Movie Review: Fantastic Beasts & Where to Find Them

By: Lily Fasching

The movie Fantastic Beasts & Where To Find Them is a prequel to the Harry Potter series, set 70 years before the first Harry Potter book. It is based off of the book with the same title. The story is about a wizard, Newt Scamander, who travels to New York City from England with a suitcase full of magical creatures. However, his suitcase is switched with an identical one belonging to an aspiring baker, Jacob Kowalski. Jacob, not realizing the suitcases were switched, opens the suitcase containing magical creatures, allowing them to escape into the city. Jacob and Newt, along with two other wizards, go on an adventure to recapture the magical creatures before the No-Maj’s (or non-magical people) begin to notice the creatures.

The movie is very entertaining and is packed with action, comedy, and suspense. The No-Maj, Jacob, provides comic relief throughout the movie. The graphics and creatures are very well done and are pretty much true to how the book describes them. However, I found that the movie lost some of the charm in the Harry Potter films by being moved to the United States. Having fallen in love with the British setting of Harry Potter after 7 books and 8 films, I was a little disappointed when Newt arrived in New York City. Overall, the movie provided entertainment and suspense, along with some background information on creatures mentioned in the Harry Potter series. Harry Potter fans will not be disappointed.