Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

After five years away from the magical world J.K Rowling created (although did any of us really leave?), we are reintroduced with a new and unique look into the universe Rowling created with the spin-off Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. This film takes place long before the Harry Potter series and moves the action to 1926 New York. I was on board with this film the minute I heard the premise. Rowling's Wizarding world in the Roaring 20's? Instead of "You're a wizard, Harry" it'd be "You're a wizard, ol' sport"? I was in. I was so in. 

Newt Scamander (played by Eddie Redmayne) has stopped over in New York for a brief stop-over. Carrying with him a large suitcase filled with many magical creatures, he his looking for something in the city of New York. He soon crosses paths with Jacob Kowalski (played by Dan Fogler), a factory worker and aspiring baker when Newt chases a Niffler that escaped from his suitcase into the bank Jacob is visiting (a Niffler is a cute little creature attracted to precious metals and jewels and likes to steal and hoard them while simultaneously stealing every scene he's in). Jacob gets caught up in the chaos caused by Newt trying to corral the Niffler and is therefore exposed to the Magical world. In the confusion, Newt's case gets mixed up with Jacob's case that held samples of his baked goods. Newt winds up getting picked up by Tina Goldstein (played by Katherine Waterston) a witch working for the Magical Congress of the United States (otherwise known as MACUSA) and is brought in for the crime of letting a magical creature loose in New York. When her superiors brush her off because of more concerning matters, Newt realizes his case has been switched and the two head off to find Jacob, who has opened Newt's case, causing several creatures to escape. So, it falls to Newt, Jacob, Tina and Tina's sister, Queenie (played by Alison Sudol) to capture the escaped creatures. Meanwhile, MACUSA Auror Percival Graves (played by Colin Farrell) is chasing a particularly nasty creature that the MACUSA believes came from Newt's case, but actually seems to be linked to an anti-Witchcraft activist Mary Lou Barebone (played by Samantha Morton) and her adopted son, Credence (played by Ezra Miller).

There is a lot to love about this film. David Yates once again returns to direct and brings the Wizarding world of New York wonderfully to life, as well as circa 1926 New York in general. J.K Rowling herself wrote the script for the film and crafts a whole new tale for us to enjoy. The film introduces us to a hero very different from Harry Potter. Newt Scamander is a much more introverted character who finds solace in the magical creatures he studies. He intends to write a book, debunking the long held beliefs that these characters are somehow dangerous. Yates and his talented crew bring Newt's world vividly to life, as Newt shows Jacob the contents of his suitcase, which through the use of magic has an interior that is a literal zoo that they can climb right into. Each of the fantastic beasts of the title are rendered with great skill and imagination, seeming both very real and unlike anything I had seen before. The film does also have some dark moments to it as well, such as the plotline with Mary Lou and Credence and their anti-witchcraft movement (which is curious since the existence of witches and wizards is strictly hidden from the rest of humanity with no exceptions, so clearly most people must think she's a crackpot). There is also the underlying threat of Gellert Grindelwald, a dark wizard that feels like magical folk should rule over the non-magic rather than hide in the shadows.

The acting was great all around in this film. Eddie Redmayne was positively endearing as Newt, creating such a wonderful and relatable character. The friendship he forges with Jacob is great and one of the emotional cores of the film. I loved seeing the non-magical Jacob's reactions to the Wizarding World and Dan Fogler portrayed it beautifully. Now, movies like this usually have a romance element to it, but I was not expecting it to come in the form of Jacob and Tina's sister Queenie, but it was there from the moment the two characters meet and both Fogler and Alison Sudol have great chemistry together so it was clear from that moment where they were going and I loved it. It gave me the feels, for sure. I also really liked Katherine Waterston as Tina. She is a fiercely independent woman, trying to do well at her job, despite some set backs (she used to be an Auror, but was busted down to the wand permit office). She tries to do what she thinks the right thing each, but finds those ideas challenged when she meets and spends time with Newt. 

Overall, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is a triumphant return to the wonderful Wizarding World J.K Rowling created and shows us a new and intriguing side of it, with a nice dose of that great Rowling sense of humor. It's thrilling to see what the Magical world is like in America as opposed to Great Britain (although we have Newt Scamander to remind us of the British side of things), as well as seeing how it was in the past. This is supposed to be the first of five total films and if the next ones are anything like this one, I say bring them on!