What is your favoriteHarry Potterfilm? It’s a fun game to play. There’s seven, or rather eight, to choose from. Is it the action-packed and emotional two-part final,Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows? Or perhaps it’sAlfonso Cuaron’s addition of maturity and grittiness inHarry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.Then again, it could be the one that started it all- the world-buildingHarry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone.Not only can you consider the question based off of the plot points and cast- you can also categorize based off director, given that four different directors brought the eight-film series to the screen.
Pretty soon we will have another film to add to the discussion, with the prequelFantastic Beasts and Where to Find Themset to be released in less than a year. And if you liked any of the last four films of the series, then you probably rejoiced when it wasannouncedthatDavid Yateswould be helming theplanned trilogy, as he directed the remainder of the films starting withHarry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. However, it seems that rather than following in Yates’ iteration of the Harry Potter story,Fantastic Beastswill be adhering more closely toHarry Potter and the Goblet of Fire,which was directed byMike Newell.
For a quick recap,Fantastic Beastsis set in New York City, seventy years before the events ofHarry Potter, and follows Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne), the author ofFantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, which became one of Harry’s schoolbook.Entertainment Weeklycites executive producerDavid Heymandeclaring that, of the previous eight films,Fantastic Beastsis “most comparable” toGoblet of Fire,even though it was not directed by Yates. Heyman adds that the new film has the “charm” of the fourth film, and goes on to say,
”Mike [Newell] talked about the fourth as being like an Indian musical — and it’s not that, but it’s got the humor of that film. It has the romantic comedy, that fish-out-of-water humor, that very human, natural character comedy… [Beasts] is very funny, it’s got a big heart, and there’s darkness too.”
The fourth film is certainly a dark turning point in the Harry Potter story line, as it sees the in-the-flesh return of Lord Vol…, I mean, He Who Must Not Be Named. It also features the death of Cedric Diggory. Beyond the darkness, it also contains the continued maturation of Harry, Ron, and Hermione and their awkwardness with a newfound appreciation of the opposite sex, as well as the fun episodic adventure that is the Triwizard Tournament.
It’s been a long time since I’ve seen the fourth installment, so it’s hard to envision how its sentiment would apply toFantastic Beasts.But it does feel like the film where a lot of the exposition and mystery of the previous three movies comes together. And seeing asFantastic Beastsis almost an introduction to a new wizarding world (taking place in an earlier time and a different place, early 20th century America) that “fish-out-of-water” approach makes sense.
Not that you needed another reason to anticipate this film, but if you were especially drawn toGoblet of Fire, you may have some competition to the question, ‘which is your favorite Harry Potter film?’
