Another one of J.K. Rowling’s stories comes to life on the big screen in the Harry Potter spinoff series, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. The film focuses on a young British wizard named Newt Scamander who has just finished a journey around the globe to collect and study magical creatures. By the time he stops in New York City, he has an entire briefcase full of these creatures and accidentally causes some trouble when some of them escape.  

So far, it has earned $607.5 million at the box office and a 74% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. While some fans of the book and the original Harry Potter series were dissatisfied with it, personally I enjoyed the movie. It takes place in 1926, way before the time of Harry and Voldemort, but has its own villains to face, including a dangerous magical anomaly and a wizard named Gellert Grindelwald. Although the characters and setting were quite different from the main series, I could still get a sense of the magical world that J.K. Rowling created all those years ago; she just added onto that world with Fantastic Beasts.

The movie was directed by David Yates, along with the last four films of the Harry Potter series. I think this helped the audience transition between Harry’s and Newt’s worlds because, really, they are the same world, and it felt like the story was being told by the same person.

As for the cast, Eddie Redmayne’s performance as Newt was so unbelievably charming, and I was thrilled when Johnny Depp was revealed to be Gellert Grindelwald. I’m not sure which one of them I’m more in love with.

So, overall, I was pleased with this movie and found myself wanting to know what’s going to happen next. Thankfully for us, J.K. Rowling has announced that she plans to make four more films out of the story. There’s no word yet of when these movies will be coming out, but based on the first installment, I’m sure the wait will be worth it.

By Lydia Berg