Summary
- Fantasy movies are rare due to budget constraints, audience appeal, and comparisons to the LOTR trilogy.
- Hidden gem fantasy movies like City of Ember, MirrorMask, and Legend deserve recognition.
- These underrated films offer unique storytelling, visuals, and standout performances.
Fantasy movies are strangely uncommon. It may be the steep budget required to make them coupled with a lack of broad audience appeal, or it may be because any fantasy film will (fairly or not) be compared to Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings trilogy and come up lacking, but it's a genre that is surprisingly underserved in cinema.
10 Best Fantasy Anime You've Probably Never Heard Of
These anime shows deliver compelling and creative fantasy adventures, though many anime fans have probably never heard of these underrated titles.
That said, there are still some great fantasy movies out there, including ones that don't feature a single Hobbit. Some of these films have cult followings, others have all but faded into total obscurity, but every single one is a great fantasy movie that you've probably never heard of.
9 City Of Ember
Two Brave Teens Must Restore Light To Their Underground City
City of Ember
Display card tags widget Display card community and brand rating widget Display card main info widget- Release Date
- October 7, 2008
- Runtime
- 95 minutes
- Director
- Gil Kenan
- Cast
- David Ryall, Ian McElhinney, Harry Treadaway, Tim Robbins, Bill Murray, B.J. Hogg
Based on the YA novel of the same name by Jeanne DuPrau, City of Ember is set 200 years after a global catastrophe that drove a small settlement of people underground. Now, the City of Ember's generator is beginning to fail, putting everything from food to the air supply in jeopardy. A pair of graduates from Ember City School, Doon and Lina, discover a box from the old world that was seemingly forgotten, and within it, a set of instructions on how to escape the city and return to the surface.
Despite a rock-solid cast featuring Bill Murray, Tim Robbins, Saorise Ronan, and Toby Jones, City of Ember was a box-office bomb and was quickly shuffled away into obscurity. While, as an adaptation, it's not the most faithful retelling of the source material, this is still a solid movie that features some stunning visuals and a unique approach to urban fantasy storytelling.
8 MirrorMask
Mask-Themed Surrealist Dark Fantasy
MirrorMask
Display card tags widget Display card community and brand rating widget Display card main info widget- Release Date
- January 25, 2005
- Runtime
- 101 minutes
- Director
- Dave McKean
- Cast
- Stephanie Leonidas, Jason Barry, Rob Brydon, Gina McKee, Dora Bryan, Stephen Fry, Robert Llewellyn, Lenny Henry, Nik Robson, Simon Harvey, Eryl Maynard, Andy Hamilton, Eve Pearce, Victoria Williams, Rick Allen, Iain Ballamy
As far as fantasy movies go, MirrorMask can be a bit inscrutable. The entire film is dripping in surrealism, and while it tells the story of a young woman, Helena, finding her place in the world (in true Neil Gaiman fashion, who co-wrote the film), a lot of it is so visually strange that it is as much of a spectacle for the eyes as it is a story for the soul.
Helena works at her parents' circus but longs for a life in the real world. When her mother is taken ill following an argument between them, Helena flees the hospital and encounters a trio of strange performers. As she watches their performance, a darkness encroaches upon them, consuming two of the performers and forcing the third to flee with Helena to the City of Light. There, Helena is mistaken for a princess, one who stole a powerful charm from the city's queen, leaving its inhabitants vulnerable to the darkness. Made on a budget of just $4 million (somehow), the film was still a bomb, grossing less than $1 million at the box office. It won't be for everyone, but MirrorMask is one of the most unique fantasy movies ever made, and for those who resonate with it, it will quickly become a favorite.
7 Legend
How Ridley Scott Chose To Follow Up Blade Runner
Legend
Display card tags widget Display card community and brand rating widget Display card main info widget- Release Date
- August 28, 1985
- Runtime
- 94 minutes
- Director
- Ridley Scott
- Cast
- Mia Sara, Tom Cruise, Tim Curry, David Bennent, Alice Playten, Billy Barty, Cork Hubbert, Peter O'Farrell, Kiran Shah, Annabelle Lanyon, Robert Picardo, Tina Martin, Ian Longmur, Michael Crane, Liz Gilbert, Eddie Powell, Mike Edmonds
Director Ridley Scott's star was rapidly rising in 1985 when he made Legend, an attempt to create a dark fairy tale exclusively for the silver screen. While it's clearly inspired by The Lord of the Rings (particularly in its naming conventions), Legend takes a more traditional approach to fantasy. The story begins with the Lord of Darkness, played spectacularly (as always) by Tim Curry, who seeks to cast the world into endless night by stealing the horns of every living unicorn.
Meanwhile, Jack of the Green, played by a 23-year-old Tom Cruise, meets Princess Lili and falls in love with her. As might be expected, Lili is kidnapped by the Lord of Darkness. Jack, meanwhile, is determined to be a prophesied great hero by the unicorn mare and is tasked with returning the mare's horn before the Lord of Darkness' goblins can kill her. Legend, while visually stunning, was not well-received by critics, with Gene Siskel famously likening the experience of reviewing the movie to being "akin to recalling a bad dream." However, as time has passed, the movie has found its own brand of cult status, and the combination of exceptional cinematography and Tim Curry's stellar performance is more than worth the price of admission.
6 Dragonheart
Sean Connery Showed The Potential Of Voice-Acted CG Characters Before Andy Serkis
Dragonheart
Display card tags widget Display card community and brand rating widget Display card main info widget- Release Date
- May 31, 1996
- Runtime
- 103 minutes
- Director
- Rob Cohen
- Cast
- Dennis Quaid, Sean Connery, David Thewlis, Dina Meyer, Pete Postlethwaite, Jason Isaacs, Brian Thompson, Julie Christie, Lee Oakes, Wolf Christian, Terry O'Neill, Peter Hric, Eva Vejmělková, Milan Bahul, Sandra Kovacicova, Kyle Cohen, Thom Baker, John Gielgud, Buddy Quaid
This one could go either way. For some, Dragonheart was a formative childhood movie, especially for 90s kids, and for others, it's likely a film they've never heard of. Yet it's also a critical moment in live-action fantasy, as without Dragonheart's proof of concept, there may never have been a Lord of the Rings trilogy or a Game of Thrones series.
Starring Dennis Quaid as Bowen, and Sean Connery, who provided his voice for the fully-CG dragon, Drago, the story follows an aging dragonslayer who encounters the last living dragon in a cave. When their battle ends in a stalemate, they agree to form a partnership. What initially begins as a long con where the pair stage dragon "attacks," only for Bowen to save the day, soon becomes a much grander adventure, as they are roped into a quest to kill the evil emperor Einon, who has found a way to become immortal. Dragonheart was a financial success, grossing double its production budget. While critics were mixed, it has earned cult-classic status in the years since. However, most important of all, this film proved that audiences could still connect with a character that was entirely CG, opening the door for Andy Serkis to tackle the CG role of Gollum just 5 years later.
5 The Black Cauldron
A Controversial Dark Fantasy Animation That Almost Killed Disney
The Black Cauldron
Display card tags widget Display card community and brand rating widget Display card main info widget- Release Date
- July 24, 1985
WHERE TO WATCH
- Cast
- Grant Bardsley, Susan Sheridan, Freddie Jones, Nigel Hawthorne, Arthur Malet, John Byner
- Runtime
- 80 Minutes
- Director
- Ted Berman, Richard Rich
There's a more interesting reason for The Black Cauldron being forgotten by audiences than just box office numbers and critical reception, although they were still factors. Based on Lloyd Alexander's 5-book series, the film was troubled from the start. Actors were forcibly removed from auditions, a problem-filled first attempt at blending CG and hand-drawn animation caused editing issues, and one particular scene was so frightening that children in test audiences cried in the theater, prompting the Disney studio chair to step in and remove the scene himself, despite protests from the film's director. These late edits pushed back the film's release by six months. By the time it came out, it not only struggled to earn back its budget but was outgrossed by both The Care Bears Movie and a re-release of One Hundred and One Dalmatians, earning it the dubious title of "the movie that almost killed Disney."
The Black Cauldron was so infamous that Disney didn't release the film on home video until 13 years after its theatrical run. However, this infamy has earned it enough of a reputation that it is now readily available to stream. In terms of its plot, The Black Cauldron is a typical rags-to-riches story of a "pig-keeper" named Taran who hopes to become a legendary warrior. One of the pigs that Taran keeps is revealed as an oracle, capable of prophesying the future. As such, Taran is tasked with protecting it from the evil Horned King, who is searching for the Black Cauldron, a mythical object said to be capable of summoning an army of undead warriors.
4 A Monster Calls
A Meditation On Grief And Childhood Helplessness
A Monster Calls
Display card tags widget Display card community and brand rating widget Display card main info widget- Release Date
- January 6, 2017
- Runtime
- 108 minutes
- Director
- J. A. Bayona
- Cast
- Lewis MacDougall, Sigourney Weaver, Felicity Jones, Toby Kebbell, Ben Moor, James Melville, Oliver Steer, Dominic Boyle, Jennifer Lim, Max Gabbay, Joe Curtis, Morgan Symes, Max Golds, Frida Palsson, Wanda Opalinska, Patrick Taggart, Lily-Rose Aslandogdu, Liam Neeson, Geraldine Chaplin, Jake Talbot, Lee Bolton, Garry Marriott
A young English boy named Conor is dealing with his ailing mother's battle with cancer, and facing the prospect of living with his strict grandmother if his mother were to die. Plagued by bad dreams, bullies at school, and an inability to do anything about his mother's condition, Conor feels lost. Then, one night, a monster made out of a giant yew tree visits him. The monster promises to return for the next three nights, and each time, it will tell Conor a tale. After the third story, Conor must tell the monster the truth about his nightmares.
Unsurprisingly, A Monster Calls is a tearjerker. Between Conor's relationship with his mother and his struggles at school, it's hard not to feel for him, and to fear what might happen if his mother doesn't survive. This relatability is the crux of the movie, and likely played a big role in the positive critical response it received. However, it barely made back its budget at the box office. Releasing in the first week of 2017, a notoriously dead moviegoing period, likely didn't help, but it's hard to say for certain what caused A Monster Calls to fall between the cracks. Regardless, it's more than worth circling back to today.
3 The Head Hunter
A True Grimdark Fantasy Film With No Frills
The Head Hunter
Display card tags widget Display card community and brand rating widget Display card main info widget- Release Date
- April 5, 2019
- Runtime
- 72 Minutes
- Director
- Jordan Downey
- Cast
- Christopher Rygh, Cora Kaufman, Aisha Ricketts
Made on a shoestring budget, with a skeleton crew and a meager cast, it's not hard at all to see why The Head Hunter didn't get the word of mouth it so rightly deserves. While it reviewed well, it only saw a limited theatrical release before moving straight to on-demand video streaming. Most of the film's word of mouth came from festival screenings, and outside of that, it was rarely ever talked about. That's a shame, because it's one of the few modern dark fantasy horror films made, and it's a damn good one.
A warrior, known only as "The Father," lives in a remote cabin. He takes on posted bounties to hunt monsters, then pins their heads to the wall of his home, like a Dark Ages iteration of Geralt of Rivia. One day, a bounty is posted for the head of the monster that killed The Father's daughter, whose body is buried near the cabin. The Head Hunter is light on story and runs almost entirely on action and atmosphere. That's part of what makes it so impressive; the movie makes a lot out of very little, and is better for it.
2 The Last Unicorn
Studi Ghibli? Not Quite...
The Last Unicorn
Display card tags widget Display card community and brand rating widget Display card main info widget- Release Date
- November 19, 1982
- Director
- Jules Bass, Arthur Rankin Jr.
- Writers
- Peter S. Beagle
- Cast
- Jeff Bridges, Mia Farrow, Angela Lansbury, Alan Arkin, Christopher Lee
Anyone who watches The Last Unicorn today may notice some unusual similarities to some other (far more famous) animated fantasy films, namely, those produced by Studio Ghibli. That's no coincidence. The film was animated by the Japanese studio Topcraft, and shortly after its release, Topcraft was dissolved. Following that, many of the studio's most talented team members, including some guy named Hayao Miyazaki, went ahead and formed Studio Ghibli.
While it has earned a cult following, The Last Unicorn has never really gotten the flowers it deserves. Its story, about a female unicorn who sets out to save her fellow unicorns from the clutches of the evil Red Bull, is full of everything a fantasy movie needs: spectacle, humor, wonder, emotion, and stunning world-building. Backed by a solid cast that includes Jeff Bridges and Christopher Lee, it's a wonder that this movie wasn't a smash hit upon release, but the fact that it has all but faded into obscurity is a crying shame.
1 Big Fish
The Power Of Stories
Big Fish
Display card tags widget Display card community and brand rating widget Display card main info widget- Release Date
- December 25, 2003
- Runtime
- 125 minutes
- Director
- Tim Burton
- Cast
- Ewan McGregor, Albert Finney, Billy Crudup, Jessica Lange, Helena Bonham Carter, Alison Lohman
Much like Dragonheart, this one will hit differently for different people. For some, Big Fish is iconic and one of the best films of the 2000s, but for whatever reason, it is rarely talked about. It tells the story of William Bloom, a jaded man whose father has regaled him with fantastical stories all his life, claiming they are true accounts of events that happened to him. William doesn't buy any of it, but when his father is diagnosed with cancer, William ends up going on a journey into his father's past, meeting all the people from the stories he's heard since childhood, and realizing how much of what he was told about is true.
Why Tim Burton's Characters Remain Timeless
Tim Burton's characters endure because of their exceptional capacity to move and connect with people from all generations.
Critically and commercially, Big Fish was a success, even earning an Oscar nomination for its score. However, considering that this is a Tim Burton film made during the height of his popularity as a director, and starring Ewan McGregor during his own meteoric rise to stardom, it's surprising that Big Fish hasn't earned all-time classic status given the talent of the people behind it and the quality of the movie itself. Thankfully, it's never too late to go back to a great movie from the past, and if there's one underrated fantasy film that's worth taking the time to check out, Big Fish is that movie.