Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is one of those rare instances that you are invited to a world you know well and even though you are told that it will deal with the past of that particular world (thus making it a kind of prequel), it delivers such a fresh viewpoint on that universe that it feels like you've just been introduced to magic for the first time.
So, what is this new creation by the genius J.K. Rowling? To get an idea, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is inspired by Rowling's small book of the same name that was published in 2001 with the aim to raise money for a Comic Relief charity. The book was nothing else than an encyclopaedia of sorts and it featured a detailed alphabetical presentation of all the magical creatures that could be found in Rowling's universe (even though many of which we never saw in any Harry Potter book). The movie is based on J.K. Rowling's first screenplay and it tells the story (or to be more precise, a chapter of the story) of Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne), a British magizoologist whose job has been to find and document all the magical creatures that exist in our world.
This time, however, the story does not take place in Britain but in the US of the 1920's. As Newt travels to New York in 1926, he comes across a world that is rather hostile against wizards. The magical community tries to remain hidden yet many are those who seek to expose wizards and recreate a Salem witch-hunt. One such person is Mary Lou (Samantha Morton), a woman who adopts children and brainwashes them to fight against any sign of wizardry. Her eldest adopted son, Credence (Ezra Miller), a rather problematic teen, comes in touch with the Director of Magical Security at MACUSA (MAgical Congress of the United States of America), Percival Graves, played by Colin Farrell and together they try to find a child whose vision Graves has had in the recent past. 
What is more, our protagonist, Newt, carries a briefcase that seems to contain a huge number of fantastic beasts, and at the moment of his arrival a couple of those creatures escape. Fearing that he may lose his beloved animals, Newt comes across a no-maj (the american word for the well-known british Muggle- meaning non-wizard folk-) Jacob Kowalski (Dan Fogler) who is accidentally thrown in this magical universe, as well as two witches Tina (Katherine Waterston) and her sister Queenie (Alison Sudol), both working for MACUSA, and they all search for the escaped beasts. It all becomes really dangerous, however, as an unknown powerful and untameable creature, which may or may not have been in Newt's briefcase, makes an appearance that cannot be ignored neither by wizards nor no-majs.
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is not a prequel to the Harry Potter stories but a spin-off. Featuring some characters and terminologies that die-hard potterheads are acquainted with, it manages to be a completely new tale which may attract both old and new fans. What is amazing is that the story feels so true to the original material; one truly believes that this is the past of the magic world we have all grown up with since 1997, and it is simultaneously so nostalgic when the famous musical theme is first heard and yet so fresh and original as it narrates something other than the confrontation between Harry and his nemesis Voldemort.
The audiences may cheer as they hear a couple of familiar names who are already alive in 1926 (incidentally, the year Voldemort was born) but this is first and foremost Newt's story; or even more so, the way Newt experienced some very important magical events. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them may seem whimsical and enjoyable (and it is) but it starts and ends with the big bad of the wizarding world, one who may have been even scarier than the bad guy of the Harry Potter years, Gellert Grindelwald: the Adolf Hitler equivalent of the wizarding universe. First described in detail in the 7th Harry Potter book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Grindelwald appeared briefly in the adaptations of the final tome but it seems that now is the time for J.K. Rowling to introduce us properly to this bad guy.
So is this return to magic worth it? Look, if you never enjoyed the heptalogy then this is definitely not for you. It might be original but it still has people with wands dueling and using the famous magic spells that we've all loved. If, however, you are one of us nerds, this refreshing story of the shy magizoologist and his companions is exactly what you want it to be: magical. Rowling, famous for her great writing, gives us a rather concise script (any plot points missing are sure to be explained in the future films that are to come) and David Yates (Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows pts 1&2), who in the past has had a few bland moments, directs a riveting film full of magic, humour, action, movement and adventure. 
In addition, although the audience does not have enough time to get to know and love the characters (with the exception of the muggle Jacob, may I say) and even though Newt may be considered the protagonist but in reality he is one of the members of a whole ensemble, it was astounding how every character, place and event seemed so complete with a past, a present and a future. We, the audience, may have seen just a small chapter of their stories but they all felt like they were there before we encountered them for the first time and like they would go on even after the end credits rolled. Is this due to good writing? Is it due to the existence of the previous books and films? No matter the reason, it all felt as if it had always existed in the Harry Potter universe, and that is saying something.
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