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Fantasy Movies

ValkyrieRaven88

ValkyrieRaven88

New Member
Okay, there seem to be a despairingly small number of these in the world. Which is sad, because I adore them and wish I could see more. Therefore, I would like some recommendations on fantasy movies that you have seen and enjoyed, or warnings on which ones to steer clear of.

I don't mind when fantasy mixes with other genres such as romance, comedy, horror, or sci-fi. This just enhances the story for me. I'm open to watching anime fantasy, as I'm an anime fan as well, and I don't mind things that were intended for people younger than I am. (I'm 18.)

Some fantasy movies I have enjoyed:
Labyrinth
The Never-Ending Story
The Princess Bride
Pirates of the Carribean (sort of fantasy)
Mirrormask
Harry Potter
Star Wars (actually more fantasy than sci-fi)
Beauty and the Beast
 
My current favorite fantasy is Howl's Moving Castle. I like how Sophie makes the best of her cursed circumstances.

Other fantasy movies that I have enjoyed:
The Last Unicorn
The Wild Swans
The Secret of Roan Inish (selkies would make it fantasy, right?)

That's all that comes to mind at the moment.
 
I've heard of The Last Unicorn; it was reccommended by the same person who suggested I see Labyrinth. So I suppose that should go first on the list. I don't remember why I never rented it.

BTW, I love the avatar of Chi. She's so adorable.
 
I watched The Last Unicorn endlessly when I was a kid. Also I was ecstatically happy to find tapes of it and Labyrinth at the store one day long ago. It might be from exposure to the movie so much, but I liked it better than the book. Once I finally read it, I was somewhat disappointed if I remember correctly.

Thanks! Chobits is love. ;)
 
Are you planning on going to see the movie Eragon? I originally wasn't, but probably wait for it to be on DVD. Seeing a million threads for the book on other biblio forums kind of puts you off reading it, or seeing it. However, a good friend asked if I wanted to come along and see it in theaters. I should repay my debt for dragging him to see the Yu-Gi-Oh movie in theaters!

ValkyrieRaven88 said:
I know! I've only read one manga, or maybe two. Manga are so expensive that it's painful buying them. Maybe I should add that to the list of things I read in the Border's cafe while carefully avoiding spilling coffee on everything.
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Chobits was the second series that I started collecting, but the first that was finished. ;) I even have a pretty collector's box to hold all of the volumes, which also came with a figure of Chii resting her arms on a sofa. Too cute!
 
do you not like lord of the rings - the PJ trilogy (not the animated crap)?

if you ever read Mists of Avalon, then don't see the movie after. See the movie first. I was horribly disappointed in the movie because i read the novel first. Not sure if I would have liked it without reading it first, but I really think reading it made it bad to watch. Harry Potter and LOTR didn't have that affect with me. I liked them both separately, movie and books.

i will see eragon, because i love some of the actors and out of curiosity.

I looked on Netflix under fantasy. I liked Edward Scissorhands, which would be fantasy. Years ago I saw the first Highlander and liked it, not sure if I would still like it - it has been too many years. I'll have to check it out again. I saw it when it first came out, so was pretty young.

Willy Wonka is listed there, as well as Spiderman and I liked both of those. Xmen was listed as science-fiction/fantasy. I've never seen The Ghost and Mrs. Muir, but heard it was good (an oldie)

I loved Brigadoon when I was young - again I need to see that again. It is an oldie, too.

Beetlejuice is listed and I enjoyed it, but think of it more as comedy.

I loved Big Fish, which is listed as Fantasy.

I saw Being John Malkovich once and didn't like it very much, but it was just too weird- good acting and directing and interesting concept, though. I enjoyed it okay to see once, but won't see it again by choice.

I saw Willow ages ago and can't remember much about it, so I guess that is one I would have to see again to give a review.

I liked the Merlin miniseries with Sam Neill and Isabella Rosalini.

Somewhere in Time was great, but only fantasy in the sense of it being a type of Time Travel adventure.

Planet of the Apes was good

Another oldie I liked that is listed is Topper.

Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind I saw bits of, but haven't seen enough of to say whether i like it.

I didn't list the others that I hadn't seen or heard anything about to give you info, but there were some listed I would watch out of curiosity. You ought to go to their website and look at it.
 
I liked LOTR, but I forgot to mention it. I thought it was great acting and visual effects, but it's not one of the movies I watch a lot.

I did like Big Fish, the first Spiderman, Edward Scissorhands, and Willow, but not really enough that I would be fanatical about them. I'll look into some of hte others you suggested.

And, yes, I will be seeing Eragon. I didn't like it as much as Harry Potter, and I think it definitely needed a lot more editing before it was published, but it was an enjoyable read. I'll be jumping up and down if anything from the Bartimaeus Trilogy is made into a movie. I liked those books better than Harry Potter, Artemis Fowl, and Eragon combined.
 
Oh, I forgot about the Merlin mini-series! I really liked that one too. I seen the DVD at Wal-Mart so I must buy it soon.

I would go all crazy if the Sevenwaters trilogy were ever made into movies. Jackson did a great job with the LOTR films, so he'd be a good choice for director perhaps.
 
I am SO happy. I just found out that the Bartimaeus Trilogy is being made into a movie! I swear I will be the first one in the theater the moment they start seating. I can be one of those crazy people that camps out in front of the theater...
 
LOL. Well I am a Star Wars fan and I think we're the group that is traditionally known to do that. George Lucas himself thinks we're crazy. (And guess what--he's right!) I went to a SW convention where we did have to wait out in the cold and rain, but only becuase there was a long line going into the convention center. It wasn't for very long though. Some people did get up at like 4 in the morning to wait, but it isn't worth it to get in early.

I might reserve tickets and get up at twelve to see the movie, but I'm not really crazy enough to camp out. People typically do that to ensure they get good seats, but I'm the only one who ever really wants to sit in the front row, so it doesn't usually matter when I get there. (Everyone else says it hurts their neck. That is why you must learn to slouch in the chair...)
 
Waiting in line for a convention, I can understand because being an anime fan I've had to do that more than I care to remember. Still to do it for a movie never really did appeal to me. It's going to be there beyond the first showing! ;)

Valkyrie, was the Beauty and the Beast you mentioned in your first post the version directed by Jean Cocteau?
 
I didn't know there was more than one version. I was talking about the Disney because I consider it a fantasy film--only fantasy can turn a cruel prince into a beast. It's a sentimental thing, because my grandmother and I used to watch it together when I was a little girl. She died when I was five. I also trace my love of books back to it, because Belle found books simply enchanting and I loved Belle. So I tried to be like her. And now I read too much. ^-^
 
I liked Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.
I'm also going to see Eragon with a group of friends. Sure, the book isn't quality literature, but it was fun.
Don't even get me going on the Lord of the Rings movies. Watched them all about 7-8 times now :D
I remember seeing Mists of Avalon and being dissapointed after reading the book as well.
Edward Scissorhands was great. Johnny Depp did a great job!
Howl's Moving Castle was great as well, though I personally preferred Spirited Away. It's a great movie that I've watched over and over and it still makes me happy every time I see it :)
 
Not many others stand out in my mind from what has already been said, but I'll put them here incase you haven't seen them.

First thing I thought of was The Pagemaster, which is definately good for people who like books. :p

Along with the mention of Spirited Away and Howl's Moving Castle, I would recommend a couple of other Hayao Miyazaki anime movies which. in my opinion, were just great:

My Neighbor Totoro
Princess Mononoke
Kiki's Delivery Service

Apparently, his movies Castle in the Sky and Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind are also very good too, but I haven't had a chance to watch them yet.

Another more recent children's fantasy I quite liked is Atlantis: The Lost Empire, which might be worth having a look into.

Ferngully! Oooo! Fairies! :D

Ever tried The Neverending Story? It's quite an old one (1980's) but I can remember liking it a lot (though I haven't seen the movies in ages).

I watched the movie of Dungeons and Dragons a while ago, and not many people seemed to like it but I did. :eek:

How about Constantine? More demons and angels there if you like them.

I really enjoyed The Butterfly Effect, which I think is fantasy. I think there is also a sequel coming out too...

For more grown up fantasy-horror movies you could try the Ginger Snaps movies (a trilogy of werewolf films), but I don't think the effects were very good in them. Also, how about the film adaptions of King's Carrie? And then of course there are the Underworld films, but no doubt you've seen them..

Sorry if I got a little carried away there... :rolleyes: Guess there were more than I thought crammed in my head.
 
Thanks for more recommendations! (I can't spell that word, which is sad because I use it quite a bit.) I will check all of those out. A couple I had heard of but not seen for a long time.
 
No one has mentioned "The Dark Crystal" or did I overlook it? Well, it's something I'm still sitting the fence on. I like it in one way, but then again I don't. I guess it's one of those things where fans either like Labyrinth or they like The Dark Crystal.

Ooh, The Pagemaster! I haven't watched that in like a year. Good stuff. As if our bibliophilia wasn't bad enough, we watch movies about books and not just based upon them.

ValkyrieRaven88 said:
I didn't know there was more than one version. I was talking about the Disney because I consider it a fantasy film--only fantasy can turn a cruel prince into a beast. It's a sentimental thing, because my grandmother and I used to watch it together when I was a little girl. She died when I was five. I also trace my love of books back to it, because Belle found books simply enchanting and I loved Belle. So I tried to be like her. And now I read too much. ^-^
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Ah, I see. While the Disney version is love, I also like the old French film that was made in 1946.
 
Dark Crystal was okay, but it just wasn't as good as Labyrinth. I like David Bowie running around in tight pants singing, "Dance, magic, dance!" Offering me my dreams and giving romantic speeches about having done everything I wanted doesn't hurt either. I just couldn't get into Dark Crystal like that.

More recently I watched Mirrormask, and it was actually pretty good. My dad decided it was the strangest movie he had ever seen, and I told him that was because he refused to watch the Rocky Horror Picture Show. But it was worth the watch. I liked the concept of the dark princess taking over Helena's life. It reminded me of Labyrinth in that the main character was a girl in her teens who needed to learn a lesson, and learned it by entering a fantasy world made up of things found in her bedroom, and came back in a way that made you wonder if it was perhaps all a dream.
 
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