Skip to main content

harry potter - Why did Newt need to cross the Atlantic by steamer?


In Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them, we see Newt traveling across the Atlantic by muggle steamship. Isn't there some way for wizards to teleport that distance, or for some entrepreneurial wizard to set up an airline?


Edit:


If so, why wouldn't Newt have used it? Why would he still go by muggle steamer?



Answer



Newt was illegally smuggling magical creatures, and so used a muggle method of travel. Additionally, lots of his creatures couldn't take various methods of instantaneous magical transportation.



Pong Maniquiz: Loved the movie. Burning Q from my wife though: How come Newt travels by boat to cross the Atlantic instead of apparating?
J.K. Rowling: There's a limit to how far you can Apparate. Inter-continental Apparition is very dangerous!
Victor: Why couldn't Newt have used a portkey? It can't have been difficult for him to register one since he works at the Ministry.

J.K. Rowling: Consider the effect on the contents of his case...
Vick: Is there some sort of Magical Customs for wizards? Maybe not in the years of the Ellis Island ships, but how about now? :)
J.K. Rowling: Newt went in through the No-Maj customs because wizards wouldn't have been so easy to fool. Transporting those creatures was illegal.


(Twitter)







  1. Why couldn’t Newt just Apparate to the USA? Why did he go by boat?



    Apparition becomes increasingly risky over long distances. As with most magic, much depends on the skill of the spell-caster: Apparition requires knowledge of the terrain to which one is moving, or the ability to visualise it clearly. Cross-continental Apparition would almost certainly result in severe injury or death.


    Moreover, the beasts in Newt’s case had varying magical natures. Some could have Apparated with him, but others could not.




  2. Why did Newt go in through No-Maj customs?


    He was transporting magical creatures at a time when this was illegal. No-Majs were far easier to fool than the wizarding checkpoint would have been.




(J.K. Rowling's new website - FAQ)




Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

harry potter - Did Dolores Umbridge Have Any Association with Voldemort (or Death Eaters) before His Return?

I noticed that Dolores Umbridge was born during the first Wizarding War, so it's very likely she wasn't a Death Eater then (but she is pretty evil -- who knows?). After that Voldemort was not around in a way that could affect many people, and most wouldn't know he was planning to rise again. During that time, and up through Voldemort's return (in Goblet of Fire ), did Umbridge have any connection with the Death Eaters or with Voldemort? Was she doing what she did on her own, or was it because of an association with Voldemort or his allies? Answer Dolores Umbridge was definitely not a good person. However, as Sirius points out, "the world isn't split into good people and Death Eaters". Remember that he also says that he doesn't believe Umbridge to be a Death Eater, but that she's evil enough (or something like that). I think there are two strong reasons to believe that: Umbridge was proud to do everything according to the law, except when she trie...
Post a Comment
Read more

futurama - How much time is lost in 'Time Keeps on Slippin''

In time Keeps on Slippin' , Farnsworth creates a basketball team which he matures by abusing Chronitons. This leads to time skipping forward by random, but ever increasing amounts. How much time was skipped in this way? Answer Unfortunately, I don't think a good estimate can be made for this, for two reasons: Many of the time skips move forward by an indeterminate amount of time. At one point, the Professor mentions localized regions of space skipping forward much more than others. We then see two young boys on the street below complaining about having to pay social security, only to suddenly become senior citizens and start complaining about wanting their money. Thus, each individual could have experienced a different amount of time skippage.
Post a Comment
Read more

aliens - Interstellar Zoo story

I vaguely remember this story from my childhood: it was about an interstellar zoo that came to Earth with lots of bizarre and unusual species, and humans would file through and gape at all the crazy looking creatures from other planets. The twist came at the end when the perspective shifted to the other side of the bars and we discovered that the "creatures" were traveling through space on a kind of safari. They thought they were the visitors and we were the animals. Neither side knew that the other side thought they were the zoo creatures. Answer Got it. Zoo, by Edward D. Hoch. Published in 1958. Link to Publication History Link to PDF
Post a Comment
Read more

tolkiens legendarium - Did Gandalf wear his Ring of Power throughout the trilogy?

After Gandalf discovered that Sauron was back and sent Frodo on his quest to Rivendell, did he continue to wear Narya (one of the Three Rings)? It seems like a huge risk to continue to wear it after the Nazgûl (Ringwraiths) started to try and reclaim the One Ring; if they managed to get the ring to Sauron, couldn't he be corrupted by his power? Whatever powers Narya bestows upon him couldn't possibly be worth the huge risk, could it? Answer When Sauron forged the one ring and put it on his finger, the other ring bearers were immediately aware of him and his intentions and removed their own rings. There is no reason why they couldn't merely do so again. As soon as Sauron set the One Ring upon his finger they were aware of him; and they knew him, and preceived that he would be master of them, and of all they wrought. Then in anger and fear they took off their rings. "Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age," Silmarillion
Post a Comment
Read more