Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is a 2001 book written by British author J. K. Rowling (under the pen name of the fictitious author Newt Scamander) about the magical creatures in the Harry Potter universe. It purports to be Harry Potter's copy of the textbook of the same name mentioned in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (or Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone in the US), the first novel of the Harry Potter series. It includes several notes inside it supposedly handwritten by Harry, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger, detailing their own experiences with some of the beasts described, and including in-jokes relating to the original series.
In a 2001 interview with publisher Scholastic, Rowling stated that she chose the subject of magical creatures because it was a fun topic for which she had already developed a lot of information in earlier books. Rowling's name does not appear on the cover of the book, the work being credited under the pen name "Newt Scamander", who, in the books, wrote this textbook as seen on Harry's supply list for his first year.
The book benefits the charity Comic Relief. Over 80% of the cover price of each book sold goes directly to poor children in various places around the world. According to Comic Relief, sales from this book and its companion Quidditch Through the Ages have raised over £17 million.
On 12 September 2013, Warner Bros. and Rowling announced they would be producing a film inspired by the book, being the first in a series of five such films. Rowling herself is the screenwriter. She came up with a plan for a movie after Warner Bros. suggested the idea. The story features Newt Scamander as a main character and is set in New York City, 70 years before Harry's story started. The film was released on 18 November 2016.
Synopsis
Fantastic Beasts purports to be a reproduction of a textbook owned by Harry Potter and written by magizoologist Newt Scamander, a character in the fictional Harry Potter series. In the series, Magizoology is the study of magical creatures.
Albus Dumbledore, headmaster of Hogwarts, provides the Foreword and explains the purpose of the special edition of this book (the Comic Relief charity). At the end, he tells the reader, "...The amusing creatures described hereafter are fictional and cannot hurt you." He repeats the Hogwarts motto: "Draco dormiens nunquam titillandus", Latin for "Never tickle a sleeping dragon".
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them contains the history of Magizoology and describes 85 magical species found around the world. Scamander says that he collected most of the information found in the book through observations made over years of travel across five continents. He notes that the first edition was commissioned in 1918 by Mr Augustus Worme of Obscurus Books. However, it was not published until 1927. It is now in its fifty-second edition.
In the Harry Potter universe, the book is a required textbook for first-year Hogwarts students, having been an approved textbook since its first publication. It is not clear why students need it in their first year, as students do not take Care of Magical Creatures until their third year. However, it may be used as an encyclopedia of Dark creatures studied in Defence Against the Dark Arts classes. In his foreword to the book, Albus Dumbledore notes that it serves as an excellent reference for Wizarding households in addition to its use at Hogwarts.
The book features doodles and comments added by Ron Weasley. The comments would appear to have been written around the time of the fourth book, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. These doodles add some extra information for fans of the series (for example the "Acromantula" entry has a comment confirming that Hogwarts is located in Scotland) along with comic relief (such as Ron saying "you're not kidding" when talking about the Hungarian Horntail being the most fearsome dragon of all, a reference to Harry's encounter with one in the fourth book).
Integrated in the design, the cover of the book appears to have been clawed by an unidentified animal.
About Newt Scamander
Fictional biography
Newton Artemis Fido "Newt" Scamander is the fictional author of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, born in 1897. According to the "About the Author" section of the book, Scamander became a magizoologist because of his own interest in fabulous beasts and the encouragement of his mother, an enthusiastic Hippogriff breeder. In Hogwarts, he was sorted to Hufflepuff house.
After being expelled from Hogwarts, Scamander joined the Ministry of Magic in the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. His career included a brief stint in the Office of House-elf Relocation, a transfer to the Beast Division, the creation of the Werewolf Register in 1947, the 1965 passage of the Ban on Experimental Breeding, and many research trips for the Dragon Research and Restraint Bureau. His contributions to Magizoology earned him an Order of Merlin, Second Class in 1979.
When retired, he lived in Dorset with his wife Porpentina and their pet Kneazles: Hoppy, Milly and Mauler. He had a grandson named Rolf, who married Luna Lovegood (a character who appeared in the last three Harry Potter novels) some time after the events of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.
In the film version of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Newt Scamander's name appeared on the Marauder's Map.
In the film adaptation of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, it is mentioned that Scamander was expelled from Hogwarts following an unspecified incident involving one of his creatures, but that Albus Dumbledore argued in his defense.
Role in the Harry Potter series
Scamander himself does not appear in the seven Harry Potter books. He is mentioned in passing in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone as the author of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. He is the central character of the film adaptation of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them portrayed by Eddie Redmayne
Featured beasts
The following mythological beasts are listed in this book:
Editions
- Scholastic editions
- Paperback: ISBN 0-439-29501-7
- Hardcover Box Set: ISBN 0-439-32162-X (Includes Fantastic Beasts... and Quidditch Through the Ages)
- Paperback Box Set: ISBN 0-439-28403-1
- Bloomsbury edition
- Paperback: ISBN 0-7475-5466-8
- Sagebrush Rebound edition
- School & Library Edition: ISBN 0-613-32541-9
Reception
Jeff Jensen of Entertainment Weekly graded the book with an "A" and wrote "With its richly detailed history lessons and witty debate parsing the differences between being and beast, plus a compendium of 85 magical creatures that's chockablock with Rowling's trademark wordplay (Glumbumble is a standout), Beasts adds a vital new dimension to the Potter mythology."
Film adaptation
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is a British-American fantasy film inspired by the book of the same name by J. K. Rowling. A spin-off of the Harry Potter film series and directed by David Yates, the film stars Eddie Redmayne, Katherine Waterston, Alison Sudol, Dan Fogler, Samantha Morton, Ezra Miller, Colin Farrell, Faith Wood-Blagrove, Jenn Murray, Jon Voight and Ron Perlman. The first movie is set to be followed by four more.
Principal photography commenced on 17 August 2015, at Warner Bros. Studios, Leavesden.
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them was released on 18 November 2016 in the United States in the 3D and IMAX 4K Laser format.
A sequel was confirmed in 2016 and is due to be released on 16 November 2018.
References
Further reading
- Newt Scamander. Fantastic Beasts & Where to Find Them. New York, NY: Arthur A. Levine Books, 2001. Print. ISBN 0-439-32160-3
External links
- Interview with J. K. Rowling about her book Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them