SOPHIE LI

When Magizoologist Newt Scamander arrives in New York, he intends his stay to be just a brief stopover. However, when his magical case is misplaced and some of Newt’s fantastic beasts escape, it spells trouble for everyone…

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them marks the screenwriting debut of J.K. Rowling, author of the beloved and internationally bestselling Harry Potter books. Featuring a cast of remarkable characters, this is epic, adventure-packed storytelling at its very best.

Whether an existing fan or new to the wizarding world, this is a perfect addition to any reader’s bookshelf.

• NEWT. He was just SO adorable. As a Hufflepuff, I love watching other Hufflepuffs in action! I loved how sensitive and kind he was and how he treated all magical creatures (and people) with respect- a type of male MC that I would love to see more in film and fiction!
• Jacob and Queenie were such a cute pair! I loved Jacob’s humor and though he was awkward, he was charming in his own way. Combine that with Queenie’s telepathic abilities and you got a whole lot of fun interactions.
• LOTS of imagination, which was what you’d expected from a screenplay by JK Rowling. I loved the idea of Newt’s suitcase- come on, a suitcase that carried a whole world of magical creatures inside them! I loved Niffler and all the other cute and awesome creatures. And of course, there were the good-old spells from HP as well!

• I wasn’t a bit fan of Tina from the movies and that hadn’t really changed now that I’ve read the screenplay. She just didn’t seem to leave an impression on me? If you were to ask me to describe her personality, I wouldn’t know how to do it? It seemed like sometimes she tried to be the kick-ass female Auror and investigator but she didn’t quite pull it off? I don’t know…
• The plot was pretty slow for the first half. Things finally started happening in the second half though.
• Quite a lot of things still weren’t explained in this movie, which was fine because there was a lot to come. But still, I found myself grappling with what was going on and why things were happening, though that might also be because…
• … I am sure how I feel about the screenplay format. I’m used to reading novels, where I feel much more immersed in the scene. There is more introspection, more description of what the surroundings/characters look like. When I was reading this screenplay, I was relying a lot on my memory of the movie (and you know how bad my movie memory is!) Also I found that in this screenplay (and maybe screenplays in general), a lot was conveyed in relatively few words, so when I was skimming, I missed a lot of details.

3/5 stars!

Loved the characters, and this screenplay was a great way to relive the movie and catch a few scenes that I forgot or missed! However I am not sure how I feel about the screenplay format; I would rather watch the movie or read a novel.

Have you seen the Fantastic Beasts movies? How do you feel about screenplay vs movie vs novel formats?

Photo by Niilo Isotalo on Unsplash