Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire - PG-13

Excellent, but the PG-13 is accurate.

Rating: PG-13 for sequences of fantasy violence and frightening images. Studio: Warner Bros. Directed By: Mike Newell Cast: Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson Running Time: 156 minutes Release Date: 11/18/2005 Genre: Family and Kids

Common Sense Note

Parents need to know that this film has two deaths (including a really sad one), scary creatures, some romantic yearnings, and edge-of-the-seat scenes. With each film the scariness quotient increases. This movie features fighting dragons, tortured bugs, a scary huge maze, and an underwater horror show. Young kids who don't understand the difference between fantasy and reality should stay clear. So should kids going through an anxious time about unnamed terrors or unwanted separations, as one of the death scenes is upsetting. The action is sometimes rowdy, and camera movements/edits are aggressive, all of which increase the scary effects. One of the deleted scenes featured on the DVD shows teen couples after the Yule Ball getting caught kissing, etc., in carriages -- it's a little more sexual content than you get in the feature film.

Families can discuss the film's more mature content and who this movie is targeted to. Young kids are going to want to see this -- should the movie have been toned down or is the violent content appropriate given the age of the characters? For kids who read the book, which plot points got left out that you missed? Why do you think they left out the house elves? What role did they serve in the books? Cheating is rampant among the teachers and judges involved in the Triwizard competition, but not among the competitors. Why do you think this is? Does Ron have a right to be jealous if he didn't ask Hermione to the ball?

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Common Sense Review

Reviewed By: Cynthia Fuchs

HARRY POTTER AND THE GOBLET OF FIRE is the first PG-13 movie in the Harry Potter series and not for nothing. Older characters -- Harry and friends are 14 now -- are growing up fast, noticing the opposite sex, and realizing what huge expectations the wizarding world has for them during dangerous times.

The film begins differently than the others, without the now-familiar setup of Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) at the home of his muggle relatives. And at school, Harry, Hermione (Emma Watson), and Ron (Rupert Grint) face what is, aside from Lord Voldemort, the most frightening hurdle they've yet encountered: sex. Like other kids their age, they're both excited and afraid of what this burgeoning interest holds for them.

One model of valiant behavior and focus of desire is offered in the worldwide Quidditch champion, Viktor Krum (Stanislav Ianevski). When the students attend the World Cup, they witness the full-on effects of sports celebrity: fans cheer and stomp their feet, magical images of the star shimmer over the crowd. The fact that the tournament site is destroyed by a visit from the Death Eaters (Lord Voldemort's masked henchmen) hardly brings pause, as the film (much like the others before it) tends to move from plot point to plot point, ensuring that each beloved character from the novel gets at least a brief moment on screen.

The event that overshadows the Death Eaters' attack and extends the thematic interest in celebrity is the Triwizard Tournament. This year, Hogwarts hosts stars from two other schools, Beauxbatons Academy (all girls in blue dresses, all French, arriving via flying carriage) and Durmstrang Institute (Viktor and other robust Eastern European boys, who travel by a submersible ship).

This odd linking of gender to nationality to identity doesn't hold for Hogwarts, which is English, but also houses male and female students of multiple races. Harry's opponents behave in predictable ways. Fleur Delacour (Clemence Poesy) screams a bit and dotes on her younger sister, and when he's not performing athletically, Viktor develops a severe crush on Hermione (at least he has excellent taste), flattering but not precisely satisfying ("Victor is more of a physical being," she tells Harry. "Mostly he watches me study. It's a bit annoying").

While the dating process provides for some daunting moments (as when the boys must ask girls to the Yule Ball, or even when a bathing Harry encounters a leering female ghost), the movie's primary scares have to do with monsters and terrible places. The contestants for the Tournament are selected by the magical Goblet of Fire, which spits out Harry's name along with the expected three (Hogwarts' representative is the diligent and dull Cedric), even though students are supposed to be 17 to compete. They must fight dragons, spend an hour underwater with merpeople, and find their way out of a maze.

These tasks are undertaken by the child Harry, who is in due course exposed to cheating (by adult coaches who mean for their charges to win) and not a little bit of emotional and physical abuse (he's a wizard and quite ingenious, so perhaps the awful stuff is not so awful to him). That such disturbance makes sense is almost as vexing as the violence per se: whether 14 or 17, the kids are expected to be warriors and survivors, able to undergo pain and work through fear, and especially, to fight back, to inflict pain. A difficult transition on screen or off, it makes the whole growing up thing look pretty unpleasant.

In the end Harry faces fear and pain not sanctioned by the Triwizard committee. He's on his own against his true enemy and the uneasy transition to adult hero figure is palpable.

Families who like this movie will also like the previous three Harry Potter films (not to mention the books), or Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events.

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Content		CS	adults	kids
Content
Sexual Content Some references to 14-year-olds' sexual interest; Harry accosted in the bathtub by a ghostly girl; some couples kiss in the shadows after the Yule Ball.
Violence Two deaths, including one very stirring death of a teen. No blood is shown, but lifeless bodies are. Children are in peril, often at the hands of magical creatures: dragons burn, chase, and cut Triwizard competitors; mermaids brandish spears as students are held captive underwater. A spider is tortured in a class demonstration. A hand is severed and sacrificed, and Harry is tortured by a curse, writhing in pain.
Language "Bloody hell," "piss off," and similar light curses.
Message
	Social Behavior It's a good and evil story ... no surprises here. Friendship, love, bravery, and loyalty are always major themes in the series. So is the idea of making good choices. Diverse cast and strong female characters.
	Commercialism While the candy mentioned wasn't originally real, it is now: Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, Chocolate Frogs, Jelly Slugs, and more. And then there are the action figures, Lego playsets, wands, Band Aids... you name it.
	Drug/Alcohol/Tobacco Madame Maxime's horses only drink single-malt whiskey. Students drink butterbeer -- a magical-world drink with a pinch of alcohol.