Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

PG-13

Released Nov 18, 2016

2h 7m

Fantasy

Adventure

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List

74%

Tomatometer

346 Reviews

79%

Popcornmeter

50,000+ Ratings

The year is 1926, and Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne) 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.

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Critics Consensus

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them draws on Harry Potter's rich mythology to deliver a spinoff that dazzles with franchise-building magic all its own.

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Karen Han

CutPrintFilm

Fantastic Beasts is a charm, excelling when it's allowed to be its own creature and falling short only when it's forced to pay its franchise dues.

Rated: 7/10

Dec 8, 2017

Full Review

Kristen Lopez

Culturess

Much of the film's rapid-fire entertainment value and slick filmmaking style do a lot towards covering up the weak narrative excuses.

Nov 20, 2017

Full Review

Alison Herman

The Ringer

Rowling imbues Fantastic Beasts from start to finish with a sense of discovery.

Aug 11, 2017

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Brian Eggert

Deep Focus Review

Rowling throws her audience into the fray without developing personalities we grow to love. As a result, Fantastic Beasts feels underwhelming, if diverting for the duration.

Rated: 2/4

Apr 9, 2022

Full Review

David Gonzalez

The Cinematic Reel

Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them is an unexpected return to Rowlings wizarding world but with anything, the unexpected surprises are sometimes the best.

Rated: 3/4

Feb 14, 2022

Full Review

David Nusair

Reel Film Reviews

...a predominantly worthless endeavor that seems to serve no purpose other than to lay the groundwork for future installments.

Rated: 1.5/4

Jan 18, 2022

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Chiena A

Exceptional costume and production design. There is a reason this won an Oscar in that category. While world-building for Wizarding NYC feels fleshed out and lived in, the same cannot be said for the actual screenplay. It is painfully clear JK Rowling is a novelist, and not a screenwriter, from the clunky dialogue and poor pacing. Eddie Redmayne is charming as the introverted and awkward Newt Scamander, but the true standouts are Dan Fogler as the muggle-baker Jacob Kowalski, and Colin Farrell as the corrupt auror Percival Graves. Honestly, the twist with at the end with Farrell’s character is what truly doomed this film as a franchise starter.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

08/28/24

Full Review

Maria Lina N

The storytelling is pretty boring, the creatures and the movie overall feels like random thoughts of bad writers

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

07/17/24

Full Review

Audience Member

Not bad, but I prefer the Harry Potter ones

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

07/05/24

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Prabudhjeet A

A little boring but good

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

07/02/24

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Ethan K

The movie was well-made. The acting was good. The storyline is quite confusing, however. I also felt like the creators tried a bit too hard. I have at the time of this review only watched the first original Harry Potter film (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone), and Fantastic Beasts and where to Find Them just didn’t feel the same.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

07/02/24

Full Review

Jack N

Worth a watch, but requires a decent amount of background knowledge to understand everything.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

06/23/24

Full Review

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David Yates

Director

Eddie Redmayne

Newt

Katherine Waterston

Tina

Dan Fogler

Jacob Kowalski

Alison Sudol

Queenie

Ezra Miller

Credence Barebone

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Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them: Blu-Ray Trailer

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Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them: Trailer 2

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Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them: Comic-Con Trailer

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Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them: Teaser Trailer 1

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Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them: Announcement Trailer

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Synopsis

The year is 1926, and Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne) 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.

Director: David Yates
Producer: David Heyman, J.K. Rowling, Steve Kloves, Lionel Wigram
Screenwriter: J.K. Rowling
Distributor: Warner Bros. Pictures
Production Co: Heyday Films, Nvizible, Warner Bros. Pictures
Rating: PG-13 (Some Fantasy/Action Violence)
Genre: Fantasy, Adventure
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Nov 18, 2016, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Mar 8, 2017
Box Office (Gross USA): $234.0M
Runtime: 2h 7m
Sound Mix: Dolby Digital, Datasat, Dolby Atmos
Aspect Ratio: Scope (2.35:1)

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