For many of us, Harry Potter is the beginning and end of the magical world. But magic sure existed before the bespectacled boy got that lightening streak on his head.
And this Friday, the bewitching world of J.K. Rowling comes live again, with magical creatures prowling the dark alleys and wizards and witches swooping down on one another and unsuspecting muggles (non-wizards).
As you book your tickets and order your favorite flavor of popcorn, we bring you a number of the reasons why Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them is a must-watch.
But first up, some not-so-good news:
There's no Harry Potter in this one!
Yes, the ever engaging Harry Potter series is what made Rowling a favorite among the lovers of fiction and fantasy. But Pottermaniacs would be a teeny bit disappointed as the double-spectacled boy is unlikely to grace the screen this time around.
We saw the enchanting world of magic through the eyes of the chosen one, but this time around J.K. Rowling takes us to a world set 70 years before the Potter world dawned.
So, who is the hero?
Meet Newt Scamander (played by Oscar-winning Eddie Redmayne) – a young magizoologist and as Potter heads would know, it refers to a person studying magical creatures.
Collin Farrel is Percival Graves and Eddie Redmayne is Newt Scamander in the film.What the book said
The film, based on a book written in 2001 for charity, is more of a textual narrative but sprinkled with trademark Rowling-isms. We are introduced to countless number of creatures in alphabetical order with short descriptions on what makes them a beast or a being. We even get to know what happened to the extinct Dodo – but did this wingless bird actually go extinct or found its way to the magical world? The question remains, but we add one more feather to the Rowling cap.
And when the talk of the movie arose, Rowling herself offered to write the screenplay, making it all the more desirable.
How different is the movie from the book
For the movie, we move away from the British isles, cross over the Atlantic and land in the New York City, where hordes of magical creatures have been let loose. And it now rests on Newt Scamander to navigate the dark alleys of wizarding world that seems to be teeming up with beasts, creatures and beings.
But as Hagrid, the gatekeeper of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry (Harry's school), kept telling us in the original series – not all magical creatures are dangerous and that could even mean a fire-seething dragon.
Nevertheless, Scamander has a huge battle to wage and prevent the ultimate showdown between magical and the non-wizarding worlds, all the while trying to prove his credibility to other aurors. As the teaser trailer already warned us that there seems to be lot more than clothes in Scamander's suitcase that he brings with him on his ship to the US. But what exactly will come out of it?
Written by JK Rowling and directed by David Yeats, the Warner Bros' movie already has Pottermaniacs reaching near hysteria levels.
The cauldron is brewing, all the portions have been added and we await what comes out of it.
Over to the silver screen - a two-line review
Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them works almost-like magic, riding high on Eddie Redmayne's acting skills and the impeccable story-telling caliber of J.K. Rowling.
The animation department would have walked away with all the applause for creating the magical world in a muggle-setting, if not for these two gems.
(Stay tuned - we will soon have a detailed review of the film)
