With Cerris Morgan-Moyer, Andy Gates, Pancho Moler, Eleanor Goodall. This is a film bursting with ideas – philosophical, literary, mathematical, even spiritual – and the ornate, crumbling Labyrinth is a wholly unique imaginative landscape. Packed with historical heroes, diminutive hustlers, post-Python humour, loopy cameos and bizarre fantastical asides – not to mention the bleakest, strangest ending imaginable – the film was an unlikely transatlantic smash hit. 2019. A complete list of Fantasy movies in 2016. An environmentalist epic about giant forest gods, the blind greed of human industry and a warrior princess raised by wolves, this grand fantasy story is animation on a scale unlike anything Disney has ever tried. 114 min. When Ian listens to a tape of the dad he never knew and you wish you'd remember to bulk-buy tissues. Here we've included body-swap films, superhero extravaganzas, as well as a healthy dose of sword and sorcery. TM & © 2011 Marvel. I would have Willow. CGI never created anything quite so unique as special effects master Ray Harryhausen’s model figures. A pair of grieving elf brothers turn to magic to reanimate, for 24 emotional hours, the dad they never really knew. Alfonso Cuaron's take on the ‘Harry Potter’ movies was when the franchise proved it was more than just a lifeless, slavish recreation of J.K. Rowling's immeasurably popular fantasy novels. The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie (1972), 21. FilmCrave's top fantasy movie list includes Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers and more. When Libuse marries the farmer Premysl (Csaba … A boatload of Oscars would arrive with the next film, ‘The Return of the King’, but here’s where Peter Jackson’s trilogy cohered as a triumph of cutting-edge technology and emotional impact. Recommended: 50 amazing comic book movies. doomed to repeat the same day over and over again. Magic Moment: A lakeside picnic with a woman as eerie as the mist that creeps over the water. Auf KINO.de findest du die besten Fantasyfilme nach Beliebtheit, Jahren, Ländern oder FSK sortiert. Set in a fantastical land populated by evolved cyclops, fauns, mages and all manner of mythical fauna who have switched from magic to mod cons, ‘Onward’ is a cometh-of-age tale that makes playful capital from our habit of turning the past into touristy kitsch. It’s the wellspring of modern fantasy, but cinema’s track record when it comes to the King Arthur legend is pitiful, whether it’s the dippy musical fantasia of ‘Camelot’ or the dour, would-be-realism of the Clive Owen ‘King Arthur’ (and don’t even get us started on Guy Ritchie’s impending reboot). It may lack the blood and thunder of later instalments, but for us the first ‘Rings’ film remains the best: it has the most direct narrative – a road movie, essentially, from the rustic middle-English hush of the Shire to the forbidding shores of the Anduin – and the sweetest character moments, from Bilbo’s sad departure to Boromir’s sacrificial end. Magic moment: The hidden ‘troll market’ beneath the Brooklyn Bridge rivals the ‘Star Wars’ cantina in the monster-riot stakes. However, fantasy films were relatively few and far between until the 1980s, when high-tech filmmaking techniques and increased audience interest caused the genre to flourish. Here's our list of the best fantasy movies on Netflix. Support Time Out directly today and help us champion the people and places which make the city tick. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001). But the spell is broken halfway through, leaving them with, well, half a dad. There´s a lot missing from this list. A beautiful example of fantasy redeemed by deep philosophical underpinnings, Harold Ramis’s comic masterpiece follows a sour, cynical weatherman (who else but Bill Murray?) Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000), 20. This is an overflowing goody-bag of a film, crammed with bar-raising action set-pieces, wonderfully sketched characters and just enough old-school Whedon wit to reward those who’d stuck with him all along. The swirling mythic cauldron (i.e. Their genius is to treat the fantastical elements completely seriously – the costumes are ornate, the special effects never look goofy and the world of the film is totally convincing, allowing the humour to shine through. Magic moment: A breathtaking opening credits sequence, shot in slo-mo and black and white, shows a train-track stunt gone wrong. Magic moment: Delighting at a menu of multiple fish options and a deep wine list, the party hears weeping: behind a curtain, the restaurant’s manager lies dead. Auf der Suche nach Fantasyfilmen? Perhaps one of the most heartbreaking magical fantasy movies ever made, The Bridge to Terabithia starts off as a seemingly fun movie, but it gradually starts covering more serious and mature topics, which is why it has been so acclaimed. Magic Moment: The first time the Avengers assemble on screen. Directed by Thai master Apichatpong Weerasethakul (his Western friends call him Joe) it unfolds in a reverie as Uncle Boonmee, a dying farmer, is visited in his final days by friends and family – his nephew and sister, but also the ghost of his dead wife and a red-eyed monkey-man who says he’s Boonmee’s son. She loses her scarf and when a curious onlooker retrieves it, the chase is on, one that plunges into exchanged female identities, interdimensional time travel and a mysterious house where nothing is set in stone. Magic Moment: Nothing can top that dizzying opening sequence, as two angels eavesdrop on the scattered thoughts of Berlin’s residents. Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives (2010), 12. I wonder who the idiot was that gave Wizard of Oz a rotten score. Directed by Wolfgang Petersen and starring Noah Hathaway, Barrett Oliver and Tami Stronach, the film tells a story within a story, as twelve year old Bastian reads about the adventures of Atreyu, who is on a … 15. our database) reveals to all the 75 best-reviewed live-action fantasy movies of all time, ranked by adjusted Tomatometer with at least 20 reviews each! – is pure, giddy wish-fulfilment. With only the legs operational and the missing top half flopping around under layers of clothes, the three bluff their way through a quest to find a magical gem and finish the job. The only film that truly captures the grandeur of Arthurian myth is John Boorman’s intermittently ridiculous but cumulatively breathtaking ‘Excalibur’, the grittiest, mistiest, earthiest British fantasy movie of them all. This Magic Moment: Scorsese got it right: that first flash of colour still sends a chill up your spine. And that’s the reason why Jackson’s ‘Rings’ movies work, and will continue to thrill moviegoers for generations to come: the characters are as important as the special effects. Directed by Dashiell Demeter. Magic moment: Lambert and Connery practice their swordplay on a mountain-top while Freddie Mercury bellows ‘Who Wants to Live Forever’ – pure, cheeseball glory. This beloved animated fantasy film from Studio Ghibli comes from the master writer-director Hayao Miyazaki. Buy, rent or watch ‘The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie’. The story of a prima ballerina (Moira Shearer) and the power-mad Svengali (Anton Walbrook) who loves and exploits her, it takes place, for the most part, in the ‘real’ world. Magic moment: The moment where the ‘supporting’ cartoon collapses to the sound of a director yelling ‘cut!’ is a paradigm-splattering eye-opener. Magic Moment: Without a doubt, our first glimpse of Wakanda. Today, we will try to dig into the plethora of anime movies and shows and try to bring to you the list of top fantasy anime ever made. Now one of the highest-grossing films of all time, ‘Black Panther’ is not just an important movie, it’s also a great movie. Shall! Magic moment: Nicol Williamson’s bizarre, theatrical Merlin weaves a transformation spell. Magic moment: Parents are transformed into pigs, and our heroine is truly on her own. With his grand, globe-conquering adaptation of JRR Tolkein’s genre-defining trilogy, Peter Jackson dragged fantasy into the digital age, managing beyond all the odds to make it at least semi-cool in the process. Buy, rent or watch ‘The Adventures of Baron Munchausen’. What about The Neverending Story, Labyrinth, Legend, or the family favorite The Dark Crystal. It tells of a housewife (Mia Farrow) who, during the Depression, is swept off her feet by her favourite movie character (Jeff Daniels), who steps down from the screen and sweeps her into a heady romance. It tells of Mrs Frisby, a fieldmouse, widow and mother trying to look after her young brood, one of whom is very ill, in the face of threats from humans and a race of souped-up, intelligent rats. Bewitching and mesmerising, ‘Uncle Boonmee’ is a perfect film to lose yourself in. Magic moment: When Orlando transforms again... and again... and again. The genre often adheres to general human psychology and societal behavior while … It was beauty killed the beast.’. Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (1971), 19. The greatest ghost story ever told on film, Kenji Mizoguchi’s masterfully macabre fable about two greedy peasants who try to profit from the civil war raging through their country gets more powerful as it slowly bleeds into the supernatural. By entering your email address you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and consent to receive emails from Time Out about news, events, offers and partner promotions. A high point not only of the consistently excellent output of Japan’s Studio Ghibli but of animation as a whole, this magical adventure turns the wanderings of a lonely ten-year-old girl into an updated ‘Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland’, complete with nods to ancient folklore and modern ecological anxieties. What’s left to say about ‘King Kong’? Writer-director Guillermo del Toro is the most original and uncompromising cinema fantasist of the modern era, and ‘Pan’s Labyrinth’ is his most striking statement. Magic moment: The first instalment, ‘Siegfried’, features a giant, drooling dragon – a fully functioning puppet that’s the grandfather of Jabba the Hutt. Buy, rent or watch ‘Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon’. If all you remember from ‘Muppet’ creator Jim Henson’s cult magical fantasy is Goblin King David Bowie and his terrifying codpiece, look again. The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1988), 22. Fantasy films are films with fantastic themes, usually involving magic, supernatural events, incredible creatures, or exotic fantasy worlds. You can watch several of these best fantasy anime on Netflix, Hulu, Crunchyroll or YouTube. Fantasy films have a history almost as old as the medium itself. Magic moment: David Warner’s petrifying Evil transforms into the universe’s creepiest fairground ride. All rights reserved. Much like it's cousin science-fiction, fantasy, which was once a genre dismissed as nerdish, has grown and is headed into the mainstream, thanks in part to Peter Jackson's ‘Lord of the Rings’, ‘Harry Potter’ and a certain HBO vehicle called ‘Game of Thrones’. Zade Rosenthal © 2011 MVLFFLLC. The 40 Best Fantasy Movies of All Time From Studio Ghibli classics to the two entries of the "Lord of the Rings" saga most deserving of inclusion, these movies took us to new worlds. The theme tune’s terrific, too. Magic moment: The first flight of the luck dragon Falkor is a scene of pure, soaring joy. Swiss-cheese plotting, dodgy accents, even dodgier kilts and Queen on the soundtrack: what’s not to love about ‘Highlander’? Buy, rent or watch ‘Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory’. Look out for your first newsletter in your inbox soon! Synopsis: The Witches of Eastwick, a memorable comedy with a dark edge, is based upon a novel by John Updike. If that's the case then fantasy movies are surely the medium's purest and most pertinent forms of transportation, grabbing the viewer and plunging them into distant lands and magical concepts that question our own relationship with the world. ‘Fly my pretties!’. It’s still the highest-grossing movie in Japanese history. William Dieterle’s supernatural monochrome melodrama has enjoyed a bit of a renaissance since Martin Scorsese echoed the film’s bright green lightning bolt in ‘The Wolf of Wall Street’. Following the not not-creepy inter-dimensional love affair between a poor painter and a girl named Jennie who seems to be from the past and aging rapidly, the film is a lot to swallow, but the squall it builds to is a perfect storm of truly impossible romance. I love all Ghibli films, Disney films, etc… but I wouldn’t put them on a list of “Best Fantasy”, much like I wouldn’t expect to find any of them in the “Fantasy” section at a book store. For the follow-up to their loopy time-travel pastiche ‘Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure’, writers Ed Solomon and Chris Matheson turned to the maddest, baddest fantasy novel of them all: The Bible. Buy, rent or watch ‘Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey’. There’s a long tradition of exciting fantasy cinema and the following list looks to nail down the very best of the genre. Fantasy Movies. A pair of grieving elf brothers turn to magic to reanimate, for 24 emotional hours, the dad they never really knew. Here is our selection of the 50 best fantasy movies. Welcome to Rotten Tomatoes’ compendium of cinema’s best-reviewed tales of swords and sorcery, fire and ice, and dungeons and…you get the idea. By Adrianna Freedman. Pah. Magic moment: Repressed suburban Mom Joan Allen tries her hand at a little sexual self-fulfilment, and a tree outside the window explodes into glorious colour. Magic moment: All aboard the feline express. We could all use a break from reality, and a fantastical journey to other worlds is just the ticket. Magic moment: When we learn how the skulking, super-smart rats gained their powers. Swinton plays Orlando, in turns a man and a woman, as s/he travels in half-century leaps from the Elizabethan court to the twentieth century, via the Civil War, early colonialism and more. Try another? Why director Russell Mulcahy cast a Frenchman (Christopher Lambert) as a Scottish clansman and a Scotsman (Sean Connery) as a Spanish noble is anyone’s guess, but when the plot’s this crazed, the direction’s this MTV-tight and the villains are this insanely badass, we’re really not about to argue. Poet-turned-director Jean Cocteau created hallucinatory reveries in his adaptation of the fairytale – most memorably the disembodied arms appearing through the walls of the Beast’s castle to hoist the candelabras lighting Belle’s path. After reaching the end of his patience, he slowly finds the will to better himself. Magic moment: The film’s quietest scene is also its most magical, as the kids hang out in the dorm room passing a bag of Bertie Bott’s beans and shooting the supernatural breeze. It’s that rare breed of superhero movie that’s worthy of repeated viewings. A smash-hit in Japan, Hayao Miyazaki’s family fantasy is hands-down one of the most charming films ever made. Posted on February 12, 2018 February 12, 2018 by Shane Scott-Travis. Copyright © 2018 Fandango. All rights reserved. Amen. Shangri-La is the ultimate earthbound fantasy – an ancient magical kingdom buried deep in the Himalayas, ruled by peaceful Tibetan philosophers who have discovered the secret of eternal youth. In the latter, a celestial court must decide if Niven’s pilot will be spared or not, and the film’s fantastical conceit taps into a postwar spirit of inquiry into how best to run our lives. Adapted from the novel of the same name, it follows two 12-year-old kids who become neighbors and eventually friends after bonding over being bullied at school. Cinema is often seen as the ultimate form of escapism. He considered this tale from Greek mythology to be his best film. The best fantasy movies on Amazon Prime By Michael Bizzaco April 1, 2021 The fantasy genre has been seeing a ton of attention over the last several years. Especially Kung Fu Panda. The dream sequences of master director Luis Buñuel are always charged with a sociopolitical dimension, and this satire – one of his finest and most concentrated efforts – is no exception. Magic moment: The whole movie is a spell, but how can we not single out the bizarre coda of a boating scene? From Middle Earth to Manhattan, we've chosen 50 of the best fantasy films. LIST OF FANTASY MOVIE GENRES Fantasy Genre. ‘My Neighbor Totoro’ is beloved of kids around the world, but it was ‘Princess Mononoke’ more than a decade later that truly brought the films of Hayao Miyazaki to the Western world. But once David Niven’s doomed RAF pilot crashes while talking to an American radio operator (June Carter), he finds himself at the pearly gates, so introducing the film’s dual locations, earth and heaven. One of a number of classic fantasy movies based around the contradictory idea that the purest imaginative worlds can only be found in books (see also ‘The Princess Bride’), ‘The NeverEnding Story’ draws on the entire pantheon of fantastical fiction – from Norse and Egyptian folklore to Wagnerian excess to post-Tolkein adventure stories – and creates a uniquely dreamlike world of wonder and wish-fulfilment. Magic moment: When the Mystics and the Skeksis merge in a cosmic, psychedelic transformational orgy. It’s a sly, wise comment on things such as English history, sexuality and class, all of it wrapped in a beautiful, transporting fantasy. It’s now the third highest grossing movie of all time. Not the first name you associate with fantasy, but Woody Allen pulled off one of his more out-there conceits with this tribute to the transportive power of the movies. Magic moment: Does any single image better encapsulate the darker side of fantasy than the hideous Pale Man, with eyes in the palms of his hands? Altogether now: ‘anal nathrach… orth’ bhais’s bethad… do che’l de’nmha.’. Magic moment: The series’s greatest showdown, as Gandalf faces the fiery Balrog on the bridge of Khazad-Dum. Magic moment: The glistening CG cityscape of Asgard could’ve come straight from a mid-70s Rick Wakeman LP cover. And while the pre-pubescents continually scream, their doting parents prove equally odious in a finale of astounding sentimentality. A sense of the beyond creeps over the movie, as one of the men becomes enchanted with a mysterious noblewoman, taking leave of both his senses and his family in one fell swoop. Best fantasy movies on Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu, Disney+ or DVD in 2021 Wendy. Welcome to Rotten Tomatoes’ compendium of cinema’s best-reviewed tales of swords and sorcery, fire and ice, and dungeons and…you get the idea. From its very beginning, cinema was indebted to fantasy, with Georges Méliès leading the way. Fantasy film based on the medieval legend of the visionary Queen Libuse (Winter Ave Zoli), founder of Prague. Buy, rent or watch ‘Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban’. Es gibt keine moderne Technik, dafür aber Magie, die als Waffe eingesetzt werden kann, oder … Magic moment: It’s hardly RSPCA-approved, but the re-enactment of the Spanish conquest of South America using frogs and toads is one of the most remarkable scenes in cinema. This 1984 film holds a special place in many hearts. Some of the earliest film pioneers, like Georges Méliès and Walter R. Booth, utilized elements of fantasy in their movies. Magic moment: The winged monkeys take flight under orders from the Wicked Witch of the West.