Like so many dedicated Harry Potter (HP) fans, also known as the "Potterheads," I jumped up and down with excitement when I heard of the creation of the newly released film Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, and I even cried a little, (ok, fine, more than a little) when I saw the trailer. The film was released on November 18th, 2016, and much to my dismay, I was unable to attend the opening night showing. However, after seeing the film last weekend, I was left more than satisfied.
I was afraid that the film would not live up to the hype, or that the producers would try too hard to turn Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne), the main character, into Harry. I was so wrong. The film stood on its own two feet, and captured me from the first scene. I'll try to keep the spoilers to a bare minimum, but for anybody on the fence about spending the time (and money) to see Fantastic Beasts, I would certainly recommend.
Firstly, the film takes J.K. Rowling's "Wizarding World" to a whole different place, time, and environment. As opposed to the rural hills in the deep corners of England, where Hogwarts is located in the HP films, Fantastic Beasts takes place in the bustling world of 1920's New York City. However, the main character, Newt Scamander, is a Hogwarts alumni (kind of) and is indeed English. So not only is this a whole new perspective for HP fans, it is also a different environment for our main character, which is super cool.
Something else that really captured me as a fan, that is a difference from HP is the slang that is used. For example, in HP, non-magical people are referred to as "Muggles," in Fantastic Beasts, the Americans refer to them as "No Mags." Also, as opposed to the Ministry of Magic from England, the America, there is the Bureau for Magical Investigations. In relation to that, instead of The Minister for Magic, Cornelius Fudge (Robert Hardy) in the HP series, in Fantastic Beasts, there is a President. Her name is Seraphina Picquery, she's super hot and badass and played by the beautiful Carmen Ejogo.
Honestly, just seeing magic being done in the U.S was enough to give me chills, even more so when the characters speak of the American school for witchcraft and wizardry, Ilvermorny. Rowling was once again able to capture the hearts of every Potterhead with this standalone film, and has managed to strike gold twice. It has since been confirmed from Warner Brothers that there will be four-film-sequel series to Fantastic Beasts, allowing us to further explore the American side of the Wizarding World (screams).
Redmayne portrayed the awkward, brilliant and completely lovable Newt Scamander with a fantastic crew of co-stars played by some incredible actors. Jacob Kowalski (Dan Fogler) is the hilarious and lovable Non-Magical comic relief and Colin Farrell provides the perfect love-to-hate villain as Percival Graves. The Goldstein sisters are a force to be reckoned with, with Queenie (Fine Frenzy), the beautiful and not-so-dumb, dumb blonde, and Porpentina (Katherine Waterston) who will become Scamander's dear friend, and possess a familiar Hermione Granger quality. The cast is chock full of talent that seems to be ready for whatever gets thrown at them come the following four films.
As for The Wizarding World, it's awfully good to have you back.
