So, I guess Harry Potter never really left. Everything seemed set in stone when the credits rolled five years ago on the final Potter flick. The phenomenon seemed to have finally come to an end.
But nothing dies in Hollywood. Nothing. They're still trying to get that Crow remake off the ground.
While that classic lightning scar is nowhere to be seen, and will narratively stay that way for another 60 years or so, there's plenty of grown-ass adults pointing glowing sticks at each other to bring you back to a time when wizards ruled the box office and Rupert Grint wasn't the head chef at a Denny's. Does this Potter prequel do more than just remind a fanbase of what they had or do we actually have something new and exciting on our hands?
If you're like me and assumed the worst from Hollywood, then you also foolishly underestimated J.K. Rowling.
Leave it to the creator of one of the biggest worlds in our world to inject a measly movie with enough personable characters for a few franchises. It's a rarity nowadays to see a strong supporting crew, and nothing made me happier to find myself cheering on the comedic relief or the love interest. Such characters are usually wasted in other films, but not in Rowling's world. Throw in a fun plot and some excellent performances to back up those characters, and you'll be kicking yourself for thinking this movie was a bad idea.
The film opens with that classic - and still dizzying - Harry Potter newspaper exposition detailing a conflict between wizards and muggles aka "no-majs" aka lame as hell humans. We're afraid of their powers and don't want more of them coming here.
So, Newt Scamander comes here. Played by singing rebel turned Stephen Hawking turned transgender artist Eddie Redmayne, Newt doesn't look like a guy who's going to stir up some trouble. That goofy grin, frizzy hair, and stylin' as hell blue overcoat doesn't exactly scream "I'm going to help lay waste to this city later and potentially ruin magic for everyone lol."
Innocent children shaking up the foundation was one of the many charms of the Harry Potter films. The essence of that returns with our adult but dorky hero causing such a mess. A much larger mess than the ones made by those lame Hogwarts kids.
The character works thanks to an expertly understated performance from Oscar-winner Redmayne, and the storytelling talents of Rowling. If Warner Bros. is really setting up four sequels, then they at least have this lovable guy leading the way.
Newt is a magical zoologist - so cleverly called a "magizoologist" - who's always looking out for the protection of creatures. He has traveled the world to study them and comfortably stores what he finds in his Mary Poppins suitcase of infinity. When many of the creatures escape into prohibition-era Manhattan after a mix-up with my man Jacob Kowalski (Dan Fogler), Newt has to go track them down.
But, of course, that's not enough for a five-film franchise. There's a magical congress keeping watch over American's wizards, witches, and whatnot as well as dealing with the muggle's fear of magical beings. This conflict is being shaken up by an extreme activist (Samantha Morton) who receives help from children that she practically stole from the magical families she's dismantled. Her motherly style is overbearing to say the least as she takes the belt to her kids if they ever wow what am I writing right now?
Xenophobia? Stealing and beating children? It's a Harry Potter movie, right? Rowling was never afraid to darken up Potter's story, but this feels a little too much for the subject matter, don't you think? A movie about playful CGI creatures running about while wizards track them down shouldn't have a scene where characters are given the DEATH PENALTY! I don't know if Rowling's saying something about America, and it's not rough to the point where parents should reconsider, but there's no consistency in tone to a sometimes baffling degree.
Parents really shouldn't keep kids away. They're going to want to look at the hundreds of millions of dollars of colorful visual effects. While those fantastic beasts are cool to look at with some fun but not the most creative designs, each of these creatures has a very unnatural look to them. They're made-up monsters purposefully meant to look ridiculous, but they're so shiny and clean that it looks extra fake.
I remember a Toy Story animator talking about how they had to dirty up Andy's house to make it look lived in. Doors have cracks and paint is chipped to make it look like a family lived in that house. If everything had a fine level of gloss, then it's something that makes you remember you're watching a movie where everything's perfect. Meanwhile, making it look a little dirty will immerse the viewer without them thinking about it. The creatures in Fantastic Beasts do not look they lived. These toys look fresh out of the box.
But whenever a beast took me out, Rowling brought me back in. I still can't get over how much I loved Kowalski. He's the comedic relief that Newt runs into while he's holding a briefcase of pastries in a bank. He's clearly the dopey supporting character that might cause eyes to roll upon introduction.
Little did I think that this guy would actually make me laugh. Little did I think I would feel sad for him. Little did I think, not kidding, that I would feel my heart tearing apart during the character's most emotional moments (yes, plural, as in my heart took multiple beatings because of this muggle loser).
I don't care about that CGI blob or that crazy woman taking a belt to The Flash. I care about this throwaway character that could've been shoved to the side and that would have been a-okay.
Similar levels of love are given to Newt and two witches (Katherine Waterson and Alison Sudol) who assist Newt and Kowalski in cleaning up the streets. What's going to get me to buy a ticket for the next film is to see this group again.
Rowling understands something that so many writers behind these blockbusters forget. Images are one thing and story is another, but it's the characters that I love that keep me coming back again and again. She did it once, and it looks like she'll do it again.
Thank you for the help, Box Office Mojo.
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