The Harry Potter film series was unlike anything moviegoing audiences have ever experienced before. While the Harry Potter franchise originally started as a book series created by J.K Rowling, there is no doubt that the film franchise left a huge mark in filmmaking and would go on to inspire many. When the film franchise ended it seemed like there was nothing else to be exploited in J.K Rowling’s magical universe. Then in 2016, right out of nowhere, there came a prequel spinoff movie based on the J.K Rowling guide book of the same name. With director David Yates on board after directing the last four Harry Potter films as well as an all-star cast up the movie’s sleeve. Can this spinoff capture what made the harry potter franchise so magical?
In the year 1926, young British wizard Newt Scamander arrives in New York City with a magical suitcase that holds some of the most fantastic creatures ever known in the Wizarding World. Through some unfortunate mishaps, Newt gets his suitcase mixed up with a factory worker named Jacob Kowalski, and shortly after some of Newt’s magical creatures escape and run amok throughout the city. So now it’s up to Newt, Jacob, and an American witch named Porpentina Goldstein to catch the creatures and try to make amends with the law of the ministry before things get out of hand. To make matters worse there is also a dark force lurking around the city that may try to put an end to our heroes’ good deeds.
Most of the movie acts kinda like a scavenger hunt where the characters have to find Newt’s missing creatures and put them back in his magical suitcase. There is a lot of magical wonders to be had especially when we get to view the magical creatures themselves and seeing new characters that add to the magic of the wizarding world. The characters are a lot of fun and have good personalities especially when it comes to the dynamic between the Muggle Jacob and the witches he encounters. When the story focuses on those aspects it makes for a decently entertaining experience. Where the movie starts to downgrade itself is when it starts to focus on unnecessarily complicated side stories. Aside from the scavenger hunt plot, there is also another plot of some evil witch who has a tragic backstory but it is done at a rushed pace that it’s hard to figure out why these two separate stories connect with each other. It’s a good concept and for the most part, it’s handled well, but I wish there was more focus on telling a straightforward story than adding unnecessary side plots to drag out the runtime.
It’s not too hard to spot what is CGI and what’s not CGI, but I will give the film credit that the visuals look just as good as any of the Harry Potter movies. The magical creatures from Newt’s suitcase look like something from J.K Rowling’s imagination. Each of them is unique and visually interesting to see how they function. Much like in the Potter films, You’ll most likely be able to see a lot of magical spells being cast around and elves and goblins being present in magical societies that muggles can’t see otherwise. There are also some visually impressive ideas such as seeing the inside of Newt’s Suitcase which is like an all-in-one habitat for the many beasts he collects. The music in the majority of the Harry Potter films was none other than the legendary composer John Willams who has made some of the most memorable movie scores in history. However, for this movie, they got composer James Newton Howard to take over the film’s soundtrack. His compositions are so good at mimicking the style of the Potter films that it’s hard to even tell it’s somebody else doing the music.
While it may not be on par with the Harry Potter Franchise, Fantastic Beast’s and Where to Find Them is still an entertaining experience that has the imagination and the spirit of the Potter films while still being its own creation. It does have problems with franchise fatigue and some unnecessary plot points that don’t really go anywhere, but the overall feeling it gives is still worth looking into for Harry Potter fans or someone wanting something fun and whimsical to watch.
(Final Grade: B)