Review of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (2016) by Amy P — 26 Sep 2017

Harry Potter nostalgia is a strange thing for me. I love discussing the books, particularly with those who, like me, grew up reading these stories. The films are largely faithful representations of the stories and characters, and I was saddened to see them conclude six years ago. This film keeps a few of the elements we love, but is trying very hard to tell its own story.

Set about a hundred years ago, we follow Newt Scamander and his arrival in America. He brings many strange and unusual creatures with him, and must solve a dark mystery in the process. Along the way, he meets local wizards Tina and Queenie Goldstein, and Jacob Kowalski, a local Mugg-I mean no-maj.

Right off the bat, I must compliment the movie's visual splendour. The beasts are well-done, and the sets and world, while different from Hogwarts, still capture the sense of wonder the films were always so good at. I also enjoyed the way the world was built, with American wizarding culture having a few different quirks compared to British culture.

There seemed to be two different movies going on here. One story took up the first two acts, while another really only got attention at the climax of the film. There was a lack of connective tissue between the two stories, which felt jarring.

I did really enjoy the acting here. Redmayne was good, and Waterston and Fogler were both very enjoyable. The animals were the real stars here, though.

There's a lot of universe-based nostalgia here, but the story is its own (though there is fanservice).