FANTASY FILMS

Jessie Niven

What are Fantasy Films?• Fantasy films are films with fantasy themes, usually

involving magic, supernatural events, make-believe creatures, or exotic fantasy worlds.

• The genre is considered to be distinct from science fiction film and horror film, although the genres do overlap.

• Fantasy films often have an element of magic, myth, wonder, escapism, and the extraordinary.

• In fantasy films, the hero often undergoes some kind of mystical experience and must ask for assistance from powerful, superhuman forces.

• Flying carpets, magic swords and spells, dragons, and ancient religious relics or objects are often shown in fantasy films.

• Bizarre and imaginary, invented lands include sci-fi worlds, fairy tale settings or other whimsical locales are common settings.

Characters in Fantasy filmsUsually, the main characters in fantasies are princes or

princesses. Fantasy films include gnomes, dwarves and elves, Strange and

incredible characters (like monstrous characters that are divine or evil spirits or magicians and sorcerers)

are put into fantasy films, and often overlap with supernatural films.

Different Sub-Genres in Fantasy films

The genre Fantasy is one the most broad genres so there are many different ‘Sub-Genres’ to identify the different films.

What is a Sub-Genre?A sub category in the Genre fantasy itself. Sub

Genres break down all the different kinds of Fantasy films.

Sub Genres I have discovered…

Arthurian Fantasy = Encompasses stories about King Arthur, the Knights of the Round Table or Merlin etc. Marion Zimmer Bradley's "Mists of Avalon" is a fine example of this sub-genre.

Comic Fantasy = Tales designed specifically as spoofs of other serious fantasies, or containing humorous elements to a light-hearted tale. The film ‘Elf’ would be a good example of this (directed by Jon Favreau).

Dark Fantasy = Encompasses the nastier, grimmer side to the usual fun of the fantasy genre. Dark fantasy includes the nightmarish, darker side of magic, creatures, evil and demons. ‘Nightmare on Elm Street’ is a Dark Fantasy film however it may be more of a Horror Film.

Epic Fantasy = Generally tales of a young nobody, thrown unexpectedly into a massive "Good vs. Evil" struggle, where he must learn to uncover his own latent heroism to save the day. Often also includes a "grail-finding" quest - regardless of whether the 'grail' is an icon, a person, a magical talisman or any other form of symbolic token. Usually involves a very large cast of characters and spans a vast area of a fantastical world. J.R.R. Tolkien is undoubtedly the father of this sub-genre, with his sweeping Lord of the Rings trilogy

Fairy Tales and Mythology = Fairy tales are not just for kids! The original versions of many fairy tales and myths were often violent stories set in mystical lands, sometimes with strange creatures and sometimes even stranger heroes

Heroic Fantasy = Fantastical worlds with an almost 'middle-ages' feel, peopled with wizards and sorcerers, communing with dragons and riding pet unicorns to tame a battalion of wild orcs and goblins. Heroes are generally muscle-bound sword-wielding types, determined to rescue a true damsel in distress. Magic is an accepted part of life, although the workings of such are usually left unexplained within this sub-genre.

High Fantasy = High Fantasy is the type of fantasy that most people expect when they regard 'fantasy' as a genre. Includes lords and ladies, medieval styles and settings, kingdoms and castles, and dragons and knights. High fantasy, while generally rooted in classical mythology and medieval European legends, focuses its themes on Good versus Evil. Sometimes called "Epic fantasy". Often plotted to encompass three or more books.

Magic Realism = Stories where magic is an accepted part of the system and of the culture. There must always be consequences to the use of magic, or involve some form of 'prop' to get the magic working, like an amulet, potion, talisman or incantation

Modern Fantasy = Tales of magic and wonder set in modern times. Some might regard this as the most popular sub-genre of today as there are films such as Harry Potter and the Twilight Sagas being released.

Sword and Sorcery = Good old-fashioned 'Sword & Sorcery'. Rollicking tales of high adventure in almost medieval settings. Designed to follow the exploits of the 'hero' as he battles to overcome all the bad guys by use of his trusty sword and some really huge muscles. Robert E. Howard brought about the rise in popularity of this sub-genre with his creation of 'Conan: The Barbarian'

How Fantasy Films have developed throughout the

years….

1930’s Wizard Of Oz1939 Directors - Victor Fleming, Noel Langley, Florence Ryerson and

Edgar AllanStarring - Judy Garland, Ray Bolger, Jack Haley, Bert Lahr,

and Frank MorganMade in Black and White, based on a children's novel the wizard

of Oz is about a girl Named Dorothy who goes on an adventure and finds magical enemies and friends along the way.

1940’S

A matter of life and death1946Director Michal Powell Starring David Niven, Kim Hunter and Roger Livesey

A romantic fantasy film set In the World War TwoReversing the effect in The Wizard of Oz, the supernatural scenes are in "Technicolor mono-chrome"

1950’s

Sleeping Beauty1959Director: Clyde GeronimiStars: Mary Costa, Bill Shirley and Eleanor Audley Sleeping beauty is yet another fairy tale about a woman who is poisoned by a witch and is woken by a kiss from a prince. In the earlier years fantasy tended to consist of far fetched animated cartoon characters.

1960’s

Mary Poppins1964Director: Robert StevensonStaring: Julie Andrews, Dick Van Dyke and David TomlinsonFilm about a nanny that has magical powers, it is also a musical which is also common of fantasy films because it breaks the ‘fourth wall’

1970’s

Bedknobs and Broomsticks1971Director: Robert StevensonStars: Angela Lansbury, David Tomlinson and Roddy McDowallAbout a magic bed which takes characters to magical lands and try to stop the Germans with their powers.

1980’s

Santa Claus: The Movie1985Director: Jeannot SzwarcStarring: John Lithgow, Dudley Moore

About Santa and his adventures, aimed at younger children.

1990’sBabe1995Director: Chris Noonan Voice actors: Hugo Weaving, Danny Mann, Miriam Margolyes, Christine Cavanaugh

Yet again another animated fantasy film about farm animals. The genre fantasy has known to be quite popular with children as it is commonly used for ‘make believe’ scenarios.

2000Nanny McPhee 2005Director: Kirk JonesStarring: Emma Thompson, Colin Firth

In this dark and witty fable, Emma Thompson portrays a person of unsettling appearance and magical powers who enters the household of recently widowed Mr Brown and attempts to tame his seven exceedingly ill-behaved children.

2010

The Twilight saga: Eclipse 2010Director: David SladeStars: Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart, Taylor Lautner

Twilight Saga is love story about mythical creatures such as werewolf's and vampire’s who battle against each other.