I know that the newest addition to the Harry Potter universe, "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them", came out over a month ago, but as someone who just recently saw it, and can't stop thinking about, I thought it was only fitting to talk about how much it means to the Harry Potter universe and the fans.
For those of you unfamiliar, Fantastic Beasts tells the story of English wizard, Newt Scamander, as he adventures in New York City, in 1926, with his case full of fantastic beasts--which then get loose. And now he has the find them in a dangerous and very anti-wizard city.
Okay, so, it's a Harry Potter movie, great, so what? While most people could easily claim that it's just a J.K. Rowling play to gain more money, after watching the movie I think they'd change their minds. The movie is fantastic in every way--from the story, to the characters, to the set/costume/creature design--but that is not the greatest thing about this movie.
After the last installment in Harry Potter, and then the last movie, all Harry Potter fans everywhere thought that that was it--it was time to say good-bye the wizarding world. Fantastic Beasts allowed us not to say good-bye, and on top of that, took into account the fact that most of the fans were much older than they had been when the first Harry Potter movie/book were released.
Fantastic Beasts took a brave and bold turn to follow the story of four adult wizards as main characters, instead of the coming-of-age stories of the Golden Trio in the original stories. But this bold turn was a great choice, because it allowed the fans(who are mostly adults now) to see what life is like for the adults of the wizarding world. Using apparating casually, having jobs, and dealing with adult concepts all while having a fun sense to it.
On top of that, not only did it venture out by showing us that side of the wizarding world, but it also introduced us to the American wizarding world--in the 1920s, no less. So no matter how familiar a fan you were to Hogwarts and the wizarding world Harry existed in, you got to dive back into the magical land of witches and wizards both in time period and in location. Not only that, but they also introduced this different, but similar, world to us in an easy manner--through Newt(an Englishman), but also through showing us.
To top it all off, Fantastic Beasts was able to accomplish the incredible feat of bringing the magic of Harry Potter back into fan's hearts everywhere. Even though Harry Potter will always exist in our hearts, there are only so many times you can read a book or watch a movie. Fantastic Beasts brought a fresh take to the familiar world, and promised six more movies in the future. Also, the whole thing felt like a breath of fresh air in the Harry Potter universe that had been decayed for the past several years. It gave us hope and joy that we, the fans, can forever let ourselves escape into the wizarding world for many more years to come.
