Many pieces must align to make a great fantasy film. Lighting, music, script, casting, etc., all play essential roles in creating other worlds. But even within the fantasy genre, you have to match the tone of the specific world you wish to immerse your audience in.
Fantasy comes in a variety of flavors, whether it's pure whimsy, dark and sinister, or a sweeping epic. To make a truly great fantasy, all of the pieces must enhance the flavors, not detract from them. Only a select few have been able to get this balance just right, which makes them all the more impressive. Here are 7 fantasy films that perfectly matched the tone needed.Â
1. The Dark Crystal
If you were told about a dark movie with heavy themes, but then learned the film starred Muppets, you would be forgiven for thinking it could not possibly have the right tone. But The Dark Crystal was groundbreaking in its use of puppets and animatronics to tell a fully immersive fantasy tale.
The puppet characters actually gave a realism to the world of Thra in a way that animation or special effects couldn't. Jim Henson was able to tell a deep and complex story within his epic fantasy world, and he achieved his goal of returning to the darkness of original fairy tales. The Dark Crystal was meant to be scary, and it executed that tone so well that '80s and '90s kids were terrified of the film.
2. The Princess Bride
The Princess Bride set our expectations rather high when the Grandpa (Peter Falk) tells his grandson that it contains "Fencing, fighting, torture, revenge, giants, monsters, chases, escapes, true love, miracles..." And then it exceeded those expectations with a beloved, timeless story.
How do you balance action, adventure, fantasy, romance, comedy, and pseudo-historical fiction in one film? The Princess Bride was able to pull it off thanks to William Goldman's talent for storytelling. Goldman wrote the book that the film is based on and the screenplay for the film. You can feel his appreciation for and love of "storybook stories" throughout the film, but it also adds enough light-heartedness that even the darker parts of the story do not feel overwhelming.
3. Spirited Away
Like many Studio Ghibli films, Spirited Away feels calm and sometimes serene, even in the midst of demons, witches, and spirits. There is a unique aspect to this film, however, and that is the somber nostalgia that comes with growing up. Chihiro's coming-of-age story resonates with us because of that tone.
There are so many different messages in Spirited Away, like the rot of consumerism and the loss of personal identity that happens when you enter the world of working adults. But these themes are all told with the ever-present undercurrent of change and growth. In the end, the audience is able to feel, like Chihiro, that things will work out and we can handle whatever comes our way.
4. The Lord of the Rings
For decades, many fans of J.R.R. Tolkien's works thought that a film adaptation would never measure up to the epic written tale. In 1978, this was confirmed for a large number of people when the animated The Lord of the Rings was released. Even though it was pretty faithful to the original novels, it just came off as odd rather than truly immersing its audience in the world of Middle-earth.
When Peter Jackson came along, saying that he wanted to adapt The Lord of the Rings series into films, there wasn't much confidence that it would succeed. Yet, the film trilogy managed to blow us all away with its tone so in line with Tolkien's words. There may have been more liberties taken with the live-action films, but the emotions, gravitas, and morals feel as if they came from the Professor himself.
5. Pan's Labyrinth
If you love the darkest of fairy tales and myths, then Pan's Labyrinth is probably one of your all-time favorites. It really plays up the horror aspects within our world's mythologies and then parallels them with the horrors reality has in store.
The insidious monsters of children's fairy stories have nothing on the cruelty Ofelia sees from her stepfather. Her archetypal hero's journey doesn't just come from the faun in the labyrinth, but also while grappling with the darker parts of humanity. The tone throughout the film feels heavy with mystery, terror, and something sinister lurking just out of sight. Its ending is satisfying, though heart-wrenching, and again fits with the tone of original myths.
6. Stardust
Stardust is an example of how a film that has a lot of differences from the novel can still match the tone, and even improve on it. The whimsical fantasy film gives its audiences more of a payoff than in the end than the novel. And, I would even argue that the ending of the novel suddenly changes tone, whereas the film continues the magic and wonder throughout.
One way that the Stardust film kept the tone was by giving Septimus a new ending. In the novel, his end is an anti-climactic let-down for those who loved his villainous character. The film allowed him to go out with a bang, which felt right after all he had been through to get his father's crown. The movie wrapped up the story in a fulfilling way for all the characters, doing away with the novel's shift to a more cynical end.
7. Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves
How do you match the tone of a board game? Or LARPing? It seems like an impossible task, yet Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves managed it. This film offers the campy fun that brings you straight back to your first roll of a D-20.
The film did a great job of not taking itself too seriously without mocking D&D fans. There was also enough heart and emotional moments among the humor and Easter Eggs that this movie felt well-rounded. The audience feels as if they have just been on a fun adventure with the characters, and that is the exact emotional re-creation that the game originally brought to so many.