Fellow blogger and Harry Potter fanatic Travis Prinzi reviews the Goblet of Fire DVD. I said there was no way the book Dumbledore would have allowed that dragon to chase Harry around the school, and Travis disagrees, citing Triwizard Tournament Rules. I believe the book Dumbledore would have flouted the rules rather than watch Harry risk his life.

Granted, Harry has been in several dangerous situations, and in most cases, Dumbledore wasn't around to save him. But sitting in the stands twiddling his thumbs while a dragon breaks loose from its chains and breaths fire at The Boy Who Lived?

Travis writes:

I disagree with this reasoning [mine] in particular, because Dumbledore was just as bound by the rules of the Triwizard Tournament as anyone else. By magical law and contract, my guess is that Dumbledore simply would not have been allowed to interfere. The Tournament had killed people before.

My problem with it is its length. With so many great things to cover, and the final scene rushed, I would much rather have seen a shorter dragon scene and a longer LV rebirthing scene. Nevertheless, I can understand, from a Hollywood point of view, why the cool dragon action scene was added.

We definitely agree that the rebirthing scene should have been longer. It was the climax, after all. It should have been diabolically slow and well-paced. And we agree about Michael Gambon: he's no Dumbledore.

Despite all the fan grumbling about deleted and embellished scenes, here's a cold, undeniable fact: J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter’s “mother,” obviously approved the changes. So that settles it. I suppose.

Thanks for the post material, Travis.