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The J.K. Rowling<\/span><\/a> imagination is always a treat to witness on screen \u2013 and on the page, so this magical \u2018prequel\u2019 to the Harry Potter series was bound not to disappoint on a creative level and be equaling immersive.<\/p>\n Oscar-winner Eddie Redmayne<\/span><\/a>\u00a0is English writer Newt Scamander, a socially awkward intellectual who arrives with \u2018animal baggage\u2019 in New York to source more species. However, he gets embroiled in sinister witch hunts \u2013 by \u2018Muggles\u2019 called \u2018No Majs\u2019 \u2013 and power struggles within the secret community of witches and wizards, seventy years before school-boy Harry Potter reads his book.<\/p>\n The more cynical might say the latest story is milking the cash cow that Rowling has made so lucrative. However, fans of her wizard world cannot get enough of the super imaginative existence, and this is again delivered in spades, along with some comedy moments.<\/p>\n The film also appeals to animal lovers and preservationists, with a couple of \u2018innocents\u2019 at the helm trying protect the former. Redmayne is perfectly cast, but as Newt spends a lot of time in mumbled reflection and social awkwardness, it is down to Muggle \u2018comic\u2019 sidekick Jacob (a great performance by Dan Fogler<\/span><\/a>), who Newt unexpectedly gets entangled with at the start, to be our guide and re-enforce this \u2018wide-eyed innocence\u2019 the film so relies on to further enchant.<\/p>\n Rowling cleverly ties in real-world beliefs, with America\u2019s witch trials in the 1920s, giving the story foundation greater significance. Hence, context, setting and cast are all commendably established, ready for the next in the film installment. Unfortunately, it suffers from the same affliction as the first Potter films, with a lot of the space dominated by trying to set up the pre-Potter world (of how it all began) \u2013 even to the detriment of the fantastic animals \u2013 that the film\u2019s story gets a little lost.<\/p>\n That said as a festive family offering, Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them<\/em><\/a> has all the charm needed to make it a satisfying viewing \u2013 and a must-see for Potter enthusiasts, kind of like a history lesson in Potter origins.<\/p>\n 3\/5 stars<\/strong><\/p>\n By @FilmGazer<\/p>\n