Since 1997, the world has been gripped by the magical world of Harry Potter. After publishing her first book Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, J.K. Rowling has continued to create a fantasy world for both adults and children alike. From the detailed backgrounds of the characters right down to the magical sweets and drinks they eat, Rowling has given us such a detailed description of this world that we could almost imagine ourselves living in it. When I was younger, I remember that on the night of a new book release, people would queue for hours outside the bookshops to ensure that when the shop opened in the morning they would be one of the first to buy a copy. The fact that people are still interested in Harry Potter today shows just how successful it has been.
This week, I went to see the newest Harry Potter spin-off Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them at the cinema. It follows the story of Newt Scamander as he arrives in New York City in 1926 with a briefcase full of magical creatures. He is trying to protect the creatures from the rest of the wizarding world, who think they are dangerous as they do not understand how to look after them. After meeting a “muggle” (a non-magical person), some of the creatures in Newt’s briefcase accidentally get released. The film follows their journey in trying to recapture the creatures whilst running from the American wizarding authority who want to capture them for bringing the illegal creatures into the country.
As someone who grew up reading the Harry Potter books and watching the films I loved getting another insight into the wizarding world. Fantasy is such a special genre as it allows you to get totally lost within the book or film and normally creates lots of different emotions. At times the film was happy, sad, a little confusing but also thrilling and exciting. With talks of a sequel I cannot wait to see what happens next to Newt and the other characters.
Have you seen the film? Are you a fan of the wizarding world of Harry Potter?
