Rent Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (2016)

3.4 of 5 from 1016 ratings
2h 7min
Rent Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them Online DVD & Blu-ray Rental
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Synopsis:
Something mysterious is leaving a path of destruction in the streets of 1926 New York, threatening to expose the wizarding community. Newt Scamander arrives in the city nearing the end of a global excursion to research and rescue magical creatures. When unsuspecting No-Maj Jacob Kowalski inadvertently lets some of Newt's beasts loose, a band of unlikely heroes must recover the missing beasts before they come to harm, but their mission puts them on a collision course with Dark forces.
Actors:
, , , , , , , , , , , , Faith Wood-Blagrove, , , , , , Max Cazier,
Directors:
Producers:
David Heyman, Steve Kloves, J.K. Rowling, Lionel Wigram
Voiced By:
Scott Goldman
Writers:
J.K. Rowling
Others:
David Heyman, Steve Kloves, Andy Nelson, Colleen Atwood, Lionel Wigram, Tim Burke, Stuart Craig, Anna Pinnock, Glenn Freemantle, Niv Adiri, Simon Hayes, Ian Tapp, Christian Manz, David Watkins, Pablo Grillo
Studio:
Warner
Genres:
Action & Adventure, Children & Family, Sci-Fi & Fantasy
Collections:
2017, Children & Family, Children's Books On Screen: Fantasy, CinemaParadiso.co.uk Through Time, Top 10 Films Set in Department Stores, Top 13 Halloween Films For Kids, Top Films
Awards:

2017 BAFTA Best Production Design

2017 Oscar Best Costume Design

BBFC:
Release Date:
27/03/2017
Run Time:
127 minutes
Languages:
Castilian Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1, Catalan Dolby Digital 5.1, English Audio Description Dolby Digital 5.1, English Dolby Digital 5.1
Subtitles:
Castillian, Danish, English, English Hard of Hearing, Finnish, Greek, Icelandic, Norwegian, Swedish
DVD Regions:
Region 2
Formats:
Pal
Aspect Ratio:
Widescreen 2.40:1
Colour:
Colour
Bonus:
  • The Magizoologist
  • Meet the Feantastic Beast
BBFC:
Release Date:
27/03/2017
Run Time:
133 minutes
Languages:
Castilian Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1, Catalan Dolby Digital 5.1, Czech Dolby Digital 5.1, English Audio Description Dolby Digital 5.1, English Dolby Atmos, English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, French Dolby Digital 5.1, Russian Dolby Digital 5.1, Slovakian Dolby Digital 5.1
Subtitles:
Castillian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English Hard of Hearing, Estonian, Finnish, Greek, Icelandic, Latvian, Lithuanian, Norwegian, Russian, Slovakian, Swedish
Formats:
Pal
Aspect Ratio:
Widescreen 2.40:1
Colour:
Colour
BLU-RAY Regions:
B
Bonus:
  • Over an Hour of Expansive, Multipart Featurettes - Meet the fantastic characters and beasts and learn their stories, then immerse yourself in MACUSA Newt's case and more of the film's locations Before Hairy Potter: A New Era of Magic Begins!
  • Deleted Scenes
BBFC:
Release Date:
27/03/2017
Run Time:
133 minutes
Languages:
Castilian Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1, Catalan Dolby Digital 5.1, English Audio Description Dolby Digital 5.1, English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, French Dolby Digital 5.1
Subtitles:
Castillian, Danish, Dutch, English Hard of Hearing, Finnish, French, Greek, Icelandic, Norwegian, Swedish
Formats:
Pal
Aspect Ratio:
Widescreen 2.40:1
Colour:
Colour
BLU-RAY Regions:
B
Bonus:
  • Over an Hour of Expansive, Multipart Featurettes - Meet the fantastic characters and beasts and learn their stories, then immerse yourself in MACUSA Newt's case and more of the film's locations Before Hairy Potter: A New Era of Magic Begins!
  • Deleted Scenes
BBFC:
Release Date:
27/03/2017
Run Time:
133 minutes
Languages:
Castilian Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1, Catalan Dolby Digital 5.1, English Audio Description Dolby Digital 5.1, English Dolby Atmos, English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
Subtitles:
Castillian, Croatian, Danish, English Hard of Hearing, Finnish, Greek, Norwegian, Slovakian, Swedish
DVD Regions:
Region 2
Formats:
Pal
Aspect Ratio:
Widescreen 2.40:1
Colour:
Colour
BLU-RAY Regions:
B
Bonus:
  • Over an Hour of Expansive, Multipart Featurettes - Meet the fantastic characters and beasts and learn their stories, then immerse yourself in MACUSA Newt's case and more of the film's locations Before Hairy Potter: A New Era of Magic Begins!
  • Deleted Scenes

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Reviews (12) of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

Very boring + long CGI-saturated movie - it even bores kids! Be warned. - Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them review by PV

Spoiler Alert
24/04/2017

This is a spin-off from Harry Potter which I have always thought was massively over-rated anyway.

The difference here is that character does not seem to be the motivating force for the story - instead, it all seems just an excuse for endless CGI imagery - loads of fantastical creatures on screen most of the time. Maybe the makers of this movie should remember that in the classic Jurassic Park the dinosaurs were on screen for only 6 and a half minutes. Spielberg knew the anticipation and suggestion of dinosaurs would be more effective. Less is more, indeed. With this movie, more is less and it all gets very tedious indeed.

The plot is limp as a lettuce leaf. I never believed Eddie Redmayne as the character he played either - he seems miscast. And it's 2 hours long!

The female characters are better especially the mindreading sister. Best of all is the short stout moustachioed Polish-named fellow who works in a factory but has ambitions to start a bakery - HE is the reason I am not awarding this film one star.

Only watch this if you like yawning. One to watch for duty not pleasure.

2 out of 3 members found this review helpful.

Super Hero action in a Wizarding World - Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them review by CS

Spoiler Alert
01/04/2017

I wasn't sure what to expect from this new film, but Harry Potter it is not! In reality the constant Harry Potter references throughout are irrelevant and do more harm than good, they would have done better to steer clear of such reference altogether and simply set this film as a stand alone! There are so many different story lines going on in here, it's more like a series of mini plots all mashed together. the production reminded me very much of all the Super Hero movies of recent years and this is very clearly an attempt at bringing the world of JK Rowling to an American audience, by simplifying everything, making it all wham bam thank you mam, and having to constantly have action to appeal to a less sophisticated audience who don't have an attention span of more than five minutes! Where Harry Pottery was slick, stylish, sophisticated and treated its audience as intelligent, regardless of their age, because this film caters mainly for the American audience, it loses that style and sophistication. It is often said that a European audience are much more sophisticated and don't need the plot spelling out to them every five minutes, whereas America audiences have much shorter attention spans, hence the reason why European film makers are good at making classic slow burning stylised films, whereas American movies are all fast paced action! And you can very clearly se this in this film.

Eddie Redmayne has a really annoying habit throughout, of constantly overdoing the shy bit by looking down, sideways, behind, but never at you or the camera. The idea with the new characters is fantastic and you can see a foursome core of main characters ready for the new series, with a prototype Voldemort and adult Malfoy. The film leaves us with a typical Super hero ending,lining it up nicely for the sequel, but the action towards the end is a bit slap dash and predictable, like they were in a hurry to achieve the release date!

The special effects and creature are superb and if only they had slowed the pace and taken more time to develop this side of the story, it could have been so much better. For me it was a bit of a struggle to watch, I had to watch it in two parts. It's a good film, but could have been so much better. For me the American angle spoiled it completely, they need to slow the pace and concentrate more on character development and single storylines, give the actors room to breath and stop trying to turn this into something which Marvel or some other Comic Book company would produce!

And please Eddie, try looking at the camera and opening your eyes a bit more next time!

2 out of 2 members found this review helpful.

Effects, effects, effects - a bit of a story with more effects.... YAWN! - Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them review by JL

Spoiler Alert
24/01/2019

Boring... no storyline and more effects (which already look dated) than you want.

It started slow and ended slower than it started.

Awful film.

1 out of 1 members found this review helpful.

Critic review

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them review by Mark McPherson - Cinema Paradiso

The world of Harry Potter finally goes beyond the adventures of schoolchildren at Hogwarts and into adult adventures in 1920s New York City. Wizards attempt to maintain some order and secrecy when pitted against wizard-despising societies. Secret underground locations become hangouts for wizards to indulge in the illegal concoction of giggle juice while an elf entertains with a somber song of unicorns. The American wizarding congress houses itself in a secret building of towering offices and wand polishing services in the lobby. It’s an amazing world that is a joy to get lost within. The characters that occupy it, however, are another story.

The protagonist for what is planned to be a new series of movies in the Harry Potter universe is Newt, a shy wizard played by a mumbling Eddie Redmayne in a frilly costume and unkempt hair. He’s a keeper of endangered magical creatures, containing them all within a pocket dimension inside his small suitcase. His zoo is a sight to behold with all sorts of wild creatures from lions with puffer fish throats to snake-dragons that can change shape and size. During a shopping trip to New York, Newt’s suitcase is opened and the beasts escape into the city, leaving Newt with the task of preventing New York City from turning into Jumanji.

A muggle (or no-maj as they’re known in America) by the name of Jacob (Dan Fogler) is wrapped into Newt’s problems by being in the wrong place at the wrong time. As one of the few non-magic users of this plot, Jacob is a very likable character in hapless pursuit of helming his own bakery and his attraction to the perky wizard Queenie. He’s far more interesting to follow than that of Newt, who spends most of his screentime looking down, babbling about his creatures and refusing to talk about his past as he’s saving that story for another movie. Newt and Jacob could still make a great duo in their pursuit of escaped beasts and most of their antics in this arena are amusing.

But long-time Harry Potter author and first-time screenwriter J.K. Rowling couldn’t make such a simple story. She crowds the screen with lore and characters that often splinter into separate plots that only converge when forced to in the finale. There’s a destructive force ripping up New York City, spawned from a repressed wizard, that must be dealt with by the American wizard congress. The congress itself is backed up with cases and doesn’t have time to notice Colin Farrell as a high-ranking wizard working secretly with insiders of the anti-wizard league. Erza Miller finds himself conflicted as a boy beaten by his mother of an anti-wizard leader. Katherine Waterston plays an ex magic enforcer that tasks herself with bringing in Newt while the rest of congress is distracted. Did mention there’s a mayoral election going on as well that involves collusion with the press and concern for wizard rights?

All this juggling and stumbling of plotlines made me pine for the more simplistic story of Newt trying to snatch a magic mole out of a jewelry store or a rhino-hippo out of a zoo. These moments are fun, but come off more as whimsical filler for the far darker plot of a dark wizard. But all that leads up to is a slapped-together finale where a black particle storm rips up the city and Newt happens to pop up with the perfect status quo restoring device. How both convenient and cliche.

What ultimately saves this frustrating script is the beautiful direction by Harry Potter veteran director David Yates. He styles every scene to hold a sense of wonder and some originality to differentiate as much from the halls of Hogwarts and the Ministry of Magic. He can’t improve the characters or give us more time to admire their chemistry, but he can make them occupy some unforgettable sets with visually engrossing effects.

I guess what it all comes down to is how much one can separate themselves from a messy script and enjoy the magical world established by Rowling and brought to the screen by Yates. There’s certainly plenty to like about the film on a surface level from the cinematography to the slapstick humor to the entrancing special effects, even if they all don’t merge as well as they should. I’m excited to see where this series can go now that it’s not bound by the restrictions of a school, but it’s going to take a lot more than fancy sets to make Newt’s journey an interesting one. Here’s hoping I won’t have to rely on giggle juice to appreciate this world.

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