The movie Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them follows Magizoologist Newt Scamander and his adventures visiting New York City from England. An incident occurs resulting in many of his magical creatures that he takes care of getting free and with his funny new side-kick, and slightly annoying female sidekick, he tries to catch them all again. However, this isn’t the main plot, there seems to be something far more sinister going on in the background…

JK Rowling is back again with a new story taking place in the universe of Harry Potter, but not actually a Harry Potter Movie. David Yates, director of Harry Potter movies six, seven, and eight, returns to direct this film. The biggest thing to note about this movie is that it has a similar feel to Harry Potter which was very enjoyable, yet at the same time it had a strange different feeling that set itself apart from the Harry Potter series. Even the soundtrack felt similar to Harry Potter, yet oddly different.

This strange feeling of similar but different might be connected to the difference in date and place from the original series of Harry Potter, which took place in England starting in 1991 in comparison to this movie’s setting of 1926 New York City. The movie is quick to introduce similar concepts from its predecessor. Spells like Alohomora, to open locks, and Petrificus Totalus, to paralyze the opponent, are quickly used at the beginning of the film. The film even uses a Harry Potter book only creature known as a Niffler as a catalyst for one of the first problems Mr. Scamander gets into during the film.

Newt as a character is quite interesting, he was likeable enough, and it was very enjoyable to see his love for the magical creatures. The inside of the suitcase that he had was rather confusing and looked a little fake in some parts, however for the most part, the magical creatures didn’t look too bad, and all out the movie looked very solid.

Many of the characters in the movie were interesting, Eddie Redmayne’s portrayal of Newt Scamander was properly endearing, and felt just right. The character of Jacob Kowalski, played by Dan Fogler, was interesting due to him being one of the first major non-magical characters in the franchise. Along with that, he was a very funny character in general. The other characters were equally enjoyable, and Ezra Miller’s portrayal of Credence was an example of one of the creepiest in the movie.

However, with the ending, although it was nice, it felt far too convenient. Along with that, I was not a fan of the characters of Tina or her sister Queenie. Although Queenie was played nicely by her actress Alison Sudol her voice really hurt sometimes. Tina, however, just seemed to annoy me for some reason, and so I wasn’t the biggest fan of her.

If one does not include the ending, it was a very solid movie. But, the cool yet plot crippling ending lower the movie’s grandeur considerably. However, even if it does not hold up narratively, the ending is still rather enjoyable to watch, and appropriate to the story. All out I give this movie a 5 out of 5 Nifflers and I would be a highly-recommended movie for any fan of the Harry Potter franchise. It plays to its nostalgia yet still holds its own making it a great movie.