Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (2016) is a downloadable fantasy film produced by Warner Bros. Pictures and Heyday Films. It is a prequel to the Harry Potter film series and is considered a spin-off as well, written by the same author: J.K Rowling.
How to Stream or Download Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
You can stream it or you can download the movie from iTunes. It is available in HD and also in 4K if you have Apple TV 4K. To start streaming or downloading, follow the link below the review. First, however, watch the trailer. Once you finish watching the movie you should follow up with its sequel Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, which was released in 2018.
The Film Review
The film is directed by David Yates and features a cast consisting of Eddie Redmayne, Katherine Waterston, Dan Fogler, Alison Sudol, Ezra Miller, Samantha Morton, and Jon Voight. Released on 16th November 2016, the film takes place approximately 65 years before the events of the first Harry Potter film.
Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them: the Plot
Fantastic Beasts focuses on a British wizard Newt Scamander who, whilst traveling to Arizona, encounters a muggle, Mary Lou Barebone trying to make people aware of the existence of wizards and witches.
Soon after that, he encounters another muggle named Jacob Kowalski and the two accidentally switch their suitcases with one another. Newt gets arrested by a demoted auror, Tina Goldstein, for causing chaos but is soon released by the Magical Congress of the United States of America (MACUSA).
Meanwhile, the creatures in Newt’s suitcase escape but are soon recaptured thanks to Queenie, Tina’s legillimens sister. Jacob and Queenie begin to fall for each other whereas both Tina and Newt become arrested and are sentenced to death by MACUSA based on suspicion of being responsible for killing the institute’s senator, Henry Shaw.
Luckily, the two escape thanks to Queenie and Jacob after which, they begin to pursue the last of the remaining beasts. At the same time, the director of magical security in MACUSA, Percival Graves, approaches Mary Lou’s adopted son Credence as he believes him to know the location of Obscurus.
After being deceived by Graves, Credence reveals that he is the actual host of the Obscure and the reason why he is alive is because of the intensity of magic he possesses.
Newt and the gang arrive on the scene as they successfully manage to calm Credence down. MACUSA aurors arrive and subdue the Obscure. Meanwhile, as they attempt apprehend Graves, he reveals himself to be the dark wizard known as Gellert Grindelwald.
Graves then attacks the aurors before being subdued by one of Newt’s beast. Surprisingly enough, it turns out that despite being disintegrated, a small part of the Obscure’s fragment escapes. The film ends with Newt going back to Europe as he promises to return and meet Tina.
The Movie Production
It is clear to notice how one of the main features of this film basically revolved around Newt’s creatures in terms of graphics. According to one of the VFX supervisors, the technology for designing the creatures was first tested out in the film The Legend of Tarzan.
Impressed by the results, Warner Bros. then decided to apply the same concept to this project. Further explaining the methods, the supervisor reported how a separate environment had to be created for each of the beasts.
The main challenges faced by the designing was how to mix up the character traits and come with new unique characters.
The Movie Reception
Considering the standards laid down by the Harry Potter films, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them was received with mixed reviews. Some fans liked the idea of a prequel however, others were concerned that it would ruin the legacy of the Harry Potter franchise.
