Oh my God! This movie was so fantastic – in every sense of the word! – that I find it hard to decide where to begin. Overall, let me say Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is J.K. Rowling at her best! At first, I was kind of skeptical because I was unsure what to expect from this whole Fantastic Beasts thing, but now I’m asking myself: How could I ever doubt this woman?! Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them was just … ahhhh – so amazing!!!
Even though there are no references to the actual Harry Potter plot (which I think is great!) I’d say you need to be familiar with the Wizarding World to watch the movie and get everything that’s happening and – I mean – if you haven’t read Harry Potter yet, – honestly – what have you done with your life??
So let’s move on to the movie and what I though about it in terms of world building, plot, characters and … the beasts!!!
World Building:
As you probably know Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them takes place in New York in the 1920s – 1926 to be precise. Since Newt Scamander arrives by ship, we get to see the immigration process on Ellis Island which I think was great. Truly, it felt like Harry Potter meets historical fiction and I loved it! Shortly after that, we get to see the Magical Congress of the United States of America (MACUSA) and that building completely blew me away. Honestly, I think it’s even better than the Ministry of Magic. The amount of detail that has been given to this building is insane! I didn’t quite get how they keep the Muggels out, but apart from that, it was my favourite setting. Of course, there’s also Newt’s suitcase which is a fantastical place that surpasses your wildest imagination. It’s even better than anything … well … anything you may imagine
What I also liked about the world building in this movie was how J.K. Rowling manages to distinguish between the wizarding world in America and in the UK. The world of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them felt familiar enough to get the Harry Potter feeling and excitement, but it was also something else entirely.
Plot:
Before watching this movie, I couldn’t really see what kind of story this was supposed to be. I mean, we all knew that magical creatures were about to escape from Newt’s suitcase and that he’d need to catch them back, but … After having read so many negative reviews about Harry Potter and the Cursed Child I guess I sensed another disappointing Harry Potter plot addition, but no. No! No! No! Let me tell you, there’s so much more to this plot and it is great! Dumbledore and Grindelwald are already mentioned in the trailer and if that doesn’t make you curious, I can’t help you
Characters:
Ah, Newt! … such a great character! Again, he was so much more than I thought he would be. Newt Scamander is eccentric, lovable, kind and extremely intelligent. I can see the Hufflepuff, but … Gryffindor would also have been an option I think … Of course, Eddie Redmayne’s performance overshadows every other character in this movie. Redmayne doesn’t play Newt Scamander, he is Newt Scamander! I still can’t get over how he manages to give Newt so much depth, kindness and awkwardness without letting him seem ridiculous. Perfect cast!
The other characters lacked a little bit of his depth and complexity, but were equally lovable. I loved the idea to bring a No-Maj in by the way. Jacob!!! He was hilarious and brought out the best in Newt. Such a great duo. So were Tina and Queenie.
The Beasts:
Here are some hints of what to expect:
NUNDU
GRAPHORN
NIFFLER
(my favourite 💗)
The beasts are truly fantastic! They are the reason why cinema is the best medium to tell this story and I can't wait to see more of them. They all have individual traits and habits and you can't help but wonder how wizards could ever get the idea to extinguish them.
Have you watched the movie yet? What did you think? Let's discuss your thoughts in the comments down below. If you haven't watched it yet, do it - it's worth it! :-)
Love, Sarah
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