Some pretty magical things have been going on in the muggle world lately, and it’s something to be talked about.
On Nov. 18 the eagerly awaited film “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them” hit theaters.
The film is a prequel to the overwhelmingly popular and wildly adored “Harry Potter” series. The story takes place in 1926 in New York.
In “Harry Potter,” students attending the fictional Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry are required to purchase a textbook titled “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.”
The textbook is a sort of classification guide to all the magical creatures in the wizarding world.
The queen of magic herself, J.K. Rowling actually wrote the classification guide, which was published in 2001 under the pen name Newt Scamander, but when talk of a movie adaptation of the book began late in 2013 fans began to really get excited.
The first teaser trailer for the film was released late in 2015 and the full-length trailer was released during the MTV Music Awards in April.
This film had many “Harry Potter” veterans working on it. Not only did Rowling write the screenplay for the film, but “Fantastic Beasts” also saw the return of producer David Heyman, as well as writer Steve Kloves.
Director David Yates, who directed the last three films in the “Harry Potter” series, also made his return to the wizarding world for this film.
With so many trusted people working on the film it was hard not to get excited for its release. However, some fans stayed reserved and did not want to get their hopes up.
With a series as iconic and monumental as “Harry Potter,” it seemed impractical to be able to create something that matched the magic of the original series.
Thankfully “Fantastic Beasts” absolutely shattered every expectation anyone had.
The film was flawlessly put together and definitely matched everything that is already part of the “Harry Potter” empire.
There were outstanding performances from the entire cast. Eddie Redmayne, who played the main character Newt Scamander, put on a wonderful performance rich with quirky humor, which he is known so well for.
Ezra Miller also was featured in the film as a young boy named Credence. Miller portrayed a character who extremely contrasted other roles he has done, but he certainly pulled it off.
In addition to fantastic performances by the cast, the film also featured a pretty fantastic score.
With traces of music from the previous “Harry Potter” films as well as new but just as compelling songs, the soundtrack is exquisite and works very well with the film to create one coherent work of art.
With the release of the film, the “Harry Potter” fandom is once again bubbling and buzzing with excitement. The film had several references and allusions to “Harry Potter” and fans are eager to see where the series is headed next.
There have been an overwhelming number of fan theories emerging, connecting pieces of “Harry Potter” to “Fantastic Beasts,” which is creating an electric energy within the massive fandom.
Lucky for us, it has been confirmed by Rowling that there will be four more movies in the series, which could mean anywhere from four to six more years of magic for us muggles and no-mags.
The film certainly was fantastic, but above all, it felt like coming home. So many fans grew up with Harry Potter and his magical world, so to be able to revisit that world was a very special experience many fans cherished.

SARA BORRO
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