Fantasy Movie Discussion

[DJChameleon]

I need some help. I want to venture into Fantasy movies and watch more of them. When it comes to choosing between a Sci-Fi movie and a Fantasy one. I will choose Sci-Fi each and every single time.

It's weird though because I've been World of Warcraft for years and that's Fantasy based but when it comes to movies I struggle to think of any Fantasy movies that I truly love/enjoy.

I got soured on Lord of the Rings because of my movie experience. I went to see the first one in theaters and yeah okay it's good but when I went to see Two Towers in theaters it was so packed and I showed up a little late. I had to sit in the front row with my neck creaked up trying to see the movie. I had to endure that for how ever long the run time was and I was so mad about it. I decided to hate LotR for life lol.

I did watch Return of the King but like meh don't care.

So use this thread to list off your favorite Fantasy movies and attempt to persuade me to get more into the genre.

[Guybrush]

I think there's not that much great film in the pure fantasy genre, unfortunately. Most classics are good, but also flawed and not all of them have aged that well.

I like classics like Labyrinth and The Neverending Story, but that's of course because I saw them repeatedly as a kid. I'm not sure they're great recommendations for you.

I like some fantasy adjacent movies, so like the first two Hellboy movies with Ron Perlman or Hellbound (Hellraiser 2) or Drag Me to Hell. I find fantasy is sometimes more interesting in the realm of horror.

I also adore the LOTR trilogy and think you ought to give them another chance 🙂

[Lexi Darling]

I fell asleep when I saw the first LOTR movie in theaters. I didn't actually get into the series properly until I was around 19, and then I fell in love. I had a lot more patience for that kind of storytelling at that age than when I was 12.

I think they are the definitive live action fantasy movies and nothing else I've seen even comes close IMO.

It's kind of like fantasy/horror hybrid but Pan's Labyrinth is one of my favorite movies.

[Guybrush]

I was a big fan of Peter Jackson even before LOTR, so him and Sam Raimi are a couple of directors I've had a fondness for for most of my life.

I like Guillermo del Toro as well, but his movies don't quite stick with me the same way. He's a little less quirky/twisted, but usually marvellous with visuals and practical effects, so I very much enjoy that. He absolutely deserves s mention in a fantasy thread.

Some people like The City of Lost Children. I've seen it twice a long time ago, but didn't think much more than its okay.

Some like Dark City. It's decent.

The Narnia movies were dull. Also Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland and the sequel to Wizard of Oz. I had hopes for The Spiderwick Chronicles, but that was dull. Bridge to Tabitha was kinda dullish.

One of the best things to watch might be Harry Potter and the prisoner of Azkaban 🤔

[Lexi Darling]

We watched the Tim Burton Alice in Wonderland movie last summer, definitely a bit of a fever dream, and not in a particularly fun way IMO. I didn't even know there was a sequel until this year.

[Guybrush]

We watched the Tim Burton Alice in Wonderland movie last summer, definitely a bit of a fever dream, and not in a particularly fun way IMO. I didn't even know there was a sequel until this year.

Bah, just felt like there was little to no actual charm and magic to it. Just another fantasy thing shot entirely in front of green screens. I saw it at the cinema, but only have vague memories of it. I remember I was a little bored.

[DJChameleon]

Now that I think of it. There aren't many fantasy movies. I feel like maybe there are more fantasy novels than movies. When I think of fantasy, I think of just like elves dwarves and magic usage.

Drag Me To Hell is one of my fave horror movies though. Love the pratical effects and Sam Raimi's direction on it. Definitely felt like I was watching Evil Dead a bit.

[Lexi Darling]

There certainly hasn't been a fantasy movie boom since the 80s. But there was a good deal of it back then; Guybrush mentioned The Neverending Story and Labyrinth, but there's also The Princess Bride, Willow, The Dark Crystal, Legend, etc.

But yeah it does feel like sci-fi tends to be more frequently done in film form whereas fantasy is still largely the domain of the book world.

[DJChameleon]

There certainly hasn't been a fantasy movie boom since the 80s. But there was a good deal of it back then; Guybrush mentioned The Neverending Story and Labyrinth, but there's also The Princess Bride, Willow, The Dark Crystal, Legend, etc.

But yeah it does feel like sci-fi tends to be more frequently done in film form whereas fantasy is still largely the domain of the book world.

Okay so I need to start with this list. I have only seen Neverending Story. Shocking surprise, I haven't seen Princess Bride but I know some of the quotes because they get used alot elsewhere.

[Guybrush]

All of those are enjoyable, but flawed in my opinion. Especially Legend is more snooze than it should be considering how great of a villain Tim Curry is. The ones I already mentioned are the most enjoyable from 80s to me.

BTW about Dark Crystal, I did enjoy the prequel series they made for Netflix. That could be a starting point.

[Lexi Darling]

The Princess Bride is a personal favorite and I like it more than any of the others mentioned, but yeah not everything in those movies works. I feel like that kind of fantasy was a relatively new genre for cinema in the 80s so I can forgive some of it and I like the dated charm of a lot of those movies.

I tend to agree on Legend, I think it's very pretty and well-done visually, and Tim Curry indeed rules of course but he doesn't get to do that much until very late in the movie. The Tangerine Dream soundtrack is great too, though I've never seen the European version with the Jerry Goldsmith score.

And I didn't know there was a Dark Crystal Netflix series, might check that out.