The way I see it, I’m kind of the target audience for Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. I’ve seen all of the movies but read none of the books, which puts me on a kind of level playing field with everyone else tackling J.K. Rowling’s original screenplay. Granted, a lot of people might know about the history of Newt Scamander or how the events of Fantastic Beasts fit into the Harry Potter universe as a whole, but I don’t mind being left out. I spent years of my adolescence being a Star Wars book snob; as an adult, it’s kind of nice to just be able to show up to a franchise and learn as you go.

It also means I’m interested in the movie not as an adaptation of a book, but in an exciting depiction of magic onscreen. This latest clip from Fantastic Beasts checks all my boxes in that regard: we’ve the offhand use of magic that was always so entertaining in the original movies, some fine acting from both Eddie Redmayne and Katherine Waterston, and my new favorite character in the Harry Potter universe, Jacob Kowalski, knocked out and slumped in a corner. Many kids probably read the books and dreamed of being Harry Potter or Hermione. I’m pretty sure I’d be the No-Maj who spends the movie in a state of panic. Finally, a Harry Potter movie for people like me.

Here is the full plot synopsis for Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them:

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them opens in 1926 as Newt Scamander has just completed a global excursion to find and document an extraordinary array of magical creatures. Arriving in New York for a brief stopover, he might have come and gone without incident…were it not for a No-Maj (American for Muggle) named Jacob, a misplaced magical case, and the escape of some of Newt’s fantastic beasts, which could spell trouble for both the wizarding and No-Maj worlds.

In addition to Redmayne and Waterston, the film will also star Colin FarrellZoë Kravitz, Ron PerlmanDan Fogler, and Ezra Miller and will hit theaters on November 18, 2016.

More From Mix 97.9 FM