The magic returns

With the spin-off 'Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them', Harry Potter fans find something to dote upon that doesn't include the triumphant trio

For the fans of the Harry Potter franchise, or Potterheads as they like to call themselves, it has been a long wait ever since Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 was released in 2011. With Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, JK Rowling, the author of the Harry Potter books for the uninitiated, not only debuts as a screenwriter but also hopes to bring back the magic the franchise is famous for. 

As a fellow Potterhead, the films after Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban were a disappointment, especially the cinematic version of the climactic duel between Harry and Voldemort in the penultimate installment. So, I had little hope when Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them was announced. But, I had to eat my words when the trailer was released. Eddie Redmayne as Newt Scamander gave way to a newfound hope. However, since this is a first of a quintet, scepticism still entails. 

 

Directed by David Yates, who also directed the final four of the Potter film series, this film is set in 1920 New York. Scamander, an awkward “magizoologist”, arrives at Ellis Island with a suitcase (bottomless, much like Hermione’s bag) full of ‘beasts’ which the ‘muggles’ are most certainly unaware of. Add to that the MACUSA’s, the American counterpart of the Ministry of Magic, strict intolerance against these beasts, and you know  Scamander is in trouble. Scamander has an air of eccentricity and clumsiness that is soon portrayed when he accidentally switches suitcases with a No-Maj (American counterpart of a muggle), Jacob Kowalski, played by Dan Fogler.

Oblivious to the switch, Scamander notices a “Niffler” scuttling towards a bank, which leads to him being caught by an ex-auror, Tina Goldstein (Katherine Waterson). He is taken to the MACUSA, where Percival Graves (Colin Farrell), another auror, demands to see the contents of Scamander’s suitcase and is left stunned upon finding Kowalski’s belongings in it. Meanwhile, Kowalski unintentionally unleashes some of the beasts onto the streets of New York City. 

The rest of the film follows the aurors, Scamander and Kowalski tracking these creatures down. But that’s not all. Staying true to her style, Rowling introduces various sub-plots in the film. With the help of flashbacks, the audience is given insight into Tina’s past but interestingly, not much is known about Scamander’s. Rowling also introduces Mary Lou Barebone (Samantha Morton) and Credence (Ezra Miller) who fears the rise of wizards and exposes them while stealing their children. She often meets Graves privately, which indicates he has a secret of his own. 

Eddie Redmayne outshines the rest as Newt Scamander. His character is akin to a child who has just been introduced to magic

The film is a cinematic treat and is best viewed in 3D. Yates, though he disappointed in the final four Harry Potter films, makes the most of the actors. Redmayne, who was outstanding in The Danish Girl and The Theory of Everything, outshines the rest with his stooped Newt Scamander, who the audience roots for from the start. His character is akin to a child who has just been introduced to magic. Though he carries the beasts around with him, he cannot help but be awed by their grandeur. Farrell plays the insidious Graves to the letter.

The film, though stretched at places, has been created for the adulating Harry Potter fans. The same universe with familiar spells and discrimination of muggles will resonate with the fans while those new to the series might lose their way along the film. With the reintroduction of magic and beasts, Rowling has made sure to keep the fans glued. Also, the appearance of the infamous dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald (and the actor who plays the young version) paves the way for his duel with Albus Dumbledore in the coming films and another reason for Potterheads to flock to the theatres.