By Ananya Ranjit<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I was 15 when I first took the Hogwarts Express to the Wizarding World. What started reluctantly soon spiralled into full blown Pottermania as I devoured each book\u00d4\u00c7\u00f6 often under the sheets in the torchlight, so much so that my mother had to impose a one-week reading ban to bring me back to the Muggle world. I made a list of all the spells mentioned in the books, DIY-ed a wand with a wooden chopstick and knew every single one of Hermione’s dialogues from the first film, with the right pauses and everything. Around five years later, my love for Rowling’s masterfully created universe remains pretty much the same. While the mania may have allayed over the years \u00d4\u00c7\u00f6 much to the relief of friends and family\u00d4\u00c7\u00f6 the original Potter books and films continue to be a source of comfort that I revisit from time to time for a much needed shot of nostalgia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It is therefore unsurprising that the release of the latest film in the Fantastic Beasts<\/em> franchise stirred up a bunch of warm fuzzy feelings in me. However, after a rather dismaying 2 hours and 23 minutes, I must admit that the third instalment of the Potter prequel series has lost most of its magic; instead reducing the story of one of Hogwarts’ most powerful wizards into a bland, political thriller. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Featuring Wizarding World veteran David Yates in the director’s chair and J.K. Rowling as the screenwriter, The Secrets of Dumbledore<\/em> explores the aftermath of the titular character’s blood pact with his lover-turned-nemesis Gellert Grindelwald, wherein they’d sworn never to fight with one another. Now, with the ambitious Grindelwald was plotting world domination and the oppression of Muggles, it was up to Albus Dumbledore and his motley crew of good samaritans, headed by Hogwarts’ very own Dr. Dolittle, Newt Scamander, to save the day. Added to this were around five other subplots, each one intending to establish the truly \u00d4\u00c7\u00ffglobal’ nature of the Wizarding World, from the United States to Norway (#diversityisnotjustamuggleissue), and even Bhutan, which was the location chosen to declare the future \u00d4\u00c7\u00ffSupreme Mugwump’ of the International Confederation of Wizards. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Loaded with jargon and complex political titles, viewers see that The Secrets of Dumbledore<\/em> is Rowling’s attempt at allegory, whereby the rise and fall of Gellert Grindelwald is akin to that of fascist leaders like Hitler and Mussolini, making the entire story thus far, a magical retelling of the two World Wars. As someone who loves exploring the connotative meanings of a text, this facet of the film proved rather intriguing. However, as a Potterhead, it was rather underwhelming for it seemed that in the process of doing justice to the allegory of it all,\u252c\u00e1 the focus was taken off of what Potter fans love most about the series: the characters. The result? A huge ensemble of one-dimensional characters with unexplored arcs.\u252c\u00e1<\/p>\n\n\n\n