I watch this movie on the premiere night but I can’t write it at the time (and later forget about it).
So, this time, as I still had a little time to write this, i’ll do it. 😛
Newt Scamander, an English wizard come to USA with his case full of magical creature. But did you know that his name, “Newt Scamander”, appears on the Marauder’s Map in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004)?
I really like the idea that he is really awkward in such a common place.
This movie takes place fifty-four years before Harry Potter was born, and sixty-five years before he started attending Hogwarts.
When he first time arrive at the port, his case was asked to be opened by an officer. He changed the case ‘mode’ to “Muggle’s only”. Inside his case, there’s his scarf. Newt’s gray and yellow scarf that he wears in the film’s last scene, as well as in promotional materials, is an allusion to the fact that he was in Hufflepuff while attending Hogwarts.
But.. J.K. Rowling has stated that this film “is neither a prequel, nor a sequel to the Harry Potter series, but an extension of the wizarding world. Newt’s story will start in New York City, seventy years before Harry gets underway.”
The next scene is becoming more fun when Newt stranded to the bank and meet Mary Lou, Tina and also Kowalsky.
There’s this scene when Mary Lou asks Newt “are you a seeker,” he answers by saying “more of a chaser.” This is a hint that he possibly played as a chaser in Quidditch while attending Hogwarts. LOL
There are so many hints to find.
During the early scene in the bank, where the Niffler is causing commotion, Newt uses the spell “Alohomora” to open the vault, and “Petrificus Totalus” to incapacitate the bank manager. Both spells were also used by Hermione Granger in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (2001).
After the chasing scene inside the bank, Tina was finally able to talk to Newt and asking him what’s his purpose for coming to US.
When Tina shows her MACUSA card to Newt, several details are visible. Most importantly, it shows her middle name: Esther; her MACUSA ID number: 240274; and her date of birth: August 19, 1901. Details of Newt’s passport are much harder to see, but the following can be discerned: born in 1897; middle names Artemis Fido; last departed Britain on June 16, 1923; passport number #600427.
About Tina’s MACUSA Id, this is the birthdate of Eduardo Lima, a wizard on whom the Ministry of Magic kept tabs while it was under Death Eater control in 1997. Eduardo Lima is also the name of a graphic designer who worked on Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004) and succeeding films.
When Tina ask about is he already obliviate Kowalsky, Newt really lost in the conversation. This is happen because in the 1920s, “muggles” was U.S. slang for marijuana cigarettes. This may explain why members of the U.S. wizarding community don’t use the term to mean non-magical people, but call them “no-maj” instead.
Later on this movie, there are 5 creatures that escape from the case.
One of them is Occamy. J.K. Rowling invented the word “choranaptyxic” for this film. A choranaptyxic creature can shrink or grow to fit the available space; the Occamy is one such creature.
At the scene of a building collapse a cop tells the crowd it isn’t a gas explosion because there is no smell of gas. But natural gas is both odorless and colorless, adding odor to the gas was globally adopted after the New London School explosion of 1937. So even if there had been a gas leak or explosion, the cop would not have been able to smell gas. So ya, maybe this actually can be a good ‘cover’ reason.
Leta Lestrange, love interest of Newt Scamander, is most likely related to Rodolphus Lestrange, the late husband of Bellatrix. So, there is a possibility that Newt has a close connection with Dumbledore and Harry as well.
Frank, the giant hawk-like bird Newt shows to Jacob while touring around his menagerie of fantastic beasts, is a Thunderbird. Thunderbirds are mythical birds that create, and are summoned by, lightning in Native American folklore. This explains how Frank is summoned in his first appearance in the movie, and how he flies into the storm cloud during the climax.
Thunderbird is one of the four Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry houses, as detailed on Pottermore.
Is there someone notice that the pendant that Graves gives to Credence is the mark of the Deathly Hallows?
as is the pendant worn by Xenophilius Lovegood in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1(2010). It foreshadows the reveal that Graves is actually Grindelwald in disguise. In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Grindelwald and Dumbledore are described as obsessed with the Deathly Hallows. In the book, it is specifically identified as Grindelwald’s mark during his reign of terror.
Actually, you also can see the pendant during the “interrogation” scene in the Graves’ jacket pocket. This is a small clue to his allegiance and true identity.
Credence presumably died when his Obscurus form was destroyed by the Aurors at the end of the movie. However, according to David Yates, they shot a scene in which Credence was still alive in the aftermath, but then deleted it, because the other filmmakers have yet to decide on the direction of the character in the sequels. Let’s hope we can meet Credence again in the next movie.
And if you really want to read this, I’ll give you more hints about Graves.
There are several clues to Percival Graves being Gellert Grindelwald in disguise:
- The hair styles of Graves and Grindelwald are similar.
- In the interrogation, Graves pays particular attention to the fact that Albus Dumbledore holds Newt Scamander in high regard. According to Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Dumbledore and Grindelwald were close friends, possibly lovers, and equally obsessed with the Deathly Hallows.
- It is later revealed that the point-of-view shots of someone gliding through the city are of Graves travelling as smoke. Travelling as smoke in the films is associated with the dark arts, as the only other people that have been seen traveling in this way in this fictional universe are Death Eaters and Voldemort.
- In one secret meeting between Graves and Credence Barebones, Graves gives him a charm which can summon him, should Credence need help. The charm is the symbol of the Deathly Hallows. In the Harry Potter books, it is also understood to be the mark Grindelwald, once identified with in his anti-muggle terrorism campaign of the 1920s-1940s.
- Dumbledore’s sister Ariana is rumored to host an obscurus, which is why, in the books, she was prone to lash out with strong magic after attempting to suppress it. Save Scamander, Graves appears to be the only one knowledgeable about obscurials in this film – at least enough to think he could use Credence for his nefarious ends.
- Believing Credence to be non-magical with magical lineage, Graves refers to him as a squib. Given that the magic community refers to non-magical people without magical lineage as No-Majs instead of muggles, it is entirely possible that they have another term for squibs. If so, Graves-Grindelwald slipped up and exposed his European origins.
- Graves’ first name is Percival. Percival is one of Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore’s middle names. Grindelwald might have, consciously or unconsciously, recalled “Percival”, and used it for his alias.
Above all of those things I write up there, this movie is a ‘must watch’.
It has more than one reason for you to be in love with this movie.
This movie will be followed by:
- Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald (2018)
- Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them 3 (2020)
- Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them 4 (2022)
- Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them 5 (2024)
Broken ∞ Infinity 