Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is the first film in the Harry Potter universe to not have storyline, plot, or dialogue already laid out in great detail in book form. As such, Fantastic Beasts has a special kind of magic to it, an element of spontaneity and freedom no previous Harry Potter film had. There were no specific scenes fans were looking for, or special lines of dialogue that needed to be in the film. In the absence of a strict roadmap, Fantastic Beasts has plenty of great, thoroughly original moments. To honor those moments, these are the 13 best Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them quotes.
I would be lying if I said that the best quotes from Fantastic Beasts didn't come from the breakout character of Jacob Kowalski. Everyone's favorite Muggle/No-Maj served mostly as the comic relief in the film — a kind of non-wizard Ron Weasley, if you will — and he did his job well. Not to be outdone, Newt Scamander also delivered a few fun zingers, while Graves/Grindelwald and Credence served up a whole lot of creepy and menacing messages. All in all, there are a lot of great quotes to choose from, but these 13 best quotes from Fantastic Beasts take the cake.
1. "Hey! Mr. English Guy! I think your egg is hatching." — Jacob
Jacob's first words to Newt marked the birth of a friendship...and of a magical creature.
2. "I ask all of you, who does this protect? Us or them?" — Graves
Graves, you evil, beautiful, chilling man.
3. "Just a smidge." — Newt
Newt establishes himself as king of the understatement pretty early on in Fantastic Beasts, when he lies to Tina about how many creatures might have escaped from his case.
4. "I love house elves. My uncle is a house elf." — Jacob
Jacob nearly blew his No-Maj cover at the magic speakeasy with his total disbelief at any hint of magic, but that's ok, because he says charming things like this.
5. "New York is considerably more interesting than I expected." — Newt
Again, Newt is the king of the understatement.
6. "We've lived in the shadows for too long." — Graves
Graves, being equal parts terrifying and totally hot. (Someone had to say it.)
7. "I don't think I'm dreaming... I ain't got the brains to make this up." — Jacob
That J.K. Rowling sure knows how to make dreams come to life.
8. "Magical beasts are terrorizing No-Majs, when No-Majs are afraid, they attack. Contain this, or it'll mean war." — Seraphina
This quote might not be the most memorable in the movie, but it perfectly sums up the tension between wizards and No-Majs all over the world.
9. "I'm the only one like me." — Jacob
Truer words have never been spoken, Jacob.
10. "I refuse to bow down any longer." — Graves
Graves/Grindelwald sounds an awful lot like Voldemort, doesn't he?
11. "My philosophy is that worrying means you suffer twice." — Newt
This is probably the most Newt thing Newt has ever said.
12. "Will we die, just a little?" — Grindelwald
When Grindelwald is revealed, he says this to Newt before being carted off my MACUSA officials, but what does it mean?
13. "I wish I was a wizard." — Jacob
This line didn't make the final cut of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, but it probably should have. Spoken by Jacob in various trailers for the film, this quote is basically what every audience member said to themselves by the end of the movie.
Now we just have to wait a few years until the next batch of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them quotes.
Images: Warner Bros Pictures; fantasticbeasts/tumblr (13)
