Hello and welcome back to our website. As you might have noticed, November is all about the upcoming Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them movie that will be released round November 18th (17th in the Netherlands, 16th in Belgium). Some of you might already know ALL about the movie and the story behind it, but some of you might not. And this is why Dutch Book Chick presents: Fantastic Beasts 101. In one post we will update you on everything you need to know, so you can see the movie fully prepared and you don’t have to be ‘that friend that always ask questions during the movie’. You’re welcome 😉
The origins
The most important thing to know about this movie, is that it is NOT, I repeat NOT, based on a book in the Harry Potter universe. The story is based on the fictional author of one of the books the students at Hogwarts use. The author’s name is Newt Scamander, and he wrote the textbook of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. In his book, he rated all know fantastic beasts by how dangerous they are, including a picture and some handy information for the students. So, the movie is a whole new written story.
The story
So we now know that the main character is called Newt Scamander. He lives at the beginnen of the 20th century. The movie itself is set in 1928 in… New York! The fun thing is that we get to see a whole new part of the Wizarding World. We move away from Londen and will be introduced to new places, surroundings and vibes. How awesome is that? In the movie, Newt has to save New York from the beasts that may or may not have been set free. The authorities expect him to be the person behind the dangerous monsters now roaming the streets and they go after him. At the same time, the tension between the magical and non-magical world gets bigger and bigger, taking Newt into dangerous situations. The object that is the source of  “all of this evil” is his leather case that is featured in all of the movie trailers.
The books
What, what books? I thought you just told us there are no books?! I know, calm down. So of course this textbook is already on the market for quite some time. That book is kind of an encyclopedia of the beasts and has nothing (‘nothing’) to do with the movie. It kind of does, but at the same time it doesn’t really ‘belong’ to the movie. There are a couple of books being released simultaneously. There’s the official book of the movie, telling you all about the movie. There’s the case of beasts, which I think is brilliant, and will give you insights en extras to the movies and will learn you all about the fantastic beasts. There a book full over concept art (believe me – it’s amazing) and there is a book with posts cards. At the same time, there are two coloring books available. Last but not least, you will also be able to buy the script of the movie, like you could buy the script of the official Harry Potter and the Cursed Child play. I will fully explain these books in a later post. You will love it.
The cast and crew
I could talk forever about the amazing cast and crew, but I will not. We will post a blog about the cast and crew right before the movie comes out, so you’ll know all about them when seeing the movie for the first time!
What else do we already know?
– There will be 5 movies instead of just 3. Start dancing and cheering right now in case you didn’t know or in case you’re still excited, like I am!
– The films is 2 hours and 13 minutes long. WHICH. IS. A. LOT. But we love it.
– We heard that Dumbledore will have an appearance.
– In case you’ve lived beneath a stone: Johnny Depp has scored a role in the second movie but we might just see him in the first one as well..?
The trailer
I think I’ve prepared you enough to watch the movie and mostly understand what is happening. Of course if you’re not familiar with the Harry Potter universe, some things might seem really weird and confusing. Trust me: I’ve been there. But overall, you will probably understand the movie (saying this without having seen the movie yet myself, but I am sure you’ll love it). To wrap up this “short” post, I will just give you a look at the trailer to get a feel of this twenties vibe of New York (it reminds me so much of The Great Gatsby). Enjoy and let me know if you have anymore questions!
