50 Best Fantasy Films Countdown

Frisby 2007

Am I the only one who didn't really see anything so great about the Secret of Nimh? The story wasn't developed all that well & neither were the characters. The visuals & animations were wondrous though. I'd rather they'd put Anastasia instead of Nimh on there.

Anyways, agree with all the films on this list.

Dec 11 - 05:49 PM

Marisa Erick

I actually agree George. Growing up Secret of Nimh was one of my favorite films but I saw it again a few years ago and while I could see what I liked about it back then, it just doesn't hold up or hold the sense of wonder that it had for me when I was a kid. I still love Anastasia even though it's cheesy ;)

Dec 11 - 06:59 PM

Frisby 2007

I think Nimh's main problem was Bluth's incapacity to tell a consistent & real story. The only film I've seen him direct where he told a good story was Land Before Time & Anastasia (most of it).

Dec 11 - 07:22 PM

Christopher Kulik

And even Anastasia has been done before in the 1950s. The earliest movie theater experience I recall is seeing Bluth's AN AMERICAN TAIL. Also saw THE LAND BEFORE TIME a couple of years later. I think his films are fine for kids, but tough sledding for adults.

Dec 11 - 11:39 PM

Anthony Johns

I'm gonna be the nay vote on this. Maybe it's because the material was already there for Bluth, but the characterizations of NIMH were simple and strong, with timid Mrs. Brisby undergoing a clear arc. And the story weaves fascinating implications of a larger story and message below the surface into an enjoyable race-against-the-clock adventure.

I can understand calling Bluth's movies from Rock-A-Doodle to the Pebble and the Penguin more for kids, but otherwise, the guy injects so much passion with so little sugar-coating into his movies, that they come across as more geared for adults than most of Disney's offerings. Storytelling isn't his specialty, but when he makes it work, he really makes it work.

Dec 12 - 12:27 AM

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Dec 12 - 02:15 PM

Janson Jinnistan

HA! "Sante Sangre"! What? Well, if that counts, let's throw "El Topo" and "Holy Mountain" in here for good measure. Same for "Delicatessan". What about "City of Lost Children"? Actually, the fact that either one of these got mentioned is enough for me to be satisfied with this list.

But "Never Ending Story". Moonchild, fools. That ain't cool to skip on that one. And "Flash Gordon" was just on Ted's list. You know? "Conan"? Heard of him? "Alice in Wonderland"? The good one? "Dark Crystal"? Shhh. Don't listen to these critics. They hate fantasy, always have. They like movies like "Garden State", you know? Depressed white people = Oscar. They're historically threatened by imagination. Find your own story, Sebastian.

Dec 11 - 05:58 PM

King Simba

Did you really expect this list to match exactly with your personal taste? Heck, I bet a lot of critics themselves would disagree with the rankings here (Heck, just check out Shrek 2. The Consensus itself says that it's not as good as the original).

I'm actually kind of glad a lot of 80s fantasies didn't make the cut. I've honestly found a lot of their appeal to be mainly in Nostalgia. I liked that Neverending Story tried to be different than typical fantasies and it certainly was creative visually, but that kid's acting was really over the top and it lead to too many cringeworthy moments for me to consider it a classic. Conan was good, but not great (except for the score, which was almost too epic for such a cheesy fantasy). As for Alice in Wonderland, again I thought it was good but it wasn't among Disney's best, though certainly better than the Burton version.

Dec 12 - 08:51 AM

Janson Jinnistan

Give it a rest, Simba. My comment was a playful protest.

Dec 12 - 12:45 PM

Christopher Kulik

Playful protests are fun. Although Simba has a good point on the nostalgia factor: for instance, as much as I loved FLIGHT OF THE NAVIGATOR, I wouldn't put it in this list. My argument for a sin of omission would be on RETURN TO OZ, though to some that is considered sacrilege. The truth is that RETURN wasn't a sequel, but in fact what we would now call a reboot: the original was the Vaudeville version of the story which means it shouldn't be taken as gospel. RETURN was incredibly, even slavishly faithful to the Baum books, right down to the original illustrations and the fact they had attempted to get the silver shoes instead of the ruby slippers. MGM attempted to sue, however, if they DIDN'T use the Ruby Slippers. No wonder that movie was doomed to failure.

Dec 12 - 01:02 PM

Janson Jinnistan

I stand by "Neverending Story". I'm aware that its Tomatoscore edges it off the list, but I've seen it as an adult, I know kids who respond to it today as I did as a kid, and I think the overall encouragement to creativity, to make the story your own, is timeless. And I dig Barrett Oliver too, not just 'cause we looked alike and found a similar solace in fantasy. Kid was a pro.

Dec 12 - 01:07 PM

Linda Burke

"The Neverending Story" is absolutely essential fantasy. I loved it as a kid, and after watching it again as an adult, couldn't get it out of my mind for several days. For sheer wonderment and imagination, it belongs on any list of great fantasy movies.

Dec 12 - 05:47 PM

Janson Jinnistan

Yes! Solidarity - Friends of Falkor! Take that critics, especially that old bag of bones, Vincent Camby.

Dec 12 - 06:12 PM

Corrine Taylor

Harry Potter before Lord of the Rings? Shameful.

Dec 11 - 08:57 PM

Gary Devenport

Anybody else heartbroken that The Wizard of Oz is no longer a perfect 100%. =l

Dec 11 - 10:23 PM

Frisby 2007

...WHAT?!?!?

Dec 11 - 10:40 PM

D P

Technically, it never was. That review was from 1939.

Dec 12 - 09:29 AM

Anthony Johns

For crying out loud RT, stop ranking Shrek 2 over Shrek! Nobody besides Doug Walker thinks so! It's such an obvious attemtp to avoid being "typical." Also, kick Bridge to Terabithia off. Not that it's not a good movie (it is), but a few illustrations of what the main characters are imagining does not equal fantasy. Replace it with Peter Pan. (I'd really like to know why that and Anstasia keep getting snubbed on lists of their genres in which they're at least 3% higher than the lowest placer.)

Oh, and who wasted their time digging a negative review for The Wizard of Oz out of the jerkwater files of old, forgotten reviews?

Dec 12 - 12:13 AM

D P

That "jerkwater review" was from one of the first great movie critics,

I don't agree with his review, but c'est la vie, I don't understand this obsession with 100% Tomatometers.

Dec 12 - 09:31 AM

Anthony Johns

Don't get me wrong, I'm usually not either (didn't mind when Halloween lost its 100% and Toy Story 3, I don't think people realize, is about as close as you could possibly get these days), but, come on, it's the Wizard of Oz. The only reason anyone would bother pointing out a negative vote at this point is to draw attention. (And I believe he was one of the first great MUSIC critics who happened to review movies as well.)

Dec 12 - 09:19 PM

Brian Mulligan

No star wars?

Dec 12 - 06:56 AM

Frisby 2007

Science fiction & pure fantasy are completely different subjects, buddy.

Dec 12 - 12:32 PM

King Simba

Pretty good list. Granted if I were to start quibbling about it I wouldn't stop (The LOTRs films are all way too low, Princess and the Frog making the list even though I thought there were much more deserving Disney fantasies and I certainly wouldn't put it above Bridge to Terabithia, the order of the Potter films, Kiki being ranked as Miyazaki's best, Shrek 2 being a little too high, etc), but I never expect these list to exactly refelect my opinion, and there were quite a few films that I was pleasantly surprised to see make the list (The Hellboy films, Bridge to Terabithia, The Little Mermaid, Enchanted, Brave, etc).

Personally, I'd rank The LOTR trilogy as a whole as my favorite fantasy, closely followed by The Wizard of Oz and Spirited Away. As for those that I would have liked to see make the list, there's Stardust, Hunckback of Notra Damme (one of Disney's most underatted flicks), Hercules, My Neighbor Totoro and The Prestige.

Dec 12 - 09:08 AM

Dawn Havard

Porco Rosso was rated 100% and was, in my opinion, Miyazaki's best movie. But I'm glad to see several of my favorites.

Dec 12 - 11:52 AM

Mike S

This is the lamest "Fantasy" list ever. These dudes need to go to a book store and walk down the Fantasy section.

Beast Master
Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger
The 7th Voyage of Sinbad
Sword and the Sorcerer
Hawk the Slayer
Conan the Barbarian
Solomon Kane
Animated Movie, Fire and Ice

Dec 13 - 06:53 AM

Jens Nordlund

Not including the average rating of each film in the sorting of them doesn't even make sense. The Return of the King has an average rating of 8.6/10, which should put it higher on the list.

Dec 13 - 08:40 AM

Bruce Honer

Umm, really, Witches beat the LOTR Return of the King? It shouldn't even be in the top 50 at all much less 13th. I'm guessing if we rated this list like RT rates movies, this list would be a definite Rotten Tomato. How disappointing . . .

Dec 14 - 07:24 AM

Tommy Baumgardner

Labrynth or The Neverending story should've been on the list

Dec 16 - 04:55 PM

Brian Spiekerman

Great list! I think the best part is Harry Potter scoring higher than Lord of the Rings!

Jan 21 - 11:58 AM