The Case of Beasts: Explore the Film Wizardry of Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them
(Probably the longest book title I have ever read!)
Written by Mark Salisbury
Designed by MinaLima
Goodreads Rating: 4.7
Humpo Show Rating | 5/5
The Case of Beasts is the official companion book to J.K. Rowling’s screenplay-turned-film debut Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. Explore the magic behind the film-making, the array of fantastical creatures, the biographies of the witches and wizards that dazzle us on screen, as well as the abundance of props, designs and sets that are used in the film. Salisbury and MinaLima deliver an enchanting interactive experience by sharing film-making secrets, film photography and artwork, and behind-the scenes stories from cast and crew. Full of removable, facsimile reproductions of props and paper ephemera from the movie, along with some very special effects, this collectible volume offers a unique look from the talented group who created this movie magic.
At under two hundred pages, you would expected that you’d be able to read the book quite quickly. This is certainly not the case. The amount of information, the intricate details of the props and photos, and the paper ephemera that can be pulled out and unfolded is just delightful and can keep any Potterhead entertained for hours. To be completely honest, I was a little apprehensive about reading something that I thought was akin to fan-fiction or a low standard mass produced book aimed at rinsing fans, however, those thoughts were quickly quashed after flicking through it on Christmas Day. The effort gone into creating this companion book is simply incredible. Hats off to Salisbury and MinaLima (they actually have an exhibition in London which I plan on visiting!) for the sheer depth of detail gone into compiling information and paraphernalia attached to characters, creatures and places.
It is hard to select a favourite chapter due to the highest of standards that are exerted on every one. Although, I must say that the things that I enjoyed looking at the most were the prop newspapers, posters and documents. It got me thinking that the job that the prop designers do for Potter/Fantastic Beasts is one of the best in existence. Writing newspaper articles about the wizarding world sounds amazing!
The attention to detail is simply astounding. Even the MACUSA I.D. card for Tina Goldstein is given the full treatment with fingerprints, signatures, logos, numbers, in order to give it the authenticity that the film demands.
The Case of Beasts is a wonderful book focusing on the film Fantastic Beasts, and from one Potterhead to another (assuming you are a Potterhead if you have read this far!) “Go out and get it!” It a brilliant book, and I may have a look at the film books made for the Potter films to see if they are to the same standard as this.
The Humpo Show | Richard
I have been looking at buying this and the book of all the Artwork from the film for a long time. I think I am going to have to get it now!
I would definitely recommend it! While I was setting up everything for the instagram photo I ended spending a good 30 mins looking at all the pull out stuff. 🙂
Haha I can imagine, I was looking at it in a book shop the other day and spend 20 minutes looking at random little bits 🙂
I’m interning at a publisher in London this month and I have found the MinaLima Exhibition on google maps so I am going to check it out next week. It has prints and posters from both the Potter films and the Fantastic Beast film. 🙂
Lucky! I would love to do that. I might have to check that out when I go to London!
Ooh! I’m definitely asking for this for my birthday!😁
I’m scouting around for other film companion books now! 🙂
It looks incredible! *o* I hope i can add it into my collection someday!
I hope you can someday as it was such fun to read! 🙂
Hey! Weird question but did you notice quite a few grammatical mistakes in the book? I bought mine the other day and there’s quite a few errors so I’m a bit concerned I got a fake 😂
I did notice some mistakes! At the time I thought, where was the editor for this bit?! 😂 Maybe it is like the very first edition of Philosopher’s Stone, as that had some mistakes in… 😂
Not sure why I made another comment rather than reply to you but just look below for my proper answer!