Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

The year is 1926, and Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne) has just completed a global excursion to find and document an extraordinary array of magical creatures. Arriving in New York for a brief stopover, he might have come and gone without incident, were it not for a No-Maj (American for Muggle) named Jacob, a misplaced magical case, and the escape of some of Newt's fantastic beasts, which could spell trouble for both the wizarding and No-Maj worlds.

I absolutely adored this movie! It was everything I wanted and more. Since the release of the Ilvermorny stories, I have been looking forward to learning more about magic in America. This movie answered all of my questions and posed so many more. The experience of going to the theater for a new Harry Potter movie was so magical. I was a little late to the Harry Potter game so I never got to experience going to the midnight premier of the new movie, but this made me feel like I was finally getting the Harry Potter movie experience. When Hedwig's Theme began to play, my dad looked over to me and said "Are you crying?" To which, I replied...

Compared to my experience with The Cursed Child, I was so happy with this movie. It was the same Harry Potter world I love but with new characters and unlimited potential. This movie confirms my belief that spin-offs and prequels are better than tacking something on to the end of an already perfect ending. Spin-offs allow us to learn more about the world through new characters in a way we wouldn't be able to with the original characters. It's also incredibly hard to add to a story that ended so perfectly in the first place. Instead of trying to reinvent already fleshed out characters, this movie introduced us to our new favorite magisquad and slew of magical creatures. 

Another thing I really loved about this movie, was the fact that it was set in the 20s. The costumes and hair were so gorgeous. It really enhanced how visually stunning the movie was along with the special effects from the magic and creatures. Without further ado, I think I'll begin the spoiler-y section of the review, so if you haven't seen this movie , you should definitely go do that! 

***SPOILERS BELOW***

As much as I may have loved Queenie and Jacob's relationship or Tina's determination, Newt was my absolute favorite part of the movie. I may not be a Hufflepuff but I really did appreciate having a Hufflepuff representative as our main character in this movie. I really connected with Newt throughout the story. It's not often that you see an introvert be the lead in a fantasy movie. Most of all, I related with Newt's immense compassion for his creatures. As a person who's genuinely considering zoology as a career, it resonated with me when Newt was more comfortable with his creatures than he was with the people around him. I would have loved to spend a couple of hours (or days) inside his case learning about and playing with the creatures. 

On the topic of the fantastic creatures, they really made this movie for me. The effects of each one were visually stunning, and so hilarious and cute! Pickett the bowtruckle makes my heart burst as does a demiguise babysitter, while our sneaky Niffler friend made me laugh so hard during the jewelry store sequence. I also loved that we were introduced to the thunderbird, the mascot and namesake of one of the houses of Ilvermorny. It just makes me want to learn more and more about the magic school of America. I really hope that the creatures remain a part of the franchise as we get more and more into the conflict with Grindelwald (more on that later). 

As much as I really liked Tina and Newt's friendship, I think Tina and Queenie's sister relationship is an underrated part of this movie. Their chemistry was so naturally sister-like and I absolutely loved it.  I have a deep and intense appreciation for Queenie's character. Even though her sister is the "career-driven" one, Queenie is an incredibly talented legilimens without even trying. Even Snape has to concentrate to read minds! She has this amazingly powerful ability, yet she is so warm-hearted and lovely that she would never think to use it for anything other than figuring out someone's favorite dessert. I love her so much! 

I was very impressed by how this movie balanced cute adorable creature adventures with dark themes of child abuse and corruption. The entire sequence following Newt and Tina's arrest put me through a rollercoaster of emotions. I loved seeing Queenie reveal how brave and intelligent she is when she steals back Newt's case and saves Newt and Tina. I have so many questions about MCUSA after seeing the strange white room with a contraption reminiscent of the electric chair that Tina is almost subjected to. Most of all, I was quietly sobbing as they led Newt away as he screams not to hurt his creatures. 

The idea of the obscuris is so interesting to me, especially because it raises a lot of questions about Harry. It is so sad to me to think about children dying by age 10 because they are containing and suppressing a wealth of power and magic inside of them. My best theory as to why Harry did not become an obscuris considering his horrible childhood is that he was never told to fear magic. The Dursleys simply told him magic wasn't real, so he had no reason to believe what was happening to him was real let alone something to fear. 

I was very impressed by how the movie set up for Modesty being the obscuris and then pulled a complete 180 by revealing it to be Creedence. It's yet another example of J.K. Rowling's unimaginable genius. I cried so hard watching Newt talk Creedence down from the ledge only to have the aurors eviscerate him in the end. I still do have some questions as to how Creedence survived if obscurials are supposed to kill their hosts before they reach age 10. I would also like to know how Creedence became involved with Mr. Graves.

Speaking of Mr. Graves....I totally predicted that he was really Grindelwald. My one problem with this movie was that the Grindelwald reveal was fairly easy to figure out. Anyone with knowledge of the last Harry Potter book would have made the necessary connection between Percival Graves and Grindelwald when Graves gives Creedence a necklace with the deathly hallows symbol. I don't know how, but I feel like there could have been a less obvious way to foreshadow a connection to the deathly hallows. 

However, this is not how I figured out the true identity of our villain. I knew at the very beginning of the movie! Fantastic Beasts opens with a bunch of aurors approaching Grindelwald who then kills them all. This scene ends with a view of the back of Grindelwald's head then goes into a montage of newspaper headings in typical Harry Potter movie fashion (which I loved). The next scene opens with a view of Percival Graves's head as he investigates a ruined brownstone. Immediately upon seeing these similar camera shots of the two characters, I notice that Percival Graves and Grindelwald have the EXACT SAME HAIRCUT. 

 

ARE YOU KIDDING ME? IT DOESN'T TAKE A GENIUS TO NOTICE THIS. Not only do they make it this obvious, this similarity is actually relevant. The way they reveal Mr. Graves to be Grindelwald is by casting a revelio charm that slightly changes his facial features....and turns his hair white. Was this supposed to big news? Did everyone just assume that this was common hairstyle for corrupt men in the 1920s? Don't you think the wizarding community would have a problem with one of their government employees having the equivalent of a Hitler 'stache? 

BARBER: So what do you want? 

GRAVES: Lemme get the homicidal dark wizard, fam.

BARBER: Say no more. 

Once again, I was crying at the end of the movie. Newt uses Frank the thunderbird to help obliviate New York, but Jacob cannot be an exception. His goodbye to all the characters was such a good summary of all their relationships and how far they've come. Jacob was such a great character, and letting him go was almost as hard for me as it was for Newt, Tina, and Queenie. Newt makes sure that Jacob knows how important he was to this adventure and how he will never forget him. I knew this was going to happen, but it was no less satisfying to see Jacob realize his dream of opening a bakery (which should definitely be the next addition to Harry Potter World). I loved that all of his pastries were shaped like the creatures, implying that he does have vague memory of the things he experienced and learned on his journey in the wizarding world. Because of this last scene, I have hope for Jacob and Queenie and their presence in the rest of the series. 

Finally, I'd like to discuss my thoughts and predictions for the next four movies of the series. Obviously the most anticipated thing for this franchise is young Dumbledore. For those that aren't familiar with Grindelwald's backstory, he and Dumbledore grew up in Godric's Hollow together. They were obsessed with the story of the deathly hallows, and Grindelwald soon became involved with dark magic. This was tempting for young Albus while he was grieving for his sister, but eventually, Dumbledore was forced to separate himself from Grindelwald as he became darker and darker. Eventually, Dumbledore is forced to face his friend who has become the darkest wizard ever known and defeats him in a duel. From what I can discern, this climatic battle between light and dark magic will be what the entire fantastic beasts franchise leads up to. 

I am not sure how Newt and Tina's story fits into the bigger picture of the battle against Grindelwald, but of course J.K. Rowling has a plan. She drops subtle hints about Newt's past during the movie that seem too intentional not to be important. Newt mentions working with dragons during WWI , and in a deleted scene from the film, we see some of his battle scars. Most importantly, it is revealed during Newt's interrogation that he was kicked out of Hogwarts for endangering human life with a magical beast (he must be Hagrid's hero). However, a certain Hogwarts teacher speaks out against Newt's expulsion...Albus Dumbledore. Obviously, Newt has some connection to Dumbledore, which will most likely lead to his involvement in the fight against Grindelwald. 

***END OF SPOILERS***

All in all, I think this was an incredible achievement by David Yates and J.K. Rowling. As a movie viewer and a Potterhead, I was very satisfied by the story, the characters, and the new part of the wizarding world we've been exposed to. This has just made me all the more excited for the next installments of the series and the new era of Potter we've entered. 

p.s. Below is a BBC radio 1 documentary on the film, including interviews with Eddie Redmayne, Daniel Radcliffe, and more! Also, feel free to watch this hilarious clip of Eddie Redmayne on the Late Late Show at your leisure.