Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them Review

Fantastic+Beasts+and+Where+to+Find+Them+Review

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is truly a magical movie that makes you want to believe the unbelievable. The screenplay was written by JK Rowling herself,and the movie is just as high quality as all the other Harry Potter books and their corresponding adaptations. However, the new film has better special effects than the others, not to mention the extra humor that seemed to be sprinkled in just the right places.

The film takes place in New York in 1926, seventy years before the events in Harry Potter. The story centers around Newt Scamander, (Eddie Redmayne), and his travels to New York City where he intended to spend some time trading magical creatures, his life’s passion. However, an incident with Jacob Kowalski, (Dan Fogler), a No-Maj (non magical), causes his briefcase full of magical creatures to be opened and frees its contents to roam the city. During his adventures, Newt meets American witches Tina (Katherine Waterston) and Queenie Goldstein (Alison Sudol), and the quest to capture the escaped creatures begins.

The movie opened with the familiar newspaper scene, with articles informing the audience about the current issues of the wizarding world, while the heartwarming Harry Potter music plays; at this point the audience is already waiting in anticipation, and the movie does not disappoint. It is masterfully dark and brings a fresh perspective to the wizarding world.

The movie appeals to both fans and people who haven’t seen any of the Harry Potter films, because there are no references to them. Fans don’t know how the plot is going to turn out and newcomers don’t need to have prior knowledge to see and enjoy the film. Yet Rowling does include many much-appreciated head nods to characters, spells, and culture references in the movie from past works, while also introducing new things unique to wizarding life in America, like the female wizarding president of America.

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is a part Rowling’s world that has never been seen before. The plot follows adult characters instead of children, allowing her to focus more on adult themes, which is refreshing because instead of seeing the characters learn how to use magic, the main cast of characters already use magic in their daily lives. From this perspective, the audience gets to experience how adult witches and wizards see and interact with the magical community, unlike in Harry Potter.

Another main topic discussed is the issue of No-Majs (or Muggles, as the British say). In previous works, Rowling doesn’t have the opportunity to showcase how regular people interact with wizards, but in Fantastic Beasts she can not only show what life was like in 1926, but she can also show the relationship between people who use magic and people who don’t.  

All of the plot lines are intertwined perfectly and the set up for the next movies makes the audience realize they have only seen the tip of the iceberg and there is so much room to grow in the wizarding world and in the story. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them was such a creative expansion of Rowling’s magical world that it makes me want to buy the script and see the movie for a third time.