The Fantastic Beasts

Directed By:

                      David Yates

Writer:

            J.K. Rowling

Cast:

                                                                                      Eddie Redmayne as Newt Scamander
                                                                                      Dan Folger as Jocab Kowalski
                                                                                      Katherine Waterston as Porpentina Goldstein
                                                                                      Alison Sudol as Queenie Goldstein
                                                                                      Samantha Morton as Mary Lou
                                                                                      Colin Farrell as Percival Graves
                                                                                      Ron Perlman as Gnarlack
                                                                                      Ezra Miller as Credence
                                                                                      Jenn Murray as Chastity
                                                                                      Jon Voight as Henry Shaw Sr
                                                                                      Carmen Ejogo as Seraphina Picquery

Review:

 Perhaps a fable embellished with fantasy trappings that’s spun off from the Harry Potter universe. One that touches upon such issues as the inherent danger of outing a magical community to an intolerant public while No-Majs, the Americanized term for Muggles, are equally distrusted by wizards and witches. Some young people are forced to suppress their very natures by those who inflict physical and psychological harm upon them. Not to mention that a strange deadly force has been somehow unleashed, leaving mass destruction and fear in its wake.
OK, that doesn’t sound like that much fun, does it?
But what if I tell you that J.K. Rowling’s “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them,” which dips into the dark side fairly regularly, is at its best when it serves as a more exotic version of all those cute puppy and kitten antics that fill your Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts? Instead of dogs sporting holiday attire or cats falling off kitchen counters, you can go “aww” when a naughty Niffler, a mole-duck-billed platypus hybrid, goes on a crime spree while greedily stuffing gobs of shiny objects such as coins and gems into its belly pouch. Or when a majestic giant Thunderbird, destined to live in the wilds of Arizona, spreads its eagle-like wings. Maybe a teeny leafy twig-like critter known as a Bowtruckle, reminiscent of a shrunken Groot from " Gaudains Of The Galaxy” is more your style. There’s also an amorous Erumpent, a big-butt cross between a hippo and an elephant, who causes a ruckus at a zoo. That this expansive menagerie and more are able to fit into the best piece of enchanted traveling luggage in a movie since Mary Poppins' bottomless carpet bag is a welcome bonus.