Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore First Time Full Reaction!

As I believe others have said a lot of the background like the information about the sister is in the books.

Jacob sparks

A couple of comments now that I've had time to watch, thoroughly enjoyed your reaction :) In this movie they were electing Supreme Mugwamp aka The Head of the International Confederation of Wizards. I'm not surprised you hadn't picked up on it because it's only mentioned in passing in the Philosophers Stone and Phoenix books. The part where Dumbledore, Aberforth and Grindelwald's spells collided protecting Credence was an interesting parallel to what Dumbledore told us earlier on about them all firing spells and killing Ariana. Also picked up on the fact you said we know Dumbledore kills Grindelwald. The chocolate frog card says he "defeats" him. If you look back at the Deathly Hallows film you'll remember Voldemort kills Grindelwald in prison years later when he asks where the Elder Wand is and Grindelwald tells him it is buried with Dumbledore. Very easy to miss but thought i'd point it out. Love your reactions Veggie, always excited for the next one and hope you're keeping well :)

Kat

I really loved this movie and your reaction. I do find it a weakness that the fights were unclear mostly with dumbledore and grindelwald. The Cafe scene turned into so white glowing world and then the same when they fought I'm still not sure what that was. Also I really love the qilin bowing to dumbledore. He was never a perfect person but he knows how to keep trying to be better because of past mistakes. I'm sure Santos isn't a complete innocent either but has a good soul.

I feel Dumbledore is tricky, I can see why the Qilin bowed, but I won't really go into that. As for Jacob...they really made it seem like the Qilin would but truthfully, I just wonder can the Qilin even bow to a muggle? When people have said the Qilin will bow to those who are pure of heart, they probably wouldn't say "pure of heart who have magic" because when has there been a situation where one has been near a muggle? Maybe that's why the Qilin seems very playful with Jacob, he sense pure of heart, but no magic. If anything, I'm more surprised the Qilin didn't bow to Newt.

Kunzite Blossom

I really don’t like that the Qilin bowed to Dumbledore … he himself admitted he wasn’t a good person - greed for deathly hallows, relationship with grindelwald, Ariana etc. a real shame it didn’t bow to jacob imo

I think the problem is the fan service wasn't done right. The biggest issue with the 2nd and 3rd movie was obviously McGonagll. McGonagall actually wasn't born until 1935, 8 years AFTER the events of Crimes of Grindelwald. After the release of the 2nd film, her year of birth was actually taken down from the Wizarding World site because so many people had been confused. Then there was the whole Leta Lestrange plot line which felt a bit unnecessary. Pretty sure they only did that because of the Lestrange name and Bellatrix from the original books. I agree with Veggie too, I do love them but when they do things that make no sense, or goes back on the original works, or over do it, it's not as enjoyable.

Kunzite Blossom

Very good question, Benjamin! I think the term 'fan service' is usually used towards callbacks that are considered by some to be 'cheap', and add nothing to the actual plot, etc. I am definitely not against them myself, in fact I love them! But when a movie over-uses them it does start to bother me a little. Sometimes it can feel like the movie couldn't stand on it's own merits without having to refer to previous (often more popular) movies. That being said, I do not think that is what Fantastic Beasts did at all (though Hogwarts being in the poster is a little cheeky, as it really wasn't in the film much)! :)

VEGGIE GAMER

Excellent, you loved it. I enjoyed it also. The movie is very well made, and the scenery, special effects, and actors were incredible. I tried not to be dragged down by the many bad reviews before the movie was even released. Glad you watched it unbiasedly. And the whole Jhonny Depp discussion...I also would have loved to have the same actor for Grindelwald for consistency, but Mads Mikkelsen has surprised me. I really liked his performance. So There are certainly some weaknesses, but I enjoyed it too much to be back in the wizarding world to worry about them 😍 And yes, the whole "leader of the wizarding world election" thing came a bit out of nowhere and seemed made up just to have a storyline with a fantastic beast in it. The Ariana obscurus thing will be solved in the last HP book.. you're kind of spoilered now, but it's not a huge thing, really! Don't worry. :) It isn't well explained in the books either way, so you will understand it even better now when you read it.

Caroline

There is one thing i dont quite understand when someone says "there is a lot of fan service in this movie". Is this a bad thing? Its called fan service because the fans like it... am i misunderstanding something? If its in-universe and if it fits the story... why not?

Benjamin Hütz

Cannot wait to take some time out and watch this reaction, been excited for it for a long while :) but no need to be sorry on the wait

Kat

On your point about Qilin bowing to Jacob instead of Dumbledore - that’s exactly what I was expecting too! Did not like that it bowed to Dumbledore at all

Milana

Hi Veggie, loved the reaction! Got to admit, that opening scene made me ugly cry my eyes out when I was watching the movie in cinema the first time - definitely did not expect that to happen so early on! A few things in the movie will make sense as you progress with books, so just keep it in mind. Actually loved the movie, definitely better than the second one in my opinion - having said that I can see why some people are frustrated about it not quite working with the canon. Also is it just me who kind of started shipping Aberforth and Bunty a little bit after that nice moment when she thanked him for a dinner and he stood there for a moment?

Milana

Katherine (Tina) couldn't really make the filming due to some scheduling conflicts I believe. She was originally meant to be in it, but covid had delayed a bunch. The new times for filming didn't work well for her As for Ariana, you will learn a bit more about her from the harry potter books (won't say when, but you will). So I will talk more about it once we get to that point. Oh and the whole election thing was for the new Supreme Mugwump of the International Confederation of Wizards. It's basically the one who oversees every type of ministry (thats how I see it). Anton Vogul was the current Supreme Mugwump which is why he was the one running everything. In a way its his job to run the election for his successor. Which ended up being Santos. It's mentioned in one of the Harry Potter movies that Dumbledore was Supreme Mugwump actually. So even though he turned it down in this election (when the Quilin bowed to him) he does become so later on.

Kunzite Blossom

Nice reaction! :) Since you're reading the books I'd preferred for you to discover the early life of Dumbledore from them, not this movie. In the books, these "secrets" are revealed in a specific manner, which is important for the flow, the feeling and atmosphere of the story. This movie is like a big spoiler for you, what a shame... Regarding the movie, it has nice cinematography, cgi..., whatever, but overall I don't like it. The story is too convoluted for my taste and there are many things that are changed or added (sometimes only for cinematic purposes) that don't really fit the world established in the books. It would've been a better ending if the Qilin had bowed to Jacob instead of Dumbledore, making the point that muggles can have a pure heart (proving Grindelwald wrong). Also, I prefer Johnny Depp as Grindelwald

Jordi GR