Technically speaking, isn’t every movie a fantasy? You’re transported from your comfy couch to a faraway world. They don’t all have dragons, horses, princesses, and mad kings. But that’s how fantasy movies are generally categorized. While we know every movie is a fantasy, we’re talking about the genre redefined by the likes of Tolkien and Lewis.
There are plenty of great fantasy films on Netflix. But don’t do the often tried and true watching classics. Find some movies that you might not have ever seen before. Take a break from whatever you might want to and get lost in some wild fantastical adventure.
DragonHeart
When you’re talking fantasy, giant fire breathing behemoths should be one of the first things that come to mind. Netflix has the entire DragonHeart film series in its library, including the original 1995 film that started it all. Dennis Quaid as Bowen (a Dragonslayer) winds up teaming up with Draco (voiced by Sean Connery) to take down an immortal king.
Bleach
The power of Netflix’s own ever-growing film library might take you years to sift through just what they have right now. If you’re going to start anywhere, start with the Japanese film, Bleach.
Based on the Shōnen Manga, the movie follows Ichigo, a high school student that can see ghosts. He meets a Soul Reaper, Rukia, who is killed while hunting Hollows and transfers her powers to Ichigo. Already able to see ghosts, Ichigo’s world just got opened up to all kinds of spirits of the afterlife.
Fullmetal Alchemist
This popular Japanese anime also has a live action adaptation. After Edward and Alphonse disobey alchemy rules and try to resurrect their mother, they suffer dire circumstances. Ed loses his leg and Alphonse is trapped inside the Gate Of Truth. Ed sacrifices his right arm to save his brother’s soul and keep him alive in a suit of armor. To try and save them Ed goes on a quest to find the philosopher’s stone to repair their bodies.
Bright
Will Smith is good at saving the world once a year or so. He saves us all from aliens a few times, Miami a few times, and even poverty. He took his exceptional hero skills to Netflix for the fantasy cop thriller Bright.
It’s your classic buddy-bickering cop movie, but one of the cops is an Orc. In an alternate reality, fantasy creatures live amongst us and Darryl Ward (Smith) and his partner Nick Jakoby (Joel Edgerton), have to protect an elf and the magic wand she controls. Don’t let critics fool you, the movie is ahead of its time.
Albion The Enchanted Stallion
Note to all parents out there - there is no way you’re going to be able to keep your kids away from the TV. So, you might as well embrace it, plop them in front of the TV and have them watch Albion: The Enchanted Stallion. Horses have long been a part of the fantasy world, there’s something majestic about riding them or watching them ride free. In Albion, a young girl is brought to the titular land via her horse and is compelled to save everyone from...what else...an evil king (it is a fantasy movie after all).
The Christmas Chronicles
Watching Santa boogie down with a couple of prostitutes in prison while his elves break him out with a chainsaw might not sound like a fun-for-all fantasy Christmas movie. But Kurt Russell as Santa is awesome and The Christmas Chronicles is indeed a fun family movie. Two kids hop into Santa’s sled, which causes a startled Santa to crash and Christmas might be ruined if they can’t get the repairs done, and make one of the kids once again believe in Santa in the process. Sure it’s campy and corny, but what family Christmas movie isn’t?
Christopher Robin
It doesn’t get much more fantastical and touching than a Disney movie. Christopher Robin stars Ewan McGregor as the adult version of the creator of the Hundred Acre Wood. If you've ever seen Hook, then you know the story here.
Christopher has lost his youth and his sense of adventure. But adulting, as many of us know can be a bit rough. As the demands of his job increase, Winnie The Pooh is looking for his friends, he leaves the Woods and winds up in London looking for his old friend.
About Time
Rachel McAdams and time-spanning, mind bending love stories go hand in hand. Aside from movies like Doctor Strange and The Time Traveller’s Wife, she also stars as the love interest in About Time. Tim Lake realizes that the men in his family can time travel. After a chance meeting with McAdams’ Mary, he does all he can to get back to her again and consistently make things perfect with her.
Watership Down
Richard Adams broke the fantasy mold when he wrote Watership Down. So this list has to break the mold when recommending it.
It’s not just a movie on Netflix, but a grand miniseries to tell the story of a group of rabbits led by Fiver leaving their warren in search of a new home, Watership Down. Despite it being about a bunch of bunny rabbits, make sure the kids are in bed before you watch this one.
Phantom Boy
Leo has been hospitalized with an illness. That illness has also given him the ability to float as an intangible spirit while his body stays asleep, making him Phantom Boy. That unique ability comes into play when he has to help an officer who has also been itted with a broken leg. Together, they have to find The Man With The Broken Face, ready to wreak havoc all over New York with a computer virus.