When Warner Bros and J.K. Rowling announced that the Harry Potter franchise would returning to the big screen in a brand new form, fans were left scratching their heads at the fact that Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, a film based off a Hogwarts classroom textbook is actually going to be a reality. Creating spin-offs based on popular franchises certainly aren’t a foreign idea, such as this year’s Rogue One, but Fantastic Beasts seemed like a film that was a bit of a stretch. While it took a few years until that confusion would finally pay off, J.K. Rowling and director David Yates certainly delivered a great film for Potter fans to enjoy, expanding on the Harry Potter mythology in new expansive, creative and innovative ways. The film isn’t quite perfect, and I personally have a few problems with the film’s pacing and story in the second act, but the film starts and ends off a high note, wrapping up this fun film leaving me wanting so much more and eagerly anticipating the second installment of this five-film franchise, debuting in November of 2018.
Finally, the film is now available on Blu-Ray Combo Pack, and 4K Ultra HD and we couldn’t be more thrilled to be able to experience this film again and again. The transfer of the film looks stunning on Blu-Ray, bringing out the immersive colors and artistry that went into the design and creation behind the look of the film. The film is one that looks truly spectacular, and we couldn’t be more thrilled by its stunning quality and that beauty is even more well-captured on Blu-Ray and with Warner Bros’s persistence to bring the beauty of this film out on the 4K HD transfer.
Accompanying both releases of the film is a lineup of great bonus features taking fans behind the scenes of the creation of the film, complete with interviews with the cast and crew of the films. From set design to the fantastic beasts themselves, there is little that isn’t covered in these bonus features. Starting off this release is a great feature titled Before Harry Potter: A New Era of Magic Begins which features interviews with JK Rowling and director David Yates, returning to the franchise after directing the last four Harry Potter films, and their journey to getting Fantastic Beasts on the big-screen. The two talk about how important it was for them to get this film visually and emotionally truthful to the Potter franchise, and not to mention in attempting to deliver the great storytelling that Rowling is known for. Yates is truly a master at combining great story with gripping action, and translating complex emotion into a cohesive and deeply layered story and his talent quite possibly helped define the Harry Potter franchise for a generation, especially after saving the franchise from the disastrous Goblet of Fire. If there was anyone better to helm a new film within the Wizarding World that Harry would occupy sixty years later, that person is David Yates, and it’s great to hear insight from him in this new featurette which dives head-first into the early creation of the film.
There onward. each of the bonus features are split into segments and categories. The first category is of course the Characters, which has five featurettes, The Magizoologist, The Goldstein Sisters, The New Salemers, The No-Maj Baker, and The President and the Auror. Each of these talk about the creation and design of each of the characters from concept to final look, and insight from Rowling and how her vision influenced the final look of the film. Like all of Rolwing’s works, all of the characters within her story are complex and full of richness and this set of featurettes shines a light on how even the smallest details impact the portrayal of the characters.
The next set, Creatures is quite similar, as it splits the segment into five small featurettes spotlighting the ‘fantastic beasts’ that Newt accidentally lets loose in New York. From their Harry Potter history to their final design for Fantastic Beasts, this set of features shines light on everything die-hard fans wanted to know about Bowtruckles, Nifflers, or the Crumple Horned Snorkack (well, maybe not that last one.)
There’s also a set of features pertaining to the Design of the world of Newt Scamander as like the others, this category is split into five parts. This segment takes on five different locations (as well as one general featurette about the overall look of the film) and speaks with set builders, character designers, concept artists and more about the work that went into making sure Fantastic Beasts feels like a cohesive and influential addition to Rowling’s Wizarding World. To cap off the release are eleven Deleted Scenes which range from the “Oh, they should have kept that in!” to the “Thank Dumbledore that was deleted”. Ever wanted to learn the Ilvermorny school song? These Deleted Scenes are for you.
Overall, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them conjures up an almost-perfect release to accompany an almost-perfect movie. While it’s just short of perfection, there’s no shortage of the great storytelling and creativity that fans have come to expect from Rowling and fans of this film should be thrilled by some of the great insight this release has to offer. For any die-hard Potter fans like myself, this is a release certainly worth a look.
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