Top 50 Fantasy Films of All Time

Fantasy cinema here stretches across nearly a century, so hand-painted backdrops and stop-motion monsters share the field with blockbuster trilogies and quiet arthouse fables.

1. 1
   The Return of the King

   The 2003 conclusion of The Lord of the Rings that swept all eleven Oscars it was nominated for.
   1000pts
2. 2
   The Fellowship of the Ring

   Peter Jackson's 2001 opening chapter of The Lord of the Rings, as a hobbit sets out to destroy the One Ring.
   785pts
3. 3
   Conan the Barbarian

   John Milius's 1982 sword-and-sorcery epic that made Arnold Schwarzenegger a star as the vengeful Cimmerian.
   714pts
4. 4
   The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

   Peter Jackson's 2012 return to Middle-earth, sending Bilbo Baggins off with thirteen dwarves.
   662pts
5. 5
   Orpheus

   Jean Cocteau's 1950 modern retelling of the Orpheus myth, with mirrors as gateways to the underworld.
   632pts
6. 6
   Ladyhawke

   Richard Donner's 1985 medieval romance about lovers cursed to be a hawk by day and a wolf by night.
   564pts
7. 7
   Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory

   The 1971 musical with Gene Wilder as the mercurial candy maker touring five lucky children through his factory.
   564pts
8. 8
   The Thief of Bagdad

   The 1940 Technicolor Arabian Nights spectacle with a flying horse, a giant genie and Oscar-winning effects.
   563pts
9. 9
   Coraline

   Laika's 2009 stop-motion adaptation of Neil Gaiman's tale about a girl who finds a sinister Other Mother.
   523pts
10. 10
    Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

    Alfonso Cuaron's moodier 2004 entry, introducing Sirius Black, Dementors and time travel.
    523pts
11. 11
    La Belle et la Bete (1946)

    Jean Cocteau's dreamlike 1946 version of Beauty and the Beast, famed for its living candelabra and surreal castle.
    523pts
12. 12
    Labyrinth

    Jim Henson's 1986 musical fantasy with David Bowie as the Goblin King who steals a teenager's baby brother.
    523pts
13. 13
    Wicked

    Jon M. Chu's 2024 film of the Broadway musical about the young witches of Oz before Dorothy arrived.
    523pts
14. 14
    Pirates of the Caribbean

    Gore Verbinski's 2003 swashbuckler The Curse of the Black Pearl, which that introduced Johnny Depp's Captain Jack Sparrow and a cursed undead crew.
    523pts
15. 15
    The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe

    The 2005 Chronicles of Narnia film in which four siblings step through a wardrobe into a land ruled by a White Witch.
    479pts
16. 16
    Excalibur

    John Boorman's 1981 operatic retelling of Arthurian legend, from the sword in the stone to Camelot's fall.
    479pts
17. 17
    Spirited Away

    Hayao Miyazaki's 2001 Oscar winner about a girl working in a bathhouse for spirits to rescue her parents.
    479pts
18. 18
    A Matter of Life and Death

    Powell and Pressburger's 1946 romance about an RAF pilot arguing for his life before a celestial court.
    479pts
19. 19
    Ugetsu

    Kenji Mizoguchi's 1953 ghost story about two peasants led astray by ambition and a spectral noblewoman.
    479pts
20. 20
    Willow

    Ron Howard's 1988 George Lucas-produced quest about a farmer-sorcerer protecting a prophesied baby.
    479pts
21. 21
    Pan's Labyrinth

    Guillermo del Toro's 2006 dark fairy tale set in Francoist Spain, where a girl meets a faun in a hidden labyrinth.
    428pts
22. 22
    Shrek

    DreamWorks' 2001 fairy-tale satire about a grumpy ogre and a talking donkey, the first Oscar winner for animated feature.
    428pts
23. 23
    Jason and the Argonauts

    The 1963 Greek-myth adventure whose Ray Harryhausen skeleton army remains a landmark of stop-motion effects.
    428pts
24. 24
    Mary Poppins

    Disney's 1964 musical with Julie Andrews as the magical nanny who flies into a London household by umbrella.
    428pts
25. 25
    Princess Mononoke

    Miyazaki's 1997 epic about a cursed prince caught between forest gods and an iron-making town.
    371pts
26. 26
    The Shape of Water

    Guillermo del Toro's 2017 Best Picture winner about a mute cleaner who falls for an amphibian man.
    371pts
27. 27
    Kubo and the Two Strings

    Laika's 2016 stop-motion samurai fable about a boy whose magical shamisen brings origami to life.
    371pts
28. 28
    Time Bandits

    Terry Gilliam's 1981 romp about a boy who joins time-travelling dwarves robbing their way through history.
    371pts
29. 29
    Big Fish

    Tim Burton's 2003 tall-tale drama about a son untangling the myths his dying father told about his life.
    371pts
30. 30
    Highlander

    The 1986 cult favourite about immortal swordsmen battling across centuries, set to a Queen soundtrack.
    371pts
31. 31
    The Green Knight

    David Lowery's 2021 Arthurian chiller starring Dev Patel as Gawain on his journey toward a fatal bargain.
    306pts
32. 32
    The Two Towers

    The 2002 middle chapter of The Lord of the Rings, climaxing in the epic siege of Helm's Deep.
    306pts
33. 33
    The Company of Wolves

    Neil Jordan's 1984 gothic reworking of Little Red Riding Hood, drawn from Angela Carter's werewolf stories.
    306pts
34. 34
    The Wizard of Oz

    The 1939 Technicolor musical in which Judy Garland's Dorothy follows the yellow brick road to Oz.
    306pts
35. 35
    The Last Unicorn

    The 1982 animated film about a unicorn searching for the rest of her kind, scored by the band America.
    231pts
36. 36
    Edward Scissorhands

    Tim Burton's 1990 suburban fairy tale with Johnny Depp as an unfinished artificial man with blades for hands.
    231pts
37. 37
    Dragonslayer

    The 1981 Disney-Paramount medieval adventure whose dragon Vermithrax is still hailed as a creature-effects high point.
    231pts
38. 38
    Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves

    The 2023 heist comedy that finally brought the tabletop game to the screen with wit and real affection.
    231pts
39. 39
    The NeverEnding Story

    Wolfgang Petersen's 1984 adventure about a boy whose storybook draws him into the dying land of Fantasia.
    231pts
40. 40
    Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2

    The 2011 finale of the Harry Potter saga, staging the Battle of Hogwarts and the last duel with Voldemort.
    231pts
41. 41
    Legend

    Ridley Scott's 1985 fairy tale with Tom Cruise and Tim Curry's towering, horned Lord of Darkness.
    231pts
42. 42
    Groundhog Day

    Harold Ramis's 1993 comedy in which Bill Murray's weatherman relives the same February day over and over.
    143pts
43. 43
    Stardust

    Matthew Vaughn's 2007 Neil Gaiman adaptation about a young man who crosses a wall to retrieve a fallen star.
    143pts
44. 44
    Wings of Desire

    Wim Wenders' 1987 meditation on angels watching over divided Berlin, one of whom longs to become human.
    143pts
45. 45
    Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone

    The 2001 film that brought J.K. Rowling's boy wizard and Hogwarts to the screen.
    143pts
46. 46
    The Princess Bride

    Rob Reiner's 1987 swashbuckling storybook romance full of giants, pirates, rodents of unusual size and quotable lines.
    143pts
47. 47
    My Neighbor Totoro

    The gentle 1988 Studio Ghibli film about two sisters who befriend a giant forest spirit in rural Japan.
    0pts
48. 48
    Howl's Moving Castle

    Studio Ghibli's 2004 tale of a young woman cursed into old age who joins a vain wizard's walking castle.
    0pts
49. 49
    The Dark Crystal

    Jim Henson and Frank Oz's 1982 all-puppet fantasy about a Gelfling's quest to heal a cracked crystal.
    0pts
50. 50
    Beauty and the Beast (1991)

    Disney's 1991 animated musical, the first animated film nominated for the Best Picture Oscar.
    0pts

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