Fantastic Beasts and where to find them

[ghouldilocks]

I haven't read the book yet, so I didn't have any real frame of reference, but I saw the movie this past weekend and I really enjoyed it! I'm looking forward to the next one, and hope to pick up a copy of the book before then haha

[Kanchii]

I haven't read the book yet, so I didn't have any real frame of reference, but I saw the movie this past weekend and I really enjoyed it! I'm looking forward to the next one, and hope to pick up a copy of the book before then haha

The book, at least the original one, is nothing like the movie. It was literally a field guide to some of the magical creatures. That Newt wrote!

[Beldarna]

I have to say I wasn't impressed. With all the hype I expected more. I mean, the cgi was good, the actors were good and the storyline okay but after a while I just sat there thinking it was long and wished for it to end. Thumbs up for a female president in the wizarding community tho. Considering the time it just shows they were well ahead of us.

[Lore-Lei]

I didn't know what this movie was before this thread and reading up on it now... anyone else getting reminded of Pokemon here?

[RandomPony]

I saw this about a couple or so ago and thought it was awesome!!!!

[Crystal-Sushi]

I saw this film today, and I actually loved it! I cried a lot at the end though.... 

[Galactica]

I'm afraid to see the movie.

The book seemed more like a "guide" or side project than a story (I didn't buy it for that very reason).

Making a movie based on a non-story seems like it could be problematic. I've heard that Potter fans LOVE it and also HATE it- and so I'm not sure whether the people who love it are just desperate for something in the Potter world or have low expectations or it really was good ?

[NovelNerd]

I loved it oh so much! Which I shall explain.

Spoiler

1) It was the first time going into a Potter film I was unsure of what to expect, and it was exciting! I hate to burst the bubble of those that lives the movies, but I never liked them much since they seemed to lack much of what I loved in the books. This was completely new and fun.

2) I loved getting to see some of the American side of the wizard into world. I want to see more of it honestly!

3) I loved his character, mostly because I was able to make that personal connection of very socially awkward person with a deep love for animals. I could completely understand how he was confident with the creatures but had trouble looking people in the eye.

4) I want all those animals. OMG the little night cows?

5) I know some complained it being predicable or slow, but I thought it was a fascinating introduction to a new part of the potter world and I cannot wait to see the rest!

[ghouldilocks]

I'm afraid to see the movie.

The book seemed more like a "guide" or side project than a story (I didn't buy it for that very reason).

Making a movie based on a non-story seems like it could be problematic. I've heard that Potter fans LOVE it and also HATE it- and so I'm not sure whether the people who love it are just desperate for something in the Potter world or have low expectations or it really was good ?

It's not so much low expectations or being desperate, but more excitement for canon expansion of the wizarding world.  And I think Hufflepuffs are excited about having someone other than just Cedric Diggory they can consider a hero. 

[shelvesofwhimsy]

I just saw this movie yesterday...I thought it was honestly a waste of my time and money I read all the HP books growing up, and saw all the movies! I don't eat, breathe and sleep HP, but I did enjoy it.

I thought the movie had no real plot, and you were kinda just led from special effect to the next. I didn't like most of the characters, and all of the interesting info was kinda obscured? The movie was also veryyyy long and even though I kinda knew where we were going, I still felt like the movie itself was confused about its own plot. I think this was just a big marketing scheme

The best part of the movie was the Mole creature, haha.

But if you're a HP fan you'll probably go 

[scarletjul]

I saw it last weekend.  I thought it was a sweet movie. 

I'm a HP fan but not a super HP fan. I read all the books and saw all the movies; I even saw movies 4-7 at the original midnight releases.  That said, I don't own everything HP and I got exactly what I expected here - a wizarding world story. 

[sundaygirl]

I liked the movie. It was sweet and felt thorough, with a "Harry Potter"-feeling over it. I'm a sucker for the 20ths fashion too, so it was a bonus for me.

[Flickerswift]

This movie money grubbing mess was a giant steaming pile of garbage that I'm glad I didn't pay for because if I'd had the ability to walk out of the theater in the middle, I would have...

If you read nothing else, know this: JKR SEXUALIZED A HOUSE ELF. This is a sin that cannot be forgiven or overlooked!

Other problems:

• The characters were one-dimensional with no character development at all.
• The "plot" was loosely strung together by happenstance with no goal, rhyme, or reason.
• JKR clearly has no idea how America works.
• JKR doesn't understand what a congress is or what it does.
• JKR doesn't understand a president isn't a king.
• Manhattan is whitewashed except for one black woman.
• Somehow, despite America's huge population, amount of empty wild land, massive amounts of hunting fanatics, and history of obsessively exterminating indigenous creatures for fun, the government doesn't have a team of specialists to deal with magical creatures.
• There is no magical transportation.
• There is no magical customs office.
• Newt is negligent to the point of being homicidal; locks, gates, barrier spells, and other such safety features clearly don't exist in the world of Harry Potter.
• Newt has the same backstory as Hagrid, except JKR forgot she wrote that students who are expelled have their wands broken, so he gets to keep his.
• Spells such as the Disillusionment Charm, Stupefy, Accio, and transfiguration are never used, no matter how useful they would be in capturing magical creatures.
• Newt loses an Occamy (winged snake) egg, even though the egg must have somehow gotten out of the nest, across multiple rooms, up a set of stairs in the suitcase, and fallen out...????
• Everyone ignores Tina's warnings about Newt because... plot... reasons... Why would anyone other than an auror have a way to report an incident? Only aurors can see problems.
• No one notices Newt magically fixing that baker's building in crowded broad daylight.
• Newt really does not care that someone got mauled by his creatures until much later when it is convenient to deal with it.
• An ex-auror ignores a possibly poisoned man in favor of dinner and never mentions it again.
• Deadly magical creatures are loose so of course they ignore it and have dinner then go to bed.
• The illegal and dark magical practice of legilimency is apparently fine in America, and it's super cool to use on muggles and wizards alike.
• Excessive mind rape is extremely romantic and the audience should find it cute and a fantastic basis for a relationship.
• Somehow wizards can exist in MANHATTAN without ever interacting with muggles at all.
• Remember the Erumpent horn in the books? The one Luna Lovegood's father lied about being a Crumple-Horned Snorkack horn and it destroyed their house in a fiery ball of death? Newt never thinks its important to inform the ex-auror a live one is now loose in a crowded city...
• The giant Erumpent gets through the entire city and destroys the zoo without anyone seeing or hearing it, or caring about the destruction it leaves in it's wake.
• No one fixes the zoo and muggles can deal with their own deadly animals because why not.
• A muggle is clearly a better companion than an ex-auror for catching magical creatures.
• Newt tricking said muggle into helping him by implying he won't mind wipe him later, when he'd previously planned to, and does it anyway later, is never really addressed questioned by said muggle as a problem.
• Everyone falls in love with the minimum time and interaction possibly allowed.
• All muggles who hate magic are evil creeps.
• All muggles who die clearly "deserved" it, so don't feel bad.
• They have to find a bug and a teapot instead of transfiguring them, or a cage that they could shrink, because... reasons...
• There are no guards at magical UN meetings, and you can just walk in.
• American aurors can apparently single-handedly order multiple executions of people without a trial, even people from other countries, and have it happen in less than a day.
• America has a death chamber full of creepy smiling executioners who ask no questions.
• Gellert Grindelwald's there for... reasons that aren't explained...
• Grindelwald's "plan" is circumstantial to the point of being idiotic to come all the way to another continent for.
• If these magical parasite things are created by neglect and trying to ignore magic, why didn't the Dursleys end up giving Harry Potter the same problem?
• Newt knows exactly what to do with the venom he previously mentioned he had no idea what it could possibly be used for...
• What about all the photos taken before the final battle? What about the people indoors? What about those who sent letters out of state or left on boats or trains? How could everyone's memory of the past few days possibly be erased?
• The story ends with another teenager being murdered for the grater good, except Credence lacks plot armor, so unlike the other book, he stays dead (I think...).
• Everyone who dies is evil, unless it's a tragic end point to show someone else is evil.
• If the baker and the mind rapist were really in love, why didn't they go to Britain where apparently they could be together legally?
• Manhattan was conveniently either empty or crowded, depending on the needs of the plot.

I mean... JKR could have tried a bit harder... 

[shelvesofwhimsy]

This movie money grubbing mess was a giant steaming pile of garbage that I'm glad I didn't pay for because if I'd had the ability to walk out of the theater in the middle, I would have...

If you read nothing else, know this: JKR SEXUALIZED A HOUSE ELF. This is a sin that cannot be forgiven or overlooked!

Other problems:

• The characters were one-dimensional with no character development at all.
• The "plot" was loosely strung together by happenstance with no goal, rhyme, or reason.
• JKR clearly has no idea how America works.
• JKR doesn't understand what a congress is or what it does.
• JKR doesn't understand a president isn't a king.
• Manhattan is whitewashed except for one black woman.
• Somehow, despite America's huge population, amount of empty wild land, massive amounts of hunting fanatics, and history of obsessively exterminating indigenous creatures for fun, the government doesn't have a team of specialists to deal with magical creatures.
• There is no magical transportation.
• There is no magical customs office.
• Newt is negligent to the point of being homicidal; locks, gates, barrier spells, and other such safety features clearly don't exist in the world of Harry Potter.
• Newt has the same backstory as Hagrid, except JKR forgot she wrote that students who are expelled have their wands broken, so he gets to keep his.
• Spells such as the Disillusionment Charm, Stupefy, Accio, and transfiguration are never used, no matter how useful they would be in capturing magical creatures.
• Newt loses an Occamy (winged snake) egg, even though the egg must have somehow gotten out of the nest, across multiple rooms, up a set of stairs in the suitcase, and fallen out...????
• Everyone ignores Tina's warnings about Newt because... plot... reasons... Why would anyone other than an auror have a way to report an incident? Only aurors can see problems.
• No one notices Newt magically fixing that baker's building in crowded broad daylight.
• Newt really does not care that someone got mauled by his creatures until much later when it is convenient to deal with it.
• An ex-auror ignores a possibly poisoned man in favor of dinner and never mentions it again.
• Deadly magical creatures are loose so of course they ignore it and have dinner then go to bed.
• The illegal and dark magical practice of legilimency is apparently fine in America, and it's super cool to use on muggles and wizards alike.
• Excessive mind rape is extremely romantic and the audience should find it cute and a fantastic basis for a relationship.
• Somehow wizards can exist in MANHATTAN without ever interacting with muggles at all.
• Remember the Erumpent horn in the books? The one Luna Lovegood's father lied about being a Crumple-Horned Snorkack horn and it destroyed their house in a fiery ball of death? Newt never thinks its important to inform the ex-auror a live one is now loose in a crowded city...
• The giant Erumpent gets through the entire city and destroys the zoo without anyone seeing or hearing it, or caring about the destruction it leaves in it's wake.
• No one fixes the zoo and muggles can deal with their own deadly animals because why not.
• A muggle is clearly a better companion than an ex-auror for catching magical creatures.
• Newt tricking said muggle into helping him by implying he won't mind wipe him later, when he'd previously planned to, and does it anyway later, is never really addressed questioned by said muggle as a problem.
• Everyone falls in love with the minimum time and interaction possibly allowed.
• All muggles who hate magic are evil creeps.
• All muggles who die clearly "deserved" it, so don't feel bad.
• They have to find a bug and a teapot instead of transfiguring them, or a cage that they could shrink, because... reasons...
• There are no guards at magical UN meetings, and you can just walk in.
• American aurors can apparently single-handedly order multiple executions of people without a trial, even people from other countries, and have it happen in less than a day.
• America has a death chamber full of creepy smiling executioners who ask no questions.
• Gellert Grindelwald's there for... reasons that aren't explained...
• Grindelwald's "plan" is circumstantial to the point of being idiotic to come all the way to another continent for.
• If these magical parasite things are created by neglect and trying to ignore magic, why didn't the Dursleys end up giving Harry Potter the same problem?
• Newt knows exactly what to do with the venom he previously mentioned he had no idea what it could possibly be used for...
• What about all the photos taken before the final battle? What about the people indoors? What about those who sent letters out of state or left on boats or trains? How could everyone's memory of the past few days possibly be erased?
• The story ends with another teenager being murdered for the grater good, except Credence lacks plot armor, so unlike the other book, he stays dead (I think...).
• Everyone who dies is evil, unless it's a tragic end point to show someone else is evil.
• If the baker and the mind rapist were really in love, why didn't they go to Britain where apparently they could be together legally?
• Manhattan was conveniently either empty or crowded, depending on the needs of the plot.

I mean... JKR could have tried a bit harder... 

Thank you! I think you basically covered all the points that made me angry as well, and in a much more articulate way!

[piinkypiie]

This movie money grubbing mess was a giant steaming pile of garbage that I'm glad I didn't pay for because if I'd had the ability to walk out of the theater in the middle, I would have...

If you read nothing else, know this: JKR SEXUALIZED A HOUSE ELF. This is a sin that cannot be forgiven or overlooked!

Other problems:

• The characters were one-dimensional with no character development at all.
• The "plot" was loosely strung together by happenstance with no goal, rhyme, or reason.
• JKR clearly has no idea how America works.
• JKR doesn't understand what a congress is or what it does.
• JKR doesn't understand a president isn't a king.
• Manhattan is whitewashed except for one black woman.
• Somehow, despite America's huge population, amount of empty wild land, massive amounts of hunting fanatics, and history of obsessively exterminating indigenous creatures for fun, the government doesn't have a team of specialists to deal with magical creatures.
• There is no magical transportation.
• There is no magical customs office.
• Newt is negligent to the point of being homicidal; locks, gates, barrier spells, and other such safety features clearly don't exist in the world of Harry Potter.
• Newt has the same backstory as Hagrid, except JKR forgot she wrote that students who are expelled have their wands broken, so he gets to keep his.
• Spells such as the Disillusionment Charm, Stupefy, Accio, and transfiguration are never used, no matter how useful they would be in capturing magical creatures.
• Newt loses an Occamy (winged snake) egg, even though the egg must have somehow gotten out of the nest, across multiple rooms, up a set of stairs in the suitcase, and fallen out...????
• Everyone ignores Tina's warnings about Newt because... plot... reasons... Why would anyone other than an auror have a way to report an incident? Only aurors can see problems.
• No one notices Newt magically fixing that baker's building in crowded broad daylight.
• Newt really does not care that someone got mauled by his creatures until much later when it is convenient to deal with it.
• An ex-auror ignores a possibly poisoned man in favor of dinner and never mentions it again.
• Deadly magical creatures are loose so of course they ignore it and have dinner then go to bed.
• The illegal and dark magical practice of legilimency is apparently fine in America, and it's super cool to use on muggles and wizards alike.
• Excessive mind rape is extremely romantic and the audience should find it cute and a fantastic basis for a relationship.
• Somehow wizards can exist in MANHATTAN without ever interacting with muggles at all.
• Remember the Erumpent horn in the books? The one Luna Lovegood's father lied about being a Crumple-Horned Snorkack horn and it destroyed their house in a fiery ball of death? Newt never thinks its important to inform the ex-auror a live one is now loose in a crowded city...
• The giant Erumpent gets through the entire city and destroys the zoo without anyone seeing or hearing it, or caring about the destruction it leaves in it's wake.
• No one fixes the zoo and muggles can deal with their own deadly animals because why not.
• A muggle is clearly a better companion than an ex-auror for catching magical creatures.
• Newt tricking said muggle into helping him by implying he won't mind wipe him later, when he'd previously planned to, and does it anyway later, is never really addressed questioned by said muggle as a problem.
• Everyone falls in love with the minimum time and interaction possibly allowed.
• All muggles who hate magic are evil creeps.
• All muggles who die clearly "deserved" it, so don't feel bad.
• They have to find a bug and a teapot instead of transfiguring them, or a cage that they could shrink, because... reasons...
• There are no guards at magical UN meetings, and you can just walk in.
• American aurors can apparently single-handedly order multiple executions of people without a trial, even people from other countries, and have it happen in less than a day.
• America has a death chamber full of creepy smiling executioners who ask no questions.
• Gellert Grindelwald's there for... reasons that aren't explained...
• Grindelwald's "plan" is circumstantial to the point of being idiotic to come all the way to another continent for.
• If these magical parasite things are created by neglect and trying to ignore magic, why didn't the Dursleys end up giving Harry Potter the same problem?
• Newt knows exactly what to do with the venom he previously mentioned he had no idea what it could possibly be used for...
• What about all the photos taken before the final battle? What about the people indoors? What about those who sent letters out of state or left on boats or trains? How could everyone's memory of the past few days possibly be erased?
• The story ends with another teenager being murdered for the grater good, except Credence lacks plot armor, so unlike the other book, he stays dead (I think...).
• Everyone who dies is evil, unless it's a tragic end point to show someone else is evil.
• If the baker and the mind rapist were really in love, why didn't they go to Britain where apparently they could be together legally?
• Manhattan was conveniently either empty or crowded, depending on the needs of the plot.

I mean... JKR could have tried a bit harder... 

my thoughts exactly. i mean this movie could have been sooo much better !