournament, why would he? Everything happens to him, or is given to him, or is about him." Of course Harry rarely goes searching for these things, and many times much angst and anguish accompany these "adventures", but I can see where it would be excruciating at times for Ron. The fight in this book between the two of them is realistic and heartbreaking, and lets the reader explore some of the problems of being the percieved her and sidekick.
The Ending - So much happened in this book, but of course what most people talk about is the end. Several BIG things happen in the last couple of chapters. First of all the normal culmination of all the little tidbits that Ms. Rowling has sprinkled through out the book come to the awesome conclusion of Mad-Eye, Barty Crouch Jr. and of course the return of HE-WHO-MUST-NOT-BE-NAMED! Second, they way that Voldemort came back was just...evil. If we ever thought that maybe our resident Dark Lord was just misunderstood, these chapter's completely dispelled that notion. The casual death of a young person, the brutal collecting of flesh and blood, the toying with his followers and then attempting to kill Harry (which would be a second dead kid in a short span) all show us just how bad this bad guy is. The ending leaves us with a sense of dread and foreboding, knowing that it can only get worse.
The Film - The movie version of this book is a bit dissapointing. I know it is mostley because the book is stuffed full to bursting with all kinds of awesomeness that just does not translate to the screen...but still. They cut out a lot of characters, Dobby does not even make an apperance, despite his pivotal role in the second challange. The movie feels rushed and bit like they were catering to what they thought the audiance wants, rather then what the book was doing. The change to make the two schools all male and all female seemed odd to me as that was not in the book, skipping the whole Duddly and the Ten-Tounge Toffee bit was sad, Dobby missing is never good and...well there was just a bunch of stuff that made me go blah. The visuals were stunning as always, and I could watch the under the lake challange several times over. Danial Radcliff , still does a great look of wonder when encountering new magic that makes me smile every time I see it. The interaction between the three friends is still wonderful on screen, and the kid who played Victor Krum was quit tasty. Overall the movie was ok, but the book was much better.
What was your favorite part of this book? Were you dissapointed in the movie, or do you undertand that it can't be 10 hours long? How bad do you wish you had the ability to turn certain people into ferrets?
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