Movie Review: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

Okay, this is going to be a tricky review to write. Why? Because I think that this movie literally defined my childhood and I can't just breeze past it.

When this first came out in 2016, I was an impressionable Harry Potter pre-teen who had no idea what constituted a good movie. When I first saw this in the theatre, it blew my tiny little mind. I loved the wholesome story and the characters, and the beautiful CGI and the overall tone of the movie. Enter: an obsessive phase that lasted for God-knows-how-long. It was my favourite movie for years, and I watched it countless times.

 I loved the stylized CGI - I think that the way that the creatures weren't 100% hyperrealistic lent more of magical element to the feel of the movie. I'm a sucker for the 1920s (now that I think of it, probably because of this movie) and I really loved the costumes and the sets. Eddie Redmayne is an incredible actor and made a great lead.

Looking back five years later, I'm slowly starting to realize that the film that I once idealized has its flaws. There are plot lines that are completely redundant, which unnecessarily complicate certain parts of it. And because it was made as a cash-grab, sometimes the money-making Harry Potter name-drops are painfully obvious. But despite all of this, this movie does have a special place in my heart and it remains one of my favourite comfort movies of all time.