Fantasy is perhaps one of the most popular and oldest movie genres in the industry. Replicating the success of fantastic fiction before the genre made its way to the big screen, countless memorable franchises have been built off of the back of sorcery, magical creatures, and imaginary worlds.
Every now and then a cinematic experience is created which transcends its place in the industry, not only adding something ground-breaking to the fantasy genre itself but also impacting future projects from across cinema. Whether it's their use of technology, their unique storytelling techniques, or their effect on audiences, these movies will certainly stand the test of time when it comes to filmographic contributions.
Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (2011)
The Harry Potter franchise is ground-breaking for a number of reasons. Asides from the fact that the series of books and films took the world by storm, it also managed to redefine the Young Adult genre, relaunching it for a new booming period.
Deathly Hallows: Part 2 was the culmination of this franchise. Very few other series in the genre, or in cinema in general, managed to create a story that spanned across 8 films. On top of that, to feature a cast that aged and grew with the property and to introduce the idea of having movie events become two-parters, all contributed to this 7th book adaptation sticking the landing.
Lord Of The Rings: The Fellowship Of The Ring (2001)
J. R. R. Tolkien's most famous work made a huge number of contributions to fantasy fiction in the world of literature. Peter Jackson's attempts to bring the legendary Middle Earth to screen also brought with it some ground-breaking new additions to the industry.
Indeed, it's difficult to suggest that The Fellowship of The Ring was the only notable movie of the trilogy. With The Two Towers developing the motion capture technology for Gollum and The Return Of The King actually winning an Oscar, these also shouldn't overlook the fact that Fellowship was the film that began this ambitious journey (which became further developed in the extended edition).
Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs (1937)
Animated movies are just part and parcel of Hollywood today, but it took Walt Disney to truly popularize the genre on the big screen. The Disney Company's first major release was Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs a film that still holds up today.
The expensive and risky project turned out to be a success for Disney and has created a long-lasting legacy of animated princesses, fantasy lands, and inspirational storytelling. Snow White truly brought the genre into the world of animation and cinema would be quite different today without the state of the art techniques designed at the time.
Labyrinth (1986)
It's quite shocking that a spin-off show hasn't been created about this fantastical world yet, but the 80s cult classic has certainly left a mark on the movie industry and audiences alike. No one had quite seen anything like this in a feature-length film before.
Granted some credit should go to Jim Henson's previous project, The Dark Crystal, although something about the combination of David Bowie's star performance alongside Henson's puppetry demonstrated that this kind of format actually works on the big screen. Labyrinth was inventive, original, and awe-inspiring; just as it is today.
Shrek (2001)
Snow White might have launched Disney and created the blueprints for future animated feature films, yet Shrek reinvented the wheel and put DreamWorks on the map. Its combination of humor, clever pacing, a star-studded cast, and CGI animation techniques demonstrated that there was another direction to take the genre in.
The Shrek franchise has already spawned 4 different movies and with a fifth currently in development still, it's showing no signs of slowing down. Beloved by many, the movie made a mockery of the traditional fairy-tale format and instead gave audiences a more relatable set of heroes to get behind.
Star Wars: A New Hope (1977)
It may on the face of it seem like a science fiction film, but Star Wars is a combination of different genres. Inspired by westerns, samurai movies, and aiming to become a much larger space opera, A New Hope also drew heavily on fantasy.
Jedi are essentially wizards after all with magical powers and the galaxy far far away feels a little like a far-off kingdom with fantastical creatures. There are of course many parallels and it's hard to deny the huge contributions that the George Lucas' project had on film; from its worldbuilding to its use of practical props and visual effects.
Mary Poppins (1964)
The production process was so difficult for Mary Poppins thanks to the protective nature of author Pamela Lyndon Travers over her characters, that Disney made a whole film about it entitled Saving Mr. Banks. Mary Poppins itself though was a huge success for the studio and has become a timeless classic.
As a major novel adaptation, it demonstrated what could be achieved by taking a fantasy book to the screen and it also brought together both animated and live-action features to create a genuinely unique aesthetic. Audiences were blown away by the combination of fantasy elements coupled alongside the tropes of a musical.
The Wizard Of Oz (1939)
Another successful novel adaptation, The Wizard of Oz may just be one of the most important pieces of cinema history of all time. While it had production problems of its own, the end result was a completely ground-breaking movie with memorable characters and beloved songs.
Its costuming, practical effects, and the huge ambition of the project all resulted in a beautifully designed movie. The complex use of the changing colors, between the black and white of Kansas and the technicolor of Oz, was revolutionary at the time. Few films have had the impact that The Wizard Of Oz has.
Jason And The Argonauts (1963)
ed for its portrayal of mythology and its use of stop motion animation to bring the skeleton warriors and many other fictional creatures to life, Jason And The Argonauts holds an important position in history.
It may seem a little dated today, but the effect of the movie on Hollywood, in general, cannot be denied. Indeed the combination of fantasy and sword and sandal genres resulted in this epic retelling of Jason's story. Despite somehow being a commercial flop at the time of its release, few have managed to replicate its cultural impact in the modern-day.
King Kong (1933)
The King Kong franchise has been endlessly revisited with countless remakes of the original having gone into production over the years. From Peter Jackson's 2005 take to the MonsterVerse's Kong: Skull Island, something about the character remains timeless.
The original 1933 version of King Kong set the stage for a cinematic experience that remains relevant almost 90 years on. The stop motion technology used was stellar and audiences hadn't seen a beast on this scale before. At its core is an emotional story about this fantasy gorilla trying to survive in a world created for mankind.
