Last week I listed many of the classic science fiction films I’ve never seen. This week I’ll be sharing the fantasy films I’ve never seen.
When I was a little girl, my siblings and I weren’t allowed to read or watch most things that had to do with ghosts, witches, or magic. (C.S. Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia series was one of the exceptions to this).
This rule was created for religious reasons, and our parents eventually changed their minds on that topic. I’m just glad that they realized that stories about magic aren’t actually harmful before the Harry Potter series came out!
Generally, I’m more interested in the science fiction genre than I am fantasy, so I haven’t felt the urge to watch as many of the old fantasy flicks as I did the scifi ones. Maybe someday I will go through this list and check it out after I’ve finished my current to-watch list, though.
It’s always kind of funny when someone makes a reference to a well-known fantasy tale and I have no earthly idea what they’re talking about. This is even more true when they’re about the same age as me and assume that everyone grew up watching that stuff.
Just like I did last week, I’ll be including the year a film was published if I know that story has since been retold.
- TIme Bandits
- Lost Horizon
- The Purple Rose of Cairo
- Orlando
- The NeverEnding Story
- Big
- Conan the Barbarian
- Willow
- Princess Mononoke
- Jason and the Argonauts
- Highlander
- The Secret of Nimh
- Ladyhawke
- The Holy Mountain
- The Fall
- Clash of the Titans
- The Adventures of Baron Munchausen
- Wings of Desire
- Excalibur (1981)
- My Neighbour Toto
- The Dark Crystal
- Spirited Away
- King Kong
- Jack the Giant Slayer
- Bridge to Terabithia
- The Witches of Eastwick
- Hook
- The City of Lost Children
- The Frighteners
- Life of Brian (and most other Monty Python films!)
- Life of Pi
What classic fantasy films have you never seen? Were you allowed to read and watch stories that referenced magic when you were a kid? I know my childhood was a little out of the ordinary in certain ways, so I try not to assume that everyone has had the same experiences in life.
Science fiction as a film genre must be way more acceptable and interesting to me: I’d seen all but one of the films in your list. I’ve seen about 3/4 in this list, and not heard of the ones I haven’t seen, but don’t really like the ones I have seen. Maybe fantasy just doesn’t excite me as much.
Great lists!
Thank you!
Yes, science fiction does seem to be a much more widely known genre than fantasy in general. With the exception of the Lord of the Rings and Narnia series, I can’t think of a lot of fantasy series that would be recognized by people who aren’t already into that genre.
Yes, I like fantasy films for the simple reason that they take us away from the real (and often boring ) world we live in! From your list, I have seen Life of Pi and Jack the giant slayer in bits. I liked watching Harry Potter, Maleficent and a few more, the names of which fail me at this moment! 🙂
Cool! I’m glad you liked Life of Pi. Definitely need to see that one sometime.