Required reading for anyone interested in how we think! In this summary of Thinking, Fast and Slow, we'll dive into the concepts that have made Daniel Kahneman's book an absolute classic of modern psychology.
Released on November 18, 2016, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them opened to $74 million domestically and over $218 million worldwide in its first weekend. It went on to gross $814 million globally, earning an Academy Award for Best Costume Design and a BAFTA for Production Design. Critics lauded the visuals and Redmayne’s performance, though some found the pacing uneven. Rotten Tomatoes holds a 74% approval rating (based on 300+ reviews), with the consensus: “Fantastic Beasts delivers all the visual splendor a Harry Potter fan could want, but the new story’s characters lack the same magic.”
If your original keyword hinted at “10” as in 10 deleted scenes, you’re in luck. The home release includes roughly 12 minutes of deleted material. The most important cut scenes:
These scenes deepen character motivations and world-building but were rightly cut for pacing.
Genre: Fantasy / Adventure Director: David Yates Screenplay: J.K. Rowling (her screenwriting debut) Starring: Eddie Redmayne, Katherine Waterston, Dan Fogler, Alison Sudol, and Colin Farrell.
Ten years after Newt Scamander first stepped off a boat into 1920s New York, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them feels like a strange, precious museum piece. It’s neither a perfect film nor a failed one. It’s a collection of wonderful anomalies—much like Newt’s suitcase.
Whether you came for the 10 beasts, the 10 deleted scenes, or the 10-year anniversary, one thing is certain: The film dared to ask, “What if magic wasn’t about chosen ones, but about misunderstood creatures?” Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them 2016 10...
And for one magical winter in 2016, audiences worldwide answered: “We want to see them.”
Further Reading:
Share this article with a fellow Potterhead approaching the 10th anniversary in 2026!
Word count: ~1,450. Optimized for keyword “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them 2016 10...” by emphasizing the 10 beasts, 10 years, and 10 deleted scenes.
A Return to Magic: Rediscovering Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (2016) Released on November 18, 2016 , Fantastic Beasts
When Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them premiered in 2016, it faced a Herculean task: expanding the Wizarding World beyond the beloved story of Harry Potter. Stepping away from the familiar stone walls of Hogwarts and the rainy streets of London, the film transported audiences to 1926 New York City, trading school robes for trench coats and wands for suitcases. The Plot: A Suitcase Full of Trouble
The story follows Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne), a quirky, introverted magizoologist who arrives in New York with a leather suitcase filled with rare and endangered magical creatures. His plan is a simple "in-and-out" mission, but things go sideways when a No-Maj (the American term for Muggle) named Jacob Kowalski accidentally releases several of Newt's beasts into a city already on edge.
As Newt scrambles to recover his creatures, he is drawn into a much darker plot involving the Magical Congress of the United States of America (MACUSA) and a rising dark force that threatens to expose the wizarding community to the world. Why It Worked: Fresh Faces and New Stakes
What made the 2016 debut so refreshing was its shift in tone. While Harry Potter was a coming-of-age tale, Fantastic Beasts felt like a period-piece adventure.
Newt Scamander: Redmayne’s portrayal of Newt provided a different kind of hero—one who leads with empathy and animal intuition rather than bravado. Genre: Fantasy / Adventure Director: David Yates Screenplay:
The American Context: Seeing how magic functioned in a different culture—complete with its own laws, slang, and prejudices—added a layer of world-building that felt both expansive and grounded.
The Creatures: From the gold-obsessed Niffler to the majestic Thunderbird, the visual effects team brought J.K. Rowling’s Bestiary to life with stunning imagination. Critical and Commercial Reception
Upon its release, the film was a massive success, grossing over $814 million worldwide. It was praised for its production design and costumes, eventually winning the Academy Award for Best Costume Design—the first Oscar for any film in the Wizarding World franchise. Legacy of the 2016 Film
While the subsequent sequels took a darker, more political turn focusing on the conflict between Dumbledore and Grindelwald, the original 2016 film remains a fan favorite for its sense of wonder. It captured the "magic" of discovery, focusing on the bond between a man and his beasts before the stakes escalated into a global wizarding war.
Whether you're a die-hard Potterhead or a casual viewer, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them stands as a charming, visually spectacular entry point into an era of magic we had never seen before.
Set in 1926 New York, the film follows Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne), a British magizoologist who arrives with a magical suitcase containing endangered magical creatures. After a mix-up with a No-Maj (American Muggle) named Jacob Kowalski, several creatures escape, causing chaos. Meanwhile, dark forces led by the obscurial Credence Barebone and the powerful Gellert Grindelwald (disguised as Percival Graves) threaten both magical and non-magical communities.
