Saturday, April 22, 2017

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them: Connecting Wizarding Worlds


In Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them there are many Easter eggs that can be found throughout the book that many Harry Potter fans can easily point out. Most people who have seen Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them are Potterheads who are eager to find the connections between the beloved Harry Potter Wizarding World of mainly Europe and American based Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.

WARNING: This discussion post contains spoilers for Harry Potter series and Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. Read at your own risk. Image from flickeringmyth.com


From the beginning of the film, The New York Ghost is New York's version of the Daily Prophet. Many Potterheads will notice Gellert Grindelwald has been wreaking havoc. Potterheads also know that Grindelwald is the dark wizard Dumbledore beat in a legendary duel.

Hedwig's Theme Song is iconic. Everyone who hears the song will will feel at home with the sense of nostalgia. During the Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them theme song, you can hear hints of Hedwig's Theme Song weaved in.

1926 is an important year. Not only does Newt arrive to New York but this is also Voldemort's birth year.

Newt's Hufflepuff Scarf, although faded, represents Newt's Hufflepuff house pride and connection with Hogwarts.

The Goldsteins living New York may have a distant relative named Anthony Goldstein, fellow Ravenclaw during Harry Potter's school years.

Right when I saw the Deathly Hallows pendant that Graves had around his neck, I knew that he had some connection to Grindelwald or the Hallows as a whole. This symbol is so well known and this symbol alone radiates with so much history. It connects the many eras of the Wizarding World.

Dumbledore saw something in Newt and was willing to back up Newt when there was a mishap at Hogwarts involving a magical creature. Sounds familiar? This also reminds me of how Dumbledore backed up Hagrid and knew that Hagrid didn't set Aragog on people in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.

During the Great War, Newt worked with Ukranian Ironbelly dragons on the Eastern Front. This is the very same dragon breed that protects the vaults of Gringotts!

Obscurus Books is the Wizarding publisher who published Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander. Obscurus books was known even during the age of the Harry Potter books. I love the foreshadowing! Who knew Obscurus Books would lead to something so big for Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, the film.

When Mary Lou asks Newt, "Are you a seeker? A seeker after truth" Newt responds, "I am more of a Chaser." For Potterheads, we know Newt was thinking about Quidditch and maybe it's hinted that he played or prefers playing as a Chaser.

The Niffler makes an spectacular appearance but it wasn't the first appearance in the Wizarding World that we know of. Nifflers were seen during Care of Magical Creatures classes in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire and Lee Jordan levitated Nifflers into Umbridge's office in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.

Pickett the Bowtruckle is one of the creatures that I absolutely adore in the film. However, we've seen Bowtruckles being taught in Harry Potter and the Order of Phoenix to fifth years during Care of Magical Creatures.

Erumpent makes an interesting appearance in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Xenophilius Lovegood believed the horn in his house belongs to a Crumple-Horned Snorkack. Haermione claimed it was an Erumpent horn and said it is highly dangerous. Luna Lovegood ends up marrying Newt Scamander's great grandson, Rolf Scamander.

Frank the Thunderbird is the first creature we've seen represent Ilvermorny. Summer of 2016 was when Pottermore announced Ilvermorny and the four different houses. Thunderbird is one of the houses and favors adventurers. Not only am I a Thunderbird but I can proudly say that I live in the state of Massachusetts and I visited the area near Mount Greylock during the summer of 2016.

Leta Lestrange will mystify everyone. Not only is the family name Lestrange well known but everyone wants to know how Newt befriended Leta and what happened to cause Newt to get expelled.

And of course, as mentioned in one of my previous posts, the Obscurial might give hints about Ariana's past and how Grindelwald is so invested in the Obscurial and Obscurus.


What is your favorite Easter egg? Do you like how the Wizarding Worlds connect and overlap? Share your thoughts in the comments.

2 comments:

  1. I am SO bad at noticing things like this, so I love this post!! I didn't realize that 1926 was the year of this movie-- and Voldy's b-day. And I didn't notice the Deathly Hallows pendant somehow?? And I forgot about Nifflers and Bowtruckles being in the HP series!! UGH Umbridge :(

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. There are probably much more things that I missed but watching Fantastic Beasts definitely brought me back to what I love about the Wizarding World as a whole. Ugh to Umbridge all right! She is worst than Voldemort!

      Delete