Review by C.J. Bunce
Today is our last day of reviews of the movie tie-in books for the new J.K. Rowling fantasy film Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald. Rounding out the tie-in books is an exclusive behind the scenes account of the production composed of interviews with cast and crew, plus a new double-sized coloring book of the quality of adult coloring books but suitable for all ages.
In many ways Lights, Camera, Magic! The Making of Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald is like the souvenir books you’d get to commemorate a special event or show years ago. It has all the images from the film of the key characters, environments, and scenes. And it features interviews with all principal cast members except Johnny Depp. Elaborating on the motivations behind scenes, scope, and decisions made for the film are screenplay writer J.K. Rowling, director David Yates, producer David Heyman, graphic designers Miraphora Mina and Eduardo Lima, production designer Stuart Craig, art director Martin Foley, costume designer Colleen Atwood, hair and makeup artist Fae Hammond, set decorator Anna Pinnock, concept artist Dermot Power, prop designer Pierre Bohanna, and visual effects supervisors Tim Burke and Christian Manz. The book also features a foreword by star Eddie Redmayne. Readers will find more than one photo and section describing scenes that did not make the final cut of the film, too (did anyone have any idea Newt wrote a book that was made for a book-signing scene in the film?).
The Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald Magical Adventure Coloring Book offers up several scenes from the film, as well as deleted scene images, to color. The coloring book is in the realm of the more elaborately designed adult coloring books, such as Sherlock and Doctor Who coloring books. quality artwork and photo-real images that look like the actors being portrayed, not just quick sketches. You’ll find images of Newt, Dumbledore, Grindelwald, and more characters, plus several beasts inside.
Take a look at these excerpt pages from each book:
