Fantastic Beasts And Where to Find Them

James Newton Howard has respectfully paid homage to the great John William's theme from the original Harry Potter and you have to get a little bit excited when the score begins with that iconic music. After that wink to Williams, Howard slowly develops an astounding orchestral score that demonstrates a expansive variety of musical tones: whimsical, nostalgic, energetic and sometimes even very creepy. His range as a composer is commendable and this score clearly shows his talent to accompany emotions portrayed in the film, whatever these may be. I hear shades of Malificent (outstanding score) and King Kong here, which is thrilling. Some of the Harry Potter scores are amazing and a few are not. I'm hopeful that Howard will sign on for all the remaining scores for this new film franchise because if this first score is any indication of what's coming, we can all anticipate the upcoming scores with eagerness.