Favourite Fantasy Films

It was a dark and stormy night, the thunder rumbling as if the earth had awoken from a deep slumber, the rain rapping on the windows like... rain. I was sitting in my warm seat by the fire, pondering deep, meaty subjects such as existentiality, and why people found Lee Evans funny, when suddenly a thought crossed my mind: 'I really want to make a list!'. I happened to be watching Princess Mononoke at the time, so that's what gave me the idea of doing it on fantasy films. The next step was to decide how I would rank the additions; I managed to rule out the date at which they were last bought, tallied against their approximate usability as a sponge, among others. After I'd gone through an entire list (which will not be displayed) of the lists I didn't want to make, I realised I was being ridiculous, and what I should just do was rank them on their ♥'ability. Then I decided to just list them all in no particular order, as ranking them at all would be a fruitless, barren, ineffectual and completely sterile activity resulting in needless, and might I add gratuitous, inner conflict.


Please note this is not a list of the best fantasy films; it is simply a list of my personal favourites (as the title suitably and rather obviously explains, but as most people are stupid, I felt obliged to explain all over again for fear of them misunderstanding me. Not stupid? Don't complain). Also note that I have excluded super-hero movies from the list, as I consider them a genre unto themselves. Also also note that I have not seen every fantasy film out there; there will be omissions, they will be silent, they will be ruthless.

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Princess Mononoke
As this is the film which jogged my... eh... writing juices [shudder], I thought it only fitting that I start the list with it. A beautifully animated feature from eastern-Pixar-equivalent Studio Ghibli, and directed by none other than the master himself, mister Hayao Miyazaki. If you haven't heard of him... well, now you have. And if you haven't seen any more of his work after watching this, I really don't know what else I can do for you.

The story follows Prince Ashitaka, and his quest to free himself from a demon curse, which is gradually spreading through his entire body with the intent of corrupting his soul and killing him. Light kiddy fare, dontchaknow. Yeah, don't be fooled by the PG rating; there's some pretty dark and violent stuff in this one. I'm actually still trying to figure out how they scraped it. Don't let that put you off, though; it's a captivating and gorgeous film, a breath of fresh air if you feel over-saturated by the now-mostly-pretty-turgid western market.




The Princess Bride

But now is the time for something very, decidedly, western. It's so western, in fact, that... [analogy dead in water, suspect flees]. It's also very, decidedly, funny. While the set-up may sound trite (princess marries a prince she doesn't love, the hero must win her back), the film is nothing of the sort; a semi-parody of the entire western-fantasy genre in general, it manages to simultaneously use and poke fun at several well-known tropes, chief among them being the theme of love conquering all.

If you haven't seen it before, I shall say these two things. Firstly, do so now. Secondly, you may find yourself relentlessly firing off quotes until your dying day. Some may even find their way on to your gravestone. Just saying.

Pan's Labyrinth

A dark, twisted fairytale that could only have come from the mind of Guillermo Del Toro. And just to think that this guy was once attached to direct the first Narnia film. Eventually, of course, he left the project to work on this, his creation. And while I think a Del Toro Narnia would have flat-out rocked, his making it might have resulted in him never making Pan. Then I think of how awesomely average the Narnia films turned out to be, and it sends me into a figurative tail-spin. I'm simply torn. TORN, I tell you!

What I really love about Pan's Labyrinth is just how different, and just how dark, it is in execution compared to any other film of its type (Spiderwick Chronicles, for perfectly mediocre example); it doesn't shy away from extreme violence, or portraying humans as just as terrifying as the many vile, fantastical monsters that inhabit the film. And given it's Del Toro's monsters we're talking about, that's certainly an achievement unto itself.

Spirited Away

A young girl becomes trapped in a world of spirits and monsters, after her parents stop for a detour on the way to their new house. That's about as basic a synopsis as I can manage.


The second Ghibli / Miyazaki film to grace this list, Spirited Away is truly a triumph in every sense; of imagination, of musical composition, of storytelling, and of pure visual splendour. It is a work so beautifully surreal and dream-like that the child within you will not be able to keep themselves from being swept away in it all. You may think I'm gushing a bit much here, but I really don't care. This is a film I firmly believe everyone should see. Genuinely. For real.

Fellowship of The Ring

You were waiting for this to appear. Admit it. Actually, I was considering omitting it just to spite you. But I didn't. So there it is: the first and best installment to The Lord of The Rings trilogy. Peter Jackson truly brought Tokien's world to life, and he did so with style; from the warm, cosy burrows of Hobbiton, to the dark mines of Moria, all the way up to that stunning shot of the Argonath in all their glory, everything just feels like it's there. 


As it is engrained into my childhood, I will not accept any, even legitimate, criticism against it. It is beyond that. If you argue this, you will lose. You. Shall not. Pass!