If Fantastic Beasts is retconning the Wizarding World as we know it from the world of Harry Potter, fans are likely to complain. The Crimes of Grindelwald is The Two Towers of this spinoff saga. It sets in motion a quest to stop the deeds to which this nefarious character, played by Johnny Depp, has plans to commit. The actions he committed in the past are a concern, but in this sequel, this villain’s future goals will shake up the world in devastating ways. At the same time, we are teased with glimpses of the tools he has at his disposal. He possesses at least one-third of the Deathly Hallows.
A tiny bit of that familiar Harry Potter magic is all that’s needed to spin Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them into its own yarn. While most of the music is original, the signature tune from the Potter films reminds viewers about where this new series fits in a greater whole. The movie has all the intrigue from, say The Untouchables (1987), but when that familiar formula from the books J.K. Rowling wrote about the titular character, the young man in this new film has hints of Nicholas Rowe (ala Young Sherlock Holmes) feeling lost, embroiled to his own world, until reality hits him hard.
The wizarding world J.K. Rowling invented is expanded upon. With this new film, the very precocious Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne) is getting the spotlight even though a bigger issue (which will span several movies) is afoot elsewhere. He arrives in America by boat (through New York) and meets Jacob Kowalski (Dan Fogler), Porpentina “Tina” Goldstein (Katherine Waterston) and her sister Queenie (Alison Sudol). An accidental switch of suitcases belonging to the two men opens up a Pandora’s Box of problems.
It’s been made official, the man known for playing the villanious Asgardian god Loki from Marvel’s The Avengers, will be playing the ridiculously pompous Lord Nooth, Governer of Bronze Age Town in Aardman Animations’ feature film Early Man. In a press release Aardman described Nooth as “a money-loving tyrant and rival to the film’s Stone Age hero, Dug [voiced by Eddie Redmayne].”
Aardman Animations, the company responsible for such stop-motion feature films as Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, Chicken Run, Shaun the Sheep The Movie, and The Pirates! Band of Misfits are currently in principal photography on their newest film. Early Man introduces caveman Dug and animal sidekick Hognob (who resembles something of a warthog) as Dug unites his tribe against the mighty Bronze Age. Here is the official synopsis from Aardman:
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