Fantasy film

In the era of silent film, the earliest fantasy films were those made by French film pioneer Georges Méliès from 1903. The most famous of these was 1902's A Trip to the Moon. In the Golden Age of Silent film (1918–1926) the most outstanding fantasy films were Douglas Fairbanks' The Thief of Bagdad (1924), Fritz Lang's Die Nibelungen (1924), and Destiny (1921). Other notables in the genre were F.W. Murnau's romantic ghost story Phantom, Tarzan of the Apes starring Elmo Lincoln, and D. W. Griffith's The Sorrows of Satan.

Following the advent of sound films, audiences of all ages were introduced from 1937's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs to 1939's The Wizard of Oz. Also notable of the era, the iconic 1933 film King Kong borrows heavily from the Lost World subgenre of fantasy fiction as does such films as the 1935 adaptation of H. Rider Haggard's novel She about an African expedition that discovers an immortal queen known as Ayesha "She who must be obeyed". Frank Capra's 1937 picture Lost Horizon transported audiences to the Himalayan fantasy kingdom of Shangri-La, where the residents magically never age. Other noteworthy fantasy films of the 30s include Tarzan the Ape Man in 1932 starring Johnny Weissmuller starting a successful series of talking pictures based on the fantasy-adventure novels by Edgar Rice Burroughs and the G. W. Pabst directed The Mistress of Atlantis from 1932. 1932 saw the release of the Universal Studios monster movie The Mummy which combined horror with a romantic fantasy twist. more light-hearted and comedic affairs from the decade include films like 1934s romantic drama film Death Takes a Holiday where Fredric March plays Death who takes a human body to experience life for three days and 1937s Topper where a man is haunted by two fun-loving ghosts who try to make his life a little more exciting.

The 1940s then saw several full-color fantasy films produced by Alexander Korda, including The Thief of Bagdad (1940), a film on par with The Wizard of Oz, and Jungle Book (1942). In 1946, Jean Cocteau's classic adaptation of Beauty and the Beast won praise for its surreal elements and for transcending the boundaries of the fairy tale genre. Sinbad the Sailor (1947), starring Douglas Fairbanks Jr., has the feel of a fantasy film though it does not actually have any fantastic elements.

Several other pictures featuring supernatural encounters and aspects of Bangsian fantasy were produced in the 1940s during World War II. These include Beyond Tomorrow, The Devil and Daniel Webster, and Here Comes Mr. Jordan, all from 1941, Heaven Can Wait the musical Cabin in the Sky (1943), the comedy The Horn Blows at Midnight and romances such as The Ghost and Mrs. Muir (1947), One Touch of Venus and Portrait of Jennie, both 1948.

An astonishing anticipation of the full "sword and sorcery" genre was made in 1941 in Italy by Alessandro Blasetti. La Corona di Ferro presents the struggles of two imaginary kingdoms around the legendary Iron Crown (historically the ancient crown of Italy), with war, cruelty, betrayal, heroism, sex, magic and mysticism, a whirl of events taken from every possible fairy tale and legend source Blasetti could find. This movie is unlike anything done before; indeed, considering that it was finished fifteen years before the publication of Lord Of The Rings, its invention of a vast, national epic mythology is an act of genius. And while the storytelling is rough - due to the need to insert everything - and the resources limited, Blasetti shows how to make a little go a long way through beautifully staged and designed battle and crowd scenes.

Although it's not classified as a fantasy film, Gene Kelly's Anchors Aweigh had a fantasy sequence called "The King who Couldn't Dance" in which Gene did a song and dance number with Jerry Mouse from Tom and Jerry.

Because these movies do not feature elements common to high fantasy or sword and sorcery pictures, some modern critics do not consider them to be examples of the fantasy genre.

In the 1950s there were a few major fantasy films, including Darby O'Gill and the Little People and The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T., the latter penned by Dr. Seuss. Jean Cocteau's Orphic Trilogy, begun in 1930 and completed in 1959, is based on Greek mythology and could be classified either as fantasy or surrealist film, depending on how the boundaries between these genres are drawn. Russian fantasy director Aleksandr Ptushko created three mythological epics from Russian fairytales, Sadko (1953), Ilya Muromets (1956), and Sampo (1959). Japanese director Kenji Mizoguchi's 1953 film Ugetsu Monogatari draws on Japanese classical ghost stories of love and betrayal.

Other notable pictures from the 1950s that feature fantastic elements and are sometimes classified as fantasy are Harvey (1950), featuring a púca of Celtic mythology; Scrooge, the 1951 adaptation of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol; and Ingmar Bergman's 1957 masterpiece, The Seventh Seal. Disney's 1951 animated film Alice in Wonderland is also a fantasy classic.

There were also a number of lower budget fantasies produced in the 1950s, typically based on Greek or Arabian legend. The most notable of these may be 1958's The 7th Voyage of Sinbad, featuring special effects by Ray Harryhausen and music by Bernard Herrmann.

Harryhausen worked on a series of fantasy films in the 1960s, most importantly Jason and the Argonauts (1963). Many critics have identified this film as Harryhausen's masterwork for its stop-motion animated statues, skeletons, harpies, hydra, and other mythological creatures. Other Harryhausen fantasy and science fantasy collaborations from the decade include the 1961 adaptation of Jules Verne's Mysterious Island, the critically panned One Million Years B.C. starring Raquel Welch, and The Valley of Gwangi (1969).

Capitalising on the success of the sword and sandal genre several Italian B-movies based on classical myth were made, including the Maciste series. Otherwise, the 1960s were almost entirely devoid of fantasy films. The fantasy picture 7 Faces of Dr. Lao, in which Tony Randall portrayed several characters from Greek mythology, was released in 1964. But the 1967 adaptation of the Broadway musical Camelot removed most of the fantasy elements from T. H. White's classic The Once and Future King, on which the musical had been based. The 1960s also saw a new adaption of Haggard's She in 1965 starring Ursula Andress as the immortal "She who must be obeyed" and was followed by a sequel in 1968 The Vengeance of She based loosely on the novel Ayesha: The Return of She both produced by Hammer Film Productions, 1968 also saw the release of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang based on a story by Ian Fleming with a script from Roald Dahl.

Fantasy elements of Arthurian legend were again featured, albeit absurdly, in 1975's Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Harryhausen also returned to the silver screen in the 1970s with two additional Sinbad fantasies, The Golden Voyage of Sinbad (1974) and Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger (1977). The animated movie Wizards (1977) had limited success at the box office but achieved status as a cult film. There was also The Noah (1975) which was never released theatrically but became a cult favorite when it was finally released on DVD in 2006. Some would consider 1977's Oh God!, starring George Burns to be a fantasy film, and Heaven Can Wait (1978) was a successful Bangsian fantasy remake of 1941's Here Comes Mr. Jordan (not 1943's Heaven Can Wait).

A few low budget "Lost World" pictures were made in the 1970s, such as 1975's The Land That Time Forgot. Otherwise, the fantasy genre was largely absent from mainstream movies in this decade, although 1971's Bedknobs and Broomsticks and Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory were two fantasy pictures in the public eye the former being predominantly from the same team who did Mary Poppins the latter again being from Roald Dahl in both script and novel.

1980s fantasy films were initially characterised by directors finding a new spin on established mythologies. Ray Harryhausen brought the monsters of Greek legends to life in Clash of the Titans while Arthurian lore returned to the screen in John Boorman's 1981 Excalibur. Films such as Ridley Scott's 1985 Legend and Terry Gilliam's 1981–1986 trilogy of fantasy epics (Time Bandits, Brazil, and The Adventures of Baron Munchausen) explored a new artist-driven style featuring surrealist imagery and thought-provoking plots. The modern sword and sorcery boom began around the same time with 1982's Conan the Barbarian followed by Krull and Fire and Ice in 1983, as well as a boom in fairy tale-like fantasy films such as Ladyhawke (1985), The Princess Bride (1987), and Willow (1988).

The 1980s also started a trend in mixing modern settings and action film effects with exotic fantasy-like concepts. Big Trouble in Little China (1986), directed by John Carpenter and starring Kurt Russell, combined humor, martial arts and classic Chinese folklore in a modern Chinatown setting. Highlander, a film about immortal Scottish swordsmen, was released the same year.

Jim Henson produced two iconic fantasy films in the 80s, the solemn The Dark Crystal and the more whimsical and lofty Labyrinth. Meanwhile, Robert Zemeckis helmed Who Framed Roger Rabbit, featuring various famous cartoon characters from animation's "Golden Age," including Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck, Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Droopy, Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner, Sylvester the Cat, Tweety Pie, and Jiminy Cricket, among others.

Edward Scissorhands (1990)

Nightbreed (1990)

Hook (1991)

Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992)

Groundhog Day (1993)

Ghost in the Machine (1995)

The Indian in the Cupboard (1995)

Jumanji (1995)

Toy Story (1995)

Dragonheart (1996)

Matilda (1996)

Kazaam (1996)

The Wind in the Willows (Mr Toad's Wild Ride) (1996)

Princess Mononoke (Mononoke Hime) (1997)

Meet Joe Black (1998)

The Green Mile (1999)

Toy Story 2 (1999)

17 Again (2009)

300 (2006)

Alvin & the Chipmunks (2007)

Anji (2004)

Big Fish (2003)

Bridge to Terabithia (2007)

The Brothers Grimm (2005)

The Chronicles of Narnia (2005-10)

Coraline (2009)

Corpse Bride (2005)

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000)

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008)

D-War (2007)

Dorian Gray (2009)

Elf (2003)

Enchanted (2007)

Eragon (2006)

Fat Albert (2004)

The Golden Compass (2007)

Harry Potter (2001–11)

The Hexer (2001)

How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000)

Howl's Moving Castle (2004)

The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (2009)

Imagine That (2009)

Inkheart (2008)

The Invention of Lying (2009)

King Kong (2005)

Lady in the Water (2006)

Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events (2004)

Looney Tunes: Back in Action (2003)

The Lord of the Rings (2001–03)

The Lovely Bones (2008)

The Master of Disguise (2002)

Monsters Inc. (2001-13)

Nanny McPhee (2005)

Night Watch (2004)

Pan's Labyrinth (2006)

Peter Pan (2003)

Pirates of the Caribbean (2003-17)

Race to Witch Mountain (2009)

The Science of Sleep (2006)

The Seeker: The Dark Is Rising (2007)

Shrek (2001-10)

The Spiderwick Chronicles (2008)

Spike (2008)

Spirited Away (2002)

Stardust (2007)

Twilight (2008–12)

Underworld (2003-16)

Where the Wild Things Are (2009)

Zathura: A Space Adventure (2005)

Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter (2012)

Aladdin (2019)

Alice in Wonderland (2010)

Alice Through the Looking Glass (2016)

Aquaman (2018)

A Wrinkle in Time (2018)

Baahubali: The Beginning (2014)

Baahubali 2: The Conclusion (2017)

Beauty and the Beast (2017)

Black Panther (2018)

Brahmastra (2019)

Brave (2012)

Christopher Robin (2018)

Cinderella (2015)

Clash of the Titans (2010) and its 2012 sequel, Wrath of the Titans

Conan the Barbarian (2011)

Crimson Peak (2015)

Dark Shadows (2012)

Doctor Strange (2016)

Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald (2018)

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (2016)

Frozen (2013)

Frozen II (2019)

Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019)

Goosebumps (2015)

Gulliver's Travels (2010)

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 (2010)

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 (2011)

The Hobbit (2012-14)

Hop (2011)

How to Train Your Dragon (2010–19)

Immortals (2011)

Into the Woods (2014)

Jack the Giant Slayer (2010)

John Carter (2012)

Life of Pi (2012)

Maleficent (2014)

Mary Poppins Returns (2018)

Maximum Shame (2010)

Midnight in Paris (2011)

Mirror Mirror (2012)

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children (2016)

Oz the Great and Powerful (2013)

Paddington (2014)

Pan (2015)

Percy Jackson & the Olympians: Sea of Monsters (2013)

Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief (2010)

Pete's Dragon (2016)

Peter Rabbit (2018)

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (2010)

Puss in Boots (2011)

Sardaar Ji (2015) (Punjabi)

Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010)

Snow White and the Huntsman (2012)

Song of the Sea (2014)

Sucker Punch (2011)

The Bastard Sword (2018)

The BFG (2016)

The Hobbit (2012–14)

The Jungle Book (2016)

The Kid Who Would Be King (2019)

The Last Airbender (2010)

The Lorax (2012)

The Muppets (2011)

The Nutcracker and the Four Realms (2018)

Trolls (2016)

The Shape of Water (2017)

The Sorcerer's Apprentice (2010)

Thor: Ragnarok (2017)

Thor: The Dark World (2013)

Thor (2011)

Toy Story 3 (2010)

Toy Story 4 (2019)

Wonder Woman (2017)

Your Highness (2011)