Despite its lengthy history at Whitman College, the KWCW radio station is, in a way, quite ephemeral.

With the station adding and losing DJs each semester, the content and arrangement of material on the station is always in flux. Some students do the same show each time, some mix it up. Some take hiatuses or decide it’s not for them. They rarely occupy the same time slot twice. And regardless, their shows tend to leave with them.

In spite of this–and the changes in KWCW leadership that occur on a regular basis–there is consistency to be found on the station, both from long-running DJs from outside the college and legacy shows kept running long past the graduations of the students who created them.

Meet Laura Hall. She’s a caregiver in the Walla Walla community who performs with her friends as part of an acoustic band called The Blarney Cats. She’s also the host of the KWCW show “Acousticity,” and has been for the past six years, every Monday night from 8:00-10:00 p.m.

“I plan on being a long-term DJ,” Hall said. “As long as I’m living in this area, of course, I’m gonna try and do it every semester.”

Hall has her show down to a science. Centered on acoustic pieces, specifically those of the Celtic-Irish variety, she has made “Acousticity” into an event for her listeners. Networking through Facebook allows her to spread the word about an upcoming show or a special interviewee. An awareness of her show’s fan community means she can give special shout-outs over the air to listeners. And best of all, she knows she’s in no danger of running out of material.

“I could do a month-long show and never run out of stuff,” Hall said.

Additionally, her 8:00-10:00 p.m. Monday spot on the schedule is no accident–she’s had the spot singled out for “Acousticity” for her entire KWCW run.

“Community DJs, we [often have to] plan … around our showtime, because we have jobs and responsibilities that are not as flexible,” Hall said.

Hall’s not the only community veteran at the station, and certainly not the longest-running. Gregory Schnorr, host of “The Cookie Dance with Chef Schnorganoff,” has been hosting at the station since 1990, and his current show began in 2002.

“Cookie Dance,” a hybridization of cooking lessons and music, has undergone quite an evolution through its years airing on the station.

“It’s gotten much more serious,” Schnorr said. “The topicality of the songs with the recipe gets deeper; not wanting to hear the same songs again … [and] recording every song … for myself. I have to prepare prior to coming into the station. So when I first had a radio show as a student, I was all improvisational, search the stacks, pull albums–now there’s a game plan, there’s editing.”

Additionally, Schnorr has experienced the rather stunning changes in the station’s technology firsthand over the years.

“The ability to download music is very different from the original vinyl stacks I would look at in 1990,” Schnorr said. “The ability to have access to so much more world, obscure, different genres or different styles of music that I never would have gotten into if it wasn’t for the ability to keyword search.”

But community DJs aren’t the only long-runners on KWCW. One notable student show, started in 2010 by former students Sara Rasmussen and Mehera Nori, has survived several years past their departure; that show is “The Witching Hour,” a “Harry Potter” fan show that is currently hosted by seniors Erin Walters and Hannah Poukish.

Walters has hosted the show for a number of years with several different co-hosts, including alumnus Anu Lingappa ‘15 and junior Megan Gleason. Poukish, at Walters’ request, joined for the spring 2017 semester to fill in for Gleason, who is studying abroad. Though Gleason is expected to return to the show in the fall, the two seniors are now tasked with finding her a co-host.

“We still need to recruit a new witch,” Walters said. “That’s probably gonna be something [Gleason] has to deal with, and I don’t really envy that, because it’s kind of like, it’s always been pretty spur-of-the-moment when people are just like, ‘You like Harry Potter? I love Harry Potter! Come on our show!’ So I don’t know who the next generation is gonna be.”

In the past, recruitment for “The Witching Hour” has occurred through members of the FACE (Feminists Advocating for Change and Empowerment) club, as the hosts entreat fellow club members to co-host with them and succeed them.

This continuity comes in the face of consistent change at the station, and has allowed some of the longer-running hosts to gain some perspective on the directions the station has been taking.

“I really see that KWCW is getting better all the time by bringing in live acts, coordinating with musical festivals that reach out to Walla Walla, having community members and other teachers, educators, staff from the campus having shows,” Schnorr said. “I think all of that fills in the ability to have a community station here in Walla Walla.”

KWCW has continued to change in dramatic fashion aesthetically and technologically. But with a semblance of continuity to be found in these long-runners, the station has an element of legacy to it, some consistency in a sea of newness.

Despite its lengthy history at Whitman College, the KWCW radio station is, in a way, quite ephemeral.

With the station adding and losing DJs each semester, the content and arrangement of material on the station is always in flux. Some students do the same show each time, some mix it up. Some take hiatuses or decide it’s not for them. They rarely occupy the same time slot twice. And regardless, their shows tend to leave with them.

In spite of this–and the changes in KWCW leadership that occur on a regular basis–there is consistency to be found on the station, both from long-running DJs from outside the college and legacy shows kept running long past the graduations of the students who created them.

Meet Laura Hall. She’s a caregiver in the Walla Walla community who performs with her friends as part of an acoustic band called The Blarney Cats. She’s also the host of the KWCW show “Acousticity,” and has been for the past six years, every Monday night from 8:00-10:00 p.m.

“I plan on being a long-term DJ,” Hall said. “As long as I’m living in this area, of course, I’m gonna try and do it every semester.”

Hall has her show down to a science. Centered on acoustic pieces, specifically those of the Celtic-Irish variety, she has made “Acousticity” into an event for her listeners. Networking through Facebook allows her to spread the word about an upcoming show or a special interviewee. An awareness of her show’s fan community means she can give special shout-outs over the air to listeners. And best of all, she knows she’s in no danger of running out of material.

“I could do a month-long show and never run out of stuff,” Hall said.

Additionally, her 8:00-10:00 p.m. Monday spot on the schedule is no accident–she’s had the spot singled out for “Acousticity” for her entire KWCW run.

“Community DJs, we [often have to] plan … around our showtime, because we have jobs and responsibilities that are not as flexible,” Hall said.

Hall’s not the only community veteran at the station, and certainly not the longest-running. Gregory Schnorr, host of “The Cookie Dance with Chef Schnorganoff,” has been hosting at the station since 1990, and his current show began in 2002.

“Cookie Dance,” a hybridization of cooking lessons and music, has undergone quite an evolution through its years airing on the station.

“It’s gotten much more serious,” Schnorr said. “The topicality of the songs with the recipe gets deeper; not wanting to hear the same songs again … [and] recording every song … for myself. I have to prepare prior to coming into the station. So when I first had a radio show as a student, I was all improvisational, search the stacks, pull albums–now there’s a game plan, there’s editing.”

Additionally, Schnorr has experienced the rather stunning changes in the station’s technology firsthand over the years.

“The ability to download music is very different from the original vinyl stacks I would look at in 1990,” Schnorr said. “The ability to have access to so much more world, obscure, different genres or different styles of music that I never would have gotten into if it wasn’t for the ability to keyword search.”

But community DJs aren’t the only long-runners on KWCW. One notable student show, started in 2010 by former students Sara Rasmussen and Mehera Nori, has survived several years past their departure; that show is “The Witching Hour,” a “Harry Potter” fan show that is currently hosted by seniors Erin Walters and Hannah Poukish.

Walters has hosted the show for a number of years with several different co-hosts, including alumnus Anu Lingappa ‘15 and junior Megan Gleason. Poukish, at Walters’ request, joined for the spring 2017 semester to fill in for Gleason, who is studying abroad. Though Gleason is expected to return to the show in the fall, the two seniors are now tasked with finding her a co-host.

“We still need to recruit a new witch,” Walters said. “That’s probably gonna be something [Gleason] has to deal with, and I don’t really envy that, because it’s kind of like, it’s always been pretty spur-of-the-moment when people are just like, ‘You like Harry Potter? I love Harry Potter! Come on our show!’ So I don’t know who the next generation is gonna be.”

In the past, recruitment for “The Witching Hour” has occurred through members of the FACE (Feminists Advocating for Change and Empowerment) club, as the hosts entreat fellow club members to co-host with them and succeed them.

This continuity comes in the face of consistent change at the station, and has allowed some of the longer-running hosts to gain some perspective on the directions the station has been taking.

“I really see that KWCW is getting better all the time by bringing in live acts, coordinating with musical festivals that reach out to Walla Walla, having community members and other teachers, educators, staff from the campus having shows,” Schnorr said. “I think all of that fills in the ability to have a community station here in Walla Walla.”

KWCW has continued to change in dramatic fashion aesthetically and technologically. But with a semblance of continuity to be found in these long-runners, the station has an element of legacy to it, some consistency in a sea of newness.

“You Can’t Take it With You:” The famed comedy about a dysfunctional family caps of Harper Joy Theatre’s 2016-2017 season. Evening shows Thursday-Saturday, May 4-6, 8:00 p.m.; matinee show Sunday, May 7, 2 p.m.. Alexander Stage. Free admission. Additional showtimes starting May 18.

Dulcé Sloan: The award-winning stand-up comedian comes to Whitman College, bringing her “signature sass and confidence” and her views on social topics with her. Friday, May 5, 7:00 p.m., Reid Coffeehouse. Free admission.

“Little Art:” Hosted by quarterlife, this event will feature poetry readings, an art raffle, free food and button-making. Saturday, May 6, 3:00 to 5:00 p.m., Amphitheatre. Free admission.

Whitman Drive-In: WEB hosts its biannual outdoor film screening, featuring Best Picture winner Moonlight and the Jordan Peele sensation Get Out. Saturday, May 6, 8:30 p.m., Reid Sidelawn. Free admission.

“On the Virtues of Soapboxing:” A one-woman show about sex, the body and motherhood, from student Linnea Valdivia. Monday-Tuesday, May 8th-9th, 6:30 p.m., Harper Joy Acting Studio. Free admission.

“Righteous Dopefiend:” The unique multimedia exhibition on homelessness will close at the end of the month. Open Thursday-Friday, April 27-28, 12:00-4:00 p.m., Maxey Hall W40. Free admission.

Spring Jazz Concert: Featuring the Jazz I Ensemble (directed by Gary Hemenway) and the Jazz II Spring Concert (directed by Gary Gemberling). Thursday, April 27, 7:30-8:30 p.m., Chism Hall. Free admission.

People’s Climate March: A solidarity march promoting public awareness and support for policies that address climate change. Saturday, April 29, 10:00 a.m., First Congregational Church. Free to participate.

Spring Orchestra Concert: Conducted by Jonathan Spatola-Knoll, featuring Jackie Wood on keyboard. Saturday, April 29, 1:30-3:00 p.m., Chism Hall. Free admission.

“A Night of Laser Fantasies:” Hosted by TKE and GlobeMed, a laser light show set to the music of Beyonce, Bob Marley and Pink Floyd. Saturday, April 29, starts at 6:00 p.m., Cordiner Hall. Suggested $8.00 donation.

Walla Walla native Jon Betz, a documentary filmmaker specializing in environmental and humanitarian issues, returned to his hometown on March 29 for a special screening of his latest project, “SEED: The Untold Story,” at the Gesa Power House Theatre.

The film, which Betz produced and co-directed with Taggart Siegel, centers on the loss of seed diversity over the past century, the attempts by large scale agribusinesses to monopolize seeds and the independent efforts of seed keepers and seed banks around the world to preserve seed diversity. The film stresses that these efforts would be greatly beneficial in the event of a major crop blight, natural disaster or the discovery of unexpected medicinal properties.

For Betz and Siegel, an important feature of the documentary is its visual distinctness and artistry.

“We enjoy doing things that are creative and a little different in our films, something to defy the typical issue-driven documentary,” Betz said. “I think both Taggart and I are not interested in just making a purely issue-driven documentary.”

This is notably reflected by the visual style of the film that looks at the physical structure and movement of seeds in great detail, particularly in the opening.

“They’re stationary objects, we don’t think of them as moving creatures, but seeds actually move in a variety of ways,” Betz said. “In the opening sequence we try to show some of that, and we also showed seeds with extreme close-ups, so we can see some of the art and architecture.”

This opening sequence includes a number of cleverly conceived and visually engrossing imagery of sprouting seeds, bursting popcorn and close-up analyses. It also boasts of one incredible artistic endeavor courtesy of Sara Mapelli, who had worked with Betz and Siegel on their previous film, “Queen of the Sun.”

In “SEED,” Mapelli lies down in a pink dress atop bags of seeds, and, in a time-lapse sequence, plants begin to sprout all over her body.

“Her idea was so bonkers and so crazy that we thought, ‘Okay, we’ll do it,’” Betz said.

As Betz described, Mapelli soaked a dress with wet paper towels, before lining it with seeds. Betz recalled his awe at the whole process.

“Right before they sprouted, she put the dress on and she laid down on this bed, and she laid down there for 64 hours while seeds sprouted all over her body,” Betz said. “And all of the movements that she makes, those are all movements that she’s making in her sleep, I mean it’s like this insane amount of time that she spent doing it, but she loved it.”

In “Queen of the Sun,” Mapelli had performed a similarly unorthodox feat, dancing with thousands of bees lining her body.

For Betz, the appeal of such visually interesting elements goes beyond their novelty value; they link thematically with the material.

“We [the directors] wanted to give the film some of the soul and some of the life that comes with seeds,” Betz said.

For Betz, screening “SEED” in his hometown was an encouraging, uplifting experience, particularly seeing something of a debate emerge in the Q&A session.

“It was great to screen ‘SEED’ in Walla Walla because this is a farming community, conventional farming and organic farming,” Betz said. “It was awesome to come to a community like Walla Walla and see both sides of the issue portrayed in the audience, whereas some screenings are one-sided … having screenings where it’s a dialogue is something we want with the film.”

“SEED: The Untold Story” is currently available on DVD and streaming, with a national broadcast on PBS scheduled for April 17.

Lady Caress: WEB hosts slam poet, singer, beat boxer and story teller Lady Caress! Reid Coffeehouse. 7:00 p.m., Thurs., March 2. Open to all.

“A King Lear:” This adaptation of “King Lear” brings contemporary performance practices alongside Shakespearean language. Alexander Stage, Harper Joy Theatre. Evening shows: 8:00 p.m., Thurs. through Sat., March 2 to 4. Matinees: 2:00 p.m., Sat. and Sun, March 4-5. Free admission for students.

Breaking Ground Monologues: Powerful student performances tackle personal experiences regarding gender, race, identity, sexuality and mental health. Kimball Theatre, Hunter Conservatory. Evening shows: 7:00 p.m., Fri. and Sat., March 3 and 4. Matinees: 2L00 p.m., March 5. Open to all.

Casino Night: Formal attire, games, mocktails and fun prizes abound at Whitman’s Casino Night! Reid Campus Center Ballroom. 9:00 p.m., Fri, March 3. Free admission.

Tim Gonzalez Art Showcase: A showcase and reception for the work of local artist Tim Gonzalez. Plumb Cellars. 6:00 p.m. to 9 p.m., Fri, March 3. Free admission.

“‘The Public Thing’ Goes Public” Lecture: Professor Sarah Davies, of Whitman, will present on the “image” of Rome in the second century that helped forge an empire. To be held 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. on Feb. 2, in Olin Hall 129. Free admission.

“The Producers”: The Mel Brooks comedy will continue showing at the Little Theatre through this weekend (and the next). Tickets 15 dollars; shows at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 3 and 4th, 2:00 p.m. Feb. 5.

“Adventures of Alice”: The Walla Walla Dance Company will present this “Alice in Wonderland” inspired dance show at Cordiner Hall. Tickets will be available for 20 dollars at Earthlight Books, and can also be purchased at the door for 15 dollars.

“Honey, We Shrunk the Earth!” Lecture: The Department of Environmental Studies presents Donald Worster, who will present on “how abundance has turned to scarcity in the United States” and its global implications. To be held on Feb. 8 in Olin Hall 138. Free admission.

One-Act Play Contest: The annual competition of student-written, student-directed and student-run plays will commence on Feb. 8 at Harper Joy Theatre. Free for Whitman students.

The official nominations for the 89th Academy Awards ceremony were announced on Tuesday, Jan. 24, and, much in the vein of past ceremonies, featured some welcome improvements from years past while also maintaining or establishing some troublesome trends.

Nine films were nominated for the coveted Best Picture award. The films in contention are “Arrival,” “Fences,” “Hacksaw Ridge,” “Hell or High Water,” “Hidden Figures,” “La La Land,” “Lion,” “Manchester by the Sea” and “Moonlight.” Of these, “La La Land,” “Arrival” and “Moonlight” are leading in nominations, with “La La Land” tying the overall record with fourteen.

Meanwhile, in the wake of the #OscarsSoWhite campaign, which were a result of the 2015 and 2016 ceremonies featuring no acting nominations for people of color, seven non-white actors received were nominated across the four acting categories. Interestingly, all of the nominations came from films that were centered on non-white characters, rather than supporting roles in a white character’s film (though “Loving,” based on the court case that legalized interracial marriage, featured the titular couple as co-leads).

As usual, some great films made the Best Picture list, while many were ignored and some not-so-great films scored unearned nominations. The frontrunner for the award, “La La Land,” has recieved growing backlash as a result of increasing exposure following its nominations. Damien Chazelle’s film has swept the Golden Globe Awards and many other ceremonies, leading to concerns that the popularity of the film, which has a majority-white cast, could shut out many deserving contenders of color, such as “Moonlight” director Barry Jenkins and “Moana” songwriter Lin-Manuel Miranda. Additionally, the film’s numerous nominations perpetuates the trend of the Oscars disproportionately rewarding films centered on show business. “La La Land” is most certainly a film that plays to all the standard Academy criteria, making it rather easy to vilify; the problem, however, is the fact that the film really is that spectacular.

The musical romance, starring Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling, is a truly captivating watch, with master class filmmaking evident in every shot. From its amazingly catchy original songs, to its sweeping and visually gorgeous cinematography (the opening one-take is mesmerizing), to the intricate staging of its sets and hypnotic visuals, to the effusive charm of its stars, “La La Land” is a powerful film that makes an astonishing case for reviving the big-screen original musical. The film is an absolute delight, and to dismiss it courtesy of awards over-exposure would truly be a waste.

“Arrival,” which shockingly did not receive a Best Actress nod for star Amy Adams, is a gripping slow-burn science fiction film with much to say on how we as a species communicate, both with each other and that which we don’t understand. Its nomination is a victory for director Denis Villenueve, who was snubbed for his brilliant film “Sicario” the previous year, but it is disappointing to see Adams’ brilliant lead performance cast aside.

“Moonlight” director Barry Jenkins’ character study of a young man over three decades, succeeds as a multifaceted look at the interaction of age, culture, race and sexuality. “Manchester by the Sea” is a haunting look at grief, with powerful performances driving its raw, deeply emotional impact. “Fences,” while somewhat struggling to overcome the confines of its origins on the live stage, is extremely effective in its depiction of a man who obsesses over wrongs done to him while failing to recognize the wrongs he himself commits.

“Hidden Figures,” tragically, is one of the weaker films to make the grade. Despite its worthy subject material and excellent performances, the film succumbs to its own social significance, too often seeming like a history lesson on itself. It’s a reasonably gratifying and uplifting watch, but with the talent and material involved, it feels like there was missed potential. As of this writing, I have not seen “Lion.”

“Hacksaw Ridge” is the true screw-up of the list. In spite of his outrageous and well-documented outbursts, Hollywood seems desperate to give director Mel Gibson a comeback, to the point of giving this subpar war drama a shot at Best Picture. A jarring tonal mix of schmaltzy faith-based drama and exploitation-style gory war scenes, “Hacksaw” wastes a compelling true story and the commitment of Andrew Garfield. It’s nominations should have gone to Martin Scorsese’s “Silence,” a far more compelling drama that, coincidentally, also covers themes of faith and stars Andrew Garfield.

Finally, the harrowing western crime drama “Hell or High Water,” which was previously reviewed by The Wire in September, remains one of the best films of the year.

The 89th Academy Awards, hosted by Jimmy Kimmell, will air on ABC on Feb. 26.

It may be a musical about the worst musical ever produced, but the cast and crew of “The Producers” were all too excited to join the Little Theatre’s production of the famous Broadway show. The local rendition began on Jan. 20 and will continue through Feb. 11.

Based on the Oscar-winning 1968 film of the same name, “The Producers,” adapted for the stage by the film’s writer/director Mel Brooks, originally opened on Broadway in 2001 and won 12 Tony Awards, a record it still holds. The play details the misadventures of Leo Bloom, a sheepish accountant and Max Bialystock, a struggling Broadway producer, who devise a scheme to make money off a flop production by producing the worst play in history for a sum they can’t hope to make back. The result is “Springtime for Hitler,” a poor-taste celebration of Nazis. Trouble arises, however, when the play becomes a hit, the audience having mistaken it for a satire.

The musical was later adapted into a 2005 film, which starred the Broadway show’s two leads, Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick.

The irreverence and outrageous humor of the play was a major attraction for the Little Theatre production’s director, Brian Hatley.

“It’s one of my favorite musicals, I love Mel Brooks [and] I’m not sure if there’s anything better than a Mel Brooks musical,” Hatley said. “I’ve just been delighted, it’s just a dream come true to be able to do this particular musical.”

However, “The Producers” is not an easy play to transfer from Broadway to community theatre, with many complicated scene transitions and set changes as the story progresses from Leo’s office, to a rooftop, to a stage-within-a-stage. Hatley explained some of the solutions to the play’s complicated nature.

King of broadway. (Left to right) Daniel Rose, Alex Leeper, Abigail Wissink, Chanel Finnie, Robert Randall, Stacie Trego, Marieke Hess, Daegan Acevedo, Rande Moss, Olivia Courser, Shannon Pierce. Photo by John Anthony

“I believe in cinematic theatre,” Hatley said. “Everything comes off the stage, everything goes on the stage, all of the major setpieces except for furniture are on wheels and rotate and roll in, roll out. Probably about half our scenes are with projection, so we move from one space to the other as smoothly and as quickly as possible.”

The play was also an interesting experience for its cast and crew, many of whom took on roles different from what they were accustomed to. Robert Randall, who portrays Max Bialystock, moved into the spotlight once again after having directed a number of recent productions, including November’s “Noises Off.”

“I would say this one was more stressful [than ‘Noises Off’] for me,” Randall said. “The character [Bialystock] itself has an immense amount of lines, and a tremendous amount of music … the challenge is definitely just the content, and the amount of it.”

That said, Randall, who also works at the Whitman College bookstore, was eager to portray the role, being a fan of the 2005 film and a singer since childhood.

“Musical theatre’s always my favorite,” Randall said.

“The interaction of the crowd is just more powerful because you get that response back … you just kind of get that constant energy throughout the show, which I think makes it a little more gratifying [than non-musicals].”

Ulla dancing during her “Audition.” Ulla played by Elena Janis, Leo Bloom played by Isaiah Stodola Photo by John Anthony.

Whitman junior Lud de Brito, who has worked with Harper Joy Theatre on many previous occasions as an actress and assistant stage manager, worked with the Little Theatre for the first time for “The Producers,” working on graphics for the play’s projection system. She found the experience very valuable.

“It’s really nice to be able to see a theatre outside of Harper Joy because it’s all the experience with, like, theatre I have,” Brito said. “Just getting to know the people, getting to see how much work is being put under the construction of this production … that’s really beautiful to see.”

Brito, Randall and Hatley all expressed their admiration for the team of volunteers that helped make the production a reality.

“At Harper Joy, we’re having plays that are done by students that … don’t have families to take care of, they don’t have [full-time] jobs to maintain,” Brito said.

“There was just so much, y’know, drive every day, after a whole day of work. I really admire people who take the time, the energy, for the sake of creating theatre.”

“The Producers” will continue to run at the Little Theatre through February, with showtimes at 7:30 p.m. on Jan. 27-28, Feb. 3-4 and Feb. 10-11, and at 2:00 p.m. on Jan. 29 and Feb. 5.

Max Bialystock played by Robert Randall, Ulla played by Elena Janis. Photo by John Anthony.

Mixing the charms of its characters, an engaging narrative and grandiose visuals to strong effect, “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them,” a prequel to the “Harry Potter” franchise, is an uncommonly affable and whimsical film that has much to offer audiences. It is noticeably superior to the most recent work to emerge from the Wizarding World, the July 2016 play “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.”

Directed by David Yates (“Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix”) and written by “Potter” author, J. K. Rowling, the film stars Eddie Redmayne (“Les Miserables”) as Newt Scamander, a British wizard zoologist who travels to New York City in 1926 with a case containing numerous magical creatures he has collected. Unfortunately, due to a mix-up with the non-magical Jacob Kowalski (Dan Fogler, “Europa Report”), a number of his creatures escape into the city and Scamander must team up with Kowalski, as well as American witch sisters Tina and Queenie Goldstein (Katherine Waterston and Alison Sudol) before they expose the wizarding world to an already suspicious American public.

While the film is chock-full of references to the established “Potter” mythos–the film’s inspiration stems from Rowling’s fake textbook of the same name ostensibly written by Scamander–much of the film’s strength lies in its accessibility. The film has two audience surrogate characters; Kowalski stands in for newcomers to the wizarding world, while Scamander helps transition series veterans from the British wizarding community to its American counterpart. There’s plenty of exposition that needs delivering throughout the film, but it generally is quick and to the point. The film moves at a brisk enough pace that the occasional pauses are welcome.

The new characters are key to the film’s appeal. Newt Scamander brings out the best in actor Eddie Redmayne, a single-minded man on a mission who, at the same time, is a likable figure that is easy to get behind. Tina Goldstein is a similarly driven character whose impetuousness has gotten her into trouble before, but, at the same time, doesn’t act without reason. Her sister Queenie is bubbly and excitable, and Colin Farrell’s Percival Graves is a strong villain. The heart of the movie, however, is Kowalski, whose deadpan wonder at the new world around him gives him an irresistible affability that drives the film and adds a human element to the unfolding spectacle.

On a technical level, the film has much to boast of. Notably, composer James Newton Howard, a newcomer to the franchise, provides a rich and layered score that mixes ethereal melodies, suspenseful beats and 1920’s jazz stylings to achieve one of the year’s more memorable orchestral soundtracks. The editing is sharp and the film is a bit brighter in color and setting than previous “Potter” films. While the film’s realism could have benefited from using less CGI monsters and more practical effects, the creature designs themselves are imaginative and unique.

The film’s biggest weakness is its franchise ambitions. Distributor Warner Bros. has already announced a planned five-film franchise and the result is that there are a few too many plots competing for attention in “Fantastic Beasts.” While Scamander’s story takes center stage, it requires some time before smaller, separate plots detailing American magical politics, a radical anti-magical organization and the rise of a European wizarding menace merge into the main story. While the film is shorter than most prior “Potter” films, it can often feel overstuffed.

However, “Fantastic Beasts” is a marked improvement over the recent “Cursed Child” play. It is not bound to the original stories, takes proper time to introduce characters and, unlike “Cursed Child,” is not driven by poor character decisions or clumsily handled villains.

Overall, “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them” is a strong choice for holiday moviegoing, both for adult audiences and for family crowds. Both wizarding novices and “Potter” veterans will find much to enjoy about the adventures of Newt Scamander and his new friends.