You have taken a trip to another country, only to discover your bag has been lost.

This scenario can be a horror to experience for just about anyone, but imagine if you knew your bag was filled with magical beasts.

“Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them” is the story of Newt Scamander, a wizard and zoologist of magical creatures. He comes to New York City in 1920’s with the intention of releasing one of his creatures back in to the wild. An initial escaped creature from his suitcase begins to draw attention to him by the United States magical community. During his attempts to recapture the first magical escapee, a human by the name of Jacob Kowalski becomes aware of the hidden magical world and accidentally switches his own suitcase with Scamander. The escaped beasts are not the only issue at hand, though, as a dark and powerful force has developed in the city. Scamander is drawn in to a conflict that risks the exposure of the magical society to the world.

Directed by David Yates, “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them” is based on the book of the same title, which was published in 2001 by author J.K Rowling, who was also the movie’s screenplay writer.

The published book itself is based on a fictional book from the Harry Potter series, which was fictitiously written by Scamander. Starring Eddie Redmayne as Scamander, Katherine Waterson as Porpentina ‘Tina’ Goldstein, Dan Fogler as Jacob Kowalski and Alison Sudol as ‘Queenie’ Goldstein, the story is set within the same fictional universe as the Harry Potter movie series. The events of the movie take place before the birth of the titular protagonist Harry Potter.

I attended a showing of the movie on Saturday in Orndorff Theater. The movie was quite enjoyable and I have a fascination for animals myself, so I was enchanted with the prospect of magical zoology.

Many of the characters and scenes were endearing, such as a scene where Scamander attempts to lure one of his creatures back in to the case through the use of the mating dance performed by males of its species.

Of course, other antics ensured attempts to contain many of the creatures who had escaped Scamander case. I did think, however, that the background of a relationship between Tina and another character, named Credence Barebone, was rather unexplained, with details being scarce and the event itself practically mentioned in passing. Credence was part of an event in Tina’s life before the movie took place, and a simple reference hardly seemed like it was enough.

I have not read any of the books in the Harry Potter series, or seen any of the movies, however I was able to enjoy the magical world and storyline portrayed in “Fantastic Beasts.”

If you enjoy fantasy worlds and magical creatures, you may want to give “Fantastic Beasts” a chance. And if you ever take a trip, do your best not to lose your suitcase.

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