Movie · 2016 · Fantasy, Adventure · 2h 13m · PG-13 · English
Curator score: 3.3/10 (1.6M ratings)
From J.K. Rowling's wizarding world.
Overview
In 1926, Newt Scamander arrives at the Magical Congress of the United States of America with a magically expanded briefcase, which houses a number of dangerous creatures and their habitats. When the creatures escape from the briefcase, it sends the American wizarding authorities after Newt, and threatens to strain even further the state of magical and non-magical relations.
Ratings
Curator score: 3.3/10
IMDb: 7.2/10
Letterboxd: 3.18/5
Rotten Tomatoes: 74%
Metacritic: 66
TMDB: 7.3/10
Director
David Yates
Production
Heyday Films, Warner Bros. Pictures
Cast
Eddie Redmayne, Katherine Waterston, Dan Fogler, Alison Sudol, Colin Farrell, Jon Voight, Ron Perlman, Johnny Depp, Zoë Kravitz, Ezra Miller, Samantha Morton, Carmen Ejogo, Josh Cowdery, Ronan Raftery, Faith Wood-Blagrove, Jenn Murray, Gemma Chan, Peter Breitmayer, Kevin Guthrie, Sean Cronin
Where to watch
Max
Curator Review
Verdict
A visually imaginative return to the wizarding world with charming creature design and a breezy sense of wonder, but the story is overstuffed, the tone is uneven, and the character work is thinner than the spectacle.
Best for
fans of the wizarding world
viewers who prioritize magical creatures and production design
family fantasy audiences looking for a light adventure
people who enjoy broad studio blockbusters with a nostalgic sheen
Skip if
you want a tightly plotted fantasy
you need strong character development
you are tired of franchise setup movies
you dislike heavy CGI creature action
Overview
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them has the pleasant, slightly scattershot energy of a studio fantasy trying to rediscover the delight of a magical universe. Its strongest asset is the sense of texture: New York in the 1920s, the suitcase ecosystem, and the creature effects all feel designed to invite curiosity rather than just deliver plot mechanics.
Worth noting
The movie works best when it stays close to Newt and the animals, letting the film be a whimsical chase story instead of a lore-delivery machine. Eddie Redmayne gives the lead a shy, offbeat charm, and Dan Fogler helps ground the movie in a more comic, human register.
Bottom line
But the film also carries the burden of franchise expansion, and that shows in the crowded plotting and the abrupt shifts in tone. The emotional stakes are there, but they are often underdeveloped, and the finale leans more on spectacle than payoff. It’s enjoyable if you’re in the mood for a glossy magical diversion, less so if you want the cleanest or most satisfying chapter in the series.
Top Letterboxd reviews
Lucy (3★) · 4493 likes
i was gonna complain but then i remembered something my dad once said when the hobbit movies came out "the movies might not be great, but any time spent back in middle earth is time well spent" and having spent my entire childhood obsessed with harry potter... i'd have to apply that logic here to the wizarding world universe
cinéfila... 🕯️ (3★) · 2557 likes
colin farrell morphing into johnny depp is tied with jared leto's joker for the #1 spot on my list of the ugliest shit 2016 cinema forced me to see with my own two eyes
DirkH (1★) · 1762 likes
Generic Cows and How to Milk Them.
davidehrlich (2★) · 1718 likes
they're not fantastic beasts, Brent.
there are all sorts of issues with this movie, which pales in comparison to even the first two Harry Potter films, but rather than grouse about the clumsy knotting of the various plot threads or how Newt Scamander is a nothing character or how the fantastic beasts are all like the dullest of Digimons (except for the kleptomaniac platypus), i just want to whine about the devastatingly poor use of CG. we've become so concerned… more
mia lee vicino (2★) · 1111 likes
i didn't see the point in any of the scenes without Colin Farrell so when he downgraded into J*hnny D*pp near the end i ejected the dvd and sent it back to Netflix (i still use DVD Netflix). i'll never know how this movie ends and i'm 100% fine with that
2001 · Adventure, Fantasy · 2h 32m · PG · Curator 6.5/10 (3.6M ratings) · Where to watch: Peacock Premium, Max, Peacock Premium Plus
Shares the same broad sense of wonder, creature-filled worldbuilding, and introductory franchise magic, but with a more focused and emotionally coherent story.