The best Fantasy Movies

Besides watching an enormous amount of television, we are also cinema lovers. From our first theatrical experience as youngsters with a re-run of The Jungle Book in 1994 until today – we just love going to the movies. Here’s our Top 10 List of the best Fantasy Movies to watch before you die! Of course, they all made an impact on our TV series Black Forest Witch.

Great Fantasy Movies captivate you with amazing new worlds. They expand the Fantasy Genre. Every movie on this list is special in that regard, but there’s no particular order to the ones we chose. Let’s give a minute of silence to the many really good movies that didn’t quite make the cut, before we jump right into it . . .

Life-Action Fantasy Movies

Nowadays, it gets harder to distinguish Life-Action from Animation, but we tried to focus on the ones from our youth:

1. Dragonheart

A disillusioned Dragonslayer has to work with the last Dragon to stop the reign of an evil king. This is the definite movie about Dragons. It’s full of action, adventure and heartbreak and it shows a rich mythology, based on good family values. This Fantasy Movie will get your heart pumping!

Dragonheart: The classic Dragon Fantasy Adventure

2. Highlander

An immortal Scottish Swordsman fights others of his kind throughout the ages to become the final one and gain all of their power. It’s bloody and gritty, but definitely transcends the limitations of of your regular pulp adventure. However, the movie spawned a franchise legacy that is better left ignored. Remember: There can only be one!

Highlander: Sword and Sorcery

3. Stardust

A young man promises his eternal crush a fallen star. When he crosses the border into the magical kingdom to retrieve it, he stumbles into the biggest danger of his life. This beautiful Fantasy Adventure shows the classic hero’s journey in a pleasing fantasy setting. If anything, this movie could be described as a little bit too sweet and kind, because it’s fairly lighthearted and magical.

Stardust: How modern Fantasy can look like

4. Labyrinth

When a young girl accidentally wishes her baby brother away, she’s granted a final chance to solve the legendary Labyrinth and get him back. Do you like strange puppet creatures? Do you like David Bowie? Then this is probably for you. A movie with an adorable main character and even more adorable friendly puppets.

Labyrinth: Creature Fantasy at its best

5. Hook

What if Peter Pan finally grew up, became an adult and forgot all about Neverland? Steven Spielberg’s neglected masterpiece is a fascinating reinterpretation of the Peter Pan Myth.

Hook: the perfect reinterpretation of a Fantasy Myth

6. Evil Dead III: Army of Darkness

Transported to the middle ages, a regular salesclerk faces the army of the dead – he can only return home if he finds the mysterious book of spells that brought him there. From the creator of Xena: Warrior Princess and the Tobey Maguire Spider-Man movies comes this fantastical Black Horror Comedy. Witty one-liners and weapons of today mixed with witchcraft. It’s weird, it’s fast-paced and full of energy.

Army of Darkness: A weird Horror Fantasy mixed with Black Comedy

7. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King

One of the tiniest beings in this world has to destroy its mightiest weapon to prevent an evil sorcerer and his armies from taking it over. The Lord of the Rings is still the defining story of the Fantasy Genre. Rarely have film adaptions gained a reputation to rival the books in quality, but here it’s definitely the case. The Return of the King especially is an Epic Fantasy Masterwork and its story and effects still hold up in comparison to movies today.

The Lord of the Rings: The High Fantasy Classic

8. Free Rainer

What if a repented TV producer manipulated the television ratings to engineer social change? Free Rainer is a German Social Fantasy Movie. The movie shows the broad range of the Fantasy Genre as it’s a Low Fantasy story, grounded in the realistic. It captivates with its detailed world-building and round characters. There’s also an amazing horror sequence in the movie, showing the dark side of Reality TV Shows.

Free Rainer: Social Fantasy made in Germany

Animated Fantasy Movies

There aren’t as many memorable Animated Fantasy Features for us as there are Life-Action Counterparts. Nevertheless, these two movies below belong to the most amazing stories we have ever seen:

9. Spirited Away

An innocent girl wanders into a world ruled by Gods, Witches and Spirits, where humans are transformed into monsters. The sounds and images of this movie are a pure joy and it shines with great character concepts and a lovely animation. As the quirky main character, Chihiro comes to life and in the end you nearly forget you are watching an Anime.

Spirited Away: Coming of Age Fantasy

10. The Last Unicorn

Together with a Magician, the last unicorn fights an evil king who desperately wants to capture it. The Last Unicorn is a timeless Animated Movie, with a moving story and a great philosophy at its heart. If you’ve ever wanted to see what a tearjerker looks like – this is it.

The Last Unicorn: The Fantasy Fairytale

What do you think about our list of the best Fantasy Movies? Share this article and your opinion on Social Media! If you like Fantasy as well, watch the teaser of our Fantasy TV Series!

Sven Eric Maier
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