Harry Potter fans, rejoice! Inspired by the titular textbook Harry uses in his first year at Hogwarts, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them featuring legendary wizard Newt Scamander enchanted movie-goers starting November 18.
Clad in my Butterbeer t-shirt and Slytherin knee-high socks, I had the honor of seeing the movie a week after the release. Even though it wasn't opening weekend, I still ended up having to wait for the next viewing as the one I wanted to attend was sold out when I got to the theater half an hour early. The film has already hit a major cinema milestone, crossing the $500 million marker at international box offices. Even though it doesn't bare the name of the famous young wizard fans worldwide know and love, it is still canon with the world Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling created. Rowling wrote the script for this Potter prequel, and a sequel to Fantastic Beasts is already underway.
In fact, there are plans to break from the previous trilogy proposal and film five Fantastic Beasts movies in total.
Personally, I'm excited for another after seeing the first. I'm intrigued as to how they will stretch content across five movies, but since these are not based off of officially published Rowling books like the Potter series, there is a lot more freedom and creativity to expand. As a huge Harry Potter nerd, I've surmised from the plot line of the first movie that we might get to see a young Albus Dumbledore in later films. Just thinking about it gets me pumped.
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them takes place in 1926 New York, 70 years before Harry starts school at Hogwarts. It stars Eddie Redmayne as Newt Scamander, Katherine Waterston as Tina, employee of the Magical Congress of the United States of America, Dan Fogler as Muggle/No-Maj Jacob Kowalski, and an unexpected surprise cameo by Johnny Depp (see if you can spot it in the film...I almost didn't realize it!). The casting is simply amazing. I could watch Redmayne as Scamander all day.
Scamander, who studies creatures of the wizarding world, arrives in New York with a briefcase of monsters. When a No-Maj accidentally sets them lose, he, Scamander, and Tina must get them back before the wizarding Statute of Secrecy is broken. But an even bigger terror might already be threatening New York and calling attention to the realm of magic.
In terms of plot, I thought the movie was just as fantastic as the name says. At the beginning, it felt a little slow, but it improved as it went along. Family members I saw it with said it moved too fast and there were parts they missed, but I really didn't experience any problems with this. I really appreciated how Fantastic Beasts exists independently from Harry Potter. Even if you haven't seen or read Harry Potter, I think you'd still be able to enjoy this movie. The plot was original and its own, reflecting the fact that it really does take place before Harry is even born.
I left the movie satisfied and excited for what's to come. The ending was tied up and didn't give any clues as to what the sequel could be about, so when tickets come out, expect me to be there first in line to find out.
