As an avid Harry Potter fan, for both the books and the movies, I was extremely excited to go see Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find them this past week. Like many HP fans, I was also worried. I knew nothing could live up to the original movies, regardless of the genius writing and Directing done by J.K. Rowling and David Yates for this movie. However, I was surprised that I loved this movie so much. I was blown away by the imagination and thought that went into the movie, and entering the wizarding world once again was like a dream come true. There were, of course, some ups and downs, and I can definitely see where some may not like the movie as much, so here is my honest review.

Lets start with the basics: I've heard a lot of people excited about this movie, and upset about this movie, because it was just another Harry Potter movie. It most definitely is not. If you're looking to go back to Hogwarts on the big screen, this movie isn't for you. It takes place in New York, nearly 70 years before Harry Potter and his epic defeat of Voldemort (sorry for the spoiler, but really everyone knows by now), and follows Newt Scamander as he tracks down the animals he's let escape into the big city. He has some help along the way, and many evil forces they must fight against before it's too late and the wizarding world is exposed. Extremely different from J.K.'s prior work, but magical nonetheless.

Here's What Worked: The story was extremely original, both from the HP franchise, and any other movie on the market right now. It's imaginative, funny, magical, and everything you would expect from Rowling.

The characters are unique and funny. Rowling has a way of bringing new types of characters to the big screen, unlike any we've seen before. There are award, scary, hilarious and eye-catching characters that give a truly amazing performance in the movie.

It's unpredictable, and has a lot of exciting twists. There are multiple story lines running in this movie, and the unpredictability of the crazy beasts and charming characters keep the movie rolling smoothly.

It didn't feel like it was trying to prolong the Harry Potter franchise. While it's in the same world of witchcraft, this story was new and very different, and has a drastically different feel to it than HP. It didn't feel like they were dragging out a series, but starting a completely new one.

Here's what didn't work: It had a slow start. There was a ton of world building that had to happen in a short period of time, and the beginning didn't have the fastest paced stuff going on. It had me thinking I wouldn't like the movie, but it certainly picked up and ended up being great.

There were too many things going on. The many different subplots in the movie do make it exciting, though sometimes it can get to be too much. There was a certain darker, pressing element to the story far beyond catching magical beasts, and there wasn't enough time in the movie to give it as much focus as it deserved.

Some of the characters could have had a little more, well, character. There was some truly terrific acting in this movie (Ezra Miller blew me away), which left others falling flat. Some characters were annoying and didn't have enough development to be loved in the way that the HP characters were and still are.

All in all, I think Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find them is a great movie for all audiences. Whether you're a Harry Potter fan or not, this movie has a little magic for everyone, and I think it will be a great success. I myself can't wait for the next movie.