History Film / FantasticBeastsAndWhereToFindThem

* {{Leitmotif}}: "Hedwig’s Theme", the main theme of the Harry Potter film series, is reprised several times throughout the film's score: most notably when Jacob begins to realize that magic exists, after he and Newt apparated together for the first time, and when the duo later track the Erumpent down to the Central Park zoo so they can capture it.

* EntitledBastard: Henry Shaw, Jr. has it made: his father is wealthy and influential, and his money and connections have already propelled Jr. into the U.S. Senate, and made him a hopeful for the Presidency in a few more years. What does it matter to him that one family of ''"freaks"'' won't be voting for him? A lot, as it turns out.

* AluminumChristmasTrees: In the 1920's, there was an explosion of interest in esoteric religions, mysticism and the occult (and cults). Naturally, there was a backlash from conservative Christians. A Muggle organization devoted to fighting witchcraft wouldn't have been that much more ridiculous.

* ArtisticLicenceHistory: The Customs official says that Newt has recently been to Equatorial Guinea. It was known as Spanish Guinea until it gained its independence in 1968.

* AsYouKnow: Newt tells Tina (and the audience) about the restrictive MACUSA laws regarding No-Maj/wizard interaction, with the justification that Tina is asking Newt what he knows.

* {{Foil}}:
** American wizarding culture is very different from the UK and others. For starters, while relationships between muggles and witches and wizards are allowed in Europe, they are strictly forbidden in America for security reasons (see AllThereInTheManual above). In fact, they don't even have a liaison with the American Muggle government; ''that's'' how serious they are about upholding the {{Masquerade}}. Additionally, the British wizarding population views Muggles as amusing curiosities and inferior to the wizards' power, while the Americans do not underestimate their abilities without magic and see them as legitimate threats to their way of life. Interestingly, though, a house-elf is shown holding wands in MACUSA by having a job of washing them, while it is outright ''outlawed'' for a House-elf to have a wand in their hands in the UK.
** The Founding Fathers deliberately rejected concepts like Athenian democracy and a British-style Parliamentary system in order to create something [[UsefulNotes/AmericanPoliticalSystem entirely new]]. By contrast, MACUSA intentionally modelled its governmental body on the Wizards' Council of Great Britain, the predecessor to the British Ministry of Magic.

* RidiculouslyCuteCritter: Several of the magical creatures, especially the Niffler, a platypus-like creature with the tunnelling propensity of a mole and an [[ThievingMagpie attraction to shiny things]]; and the bowtruckle, a sociable stick insect not unlike a tiny [[Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy Groot]].

* AmbiguousDisorder: Newt rarely looks people in the eye, is far more comfortable with animals than people, and is a BadLiar. A lot of his mannerisms could probably qualify him as somewhere on the autistic spectrum, actually, but since the wizard community doesn't have Muggle-standards of psychiatry (and it's the 1920s, besides)[[note]]whilst the term was coined by Swiss psychiatrist Eugen Bleuler in 1911, it wouldn't enter wide use till Leo Kanner used it in 1943, and even then, it was mostly used to describe only children with significant support needs rather than "can just about cope in society" adults like Newt. It wasn't until around 61 years later that autism became a well-known disorder in the Muggle world thanks to Film/RainMan[[/note]], he's just seen as 'annoying'.

!!This film provides examples of:

[[folder:A-E]]

** The film introduces some new beasts, which makes sense… but what doesn't is that they're now missing from a [[Literature/FantasticBeastsAndWhereToFindThem comprehensive book]] of magical creatures that's gone through more than fifty editions. This plot hole is later closed in yet another edition of the guidebook, which explains that American beasts were discouraged from being discussed to prevent interest that would lead to breaches of MACUSA's law against breeding them.
** Newt was never known for anything besides his studies and book, making his involvement in wizarding history a surprise. The new edition of the book also covers this, explaining that Newt's activities were made confidential but are slowly being declassified, leaving room for future beast updates as the film series develops, and explaining why we never heard of Newt being anything other than a magizoologist.

* AssholeVictim: Henry Shaw, Jr. Perhaps he simply didn't have his public persona switched on when he insulted [[spoiler:Credence]], but the more likely explanation is that he is used to dismissing people he considers beneath him.

-->[[spoiler:'''Grindelwald:''']] ''[To [[spoiler:the president of MACUSA]], softly]'' Do you think you can hold me?

** Scamander owns a magical suitcase bewitched with an extension charm in which he transports his luggage and a number of beasts while he travels. He can hide the magical contents from {{Muggles}} by flipping a switch on the case. [[spoiler:Tina even stuffs him in there at one point to make sure that he can't back out of his [=MACUSA=] summons.]]

* BigRottenApple: The film takes place in UsefulNotes/NewYorkCity, and makes full use of its location to show off everything good and bad about the city that never sleeps during TheRoaringTwenties. Confirmed RealLife locations[[note]]though much like ''Film/KingKong2005'', everything was shot on a backlot due to the huge geographical differences between past and present New York[[/note]] so far include Central Park (and the Zoo), [[UsefulNotes/NewYorkCitySubway the City Hall Subway Station]], the Diamond District, and the Woolworth Building. American characters also have [[ShownTheirWork accurate]] addresses — the Goldstein sisters live on West 24th Street in Chelsea, while Jacob Kowalski is a native Brooklynite living in Manhattan's Lower East Side, which at that time was a notoriously poor area for immigrant families.

-->'''Jacob:''' (pointing up the block) "They went that way, officers."
* BookEnds:

* BrokenMasquerade: Well, cracked. Thanks to the Scourers and [[TooDumbToLive one particularly dim witch]], there are Muggles in America who know that wizards and witches exist and want them exposed. They only make up a small portion of America's non-magical population, but are a big enough threat that [=MACUSA=] forbids relationships with Muggles.

* ContinuityNod: One of Newt's animals is a Niffler, which made an appearance in the book version of ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheGobletOfFire'', where they were used as a game to hunt for leprechaun gold. Later on in ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheOrderOfThePhoenix'', Lee Jordan sets one loose in Umbridge's office when the school turns to mutiny against her.

* CultureClash: Newt's love and fascination of magical creatures and his European upbringing put him at odds with [=MACUSA=] and American Wizarding Culture in general.
--> '''Tina:''' Mr. Scamander, do you know ''anything'' about the Wizarding Community in America?
--> '''Newt:''' I know you have rather backwards laws about relations with non-magic people. [Tina gives him a [[DisapprovingLook look]]] You aren't allowed to befriend them. You can't marry them, which seems mildly absurd to me.

* CurbStompBattle: Gellert Grindelwald, disguised as Percival Graves, being far superior to anyone in the world as someone whose abilities are nearly equal to Dumbledore, delivers this to anyone he fights, [[spoiler:even an entire squad of aurors, who were quickly dropping like flies despite being all of them against him alone]]. He's only defeated [[spoiler:because he didn't know about the Swooping Evil that Newt was carrying]]. Even then, it's clear that he'll recover from that defeat very quickly (which gets confirmed in [[Film/FantasticBeastsTheCrimesOfGrindelwald the sequel]]).

** Tina, who was after all a professional Auror, battles Percival Graves to a standstill; only by throwing a car at her does he get away. [[spoiler: Considering that this is really Grindelwald himself, that's especially impressive!]]

* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything

*** Even ignoring that, the actual method of execution is also reminiscent of the electric chair, the capital punishment of choice in the United States until lethal injections became the standard, or of the practice of dunking alleged witches in the 17th and 18th century.

*** Meanwhile, House Elves and Goblins (especially the former) seem to have much more freedom under MACUSA's laws, wearing clothes, holding a variety of jobs, and basically being able to be what they choose. A subtle yet interesting mirror into America's own struggles with various -isms across its history, able to be simultaneously quite progressive and alarmingly backwards?

* EarnYourHappyEnding: [[spoiler:Newt has a finished manuscript and accolades as the man who bagged the wanted fugitive Gellert Grindelwald, Tina has her respect and position restored at [=MACUSA=], the two (awkwardly) start to hit it off, Jacob finally has his bakery business and it is ''flourishing'', and Queenie is elated to find out that Jacob's fond memory of her isn't completely obliviated.]]

* {{Expy}}: Queenie and Tina Goldstein seem to be based on Luna Lovegood and Hermione Granger, respectively. One is a blonde with mild {{Cloudcuckoolander}} tendencies who is actually quite capable and aware, while the other is a more grounded and super-serious brunette who is ''far'' more dangerous than she appears.

[[folder:F-J]]

** American wizarding culture is very different from the UK and others. For starters, while relationships between muggles and witches and wizards are allowed in Europe, they are strictly forbidden in America for security reasons (see AllThereInTheManual above). In fact, they don't even have a liaison with the American Muggle government; ''that's'' how serious they are about upholding the {{Masquerade}}. Additionally, the British wizarding population views Muggles as amusing curiosities and inferior to the the wizards' power, while the Americans do not underestimate their abilities without magic and see them as legitimate threats to their way of life. Interestingly, though, a house-elf is shown holding wands in MACUSA by having a job of washing them, while it is outright ''outlawed'' for a House-elf to have a wand in their hands in the UK.
** The Founding Fathers deliberately rejected concepts like Athenian democracy and a British-style Parliamentary system in order to create something [[UsefulNotes/AmericanPoliticalSystem entirely new]]. By contrast, [=MACUSA=] intentionally modelled its governmental body on the Wizards' Council of Great Britain, the predecessor to the British Ministry of Magic.

* FourTemperamentEnsemble: Newt and Tina are the introverts, and Jacob and Queenie the extroverts. Relatively to each other, Tina is more of a thinker and for justice Melanchonic, and Newt is more of a feeler and for mercy Phlegmatic, and he fits the "humble, thoughtful, compassionate" character. Queenie is a charming and quirky Sanguine, Jacob is a hard working and goal oriented Choleric.

->'''Tina:''' If you haven't said all those nice things to Madam Piquery about me, I wouldn't be back on the Investigative Team now.\\

(cue awkward OhCrap expression)

* HalfwayPlotSwitch: When Newt gets arrested right at the halfway point in the movie, the plot’s focus becomes the obscurial plot and Graves becomes more openly antagonistic.
* HeadInTheSandManagement: To President Picquery, Newt's magical creatures are the obvious culprit for the recent mayhem, and she [[IgnoredExpert brushes off his diagnosis]] of Henry Shaw, Jr.'s wounds as from an Obscurial, because ''"there are no Obscurials in America!"'' No one's ever seen one in a hundred years, therefore, it's not possible for them to exist. [[InsaneTrollLogic Flawless logic]], right?

* HistoricalFantasy: This movie lovingly showcases JK Rowling's magical community in 1920s New York, putting the movie squarely between this and UrbanFantasy.

* HumanFocusedAdaptation: The original ''Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them'' was a handbook centred around all kinds of magical creature, while this film centres around the author of said book.
* HopelessBossFight: Being the second greatest wizard in the series, Grindelwald gives off the appearance of this even while holding back. Literately no one but Newt even comes close to being an actual threat to him and even Newt is still very obviously outclassed and he is only able to capture Grindelwald due to a surprise attack utilizing an area of magic most power-seekers underestimate and ignore, magical creatures.

-->'''Newt''': ...that you can't marry them, which seems mildly absurd to me...\\
'''Tina''': ''(motions to Jacob)'' Who's gonna marry ''him''?\\
''(Jacob, despite suffering from his Murtlap bite, gives her a DeathGlare)''

* IHaveNoSon: Mary Lou, to Credence as he whimpers for forgiveness:
-->'''Credence''': I'm sorry, Ma...\\
'''Mary Lou''': I'm not your mother. Your mother was a ''wicked, unnatural'' woman!

** Despite being in a country famous for its democracy, [=MACUSA=] are even more draconian than their European counterparts, to the point of punishing their highest crimes with execution rather than imprisonment.[[note]]It's actually even worse than that: summary execution by a law officer without trial or sentencing or legal representation or, in Newt's case, contact with his embassy. They're being railroaded by Graves, but nobody else involved seems to think this is unusual, and Goldstein, who knows the law, can only beg for mercy — she doesn't seem to have any arguments that what they're doing is unusual or illegal. Either that, or she's caught on that her colleagues are under the control of an Imperius curse and knows that logic and the law won't mean anything to them now.[[/note]] Political commentary about how people view the states aside.
** As this movie is meant to be Newt's story before writing [[InNameOnly "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them"]], not only are most creatures in the book not present (which will hopefully be further addressed in the sequels), but this film also contains [[CanonForeigner animals that aren't in that book at all]] for reasons unknown in-universe, as Newt already showed plenty of knowledge about them, like the Thunderbird's natural habitat where you could find it. Then again, the original book never states that it's the complete guide (it was even missing animals mentioned in the main series by that point, such as Boggarts), and Dumbledore's foreword indicates it could simply be abridged despite containing Harry and Ron's doodles. Backing this up is how short nearly every entry is apart from the entries for the dragon, quintaped, and lethifold. The true irony might just be the fact that, after seeing Newt's personality, that he never contested the [=MoM=] rating tier, since the harmless ones (such as the Horklump) are rated as "Boring".

[[folder:K-O]]
* LandmarkingTheHiddenBase: [=MACUSA=]'s headquarters are hidden in the Woolworth Building in Manhattan.

* MundaneMadeAwesome: There is a slow motion scene of [[ItMakesSenseInContext someone diving to catch a cockroach with a teapot]].

** When it comes to stopping [[spoiler:Credence's Obscurus rampage]], no amount of magic seems able to work for long. What finally gets through is [[spoiler:Tina talking him down from the edge]]… which is then tragically negated when [[spoiler:TheCavalry arrives and kills him with a barrage of lethal spells]].

* NiceJobBreakingItHero: Newt's lax security with his suitcase and a poorly-timed SatchelSwitcheroo means a bunch of magical creatures escape, which has major repercussions.

* NotNowKiddo: Tina gets brushed off by the Aurors and President when she tries to turn in Newt for releasing magical creatures in New York. No one ever tries to follow up with her about this man who she brought in either. Graves does visit her later in her office and opts to have a look inside Newt's suitcase to see the evidence — problem is, thanks to the SatchelSwitcheroo that took place earlier, all they find is a bunch of Kowalski's pastries, and he dismisses the case. She even gets admonished for not reporting it sooner when she finally gets to reveal Newt's actions in an official setting.

* OohMeAccentsSlipping: Farrell’s American accent is quite good, but his normal Irish one very noticeably comes out when he says “honoured among wizards”.

* OminousPipeOrgan: The re-election rally for Henry Shaw Jr. starts to go wrong when spooky sounds begin to emerge from the pipe organ in the balcony of the event space… [[CruelAndUnusualDeath it goes downhill from there]].

[[folder:P-T]]

* PreAsskickingOneLiner: After listening to Graves try to recruit him one last time upon realizing [[spoiler: that ''Credence'', not Modesty, is the Obscurial AND that ''he can control his Obscurus'']], a bitter [[spoiler: Credence]] is ''the portrait'' of TranquilFury as [[spoiler: he]] replies "I don't think I ''want'' to, Mr. Graves..." Cue New York on the business end of a NoHoldsBarredBeatdown...

** When Graves is interrogating Newt at MACUSA, the first thing he asks is why [[spoiler:Albus Dumbledore]] is so fond of him and then asks him what he knows about the Obscurus. He's testing to see if [[spoiler:Dumbledore]] sent Newt to America to stop [[spoiler:Grindelwald, aka himself]].

** Newt’s bad attempts at coming up with a cover story for why he’s actually in New York and no one believing him.

-->'''Graves:''' So it's useless without the host.
-->'''Newt:''' "Useless"? "''Useless''"? That is a destructive magical parasite that killed a child. [[INeverSaidItWasPoison What on earth would you use it for?]]
* SeparatedByACommonLanguage: There's even different lingo for American wizards, who call Muggles "[[http://io9.com/heres-what-americans-call-muggles-in-the-world-of-har-1740642474 No-Majs]]". At the time the film is set, “Muggle” was slang for marijuana joints in the US which is likely why a new term was created.

** The film takes place in the RoaringTwenties. Gellert Grindelwald, the GreaterScopeVillain, was not defeated until the forties… and the film saga is slated to end in 1945, the year of his defeat.

** Newt's many bad attempts at trying to come up with a cover story for why he's actually in New York that no one buys imply that the real reason he's there will be revealed later.
** Who is Newt’s mysterious friend?

* StoryBreakerPower: Grindelwald is the main antagonist of the film, as revealed in the end, and being that he is the second greatest wizard in the entire series, just barely surpassed by Dumbledore, it is required that he doesn't use the Elder Wand, instead just Graves' wand, and has to suppress his abilities in order to give the heroes even a slight fighting chance against him, and even then it's only due to surprise attacks that he is defeated, demonstrating exactly what happens when someone who is around Dumbledore's level fights anyone, even groups of trained wizards and witches.

'''Newt:''' Well — I can't think of anyone I'd rather have investigating me. [''[[CantBelieveISaidThat wince]]'']

[[folder:U-Z]]

** [[spoiler:The fate of the ''real'' Percival Graves is never revealed. Supplemental materials stated that Grindlewald used Polyjuice Potion to impersonate him; however, J.K. Rowling later [[http://jkrowling.com/welcome-to-my-new-website/ stated]][[note]]see question #5 in the FAQ at the bottom[[/note]] that Grindlewald accomplished it entirely via Human Transfiguration. Therefore, Grindelwald may not have had any reason to keep Graves around, unless he needed to interrogate him, but this has yet to be confirmed.]]

->''[[Film/FantasticBeastsTheCrimesOfGrindelwald "Will we die, just a little?"]]''

* WeirdHistoricalWar: Subtly referenced. Apparently Newt attempted to use ''dragons'', specifically the Ukrainian Ironbellies, during his participation in the Eastern Front of UsefulNotes/WorldWarI, but the programme was cancelled as [[DidntThinkThisThrough the dragons tried to eat everyone other than Newt]]. Newt's brother, an Auror, also participated and was regarded as a "war hero", but it's not further detailed. There's also [[https://harrypotter.wikia.com/wiki/The_Owl_Airforce an in-universe book]] detailing the involvement of owl airforce during the war in Europe. Wiki/TheOtherWiki also contains [[https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/harrypotter/images/1/17/WorldWarOne.png this image]] of World War I in the ''Wizarding World'' universe.

* AmbiguousDisorder: Newt rarely looks people in the eye, is far more comfortable with animals than people, and is a BadLiar. A lot of his mannerisms could probably qualify him as somewhere on the autistic spectrum, actually, but since the wizard community doesn't have Muggle-standards of psychiatry (and it's the 1920s, besides)[[note]]whilst the term was coined by Swiss psychiatrist Eugen Bleuler in 1911, it wouldn't enter wide use till Leo Kanner used it in 1943, and even then, it was mostly used to describe only children with significant support needs rather than "can just about cope in society" adults like Newt. It wasn't until around 61 years later that autism became a well-known disorder in the No-Maj world thanks to Film/RainMan[[/note]], he's just seen as 'annoying'.

* AmbiguousDisorder: Newt rarely looks people in the eye, is far more comfortable with animals than people, and is a BadLiar. A lot of his mannerisms could probably qualify him as somewhere on the autistic spectrum, actually, but since the wizard community doesn't have Muggle-standards of psychiatry (and it's the 1920s, besides)[[note]]whilst the term was coined by Swiss psychiatrist Eugen Bleuler in 1911, it wouldn't enter wide use till Leo Kanner used it in 1943, and even then, it was mostly used to describe only children with significant support needs rather than "can just about cope in society" adults like Newt[[/note]], he's just seen as 'annoying'.

* SharpDressedMan: It's the RoaringTwenties! Natty suits, {{badass longcoat}}s, and [[NiceHat fedoras]] abound. This also emphasizes an important difference between American and British wizards — American wizards try to blend in with No-Majs and wear contemporary fashion, unlike British wizards who presumably all wear robes (in the books) or dress like Creator/CharlesDickens characters (in the movies).

* EverybodyHelpsOutDenouement: After Credence and Graves are defeated, the wizards of the USA use their magic to repair the damage done to New York City while Newt's beast erases all non-magical memory of that terrible night.

* AbusiveParents: Mary Lou, UpToEleven. She has adopted at least four children, making clear that she has done so out of zero concern for their well-being and entirely concerned with molding them into soldiers in her crusade against witchcraft in America.

* UpToEleven: The Obscurus Newt has stored in his case is bound in a bubble about the size of a beach ball. [[spoiler:The one we see at the end of the film is the size of a subway car.]]

It stars Creator/EddieRedmayne, as well as Creator/KatherineWaterston, Creator/DanFogler, Creator/AlisonSudol, Creator/ColinFarrell, Creator/EzraMiller, Creator/RonPerlman, Creator/SamanthaMorton, Carmen Ejogo, Creator/GemmaChan, Jenn Murray, Faith Wood-Blagrove, Josh Cowdery, Ronan Raftery, Kevin Guthrie, Creator/JonVoight, Creator/ZoeKravitz, and Creator/JohnnyDepp.

* ICanHearYou: While Tina is lecturing Newt about the differences in British and American magical culture:
-->'''Newt''': ...that you can't marry them, which seems mildly absurd to me...\\
'''Tina''': ''(motions to Jacob)'' Who's gonna marry ''him''?\\
''(Jacob, despite suffering from his Murtlap bite, gives her a DeathGlare)''

* YoureNotMySon: Mary Lou, to Credence as he whimpers for forgiveness:
-->'''Credence''': I'm sorry, Ma...\\
'''Mary Lou''': I'm not your mother. Your mother was a ''wicked, unnatural'' woman!

--> '''Newt:''' I know you have rather backwards laws about relations with non-magic people. [Tina gives him a [[DisapprovingLook look]]] You aren't allowed to befriend them. You can't marry them, which seems wildly absurd to me.

* StoryBreakerPower: Grindelwald is the main antagonist of the film, as revealed in the end, and being that he is the second greatest wizard in the entire series, just barely surpassed by Dumbledore, it is required that he doesn't use the Elder Wand, instead just Graves wand, and has to suppress his abilities in order to give the heroes even a slight fighting chance against him, and even then it's only due to surprise attacks that he is defeated, demonstrating exactly what happens when someone who is around Dumbledore's level fights anyone, even groups of trained wizards and witches.

''Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them'' is a film released on November 17, 2016, the first of the SpinOff film series ''Film/FantasticBeasts'' and the ninth film overall in the ''Franchise/HarryPotter'' franchise. Written by Creator/JKRowling and directed by Creator/DavidYates, the director of the last four ''Film/HarryPotter'' movies.

A sequel followed in 2018, ''Film/FantasticBeastsTheCrimesOfGrindelwald'' and the third film, entitled ''Film/FantasticBeastsTheSecretsOfDumbledore'', is set to release in April 2022.