Review: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (2016)

I was excited when I first heard about this film, but then I almost forgot it existed until I saw the DVD in a shop last year. When I finally did watch it I found it didn't live up to my expectations. Even after watching it several times I'm not sure what I think of it.

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is something of a prequel to the Harry Potter series. Unlike Harry Potter, it isn't based on a specific book, but it's set in the same universe about sixty years before the main series begins.

This is mostly a (not very coherent) list of things I liked, didn't like, or just noticed. Warning: Spoilers ahead!

I recognised only two actors:
Eddie Redmayne (Marius in Les Misérables 2012) as Newt
Johnny Depp (Jack in Pirates of the Caribbean) as Grindelwald

The opening scene is frightening for how unexpected it is. One second a group of wizards are outside an evil-looking castle(?), the next a fireball kills them. The first time I watched the film I thought one of the titular fantastic beasts was responsible, and I didn't know why some random guy with spiky hair was lurking around. On subsequent viewings that scene still freaks me out. Though Grindelwald's hairstyle is so weird it detracts from the seriousness of what just happened 😖

I like the newspapers. It's fun to try to read them as they appear and disappear!

No matter how many times I watch this film I always grin like an idiot when Newt first appears 😃 LOL at the suitcase snapping open on the boat. I have to wonder how many times that happened on the journey over. The idea of Newt chasing his creatures around the ship is hilarious 😆

Newt... and his suitcase. (If he only knew the trouble that thing's about to cause!)

Newt in general is hilarious, actually. His answers to the customs officer's questions are so awkward it's a miracle he wasn't arrested on the spot 😆

The Obscurus's first appearance is scary because of how little we see of it/him 😨 The film's abrupt switch from "Graves" watching it to Newt sight-seeing is unfortunately jarring. That's one of the problems with this film: Newt's story and the Obscurial sub-plot don't always go well together. One plot is comical, the other definitely isn't. And then there's Mary Lou, who's so over-the-top it's often impossible to take her seriously.

The Niffler is the cutest thief ever to burgle its way on-screen 😆 I laughed so hard when Newt and Jacob got mistaken for bank robbers because of it! In fact, most the animals are utterly adorable. The newly-hatched Occamy makes me go "Aww!" every time I see it.

The Niffler

Really, how could Newt possibly expect Jacob would just stand there after he said he'd seen too much? *facepalm* Newt's one of the most awkward and socially inept characters I've ever seen. Which is probably why I like him so much 😄

I really don't like the film's decision to use "No-Maj" instead of "Muggle". It sounds incredibly silly 😒 Okay, so they try to explain it as the American word for Muggle, but why bother to fix what isn't broken? On the bright side, I like the interiors of MACUSA. They're suitably magical and impressive.

The chaos the creatures cause when they get loose is my favourite part of the film. I'm never sure who I feel more sorry for: Newt, who's technically responsible for the accident, or Tina, Queenie and Jacob, who get dragged into it by being nearby.

Tina

"Graves" is easily the most sinister character in the film. His manipulation of poor Credence gives me chills 😨 Knowing who he really is makes his scenes even worse.

Even in the rest of the film was rubbish, it would be worth watching for the creatures alone! Especially the Thunderbird. I shriek with excitement every time he appears.

Newt and Frank the Thunderbird

The Niffler continues to make Newt and Jacob look like robbers. Newt chasing it around the jewellery shop is one of the funniest scenes in the film. I laughed especially hard at Jacob's reactions as he watches this.

Every time the Obscurus appears the film suddenly stops being a comedy about escaped animals and gains elements of horror. As already mentioned the result is... uneven. One minute Jacob and Newt have just caught two of the escapees and unknowingly been caught themselves by Tina. The next, the Obscurus attacks a meeting and kills someone. After that the story takes a dark turn and doesn't go back to the relatively light tone of the first half. The darkest scene is where Tina is nearly lowered into something (acid?) that can burn through metal 😱

In the middle of the "rampaging Obscurus" sub-plot the film suddenly remembers about the search for the final missing creature. This is a cool scene, especially Tina jumping over the Occamy, but it feels out of place here.

Only in the film's climax do we get a good look at what the Obscurus actually looks like. Yikes! It's like something straight out of a horror film. The way it clings to the railway station wall and how it forms itself into shapes that look eerily like skeletons make it nightmarish to look at, and knowing it's slowly killing Credence makes it terrifying to think about.

The Obscurus

Credence's apparent death always makes me cry 😢 Though it's very nearly overshadowed by what happens shortly after. Why in the name of all that's holy was Gellert Grindelwald masquerading as Graves? What was he hoping to achieve? How did no one notice? That plot twist makes no darn sense 😑 His outlandish appearance (that hairstyle should be destroyed with fire!) and nonsensical remarks make this even worse.

At least the rebuilding of New York is cool to watch, and Frank makes it even cooler 😄 I wish we got to see more of him.

I'm honestly not that interested in Jacob and Queenie's romance (I want to see magical creatures, not yet another romance plot in a fantasy film! 😒), but the scene where they say goodbye is pretty sad 😢 Newt and Tina's romance also strikes me as unnecessary (why do people insist on shoehorning romance into stories that don't need it?), but their goodbye is so cute! 😍 And I love how Newt gives Jacob the money to finally open his bakery!

This film has two good ideas that belong to completely different genres: a suitcase full of magical creatures waiting to escape, and a monstrous parasite destroying its host. Put together, those ideas clash with each other until the film can't decide what it's trying to be. If it had focused on one story only, or if it had managed the shift in story-lines and tones better, this would have been a great film. As it is, it's good, but not the best film in the Harry Potter universe.

Is it available online?: I doubt it.

Rating: 6/10. (Newt and his creatures get 9/10; the rest of the film brings the rating down.)