It might seem like you only hear about the same fantasy movies whenever the topic is brought up. From Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy to Guillermo del Toro’s Pan’s Labyrinth, the fantasy movies that changed the genre forever are always in the zeitgeist. These are timeless films that are still referenced or often directly copied even today.
A few of these fantasy movies get better with every rewatch, which would explain why they seem to dominate almost all discourse on the genre today. They deserve the recognition they get, and they’ll always be important to fans of fantasy, who rightfully revisit them regularly to rediscover the joy they experienced when they first came across these instant classics.
You can tell some fantasy movies are masterpieces in the first 10 minutes, and not all of them are celebrated today as classics. They’re still highly popular and continue to sway opinions on the genre today, but if you’re looking for lesser-known fantasy films to enjoy after you’ve finished the classics, there are many incredible films for you to discover.
The Secret Of Roan Inish (1994)
Jeni Courtney plays 10-year-old Fiona, who is sent to live with her grandparents in a fishing village in Ireland, where she learns of a local legend about selkies. They take the form of seals when underwater, but of human beings when they come to land. She also hears that her baby brother, who got lost, has been raised by selkies.
The Secret of Roan Inish is set in an idyllic location that soothes you into discovering and enjoying the lighthearted fantasy narrative that inventively uses the fascinating myth of the selkies. It is one of the most delightful live-action children’s fantasy movies that maintains a child-friendly tone throughout, and has enough fantasy elements for adult viewers to enjoy, as well.
The NeverEnding Story (1984)
One of the best opening scenes in fantasy movie history is in Rob Reiner’s The Princess Bride, which starts with a man reading a fantasy novel to his sick nephew. Three years before that film, another fantasy movie used a similar premise of reading a book, which is a film adaptation of a Michael Ende novel, directed by Wolfgang Petersen.
A remake of The NeverEnding Story is currently in the works.
Barret Oliver plays Bastian, a young boy who reads The NeverEnding Story in the attic of his school building, after escaping from his bullies. Like many of us, he finds solace in the dreamlike fantasy world that immediately pulls him in, but on a literal level. He discovers that he’s unknowingly become a part of the events in the novel.
Although not held in as high esteem as some of the greatest fantasy movies of all time, The NeverEnding Story is a beloved classic and even got new life breathed into it because of a Stranger Things season 3 scene.
Time Bandits (1981)
The fantasy genre would look very different today without the timeless contribution of the comedy troupe Monty Python, whose film, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, is a whimsical classic that has since strongly influenced the genre. Monty Python member Terry Gilliam is also famous as a director today, and his movie Time Bandits is a must-watch for history buffs.
Craig Warnock plays Kevin, who is surprised to suddenly meet six dwarves one day, who have come across a map of the various holes in the fabric of time-space, and are using it to steal major artifacts from the most iconic periods of history. They take Kevin on a hilariously chaotic journey through the lives of famous people in history.
The Adventures Of Mark Twain (1985)
The best scary fantasy movies are mostly known for featuring visually terrifying creatures with ghastly lore that keeps these films on the border between fantasy and horror. However, some dark fantasy films are more philosophically terrifying, and this claymation feature film by Will Vinton is a prime example. It addresses the anthropophobia of a fictional version of the тιтular writer.
Three iconic Mark Twain characters, Becky Thatcher, Tom Sawyer, and Huckleberry Finn, are stowaways on his interplanetary balloon in The Adventures of Mark Twain. They soon discover that he plans to find Halley’s Comet and crash the balloon into it, because he’s disgusted with humanity. This little-known, visually unnerving, and comforting fantasy adventure is as existential as it is life-affirming.
Excalibur (1981)
Fantasy is often thought of entirely as a children’s genre, a reputation it has gathered because the biggest classics, like Harry Potter, The Lord of the Rings, and The Chronicles of Narnia, are children’s films, but 1981’s Excalibur, a movie that will make you fall in love with the fantasy genre, is all the evidence you need to the contrary.
It is based on the Legend of King Arthur, who led a round table of knights on a quest to find the Holy Grail, and who is most famous for wielding the тιтular sword that he discovered lodged in a rock. It is a surreal, gory, Sєxually provocative, and expansive retelling of Arthur’s story, from his conception to his death.
Where The Wild Things Are (2009)
Movies with giant monster creatures who are the good guys are a specific niche in fantasy that has rightfully won over millions of fans, as they often explore the experience of being othered in society and wrongfully judged. Troubled parent-child relationships are also a staple of these films, where the child is helped by what adults consider to be monsters.
Spike Jonze’s Where the Wild Things Are, based on Maurice Sendak’s book of the same name, is a must-watch for fans of this trope. It follows Max Records as Max, a kid who imagines running away from his mother to a land of giant beasts who crown him their emperor. The heartwarming innocence of the worldbuilding will win you over.
The Flight Of Dragons (1982)
One of the fantasy genre’s biggest contributions to pop culture is the mystical creature, the dragon. The majestic beings are a defining feature of the genre itself, and the best dragon movies always get us excited, especially if they’re not monstrous. What makes the animated film The Flight of Dragons so lovable is the thrilling way it addresses fantasy’s nature.
The realms of science and magic are at war in the movie, and two wizards duke it out in an epic duel of wits after one attempts to protect the magical world from the dangerous clutches of logic. The Flight of Dragons has a hypnotic animation style that also visually reflects the film’s theme by leaning into the medium’s whimsy.
Stardust (2007)
Apart from the major classics in the fantasy genre, many fantasy films feature lesser-known actors who often break through in Hollywood with their roles in underrated fantasy movies. The innovation ᴀssociated with the genre makes it ideal for smaller casts with newcomers, but the expansive scale of fantasy epics also often make them perfect for ensemble casts with major stars.
The finest example of this is Stardust, one of the best fantasy movies of the 2000s, which is a romantic fantasy film with classic adventure elements, including swashbucklers, an epic war, a soft magic system, and the signature concept of destiny. What makes the film work is that despite its humorous, chaotic, and large-scale narrative, the central romance remains compelling.
Into The Woods (2014)
Another amazing ensemble cast in recent fantasy film history can be found in Rob Marshall’s Into the Woods, which stars Anna Kendrick and Chris Pine as Cinderella and her prince, Johnny Depp as the Big Bad Wolf, Meryl Streep as the Witch, and James Corden and Emily Blunt as a baker and his wife, whose daring quest the film follows.
It’s not often that a movie can boast that kind of impressive cast but that’s only one of the things that makes Into the Woods such a welcome fantasy watch. It also features fun characters and memorable musical numbers.
Fans of Shrek will especially love Into the Woods, as it is also a fantasy world that features some of the most iconic characters in the genre’s history. The Witch has cursed the baker and his wife, and they embark on a journey through this mystical, dangerous, and inviting world with the hope of ending this horrible curse.
Song Of The Sea (2014)
Just like the classic dominate the fantasy genre, a few major studios dominate the field of animation, and many great animated movies that are not Disney, DreamWorks, Pixar, or Studio Ghibli continue to fly under the radar. The Irish animation film studio Cartoon Saloon consistently makes great movies that remain underrated. Their films are heartwarming, child-friendly, and tackle real-world issues.
Tomm Moore’s Song of the Sea is one of the best Cartoon Saloon movies, which keeps you hooked throughout with its gorgeous animation that breathes a personality into the movie’s setting itself, and its emotionally rich character arcs that move many viewers to tears. It deserves to be celebrated alongside the timeless animated fantasy classics like The Little Mermaid.
