“Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them” teleports audiences back to J.K. Rowling’s magical wizarding world of Harry Potter—in a way that makes it feel as though we never left. With allusions to legendary characters such as Albus Dumbledore and an extended version of the unforgettable “Hedwig’s Theme” song kicking off the film, it felt as though Harry himself could have walked right out of the shadows.
After directing the last four Potter films, acclaimed director David Yates returned to work alongside Rowling, screenplay writer, on Fantastic Beasts. Despite the reunion among the original behind-the-scenes team, the new film centers around a group of adults rather than coming of age teenagers—leaving audiences missing Harry, Hermoine, and Ron. With the absence of these characters Fantastic Beasts allows Rowling to break the “Harry Potter” glass box that has enclosed her wizarding world for the past 19 years and explore the rest of the magical world and all that it has to offer.
Rowling, under the pseudonym of Newt Scamander, wrote Fantastic Beasts in 2001: 128 pages describing different magical creatures. The book, as seen on Harry’s supply list, served as a textbook in The Sorcerer’s Stone. Fans have been anticipating the film since September of 2013 when Warner Brothers announced they would be making a movie inspired by the book—the first of 5 films. Originally, Rowling sat down with the intention of making a couple notes for Warner Brothers, but a couple hours later she had written the complete screenplay.
The film itself focuses around magizoologist Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne), who arrives in New York—with a case full of intriguing magical creatures—during the roaring twenties. Lately, magical havoc has been wreaking the streets of New York, making this particular time for Newt’s arrival an unfortunate coincidence. Within hours of arriving, Newt’s magical creatures escape, introducing him to the goofy non-wizard Jacob Kowalski (Dan Fogler) and witches Porpentina and Queenie Goldstein (Katherine Waterston and Alison Sudol, respectively). Thus, their journey to work together to find the creatures begins.
As the film unfolds, a second, unexpected conflict begins brewing. While the audience believes that Newt’s monsters are terrorizing New York, and to some extent they are, there is another surprising terrorist unleashing chaos on the city. The film is elusive in explicitly revealing the true antagonist—keeping the viewers on their toes as they attempt to solve the puzzle.
For the extreme Potterheads out there, it may feel as though some of the magic of Rowling’s world gets lost in the American setting of New York City. With all of the Potter movies set in England with a British cast, the eeriness and fantastical elements in Fantastic Beasts often feels eclipsed by thick, New York accents.
Some may ponder whether or not Rowling, famous for her imagination, failed certain aspects of this film in terms of creativity. Famously known “muggles,” non-magical persons, were lazily labeled “No-Majs” by American wizards. Similarly, Rowling simply abbreviated The Magical Congress of the United States, MACUSA, rather than coming up with it’s own name like the British Ministry of Magic. Others might also cringe at the fact that the movie’s main action looks like it came straight out of a superhero thriller as New York City faces its thousandth on-screen destruction.
Nonetheless, these minor breaks in the magical character of the film cannot take away from the astounding accomplishments in CGI and editing that brought elements of the original Potter films to the new series. The sounds of the wands are chillingly familiar, and Newt’s neverending suitcase mirrors Hermione’s bewitched bag in the 7th and 8th Potter film.
Complete with curious mystery and fast paced action, “Fantastic Beasts” soars past the boundaries of expectations. Even if a viewer has never seen any of the Harry Potter movies, this film can stand alone. “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them” is a captivating movie that explores the depths of J.K. Rowling’s beloved wizarding world.
