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Book 39 of 2016

The Book

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them isn’t your typical Harry Potter book; instead, it’s more of a lexicon you’d expect to find on Hagrid’s shelf detailing each beast in Harry’s world. In fact, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them was one of Harry’s textbooks, written by the fictitious author Newt Scamander (aka J. K. Rowling), who traveled the world in search of every magical beast in existence. 80% of the book sales went to the charity Comic Relief, and according to Comic Relief, sales from this book and its companion Quidditch Through the Ages have raised over £17 million. (Further proof that J.K. Rowling is incredible).

I read this book in preparation for the film, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, although it became quite obvious that I didn’t need to. However, I didn’t regret reading it! I loved reading Ron, Hermonie and Harry’s scribbled notes in the book, and I enjoyed learning about the various beasts I would be seeing in the movie. Although I did wonder why pygmy puffs weren’t included as beasts. (Although, after further investigation, I’m now fairly certain that this was not an oversight). Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them was a quick read that I recommend for those who can’t get enough of the HP world.

The Movie

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (the film) exceeded my expectations… not that I knew what to expect, considering the book didn’t offer much of a story. Eddie Redmayne was perfectly cast as Newt Scamander, the quirky, nerdy lover and researcher of all beasts in the wizard world. I’ve read some reviews that criticized the character development in the movie, but I’ve got to say the lack of development was not something that occurred to me while watching the film. I was completely enthralled with the world, the story, the history and the beasts. I thought it was beautifully done, and was so excited to be immersed back into Harry Potter’s world, even though the story took place years earlier. I’m already looking forward to the second film!

What about you? Did you read both the movie and the book? What did you think?