And so the Wizarding World lives again. This weekend, with the release ofFantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, a brand new franchise is born that also enriches and reinvigorates the iconicHarry Potterseries. Set in 1920s New York, in a completely different time and place from theHarry Potterfranchise,Fantastic Beastsfollows magizoologist Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne) as he attempts to collect his escaped beasts from the streets of New York while a much darker threat looms in the form of Gellert Grindelwald, a wizard bent on spurring a war between muggles and magic-folk to finally put witches and wizards on the top of the food chain.
Fantastic Beastswas, no doubt, born out of Warner Bros.’ desire to keep the lucrativeHarry Potterfranchise alive, but it was approached in all the right ways.J.K. Rowlingmakes her screenwriting debut on the film, and as she plans to write four more movies in the franchise, this is really her way of continuing theHarry Potterseries in a different medium. Moreover, directorDavid Yates—who helmed the final fourPottermovies—returns to direct this prequel/standalone/spinoff feature.
So what’s the rub? How does this stack up against thePotterfranchise? Well I, for one, foundFantastic Beaststo be positively delightful. The craft on display is magnificent, and Rowling once again shows her knack for creating rich and lovable characters. Newt, Tina, Queenie, and especially Jacob are instantly relatable and, by the film’s end, you’re ready to go on more adventures with this core quartet. Moreover, Rowling doesn’t shy away from her themes of tying these stories into socio-economic issues, asFantastic Beastsdives into anti-wizard sentiment and takes a closer look at a muggle world that attempts to suppress magic as some sort of unforgivable sin.
There’s a swell balance between goofy, fun adventure stuff (andadorablecreatures) and the much darker underpinnings of Grindelwald and the Second Salemers that makesFantastic Beastsa rich moviegoing experience, and Yates revels in the quiet moments that really bring these characters to life. Moreover,Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Themcould not have come at a better time. The national mood is down in the dumps and despair abounds, but this story of outsiders and embracing our differences is both reassuring and immensely entertaining.
In short, I’m ready to seeatleastfour more of these. But what about you, dear readers? What did you think ofFantastic Beasts? Did it enrich thePottermythology or did it simply make you yearn for the previous stories? Did you fall in love with these characters? We want to know what you thought, so sound off in the comments below andclick here to read Matt’s full review.
