"Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" Trailer Reaction

I am a huge fan of the Harry Potter series, both books and movies, along with millions of other fans around the world. So when rumours came about that suggested that we may be seeing some more movies in the Harry Potter universe, I was very excited. My attitude changed to one of scepticism, however, when it was announced that this new movie would be focusing on the book "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them," a textbook from the Potter universe and released for Comic Relief. My concerns only grew after the glorified logo reveal late last year. This new trailer, on the other hand, has changed my attitude back to before the title was revealed. Check it out below, and then I'll give you my thoughts.

There's a lot of things to love here. However, the thing that really made this trailer special for me is the use of the music. Incorporating the main Harry Potter theme into a prequel to the series has come across as a bit off to some people, but it really works as a way to tie this movie into the other films and let general audiences know that they will be returning to the world of Harry Potter. That and the great reference to Dumbledore, delivered by Colin Farrell's Percival Graves.

Speaking of Graves, the trailer gave us a great look at all of the different characters that we'll be seeing in the movie. Colin Farrell may not be the star of the show, and may in fact be one of the antagonists (come on, the guy's name is Graves), but at least he doesn't look to be giving one of his over-the-top performances (I still remember Daredevil) and seems to fit right into this world. The main man here is Eddie Redmayne's Newt Scamander, the wizard carrying a case which contains all of the titular beasts. I don't have a lot of problems with this trailer, but Redmayne is one of them, and from what I can tell he is playing the same character once again: the socially awkward but very clever character. Hopefully, he can make the character something special nonetheless. The rest of the cast seem fine just now, but I need to see more of them in later trailers before I know what to think of them.

As a movie featuring magical creatures running rampant in 1920s New York, visual effects are pretty important. The trailer generally keeps the magical creatures themselves under wraps, besides a flying blue bird is an underground tunnel and a brief shot of a small, mole-like creature (potentially identified as a Niffler by die-hard Potterheads). However, just cause the beasts aren't on display, there best of the magic and effects are. The spells from wands and other magic such as the flying napkins and plates briefly glimpsed all look incredible. However, the CGI background of New York that Newt can briefly be seen walking through does not look real at all. This is probably not a finished effect though, so they've got 7 months to fix these small sections. The practical sets and costume designs of the movie also look phenomenal, but this has been a staple of the Harry Potter franchise since day one.

I had my concerns about this movie before seeing this trailer, and some of those concerns are still present (like why a small children's book with no plot has been split into a trilogy before the first movie has been released). However, this trailer has reassured me on a few levels, including the effects and acting. I don't know how this movie is going to turn out, but if this trailer is any indication, it has the potential to be on the same level as the best of the Harry Potter movies.

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is releasing November 18th, 2016.

Starring Eddie Redmayne, Katherine Waterston, Colin Farrell, Alison Sudol, Dan Fogler, Samantha Morton, Jon Voight, Ron Perlman