Every fan of theHarry Potterfranchise, books or films, is aware of the basic principles of the infamous Polyjuice potion. In the second installment of the fantasy series,the potion was introduced as a way to disguise the drinker by transforming them into someone else. This is done through a series of complicated brewing steps, and the DNA of the target person the drinker wanted to appear as is also mixed in. Despitethe reported bitter taste, the potion has been used a couple of times across the series, coming in handy to gather information, disguise oneself, or misdirect an attack.
However, when the novels were adapted into films, specificallyHarry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets,a minor, very easily overlooked detail was changed in the magical rules around the Polyjuice potion. Alone, this factor doesn’t necessarily do any harm to the narrative and can be actually seen as quite beneficial. But, two films later, it becomes a quiet little head-scratcher, and even now, over two decades later, this change remains a curious one.
Polyjuice Potion Is Introduced in ‘Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets’
InChamber of Secrets, Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe) and Ron Weasley (Rupert Grint) drink the Polyjuice potion that Hermione Granger (Emma Watson) concocts to deceptively interrogate their nemesis, Draco Malfoy (Tom Felton). They turn into Draco’s lackeys, Crabbe (Jamie Waylett) and Goyle (Josh Herdman), and infiltrate Slytherin’s common room alongside the unsuspecting Draco. Much of this hilarious sequence is faithful to the source material, except for one tiny detail.
In the books, Harry and Ron’s appearances change alongside their voices, but in the film, their voices remain the same.That is, Waylett and Herdman take center-stage in this bizarre investigation, but Radcliffe and Grint still provide the voices for their character’s new physical disguises. As a standalone scene, watching the boys trying to lower their voice to match their appearance is comical and makes sense, but inHarry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, we are forced to question this change.
‘Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire’ Has a Strange Plot Hole
In theGoblet of Fire, we meet the eccentric and offbeat Alastor “Mad-Eye” Moody (Brendan Gleeson), who is involved in one of the franchise’s most jaw-dropping twists. The strange professor is revealed to actually be Barty Crouch Jr. (David Tennant), who had maintained his disguise via Polyjuice potion. However, once you realize a glaring inconsistency, you can’t ignore it:Barty’s voice had changed to Alastor’s while he was taking the potion.This deviation makes even less sense when you realize that the screenwriter,Steven Kloves, was the same for both scripts.
This Haunted Event Should Have Been in the Harry Potter Films
This ghostly party could have made ‘Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets’ that much better.
The fourth film completely abandons the magical rules it had laid out in theChamber of Secretswith Ron and Harry and tweaks the Polyjuice potion to meet the needs of this storyline.“Alastor’s” real identityneeded to be kept under wraps throughout the film until the big reveal, and as such,retaining Barty’s voice would completely undermine this. However, this does beg the question of why the change was made from the page to the screen in the first place?
The ‘Harry Potter’ Films Are Inconsistent With Polyjuice Potion
InChamber of Secrets, the creative choice of maintaining Harry’s and Ron’s voices while in different bodies could have been due to facilitating a smoother production,namely to keep track of who was who. This reason becomes more viable when you consider the dizzying seven Harrys scene inHarry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1.Seven other characters took the Polyjuice potion to turn into Harry, leaving Radcliffe to tackle an outrageous scene thatneeded 95 arduous takes to perfect. Each Harry retained their original voice, creating an utterly overwhelming yet exciting atmosphere. Thus, the change to the potion here was also beneficial, both in terms of logistics and tone.
As such, it may not be the most egregious oversight, especially since Barty’s altered voice could also be explained by in-universe reasons. As much as we admire Hermione’s intellect, she is still a second-year Hogwarts student, and perhapsBarty simply just brewed a more powerful potion than she could manageat the time. Alternatively,Barty could have also been using another spell or potion to change his voice. However, with the franchise not directly addressing the inconsistency, these simply remain theories, firmly leaving theweird plot hole in theHarry Pottermagical universe.
Though the Polyjuice potion was used sparingly across the series,it was involved in some of the movies' most memorable moments and perhaps should have been paid a little more attention. TheHarry Potterteam should’ve either ensured it was consistent across the board, or disguised any deviations with a dash of in-world explanations. That being said,each scene involving the chaotic potionpromised thrills and levity, so we happily turn a blind eye to its shaky cinematic lore to laugh alongside our favorite characters.
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
The second installment of boy wizard Harry Potter’s adventures at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. A mysterious elf tells Harry to expect trouble during his second year at Hogwarts, but nothing can prepare him for trees that fight back, flying cars, spiders that talk and deadly warnings written in blood on the walls of the school.
TheHarry Potterfranchise is available to stream on Max in the U.S.
