Movie Review: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

This past weekend was the premier of the long-awaited film, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. The movie is a spin-off from the Harry Potter series and the installment of a five-film franchise to come. The screenplay was written by J.K. Rowling.

Being a Harry Potter lover, I am always skeptic to things that may tarnish the reputation of the series I have grown to love, but I was pleasantly surprised with this new take on the magical world.

As promised in the title, the movie is filled with magical creatures and magic from start to finish. What was so intriguing about this film was that it took place in New York City in the 1920s where we got to see Ameriican wizards and the Magical Congress of the United States of America. Non-magic folk which we previously knew as “muggles” are called “no-maj”.

It was nice to be able to return to a world that I have grown up with and see it expand in new ways. Fantastic Beasts follows the story of Newt Scamander who says his mission is to “Rescue, nurture, and protect” magical beasts and “gently try to educate my fellow wizards about them.” Shortly after his arrival in New York, some of the magical creatures he kept in his briefcase escape and cause some mischief throughout Manhattan.

The cast is filled with renowned actors such as Eddie Redmayne, Collin Farrell and Johnny Depp, who is set to be playing the character Grindelwald in the upcoming films.

Fantastic Beasts was not a knock-off of the original Harry Potter series but instead a brand-new story that marks new territory on magical terrain. There were few references to things from the beloved series such as Hogwarts and Albus Dumbledore, which acted simply as a shout out for fans who are familir with the series.

The first movie acted as a good introduction. I am looking forward to seeing more depth from the characters as this story continues to unfold.