Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (film)

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
Film information
Director(s)	David Yates
Producer(s)	David Heyman J. K. Rowling Steve Kloves Lionel Wigram
Writer(s)	J. K. Rowling
Star(s)	Eddie Redmayne Katherine Waterston Dan Fogler Alison Sudol Ezra Miller Samantha Morton Jon Voight Carmen Ejogo Ron Perlman Colin Farrell
Music by	James Newton Howard
Distributor(s)	Warner Bros.
Release date(s)	10 November 2016 (US premiere) 15 November 2016 (UK premiere) 18 November 2016 (wide release)
Run-time	133 minutes
Budget	$175 million
Gross box office	$814 million
Followed by	Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald

"Explore a new era of J.K. Rowling's wizarding world."

— Offical tagline

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (or simply Fantastic Beasts) is the first prequel of a series of films based on Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, one of the companion books to J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter series. It premiered on 18 November 2016. The script of the first film was released in book form on the following day.

The film was Rowling's screen writing debut. David Heyman, who produced the Harry Potter films, returned as producer for Fantastic Beasts.

The film is set in New York in 1926, sixty-five years before the Harry Potter series, and features Newton Scamander as a main character. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them tells us that Scamander had been travelling the world in research of magical creatures since 1918, culminating with the publication of his masterpiece in 1927.

Warner Bros had approached Rowling about using the book for a film, from which she pitched "an idea that she couldn't dislodge". Upon returning to Harry Potter for the first time since 2007, Rowling commented: "I always said that I would only revisit the wizarding world if I had an idea that I was really excited about and this is it." She stated that the idea of seeing Scamander "realised by another author was difficult," hence her decision to be the film's screenwriter.

Production for the film began at Leavesden on 17 August 2015.

Synopsis

Part of the synopsis for the film was first revealed on 6 October 2014, when J. K. Rowling posted the cryptic message "Cry, foe! Run amok! Fa awry! My wand won’t tolerate this nonsense." on her official Twitter account. She confirmed the following day that this message was a riddle, and the solution, while not part of the script, was the first sentence of a synopsis of Newt Scamander's story. The anagram was solved later that day, with Rowling confirming the solution of "Newt Scamander only meant to stay in New York for a few hours."

The film's first official synopsis was released on 11 December 2015:

“

"Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" opens in 1926 as Newt Scamander has just completed a global excursion to find and document an extraordinary array of magical creatures. Arriving in New York for a brief stopover, he might have come and gone without incident… were it not for a No-Maj (American for Muggle) named Jacob, a misplaced magical case, and the escape of some of Newt's fantastic beasts, which could spell trouble for both the wizarding and No-Maj worlds.

”

The plot revolves around Newt Scamander, who has made a brief stop in New York in December 1926, shortly after completing his travels around the world to research for his Magizoology book, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. What was meant to be a short interlude is prolonged when a No-Maj called Jacob Kowalski inadvertently disrupts Newt's magically-expanded suitcase, releasing a number of dangerous magical creatures into the city and threatening to worsen even further the state of magical and non-magical relations in the United States (which were already tense due to the presence of a fanatical extremist group, the New Salem Philanthropic Society, advocating for a "Second Salem" and the eradication of wizardkind).

The film takes place over two days.

Plot

The film opens with a dark setting where a bunch of people are gathered. Then, there is a flash of light and the back of a wizard, later revealed to be Gellert Grindelwald. Then, there is a montage of newspapers before we finally settle in New York. We see Newton "Newt" Scamander on a ship as it arrives, and he gets off. He wanders around and comes to a gathering outside a bank, where Mary Lou Barebone is ranting about the wizards. Newt bumps into Jacob Kowalski, a No-Maj who is trying to get a bank loan to open a bakery. Newt then spots his Niffler, which has escaped from his trunk, trying to steal silver and gold.

He goes into the bank to find the Niffler, but leaves behind an Occamy egg which Jacob tries to return but to no avail. Newt is then picked up by Porpentina "Tina" Goldstein, who tries to take him in to MACUSA, but no one listens. Graves, an employee, tries to take them in. Jacob returns to his house, having mistakenly picked up Newt's suitcase. Upon opening it, several of Newt's beasts escape, including an Erumpent and a Murtlap.

Modesty Barebone, a girl in Mary Lou's orphanage with her brother, Credence, sings about the bad witches. Credence turns out to be a young and scared boy afraid of his mother.

Tina takes Newt and Jacob to her house where they meet Queenie, Tina's sister. Inside their room, Newt disappears into his case, and Jacob follows. They meet Newt's other beasts. We later see the Barebones visit a town hall, where they meet Henry Shaw Senior and his son, also named Henry Shaw. Henry Senior waves them away.

Meanwhile, Jacob and Newt, on the run from the Goldsteins as well as MACUSA, find their first beast in Central Park, an Erumpent. After much difficulty, they capture it. Henry Junior, the New York senator, is killed by a dark force later revealed to be an Obscurial. Tina catches Jacob and Newt and goes to Seraphina Picquery. Seraphina captures the trio, believing them to be the cause of Shaw's death, and has them locked up. Graves orders them to be taken to a chamber to be killed, but they escape with the help of Queenie.

Together, the four head to The Blind Pig for information concerning the last two beasts missing from Newt's case. They manage to catch them at a department store.

Graves goes to the orphanage, but Credence's powers manifest and Mary Lou is killed. Credence escapes and wreaks havoc. Newt and Tina find him and try to calm him down, but he is killed on Seraphina's orders. Through Newt's Revelio Charm, Graves is revealed to be none other than Gellert Grindelwald.

Jacob and the rest of the No-Majs are obliviated with the help of the Thunderbird Newt rescued, Frank. Newt returns to England. Jacob opens a bakery with some of his products looking like the beasts he had met before. Queenie enters, and Jacob smiles at her, seemingly beginning to remember the events he has been through.

Characters

The following is a list of the relevant characters who appeared in the film, most of whom (as of now, the only known exceptions are Newt Scamander and Porpentina Goldstein, who are mentioned on the Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them book) are completely original to this work and never mentioned anywhere else in canon before.

The four main characters: Tina Goldstein, Newt Scamander, Queenie Goldstein and Jacob Kowalski

• Newton "Newt" Scamander (played by Eddie Redmayne) – Magizoologist, author of the book Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. British Ministry of Magic employee, Porpentina's love interest. Described as eccentric and introverted.
• Porpentina "Tina" Goldstein (played by Katherine Waterston) – "An ambitious worker at the Magical Congress of the United States of America (aka MACUSA, the U.S. version of the Ministry of Magic) who meets Newt. Tina is relegated to an office well below her abilities after she stood up for the wrong person. She longs to fight for what's right." Described as "grounded".
• Jacob Kowalski (played by Dan Fogler) – "An optimistic No-Maj (aka Muggle) factory worker/aspiring baker who gets introduced to the wizarding world when he meets Newt." He begins the film post break-up and develops a crush on Queenie.
• Queenie Goldstein (played by Alison Sudol) – "Tina's younger sister and roommate, a big-hearted free-spirit Legilimens who can read minds." Described as a "bombshell".

Percival Graves, Auror for the Magical Congress of the United States of America

• Percival Graves (played by Colin Farrell) – "A powerful auror and the right-hand man of the American wizarding world's president." Set with the task of tracking down Newt.

Seraphina Picquery, Magical Congress of the United States of America official

• Credence Barebone (played by Ezra Miller) – "Mary Lou's troubled adopted son". Reportedly plays a big role in the wizarding world canon.
• Mary Lou Barebone (played by Samantha Morton) – "The narrow-minded leader of the fanatical Second Salemers, a group looking to expose and kill wizards and witches."
• Seraphina Picquery (played by Carmen Ejogo) – President of the Magical Congress of the United States of America (MACUSA).
• Henry Shaw Senior (played by Jon Voight) – A newspaper tycoon, and father of Senator Henry Shaw Jnr.
• Langdon Shaw (played by Ronan Raftery) – Younger child of Henry Shaw Senior. He learns of a series of mysterious events in New York City that point to something magical.
• Henry Shaw Junior (played by Josh Cowdery) – An American senator who holds a rally picketed by the New Salem Philanthropic Society. Elder brother of Langdon Shaw.
• Gnarlak (played by Ron Perlman) – A goblin gangster who owns a speakeasy, does business with Newt.
• Modesty Barebone (played by Faith Wood-Blagrove) – A "haunted young girl" with "an ability to see deep into people". Mary Lou's youngest adopted daughter, who manages to conceal her disobedience from her.
• Chastity Barebone (played by Jenn Murray) – The oldest of Mary Lou's adopted children, she assists her mother in her crusade against wizardkind.
• Mr Abernathy (played by Kevin Guthrie) – Tina and Queenie's MACUSA supervisor.
• Gellert Grindelwald (played by Johnny Depp) – A Dark Wizard who is one of the most dangerous wizards of all-time (second only to Voldemort) and was very close to Albus Dumbledore.
• Leta Lestrange (played by Zoë Kravitz/Picture only) – The former love of Scamander who betrayed his trust, leaving him bitter about her but still keeping a picture of her.

Cast

(In order of appearance)

• Eddie Redmayne as Newt Scamander
• Sam Redford as Customs Official
• Scott Goldman as Customs Official (voice)
• Tim Bentinck as Witness
• Tristan Tait as Reporter
• Colin Farrell as Percival Graves
• Tom Clarke Hill as Photographer 2
• Matthew Sim as Photographer 1
• Katherine Waterston as Tina Goldstein
• Samantha Morton as Mary Lou Barebone
• Dan Fogler as Jacob Kowalski
• Ezra Miller as Credence Barebone
• Faith Wood-Blagrove as Modesty Barebone
• Jenn Murray as Chastity Barebone
• Cory Peterson as Bank Employee
• Lucie Pohl as Secretary
• Peter Breitmayer as Mr Bingley
• Jake Samuels as Bank Guard
• Max Cazier as Young Man
• Dan Hedaya as Red (voice)
• Christy Meyer as Guide - Inside Macusa
• Carmen Ejogo as Seraphina Picquery
• Guy Paul as Auror 2
• Andreea Paduraru as Auror 9
• Walles Hamonde as Auror 10
• Dominique Tipper as Auror 1
• Kevin Guthrie as Abernathy
• Leo Heller as Boy with Birthmark
• Miles Roughley as Poor Boy
• Anne Wittman as Housewife
• Erick Hayden as Policeman
• Paul Birchard as Hobo
• Ronan Raftery as Langdon Shaw
• Tom Hodgkins as Barker
• Jon Voight as Shaw Senior
• Josh Cowdery as Henry Shaw Jnr / Senator Shaw
• Ellie Haddington as Mrs Esposito (voice)
• Alison Sudol as Queenie Goldstein
• Joseph Macnab as Police Officer 1
• Bart Edwards as Police Officer 2
• Todd Boyce as Announcer
• Martin Oelbermann as Heinrich Eberstadt
• Gemma Chan as Madam Ya Zhou
• Richard Clothier as British Envoy
• Christian Dixon as Momolu Wotorson
• Akin Gazi as Auror 3
• Richard Hardisty as Auror 4
• Elizabeth Moynihan as Executioner 1
• Miquel Brown as Executioner 2
• Wunmi Mosaku as Beryl
• Cristian Solimeno as Executioner 3
• Matthew Wilson as Sam the Obliviator
• Brian F. Mulvey as Watchman
• Aretha Ayeh as Singer - The Blind Pig Speakeasy
• Emmi as Singer - The Blind Pig Speakeasy (voice)
• Ron Perlman as Gnarlak (voice)
• Nicholas McGaughey as Australian Wizard
• Sean Cronin as Nearby Wizard
• Zoë Kravitz as Leta Lestrange
• Arinzé Kene as Auror 6
• Jane Perry as Female Customer in Bakery
• Johnny Depp as Gellert Grindelwald

Uncredited

• Gabriele Antonini as Newspaper Boy
• Stephanie Aspin as Ruby
• Christopher Wilson as Banker
• Lee Asquith-Coe as Officer #247
• Roy Beck as Senator Shaw's Speechwriter
• Fanny Carbonnel as Mrs Goldstein
• Georgia Clarke-Day as Young Wife
• Rudi Dharmalingam as Ranjit
• Joshua Diffley as Young Husband
• Henry Douthwaite as Skender
• Denis Khoroshko as Banker Smirnoff
• Alan Mandel as Mr Goldstein
• Alan Peett as Bank Begging Tramp
• Unknown actor as Henry
• Unknown actress as Mrs Bingley

Beasts

The following is a list of beasts that appear in the first film:

The Niffler The Swooping Evil The Bowtruckle The Billywig The Occamy The Demiguise The Thunderbird The Murtlap The Erumpent The Nundu The Doxy The Mooncalf The Fwooper The Diricawl The Graphorn The Grindylow

The Giant Dung Beetle The Marmite The Glow Worm The Runespoor (Appears in a deleted scene) The Kappa (Cut from the film) The Hippocampus (Cut from the film) The Chimaera (Cut from the film) The Ashwinder (Mentioned only) The Phoenix (Mentioned only) (Appears as statue) The Appaloosa Puffskein (Mentioned only) The Ukrainian Ironbelly (Mentioned only) The Dragon (Mentioned only) The Unicorn (Mentioned only) The Hippogriff (Mentioned only) The Griffin (Mentioned on a poster) The Nogtail (Mentioned on a poster)

List of deaths

Character	Killed by	Cause of death	Circumstances
Multiple Aurors	Gellert Grindelwald	Blasting Curse	Aurors were attempting to apprehend Grindelwald
Henry Shaw, Jnr	Credence Barebone	Obscurial attack	Killed because he insulted Credence
Mary Lou Barebone			Killed for insulting his mother

Videos

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them - Teaser Trailer HD

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them - Highlight Reel from A Celebration of Harry Potter HD

Gallery

Home media

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them was released on Digital HD on 7 March 2017, and on DVD, 4K UHD, and Blu-Ray on 28 March 2017 with 11 deleted scenes (lasting 14:33 in total): Major Investigation Department; Jacob Tenement; Newt's Case; MACUSA Cell; Creocreatura; Tracking Demiguise; Suitcase Celebration; Skyscraper Roof; Obscuris Unleashed, Part 1; Obscuris Unleashed, Part 2; Newt Goodbye and additional content such as interviews.

Behind the scenes

• The film's set-production name was "Boswell".
• At the origin, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them was supposed to be a faux documentary about Newton Scamander.
• Jacob Kowalski is the Wizarding world franchise’s first main Muggle character.
• Albus Dumbledore is mentioned in the film; he was one of Newt's teachers at Hogwarts, and the only one to speak out against his expulsion.
• Gellert Grindelwald, and the intensifying of an international manhunt for him, is mentioned in the film as a story on the cover of The New York Ghost newspaper.
• On set, the unknown creature wreaking havoc was only referred to as an Obscurus, a likely reference to Obscurus Books the publisher of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.
• David Yates has said that a male character that already appeared in the Harry Potter film series will appear in the second film adaptation of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. This was later revealed to be Albus Dumbledore.
• David Heyman has said that originally he and producer Lionel Wigram were thinking the film was only going to be "a documentary about Newt" until Rowling somehow found out and told them she had thought about a different kind of film already.

Notes and references

J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter series
Philosopher's Stone	book	film	games	film soundtrack	game soundtrack
Chamber of Secrets	book	film	games	film soundtrack	game soundtrack
Prisoner of Azkaban	book	film	games	film soundtrack	game soundtrack
Goblet of Fire	book	film	games	film soundtrack	game soundtrack
Order of the Phoenix	book	film	game	film soundtrack	game soundtrack
Half-Blood Prince	book	film	games	film soundtrack	game soundtrack
Deathly Hallows	book	film 1	games 1	film soundtrack 1	game soundtrack 1
		film 2	games 2	film soundtrack 2	game soundtrack 2
Cursed Child	script	play
Fantastic Beasts film series
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them	book	screenplay	film	game	film soundtrack
The Crimes of Grindelwald		screenplay	film		film soundtrack
The Secrets of Dumbledore		screenplay	film		film soundtrack