J.K. Rowling invites you to experience a brand new chapter, full of life, magic and a charming host named Newt Scamander. If you think about it, the plot is really simple: Brit abroad loses his suitcase and a bunch of crazy stuff happens. But it's the fantastic beasts that bring it to life and live up to their name, added to the effortless weaving of all these elements of the wider spell-binding wizarding world. It's no longer just the wizarding world of Harry Potter - the universe just got a whole lot bigger in more ways than one.

It's 1926 and a young fumbling British chap named Newt has just stepped off a ferry and into New York. He's clutching a mysterious brown briefcase and he's here on his own, with not much indication as to why he's here. After a classic sitcom-worthy mishap, the briefcase (which holds numerous fantastic beasts and really doesn't have a very good lock) unleashes a few of these mythical creatures into the Big Apple and before you know it, the game of hide and seek begins.

Needless to say, I grew up with the Harry Potter generation and the cultural shaping of childhoods. Whilst I enjoyed the books and films, I couldn't class myself as a super-fan but I was definitely excited to see what Rowling, Director David Yates and co. could do to stretch their imagination - and ours. This part of the franchise has been growing up with its original younger audience, and now it's no longer about making friends on the first day of high school and encountering bullies, but the big city life - bank loans, demotions and all. Don't expect it to be 'another Harry Potter film' cos it ain't. The feel of it is completely different, but give it a chance to impress you because it surely will. Plus, all the familiar magical tie-ins will be an added bonus. I treated it as a standalone film and was amazed as I half-expected it to fall flat. Turns out you don't have to have a whole series of critically-acclaimed novels when you have the author at the helm of the captivating story and script. And with 4 further installments, she's not going anywhere.

Newt may not be a special kid with a scar, but he carries the film's weight on his shoulders especially well, and he too makes friends in a new place. It wouldn't be a not-Potter-Harry-Potter film without the importance of friendship, and this is where the new characters of Porpentina 'Tina' (Katherine Waterston) her sister Queenie (Alison Sudol), and factory worker Jacob Kowalski (Dan Fogler) come in. Whereas Potter et al. had 8 films to develop characters, Fantastic Beasts manages to do it successfully (to a lesser extent of course) within the smaller time-frame. Granted, there's only 4 or 5 characters you actually care about, but there's time to grow the wizarding family. Kowalski doubles up as the sometimes-slapstick comic relief, especially since he - like us - is new to all this. You're never short of a laugh when he's on screen. Then there's Tina, a straight-faced demoted investigator who is trying to bring Newt in to the Ministry of the MACUSA (Magical Congress of the USA) and does get less annoying throughout the film as she and Newt grow closer. I remembered her well from the trailers, but it was actually Queenie and Jacob who were the surprise highlights. The more fantastic of the fantastic beasts have heaps of personality and sidekick moments with Newt too.


It also wouldn't be a Potter-ish film if there weren't dark forces and magic lurking about. There's some sort of evil destructive wind sweeping across NYC, a spectre that reminds me of Ghostbusters. Yep. But what is the cause?? Additionally, 'Obscurials' are formally introduced - dark forces created by young wizards who suppress their power, becoming like a parasite in a host body. Unstable and dangerous, it's likely the cause is being abused for being magical. With this, the film actually has a surprisingly dark undertone, and it's all very mysterious although there are answered questions by the end of it. (It almost feels like there are two contrasting films running in parallel for much of it, and it only comes together in the third and final act.) There are also darker characters, with witch-hunting foster mothers, creepy little girls chanting, a brilliant Ezra Miller who plays a troubled and brilliant Credence, and Colin Farrell who plays a manipulative Percival Graves who likes to corner people on dark alleys.

As for Newt himself, he's not claiming to be an all-powerful wizard who can do spectacular things and battle the bad guys; his charm lies in his love for these magical creatures which Redmayne puts across oh-so-sweetly. I really believe his protective love and fascination for these animals (can I even call them that?) and he constantly has this wonderful gleam in his eye. Does anyone really know that much about Newt Scamander's actual character and personality? Redmayne is nearly as adorable as his little CGI creature friends, playing the role in a very Redmayne manner and making him extremely likeable.

On top of all the magic, which is showcased in every shape or form and will be a delight for original viewers and newbies alike (though I doubt there'll be many in the latter group), there's also a bit of everything. From 1920s glamour to superb New York period sets to runaway zoo animals in Central Park. It is over two hours, which is an awful lot of running time given that I can sum up most of the plot in ten seconds. However, there literally is a whole world to explore - and that's only in Newt's suitcase. It starts slow, but doesn't lose momentum at any stage either. The plot is simple but the paradox is that there's so much going on. Although much of the plot is a series of mini adventure after adventure and can be criticised for lacking the depth and complexity of Harry Potter, the heartwarming CGI makes up for it in spades. The 'Briefcase Tour' will be one of my favourite scenes in cinema this year, plus little magical touches (like a wand umbrella in the rain) never get old. The big magical gestures remind us how massive the original scale was, and how it can absolutely still live on in the franchise that redefined magic. Aaaand, the beasts are simply amazing. Did I say that already?


Fantastic Beasts hails the self-confessed "outsiders" in that it's ok - and empowering - to be different. Newt was also a Hogwarts drop-out/expelled student so there's hope for us all who are still waiting for our acceptance letters. There's also more that can be said and delved deeper into about the story and social commentary reflecting the state of our own world.

It truly is a new era - but it's technically an old era so you know what it all leads to so that's comforting isn't it? It was announced that Fantastic Beasts will be part of a 5 film series, and when watching and reading about it, it's hard to think how they could stretch (/read milk) the franchise. I mean, how many fantastic beasts can you keep losing and finding again?! Luckily, the underlying theme rests a lot on the Wizard/No-Maj dynamic (/read tension) with signs of grander things to come. Originating from a charity spin-off fictional textbook, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is essentially a starting point and the front door from which we can now enter. The world of Hogwarts is starting to feel like a bubble - and there's a bigger world out there we're about to see much more of.

Here's a fantastic film and you can find it in cinemas now.