 |
| Scene from The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) ranked number one fantasy movie. |
Welcome
to our Reel Fives
pre-launch movie rankings for the best fantasy movies of all time. After
an extensive online search, we found 40 published rankings for fantasy. Reel
Fives has taken all of those rankings and aggregated them into definitive
rankings for the top 72 fantasy movies of all time. For each ranked list of top
movies for the fantasy genre we found online, we have taken the top five ranked
films. The original sources of rankings on top fantasy movies are included at
the bottom of this post and include rankings of the best fantasy movies created
by movie experts as well as fantasy movie rankings from polling sites.
Fantasy
films imagine different worlds and explore the possibilities within those
worlds. Not all the worlds are that different from the present day world. Some
take place in a parallel universe. Fantasy can be divided between high and low
fantasy. High fantasy differs from low fantasy in that high fantasy created new
worlds with new rules. World building is popular in high fantasy as well as
telling the story from the hero’s perspective. Series are also popular in high
fantasy. In comparison, low fantasy remains in the same world, with elements of
magic throughout the story. Low fantasy may take place in a different world,
but it remains rational (anything goes in high fantasy). The difference between
the subgenres of fantasy says nothing on the quality of the work, merely on the
use of fantasy elements in the work.
The
rankings show that whether or not a fantasy film is high or low does not make a
difference, as long as the plotline includes some fantasy elements. The Wizard of Oz (1939), ranked second,
is a sweet story of a lost young girl who encounters some friends and a witch. They
must all overcome their fears to find their way home. It’s a Wonderful Life (1946), ranked tenth, follows George Bailey
as he contemplates ending his life. An angel shows him what life would have
been like without him and Bailey finds his will to live again. The Princess Bride (1987), ranked
fourth, explores a world filled with princes and kings. The film is a comedic
tale of the pursuit of love in a medieval world. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (2001), ranked fifth, is the
first of eight films devoted the Harry
Potter series by J.K. Rowling. Harry and his wizard friends live among
humans, but they are also part of the wizard world. These different worlds all
have something to offer and allow the imagination to soar.
The
fantasy genre cannot be talked about without an extensive conversation on the
world building seen in The Lord of the
Rings trilogy (as well as The Hobbit Trilogy). Roughly, the books follow
different groups of humans, elves, and dwarves who are pursuing a powerful ring
created by an evil wizard. The ring corrupts those who wear it and poses a
danger to the world. Director Peter Jackson crafted all three movies to
perfection. The Lord of the Rings: The
Fellowship of the Ring (2001), the all-time best fantasy film, was the
first in the series that explored J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Ring novel. The
Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003), ranked third and The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002),
ranked seventh, were both well received by audiences and critics. No two pieces
of armor looked alike and the actors learned how to sword fight to tell an
authentic story. All together, the trilogy won 17 Oscars, making it one of the
most successful film series to date. This included an unprecedented ‘Oscars
sweep’ by the third film, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003),
during the 76th Academy Awards, where it won all 11 awards it was
nominated for, including Best Picture. The series is just one example of high
fantasy and when done well, high fantasy films will get the well-deserved
accreditation.
We
love this genre and the worlds it creates. It is one of the most creative
genres and we enjoy the endless possibilities. The rankings showed that
audiences and critics do not just like one particular world. The worlds do not
even have to be all that different from the current world, which broadens the
genre in ways other genres lack depth. The rankings do not show an outright
preference for high or low fantasy films. However, high fantasy films do leave
more room for film series. When high fantasy films are well made, they do well
and that does reflect in the rankings. World building is no easy task, which is
why so many films lean towards low fantasy (more on this in future articles).
The stories are endless and film makers can bring anything to life. The fantasy
genre can afford to have film series because of the world building it does. Books
provide great inspiration for fantasy movies and that is not a bad place for
producers to start. The fantasy genre continues to excite us and we look
forward to promising upcoming titles including Fantastic Beasts and Where to
Find Them, The Jungle Book, The Little Prince, and Alice through the Looking
Glass.
| Top 72 Fantasy Movies | |
| Percent of online top fives movies appear in shown | |
| 1 . The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001): 70% | |
| 2 . The Wizard of Oz (1939): 50% | |
| 3 . The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003): 40% | |
| 4 . The Princess Bride (1987): 32.5% | |
| 5 . Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001): 30.0% | |
| 6 . Pan's Labyrinth (2006): 27.5% | |
| 7 . The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002): 22.5% | |
| 8 . Beauty And The Beast (1946): 15.0% | |
| 9 . Willow (1988): 12.5% | |
| 10 . It's a Wonderful Life (1946): 10% | |
| 11 . Star Wars: Episode IV: A New Hope (1977): 10% | |
| 12 . Labyrinth (1986): 10% | |
| 13 . Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003): 10% | |
| 14 . Excalibur (1981): 7.50% | |
| 15 (tied). Spirited Away (2001): 7.50% | |
| 15 (tied). The Seventh Seal (1957): 7.50% | |
| 15 (tied). The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005): 7.50% | |
| 18 . Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (2011): 7.50% | |
| 19 . Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004): 7.50% | |
| 20 . How to Train Your Dragon (2010): 5% | |
| 21 . Perfume: The Story of a Murderer (2006): 5% | |
| 22 (tied). King Kong (1933): 5% | |
| 22 (tied). Splash (1984): 5% | |
| 24 . Edward Scissorhands (1990): 5% | |
| 25 (tied). Time Bandits (1981): 5% | |
| 25 (tied). The NeverEnding Story (1984): 5% | |
| 27 . Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975): 5% | |
| 28 (tied). Ghostbusters (1984): 2.5% | |
| 28 (tied). Big Fish (2003): 2.5% | |
| 28 (tied). The Green Mile (1999): 2.5% | |
| 28 (tied). The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012): 2.5% | |
| 28 (tied). The Fifth Element (1997): 2.5% | |
| 28 (tied). Jumanji (1995): 2.5% | |
| 28 (tied). Shrek (2001): 2.5% | |
| 28 (tied). Millions (2004): 2.5% | |
| 28 (tied). The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993): 2.5% | |
| 28 (tied). Beetlejuice (1988): 2.5% | |
| 28 (tied). Men in Black (1997): 2.5% | |
| 28 (tied). Hook (1991): 2.5% | |
| 28 (tied). Mirrormask (2005): 2.5% | |
| 28 (tied). The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008): 2.5% | |
| 28 (tied). Avatar (2009): 2.5% | |
| 43 (tied). Beauty and the Beast (1991): 2.5% | |
| 43 (tied). Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005): 2.5% | |
| 43 (tied). Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937): 2.5% | |
| 43 (tied). Jason and the Argonauts (1963): 2.5% | |
| 43 (tied). Finding Nemo (2003): 2.5% | |
| 43 (tied). Being John Malkovich (1999): 2.5% | |
| 43 (tied). Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971): 2.5% | |
| 50 (tied). Shrek 2 (2004): 2.5% | |
| 50 (tied). Toy Story (1995): 2.5% | |
| 50 (tied). Alice in Wonderland (1951): 2.5% | |
| 50 (tied). The Beastmaster (1982): 2.5% | |
| 50 (tied). Pinocchio (1940): 2.5% | |
| 50 (tied). King Kong (2005): 2.5% | |
| 50 (tied). Ugetsu (1953): 2.5% | |
| 57 (tied). Aladdin (1992): 2.5% | |
| 57 (tied). Hellboy (2004): 2.5% | |
| 57 (tied). The Mummy (1999): 2.5% | |
| 57 (tied). Legend (1985): 2.5% | |
| 57 (tied). Conan the Destroyer (1984): 2.5% | |
| 57 (tied). Star Wars: Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (1980): 2.5% | |
| 63 (tied). Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (2010): 2.5% | |
| 63 (tied). Conan the Barbarian (2011): 2.5% | |
| 63 (tied). Groundhog Day (1993): 2.5% | |
| 63 (tied). Miracle on 34th Street (1947): 2.5% | |
| 63 (tied). The Dark Crystal (1982): 2.5% | |
| 63 (tied). Scrooge (1970): 2.5% | |
| 63 (tied). Lost Horizon (1937): 2.5% | |
| 63 (tied). Red Sonja (1985): 2.5% | |
| 63 (tied). Wings Of Desire (1987): 2.5% | |
| 63 (tied). The Last Unicorn (1982): 2.5% | |
| Fantasy Movie Ranking Sources | |
| Games Radar | List of top 50 (link) |
| Time Out | List of top 50 (link) |
| Good Movies List | List of top 50 (link) |
| Film School WTF | List of top 100 (link) |
| List Challenges | List of top 50 (link) |
| Watch Mojo | List of top 10 (link) |
| The Top Tens | List of top 10 (link) |
| Fantasy 100 | List of top 100 (link) |
| Ranker | List of top 388 (link) |
| Arrowstorm Entertainment | List of top 5 (link) |
| Flickchart | List of top 2889 (link) |
| Rotten Tomatoes | List of top 50 (link) |
| Metacritic | List of top 575 (link) |
| American Film Institute | List of top 10 (link) |
| What Culture | List of top 20 (link) |
| Film Crave | List of top 500 (link) |
| Hub Pages | List of top 10 (link) |
| Thoughts on Fantasy | List of top 25 (link) |
| AZCentral | List of top 10 (link) |
| Wired | List of top 10 (link) |
| Wired | List of top 10 (link) |
| The Daily Beast | List of top 10 (link) |
| Reelz | List of top 10 (link) |
| Digital Dream Door | List of top 100 (link) |
| IGN | List of top 25 (link) |
| Funny or Die | List of top 5 (link) |
| Cinema Blend | List of top 5 (link) |
| Movies Online | List of top 5 (link) |
| Top 5 Goodies | List of top 5 (link) |
| eBay | List of top 10 (link) |
| Bibliognome | List of top 5 (link) |
| 411 Mania | List of top 5 (link) |
| Movie Film Review | List of top 100 (link) |
| List Surge | List of top 10 (link) |
| Movie Guide | List of top 10 (link) |
| Black Gate | List of top 10 (link) |
| Escape Club | List of top 5 (link) |
| Rinn Reads | List of top 5 (link) |
| Man, I Love Films | List of top 10 (link) |
| These Fantastic Worlds | List of top 10 (link) |
| Identifying the top movies is our mission. www.reelfives.com https://www.facebook.com/reelfives https://twitter.com/reelfives Podcast: https://soundcloud.com/reelfives | |
