The magical world of Harry Potter comes alive once more with the movie adaptation of J.K. Rowling’s prequel “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.” The movie originates from a book written in the form of a textbook providing wizards and potterheads alike with information on numerous magical beasts and their classifications. The film; however, is more than a textbook, instead it tells the story of the textbook author Newt Scamander (played by Eddie Redmayne) and what lead him to his studies of such beasts.

Taking place years before the Harry Potter saga, in a 1926 New York, Rowling’s ever growing wizard universe takes on new heights with the introduction of the American wizard community. Scamander, a British magizoologist and former Hogwarts student, comes to New York to further protect and enhance his collection of whimsical creatures until some of them escape his magical briefcase. With the risk of sacrificing the wizard community secret to the intolerant No-Maj society (The American version of the term Muggle), Scamander must save his incredible creatures and in doing so runs into new friends and dangers alike.

The movie was very different from previous Rowling film’s. However this provided a very fresh look at a new era of the wizard world and one that can be viewed with a new mindset rather than simply comparing it to the films of the past.

Nevertheless weaknesses within the film included lack of character development, too many poorly developed plots and some confusion with certain events. It seemed as though three different plots were occurring all within the two hours of the films. Names and figures seemed to appear out of nowhere with no precise context and while they were revered or condemned by the main characters, I was left confused with their role in the wizard society, let alone the movie.

Perhaps the most disappointing factor was in the title itself. The rather misleading title “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them” was the premise of perhaps the first ten minutes of the movie. Instead the plot focused more on keeping the underground wizard community a secret and exposing the evil wizards within the Magical Congress of the United States of America.

But of course the movie had many strengths as well. The obscure lost beasts provided much laughter despite the frequent dark scenes within the movie. Furthermore the musical soundtrack would have any true fan quivering with excitement as it played tunes all too familiar from the Harry Potter soundtrack.

With the movies release being the same week as the first Harry Potter movie’s 15 year anniversary, “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them” will surely satisfy any wizard fan desperate to escape reality and, if only for two hours, delve into magical world of J. K. Rowling.