I am not the type to just sit down and watch a movie, but when it comes to a Fantastic Beasts movie, I am there! Fantastic Beasts is a sort of spin-off from the Harry Potter movies; taking place in the 1920s-1930s, approximately sixty-five years before Harry Potter’s time. There are two other movies in the Fantastic Beasts series; “Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them” and “Fantastic Beasts: Crimes Of Grindelwald.” I recommend those two as well. Warning: this review does contain spoilers. I strongly recommend that everyone go and watch this movie because it will take you, and your emotions, on a magical ride (yes, I did cry).

This movie takes place in the 1930s, where Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne) is seen to be in some kind of jungle or forest in China. He came to China to assist an adult Qilin give birth. You see the huge, almost deer-like creature stand, revealing an egg. As Newt looks at the egg, it pops like a water droplet as it leaves no shell behind. You can’t but say “aaawww” at this creature as it wanders around, exploring its surroundings. That happy, peaceful moment is short-lived when one of Grindelwald’s followers strikes the adult Qilin with a harmful spell. Newt recognizes what danger him and the newborn Qilin are in; he grabs the baby Qilin and takes off through the forest, trying to lose the people who have come for the Qilin. Unfortunately, Grindelwalds minions strike Newt and he falls into a river, unwillingly letting go of the Qilin. Grindelwald’s minions finally get to the Qilin, put it in a sack, and disapparate as Newt lies there hopelessly. When Newt is finally able to get back up, he goes back to where the adult Qilin was left. He sits next to it, knowing there is nothing he can do, when another baby Qilin appears! He looks at the mother and says, “Twins,” before the mother is shown taking her last breath as a tear falls down her face. Before I go on, here is the reason why Grindelwald wanted the Qilin: Qilins could look into a person’s soul and find out if they were pure of heart. If they saw someone that was pure of heart, they would bow. Credence brings Grindelwald the Qilin, Grindelwald thanks him and sends Credence and his other followers off so he could be alone with the Qilin. As he is holding the Qilin, he slits its throat, killing it to harness its abilities of precognition.

A couple of Newts creatures help get him and his briefcase out of the forest and to safety (his briefcase contains a bunch of magical creatures; “Fantastic Beasts”). I believe it cuts to New York where Jacob Kowalski (Don Fogler) is in his bakery with a glum look on his face. In the second Fantastic Beasts movie, Crimes Of Grindelwald, his girlfriend, Queenie, wanted to get married to Jacob, but he wanted to keep her safe, since it was illegal for witches or wizards to marry muggles (non-magic people). Queenie ended up becoming one of Grindelwald’s followers, leaving Jacob behind. Jacob sees a woman sitting on a bench and it looks like a couple of men are harassing her. Little does Jacob know, the woman, Professor Hicks (Jessica Williams), was sent by Newt to persuade Mr. Kowalski into accompanying them on their mission to defeat Grindelwald and find Credence (Ezra Miller). After Jacob and Professor Hicks arrive on the train, Newt informs everyone about his plan and Newt gives Jacob his own wand (it’s not like a fully legit wand, but I think it functions somehow). When the trains arrives at their destination, Bunty (Victoria Yeates), Newt’s assistant, takes his case containing his magical creatures.

Later in the movie, Professor Hicks and Jacob get assigned to go to some sort of gathering/fancy dinner place. This is where Jacob sees Queenie in person since she joined Grindelwald. Over-filled with emotions and rage, and a little tipsy, Jacob goes up to Grindelwald’s table and points his wand at him, threatening him to let Queenie go. As everyone watches in shock, some man yells “assassination” and everyone starts running out of the building. As Queenie is leaving with Grindelwald and the rest of the group, she secretly tries to help keep the guards away from Jacob. Professor Hicks gets them both out of there safely, but the next day, on the front page, is a picture of Jacob holding his wand to Grindelwald and the title being something along the lines of “Muggle Attempts Assassination.” Time goes by, everyone regroups, and now they are picking cases that look like Newt’s, but only one is the actual case. They do this because Grindelwald knows that there was another Qilin born that night and Grindelwald has taken the reanimated Qilin to The Walk of the Qilin Ceremony so he could control it into choosing him to become the next Supreme Mugwump. After the dead Qilin bowed to Grindelwald, Newt and his friends reveal the other Qilin and that the one Grindelwald has is dead. The real Qilin seeks out to find the next Supreme Mugwump. At first, it bows to Dumbledore, but Dumbledore tells the Qilin that he cannot be the only one that is worthy, so the Qilin finds another person that is pure of heart and it ends up being  Vicência Santos. Angered, Grindelwald tries to kill Credence, causing Dumbledore and Aberforth Dumbledore (Richard Coyle), who is Credence’s real father and Albus Dumbledore’s brother, to intervene. Because Dumbledore stopped Grindelwald from killing Credence, Dumbledore and Grindelwald’s blood pact was broken. Dumbledore transported him and Grindelwald to another dimension to continue dueling in order to protect the others at the ceremony. Dumbledore defeats Grindelwald and Aberforth is reunited with his son, Credence.

At the end of the movie, it shows that Jacob and Queenie are getting ready for their wedding. As Newt goes outside to practice his speech, he is greeted by his girlfriend Tina Goldstein (Katherine Waterson). After a sweet reunion, Tina is taken inside with Hicks and Theseus Scamander (Cullum Turner) and Newt spots Dumbledore sitting on a bench. Newt and Dumbledore exchange a few words, then they both part ways.