Harry Potter and the Fantastic Beasts 2: Grindelwald Boogaloo

Satsuki

I think part of it (other than fabulous world-building, numbers aside), is that it hit a chord. Something about Harry Potter and Hogwarts gave us that "whisked away to fantasy land" feeling that we hadn't really gotten since . . . . Narnia or Wonderland. Or Tolkein, but he's more for adults or at least teenagers.

The circumstances around the book also had an impact. The idea of this single mother writing this wonderful book on napkins because she couldn't afford a computer and all that "little guy making it big" thing that we love. So people heard that, heard the book was good, and decided to give it a shot. And here we are.

choperman

Thank you for that answer!

I also love a rags to riches story! I'm glad she did so well, she certainly is creative, wish I hadn't watched the movies because so many thing are spoiled for me now that I'm reading the books

but there are a group of subplots that didn't get ruined thankfully, like I had no idea who mr. Crouch was or Hermione's crusade to save the house elfs (I'm on book four right now) so I've still got lots to look forward to!!!

Robby

The movies are no comparison to the books. They leave out soooooooo much. You'll know the big story twists, but you're not going to know like any of the actual character and world building.

BellisarioFaith

I remember my friend saying that she was wondering after seeing the third movie what the deal was with Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs, and then being confused in the fourth and fifth movies when they suddenly refer to Pettigrew as Wormtail and Sirius as Padfoot. There were some times like that, with certain important exposition, where the movies almost seemed to just assume or even expect that viewers were reading the books, and so not bother to actually explain some important things that movie-only people weren't gonna know.

Granted, that wasn't as much the case with the first two movies, which had quite a few lines lifted directly from the books, but the third movie was where the cutting of subplots or exposition really started to get pretty bad, and just kept going from there.

Satsuki

Books as big as Harry Potter usually aren't easy to adapt. I can't think of many movies from books that actually did well.

Hell, I have to think of Miyazaki's Howl's Moving Castle as a completely separate work because it is NOTHING like the original. He took the idea of a moving castle, the girl as an old woman, and the fire demon, and basically took it from there.

choperman

What do you guys think of this list?

Satsuki

I dunno if Slughorn deserves being above McGonagall and Flitwick, but most of that's alright.

He calls Dumbledore "the most powerful wizard of all time" though. Hasn't Merlin been given that credit even in HP world?

Purple Hermit

Harry Potter is an easily digestible book with a sort of whimsical writing style in the first few books that kind of cemented it as the book to read as a kid in the late 90's/early 00's. The writing certainly isn't the best, but it captures that sort of fanciful feeling of magic in the air and a "secret" world on the other side of your wall that would be the dream of any child. Literally an escape from the mundane that was very accessible for most any kid to just pick up and read. You've got a pretty colorful cast in general, and of course your lens in the world is Harry who has just about as much experience with the wizarding world as you do, and your best friends offer new tidbits of info from two different perspectives that helps the world grow relatively organically. There's just enough detail to paint the image of what Rowling is intending with that sort of medieval rustic charm that lacks the rigid standardization of modern day architecture. For a world of magic, the allure of it is kind of anchored down in the imperfections. And all of this was tied together with a simple good versus evil sort of story where it just so happens that the first year curriculum at hogwarts is sufficient to allow someone to save the day.

Certainly, I'm not a huge fan of the series tbh, but I'd say that there's a rich characterization of the world that is very easily accessible by a large audience.

Katzztar

@Satsuki:

I dunno if Slughorn deserves being above McGonagall and Flitwick, but most of that's alright.

He calls Dumbledore "the most powerful wizard of all time" though. Hasn't Merlin been given that credit even in HP world?

Why would Slughorn ever get higher than McGonagall and Flitwick?? In the books he's not that powerful. His claim to fame was potions and 'collecting students that could become famous/influential' via is "Slug Club". Flitwick is both a Charms and dueling master. McGonagall is a Transfiguration mistress. WE certainly saw those two do more spells than Slughorn did.

And yes, Merlin is credited as the most powerful wizard ever lived. Dumbledore is credited as one of the most powerful that lived in current times, but not the most powerful ever. There's a reason why the Wizarding folk in Britain use "Merlin!" and not "Dumbledore" as a phrase in place of muggle phrase "Oh God!" or "Christ!" as in "Merlin, Harry! Why'd you go do that for?"

At first I was thinking that the books called Dumbledore the 2nd coming of Merlin, but then realized I can't remember except from fanfics and so wasn't used in the books.

Robby

choperman

I'm really hoping that once these movies are over we will get either a book series or a movie series (or both!) of the founding fathers of Hogwarts

BattleFranky69

@choperman:

I'm really hoping that once these movies are over we will get either a book series or a movie series (or both!) of the founding fathers of Hogwarts

I am curious to see how their (magic) society would be structured and how everything would look prior to the industrial age, but I think a long stretch there might be difficult to maintain as interesting or palatable. The length of one book and/or movie would probably be adequate without wearing us down.

Robby

@BattleFranky69:

I am curious to see how their (magic) society would be structured and how everything would look prior to the industrial age, but I think a long stretch there might be difficult to maintain as interesting or palatable. The length of one book and/or movie would probably be adequate without wearing us down.

One movie for each founder, Salazar as the big bad/not bad, end with a big goblin war or something, or have another dark wizard that was wiped from the history books. They'd be fine.

That said, doing another lengthy series after 5 fantastic beasts movies would probably be too much. And much as I love Hufflepuff, no one would care about that movie. Griffindor and Slytherin are the ones people would care about.

Satsuki

@Robby:

And much as I love Hufflepuff, no one would care about that movie.

Says you. You have no idea how many loyal Hufflepuffs are out there.

Robby

@Satsuki:

Says you. You have no idea how many loyal Hufflepuffs are out there.

They're my house! I like the badger! But in general, they are just the "other" group. No one cares about the founder, and Newt being a positive rep for the house isn't really shaking things up. THere's a looot of years of G and S being the only ones that really matter.

Satsuki

Beautiful of course. And you have to admit Johnny Depp is fun as a villain. But dammit if Dumbledore isn't the one who actually takes Grindelwald down then I'm pissed.

@Robby:

They're my house! I like the badger! But in general, they are just the "other" group. No one cares about the founder, and Newt being a positive rep for the house isn't really shaking things up. THere's a looot of years of G and S being the only ones that really matter.

Psssh. Gryffindor and Slytherin might be the only ones who are the big movers in the books, but in the fandom Hufflepuff is becoming a big thing. Rowland said herself she wishes she was a Hufflepuff.

Robby

@Satsuki:

Rowland said herself she wishes she was a Hufflepuff.

Please see the video posted above about her name.

I'm not exactly active in the HP fandom anymore so I mostly only have the old fanstuff to go by, but generally hufflepuff is just seen as trash, which sucks. Rowling probably should have included a prominent one a little sooner than Cedric who… really only got the one book. Same with Ravenclaw and Luna. (And yes, I know Tonks was a hufflepuff. Didn't appear until book 5, like Luna. I guess that was when she started trying to fix the stereotypes but... too late.)

Purple Hermit

Slytherin or bust

Satsuki

Well forgive me for a typo.

Robby

Tyops happen, no harm in that, I'm just amused because I just posted a vid about people getting her name wrong.

MarcelloF

@Satsuki:

Beautiful of course. And you have to admit Johnny Depp is fun as a villain. But dammit if Dumbledore isn't the one who actually takes Grindelwald down then I'm pissed.

He will. Just not in this movie. There are three more after this. This one takes place in 1927, 18 years before their duel.

BattleFranky69

@Satsuki:

Beautiful of course. And you have to admit Johnny Depp is fun as a villain. But dammit if Dumbledore isn't the one who actually takes Grindelwald down then I'm pissed.

Psssh. Gryffindor and Slytherin might be the only ones who are the big movers in the books, but in the fandom Hufflepuff is becoming a big thing. Rowland said herself she wishes she was a Hufflepuff.

Aren't they all supposed to have to risen to prominence in some way for their names to have any meaning? Founding a school doesn't exactly sound like, in and of itself, that great of an achievement, in relative terms. I think of it more like in terms of how a really prolific athlete then goes on to found a restaurant franchise, so they were already famous before doing the latter thing.

choperman

@BattleFranky69:

I am curious to see how their (magic) society would be structured and how everything would look prior to the industrial age, but I think a long stretch there might be difficult to maintain as interesting or palatable. The length of one book and/or movie would probably be adequate without wearing us down.

Idk Harry Potter is still soooooo popular, I go to Barnes and Noble to read about every week, and the Harry Potter section is bigger than any other section, with books, toys, wands, snitches, monsters etc. I don't think the franchise is dying down despite the books having ended years ago

as long as something makes money studios will continue to milk it till no one wants it anymore, and the founders of Hogwarts seems like a natural story many would want to yhear, plus like you said it would be completely different from the wizarding world we know today

and I like Robby's idea of a shared universe lol don't think it will happen but that would be cool as f**k

BattleFranky69

@choperman:

Idk Harry Potter is still soooooo popular, I go to Barnes and Noble to read about every week, and the Harry Potter section is bigger than any other section, with books, toys, wands, snitches, monsters etc. I don't think the franchise is dying down despite the books having ended years ago

as long as something makes money studios will continue to milk it till no one wants it anymore, and the founders of Hogwarts seems like a natural story many would want to yhear, plus like you said it would be completely different from the wizarding world we know today

and I like Robby's idea of a shared universe lol don't think it will happen but that would be cool as f**k

That surprises me, but I guess if unchecked population growth is a thing, of course the stories that we fell in love with as children will always be fondly remembered in our hearts and make us targets of cynical corporate exploitation. Plus how many other non-pornographic film series have 8 films in them?

And they are actually working on making a G.I. Joe/Transformers (and possibly more) crossover film so we definitely have a chance of seeing that kind of crazy toybox explosion happen on the big screen.

Satsuki

@choperman:

Idk Harry Potter is still soooooo popular, I go to Barnes and Noble to read about every week, and the Harry Potter section is bigger than any other section, with books, toys, wands, snitches, monsters etc. I don't think the franchise is dying down despite the books having ended years ago

Harry Potter is now like a pre-teen Dr. Seuss. EVERYONE reads it and loves it.

Okay, not EVERYONE, but more than enough to keep it a profitable franchise.

choperman

@BattleFranky69:

That surprises me, but I guess if unchecked population growth is a thing, of course the stories that we fell in love with as children will always be fondly remembered in our hearts and make us targets of cynical corporate exploitation. Plus how many other non-pornographic film series have 8 films in them?

And they are actually working on making a G.I. Joe/Transformers (and possibly more) crossover film so we definitely have a chance of seeing that kind of crazy toybox explosion happen on the big screen.

I want the G.I Joe/Transformers shared universe to work out so bad now!!!

@Satsuki:

Harry Potter is now like a pre-teen Dr. Seuss. EVERYONE reads it and loves it.

Okay, not EVERYONE, but more than enough to keep it a profitable franchise.

Seriously though it's showing no franchise fatigue at all, and comparing it to Dr. Sues is so true, people read it and loved it and it's not a particularly adult book, so when there kids grow up they have them read it

I still remember being a kid and having my dad read the series to me before I went to bed and I assume when I have kids I'll probably do the same thing…. what I'm saying is I think it's one of those things that's universally loved enough, and perfect for both adults and kids alike that will keep it alive for god knows how long, just based on parents wanting there kids to be immersed in the same kid friendly magical world they loved as kids

Satsuki

Even if you're not a reader, you'll get it somehow. Movies or whatever. My cousin's kid isn't much of a reader, but apparently he loved the audio book.

BattleFranky69

Are they ever going to release theatrically The Cursed Child? I still haven't gotten around to reading whatever format it was released in but I haven't been hearing favorable things.

Pachylad

All these new posts about HP and somehow none mentioning the Nagini controversy?

choperman

@Pachylad:

All these new posts about HP and somehow none mentioning the Nagini controversy?

Haven't heard about his lol

what's the controversy about?

Cyclone_Baroness

@choperman:

Haven't heard about his lol

what's the controversy about?

That Nagini is actually an Asian woman.

Robby

@BattleFranky69:

Are they ever going to release theatrically The Cursed Child? I still haven't gotten around to reading whatever format it was released in but I haven't been hearing favorable things.

It's a stage play. So, probably not. They'll milk it for lots and lots of money for a decade, and then let it fade away.

It is not good, and its decidedly NOT canon. JK had to tow the company line on release and say "oh yes, this is totally the next official part of the story", but it breaks so many established parts of the universe, (time turners especially) and gets all the characters completely wrong… not to mention contradicts other things she's said over the years that... it's just not actually anything. If Rowling had any involvement in it at all before stamping her name on the final product, it was extremely minimal.

desa

@Cyclone_Baroness:

That Nagini is actually an Asian woman.

Is the controversy that Nagini is a person(I'm not sure why they went for that) or that she is specificcally an asian?

I can understand the first. I don't see where the second would be coming from.

Cyclone_Baroness

@desa:

Is the controversy that Nagini is a person(I'm not sure why they went for that) or that she is specificcally an asian?

I can understand the first. I don't see where the second would be coming from.

From bits I saw it was having what's essentially an Asian woman as a subservient exotic pet to a magical Hitler.

Lord of Chaos

@desa:

Is the controversy that Nagini is a person(I'm not sure why they went for that) or that she is specificcally an asian?

I can understand the first. I don't see where the second would be coming from.

They're crying racism because Nagini ends up becoming Voldemort pet. Well even if Nagini ended being a white woman they'll still cry but instead of racism it be sexism.

Katzztar

Whaaa…. ~~where does it imply Nagini was human? Was it the recent movie or something?~~ nevermind, went to hp wikia

I remember one rumor a few years ago that Rowling had once said somewhere that Nagini was the snake Harry set free in book 1? Which always seemed odd to me as it was a constrictor and had no poison so made no sense to be Nagini.

I've always thought Nagini was a magical snake as she has both poison and still constrictor traits.

MarcelloF

That was just a fan theory.

Nagini has been showing to be very intelligent. She goes on missions and was even able to control Bathilda Bagshot's corpse semi-decently. Dumbledore assumed her intelligence came from being a Horcrux, but I guess this is it.

desa

@Cyclone_Baroness:

From bits I saw it was having what's essentially an Asian woman as a subservient exotic pet to a magical Hitler.

@Lord:

They're crying racism because Nagini ends up becoming Voldemort pet. Well even if Nagini ended being a white woman they'll still cry but instead of racism it be sexism.

Oooh ok. Seems taken a bit more seriously than needed I believe. Although I'm unsure if they would ever have consider making Nagini male.

But for me to be bothered by it I would need Nagini to have been transformed by Voldemort or for Nagini to be treated as something more than a snake. I never considered there was some weird vibe between the Snake and Voldemort so I don't think it matters much.

On the whole ranking sorcerer thing. My ranking has always been Dumbledore being the strongest by far. Then everyone else in one giant inform puddle. I mean I never got the sensation there was some kind of Sirious is much better than Lupin or Bellatrix is much skilled than McGonagald. It always seems like they were broad levels like skilled which is pretty much all the adults expect Lockheart and decent. With Dumbledore being the only one to seems to function outside that spectrum.

Voldy is suposedely great but all I can think about him is the killing spell so I can't tell. But I do remember their fight in the fith movie/book being just great and the first time I was truly invested in those battles. Ultimately I just never was able to get past Voldy failing to deal with a kid for so long. Even Grindelwald got more respect for me and I barely knew him.

Also I don't buy that Harry would ever work in law enforcement as an adult. He's been an orphan his whole life and power is not something he is interested in or even protecting the innocent. I don't buy he got a taste for it and with Lupin dying in the war I am certain that all he would want is a simple life with his family. Also Hermione would have picked a more fitting mate than Ron both in the books and movies.

Snape hated Harry. Harry's father was an asshole when younger(which is fine since he seems to have grown to a decent human) and it's an insult to compare the weasley to him. The deer patronum should have been Snape thing about both being in love with Lily but knowing that she was James's lady rather than be a simple copy of Lily's patronum(which shouldn't be that).

Harry is a dck in the 5th book and I kind of like it due to how real it is of people of his age and the frustration he would have.

MarcelloF

A AAA Harry Potter Action-RPG has leaked:

Set in the 19th Century (1800's) Wizarding World, this 3rd person open-world action RPG game centers around your character with unique abilities who has eared a late acceptance to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. You are a newly arrived 5th year student to Hogwarts that demonstrates a latent gift for magic with a unique ability to track and identify remnants of a pottant ancient power.

Upon arrival, strange events begin to materialize In the Forbidden Forrest and trouble begins to brew within the castle walls. Together with Professor Elezar Fig, you embark on a journey through both familiar and never before seen locations to bring to light the truth behind these mysterious occurrences.

On your quest you will craft potions, master new spells, and discover fantastical beasts. You will battle Dark Wizards, Goblins, and other supernatural enemies and uncover the truth about your destiny - the Fate of the Wizarding World lies in your hands.

FEATURES

Journey to Hogwarts to become one of 8 different Wizard types

Experience Hogwarts, make new friends, uncover new secrets, and change the fate of the Wizarding world.

Experience a new magic system that creates countless possibilities to master magic.

Freely explore the Wizarding World for the first time.

Choose your house and friends at Hogwarts, and decide to pursue a path of good or evil.

Create your own witch or wizard, and experience a all new story separate from the books or films

Source
The footage and description allegedly come from a focus group in the US. The rumored developer (Prior to this leak already) is Avalanche Software, who WB has been beefing up for a AAA game.

The trailer looks amazing. Barring something crazy, I want this day 1. I am slightly disappointed it takes place in the 19th century since I always loved that the series took place in the (semi-)modern day. But it is cool to see the world in a different era.

maxterdexter

No, the further you get from harry and voldy the better.

Satsuki

I would have liked a game that was set AFTER Harry graduated and Voldy was defeated. To see how Hogwarts moved on after Dumbledore was gone and all the battles that happened on campus. So basically after young Harry but before any of Harry's children entered.

RuNa

@MarcelloF:

A AAA Harry Potter Action-RPG has leaked:

Source
The footage and description allegedly come from a focus group in the US. The rumored developer (Prior to this leak already) is Avalanche Software, who WB has been beefing up for a AAA game.

The trailer looks amazing. Barring something crazy, I want this day 1. I am slightly disappointed it takes place in the 19th century since I always loved that the series took place in the (semi-)modern day. But it is cool to see the world in a different era.

I thought everyone was saying this was developed by Rocksteady?

Robby

@Satsuki:

I would have liked a game that was set AFTER Harry graduated and Voldy was defeated. To see how Hogwarts moved on after Dumbledore was gone and all the battles that happened on campus. So basically after young Harry but before any of Harry's children entered.

You have the Cursed Child for that! It's totally canon! For the moment! Nothing of interest happened in those inbetween years!

….ugh.

Much like Star Wars, the further you get away from the main story and all its characters, the less weighed down you are and the more freedom you have to make your own story, the better.

Noqanky

It sounds great, but given it's WB games I fully expect them to fuck it up somehow.

BattleFranky69

@Noqanky:

It sounds great, but given it's WB games I fully expect them to fuck it up somehow.

I thought all they were messing up were their DC movies. Now it's their games too? I thought I couldn't be more disappointed in them.

But if it's basically The Elder Scrolls: Hogwarts, I'm all in. The HP games have disappointed me after Chamber of Secrets and the Lego games are all too similar to have a unique enough feel to really give the vibe of the property they're imitating. Except the Marvel and DC stuff.

King Cannon

No interest unless PS1 Hagrid gets featured in some form.

maxterdexter

Probably just his ancestors. His dad's side. Do we know when the giant squid got to the lake?

In my college we had a hall of fame of failures. Sure there were tons of successes, but for every world class chemical engineer, we had the big exploded lab (no casualties), for every world class mechanical engineer we had the "perpetual motion machine" that takes a whole block, and obviously doesn't work, for every world class biologist, we have a biohazzard lake of invasive algae species gone wild, and for every world class computer engineer we have the god awful in house systems made with custom frameworks that are unmaintanable and unfathomable.

Hadgrid left some legacies like that in Hogwarts, most notable of all, Aragog. I want to know if other teachers or faculties did something like that, not counting the basilisk, as that worked EXACTLY as intended.

–- Update From New Post Merge ---

For every world class architect, we have a very nice garden/statue? that is supposed to change with the four seasons, in a tropical country (back when we had money, the gardners just swaped some of the plants with others with the appropiate color, now is just weeds and 7 dying pines, with 5 alive ones)

Robby

Daz

Based on the reviews, Crimes of Grindelwald sounds like everything wrong with current franchise filmmaking. Like a bunch of HP-lore wiki entries got jumbled up and morphed into a movie, without much regards for stuff like being a, you know, enjoyable narrative in its own right.

Satsuki

The first Fantastic Beasts movie was fun. This doesn't look quite as fun.

Except for seeing Jude Law as young Dumbledore.