From musicals about the power of friendship and epic adventures featuring dragons and orcs, to space operas and animated fairies and princesses, the fantasy genre has evolved over the years to encompᴀss a wide range of stories today. Scary fantasy movies, surrealist fantasy movies, funny fantasy movies, romantic fantasy movies, and fantasy movies with the best action scenes – the number of times the genre has crossed with other genres and been the subject of experimentation is phenomenal.

The journey of evolution, from 1896’s Rip Van Winkle to the upcoming live-action How To Train Your Dragon movie, is a story of humankind’s imagination growing with the invention of new technologies and new avenues of storytelling being discovered every year. While each contribution to this journey, from niche independent feature films, to large-scale, CGI-heavy blockbuster franchises, are important, there are a few fantasy films that stand out. They changed the genre forever, and they continue to inspire fantasy filmmakers today.

9

The Thief of Bagdad (1940)

Directed by Michael Powell, Tim Whelan, and Ludwig Berger

Chroma keying is an essential part of film editing and cinemtography today, but it is easily achieved by the click of a ʙuттon. However, this wasn’t the case in 1940, when influential filmmakers Michael Powell, Tim Whelan, and Ludwig Berger set out to remake the 1924 film, The Thief of Bagdad. It was on the set of the 1940 remake that the first functioning technique for effectively doing chroma keying was invented.

Moreover, being an adaptation of one of the stories from The Book of One Thousand and One Nights, it has had a major impact on future adaptations of The Arabian Nights, especially on Disney’s Aladdin. From the flying carpet to the genie, this film perfected the aesthetic texture necessary to adapt such a classic fantasy story that had already become an integral part of children’s literature and recommended reading for schoolchildren.

8

The Princess Bride (1987)

Directed by Rob Reiner

One of the most popular blueprints for fantasy adventure movies, especially romantic ones, involved a damsel in distress being rescued by a dashing prince who beats a monster, commonly a dragon, before earning her love by helping her out of captivity. The female characters lacked dimensions, depth, and agency, which is why many classic fantasy films haven’t aged well. So, the standout fantasy film from the ’80s is The Princess Bride, which challenged this norm.

Robin Wright, as the тιтular Princess Bride, doesn’t have the action skills that the leading ladies of today’s action films do, but she’s a smart and quick thinker. She’s far from the helpless archetype, and while she does make questionable decisions at times, her use of what little agency she is afforded is both inspirational and influential. As one of the best feel-good movies of the 1980s, The Princess Bride rewrote the kind of roles such characters had in their movies.

7

The Dark Crystal (1982)

Directed by Jim Henson

It wasn’t until 1980, in The Empire Strikes Back, that fans of Star Wars first saw Yoda, an important franchise movie character who wasn’t in the first film. Not only is he an adorable and memorable mentor who guides one of the most iconic film heroes of all time, Yoda stands out for being so masterfully portrayed using a puppet. However, lovers of the fantasy genre were in for a bigger pleasant surprise when, in 1982, the Jim Henson Company unveiled their latest project, The Dark Crystal.

A legendary tale of adventure that has scary and uncanny special effects to complement its thematically heavy subject matter, The Dark Crystal revolutionized the use of puppets in movies. Its use of practical effects and animatronics created unprecedented levels of immersion, while its puppetry set higher standards for puppet performance in films. Moreover, The Dark Crystal, true to its name, deals with dark themes and characters that might feel scary even today.

6

The Wizard of Oz (1939)

Directed by Victor Fleming

Nearly nine decades after Judy Garland’s iconic recording of Somewhere Over The Rainbow, Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande performed the song at the Oscars to celebrate the nominations for their movie, Wicked. The cultural impact of Garland’s performance can hardly be exaggerated as she became a phenomenon beyond the screen. From forever buoying the sales of ruby slippers, to inspiring one of the biggest musical theater shows in recent history, The Wizard of Oz has influenced almost every industry over the years.

1939 was one of the best years in movie history, and that reputation is in no small part due to the enduring legacy of The Wizard of Oz and Judy Garland. By seamlessly bringing such a vastly imaginative world to stunning life on the screen, The Wizard of Oz popularized the use of Technicolor in films. The magic of the movie would be lost without the vibrant color palette that is brimming in bright and fresh colors for the entire runtime of the film.

5

Pan’s Labyrinth (2006)

Directed by Guillermo del Toro

The question isn’t whether Guillermo del Toro’s movies have changed the fantasy genre forever; it is which one of his movies has done so the most. The director has a beautifully moody approach to storytelling, making his films atmospheric and immersive, almost turning the settings into characters themselves. His expertise in creating a fantastic experience with any premise at hand is perfectly demonstrated by Pan’s Labyrinth.

Scary fantasy movies had been around for years when del Toro made Pan’s Labyrinth. However, his approach to the subgenre made waves through the film community, and the film is often considered del Toro’s masterpiece. It balances the fantasy elements with the setting of war beautifully to explore how the adult world of deceit and politics impacts children who interpret such behavior in their own way, and also effectively villainizes the fascistic apathy towards the ordinary populace. Such juxtaposition is rare, and Pan’s Labyrinth expanded the horizons of the fantasy genre.

4

The Lord of the Rings Trilogy (2001 – 2003)

Directed by Peter Jackson

Just like modern literary fantasy adventures have been influenced by and often even derived from J. R. R. Tolkien’s seminal work, Peter Jackson’s trilogy of movie adaptations of the three books have also informed the fantasy epic films since their release. With gorgeous on-site shoots at New Zealand and uniquely inventive tricks with miniature models and micro cameras, the visuals changed the scope of how far a film can go in terms of epic aesthetics.

While its influence on filmmaking in general is unmistakable, the major contribution of The Lord of the Rings is specifically in the genre of fantasy. Howard Shore’s epic score and the phenomenal performances by the stacked cast elevate the film’s emotional impact to unprecedented levels. However, the biggest impact of the trilogy must be on the quality of adaptations, as it became a blueprint in the future for how to choose what to include in a movie adaptation and what to omit. The Lord of the Rings is still the golden standard in adaptation fimmaking.

3

The Seventh Seal (1957)

Directed by Ingmar Bergman

When one hears the name of the fantasy genre, one tends to picture battles, dragons, wizards and witches, sprawling fields and misty mountains, and evil kings and queens. However, one of the most influential films of all time, which belongs in the Hall of Fame of cinema and continues to be analyzed and taught as a source of inspiration almost seven decades since its original release, is a fantasy film and has almost none of that.

Ingmar Bergman’s The Seventh Seal, which shows a soldier in a world plagued by the Black Death playing a chess match with Death to bargain for more time on the planet. It is a cerebral fantasy film, shorn of the shine and epicness we have come to ᴀssociate with the genre. A philosophical rumination on what it means to be a good person, The Seventh Seal forever changed fantasy filmmaking by showing the world that the genre has space for auteuristic experimentation and surrealism, and isn’t just a popcorn genre.

2

Shrek (2001)

Directed by Andrew Adamson and Vicky Jenson

Comedy spoofs of famous movies and tropes often gain cult following, like the Scary Movie franchise. However, no parody movie dreams of becoming as widely popular as Shrek, which didn’t just enjoy mainstream success when it came out, but continues to be adored by fans and is still growing as a franchise with a Shrek 5 release slated for next year. Not only did the film put DreamWorks Studios on the map as a major animation studio, but it also revitalized the parody genre.

Unlike a conventional parody movie, though, Shrek leans into the message of the tropes it parodies, still sending wholesome lessons to audiences, but modified to rectify errors and to subvert expectations set by previous fantasy movies. Shrek is one of the most influential animation and adventure movies of all time, as both genres changed considerably because of it. 24 years later, Shrek‘s animation still feels fresh, and its take on the iconic fairy tales we grew up with still feels relevant.

1

Spirited Away (2001)

Directed by Hayao Miyazaki

Few filmmakers have had as big an impact on cinema as Hayao Miyazaki, who didn’t just change movies forever with each of his films, but has made an immeasurable cultural impact while at it. The objectionable trend of turning images into forms that resemble frames from Studio Ghibli movies using AI is the perfect example of how much Miyazaki has captured our imaginations and informed our tastes.

It’s difficult to choose Miyazaki’s most influential movie, but Spirited Away will forever be among the strongest contenders for the тιтle. Spirited Away challenges the notion that animated films, even ones targeted at children, are solely meant for kids. Its exploration of personal themes is better enjoyed as an adult. From Academy Awards to repeated critical acclaim, Spirited Away continues to be appreciated as a seminal fantasy film due to its heavy impact on not just Japanese animation cinema, but also animation everywhere, because of its fluid character designs and child-friendly handling of mature themes.