7 Great Fantasy Movies That Nobody Saw, Ranked

While science fiction may be one of the biggest genres in entertainment, fantasy is a close second. With stories that feature fantastical creatures, supernatural elements, imaginary worlds, or even some combination of all of the above — and sometimes even bringing in elements of sci-fi, horror, and other genres as well — fantasy stories are immersive and creative and deliver audiences fascinating stories that delight and entertain and ask some big questions too. But while there are fantasy movies that everyone talks about, such as The Lord of the Rings films, there are fantasy films that for whatever reason flew under the radar. These are movies that were truly great, but for whatever reason didn’t get the buzz they deserved — and often didn’t get the box office love, either.

Here are seven such films, fantasy movies that are actually great but no one really talks about. While some might be a little familiar as they’ve started to become cult classics, these are the movies we wish more people talked about — and number one is a movie everyone should see.

7) City of Ember

Opening in theaters in 2008, City of Ember just missed the YA adaptation boom, which probably didn’t help it at the box office. Based on Jeanne DuPrau’s 2003 novel of the same name, City of Ember is set in Ember, an underground city where humanity has survived following a series of apocalyptic events for generations. However, the city was built to last for just two centuries with instructions on how to return to the surface left in a box with a timed lock meant to be passed from mayor to mayor and set to open after 200 years. When the seventh mayor dies, however, the box is forgotten about. It opens at the correct time but goes unnoticed. Decades later, Ember’s generator starts to fail and the cities resources begin to run out and two teenagers find themselves in a race against time to discover the city’s secrets and help everyone escape before it is too late.

The movie was a box office bomb and didn’t win over critics, but it was really just a bit ahead of its time. The film featured beautiful visuals and had great performances, including from Saoirse Ronan who portrayed one of the teens trying to save the people of Ember. While City of Ember may not have been as action-packed as one might expect for a post-apocalyptic fantasy film to be, it excelled at being a much more quiet and emotionally resonant film with a slightly darker tone that allowed kids to shine in a story of hope.

6) Something Wicked This Way Comes

Something Wicked This Way Comes may be one of the most criminally underrated movies ever. Released in 1984, this Disney film was written by Ray Bradbury (yes, that Ray Bradbury), based on his 1962 novel of the same name and had an incredible cast which included Jason Robards, Jonathan Pryce, Diane Ladd, and Pam Crier. The film tells the tale of a dark travelling carnival that comes to a small Midwestern town and brings chaos with it thanks to the carnival’s leader, Mr. Dark. The film combines elements of dark fantasy and horror as it explores the dual nature of good and evil inside all people and the experience of growing up and confronting fear. It’s also visually pretty stunning and there’s some genuinely heartfelt moments, making it surprisingly elegant.

The film was received fairly well by critics but absolutely tanked at the box office and not only did practically no one see it when it was released, it is never talked about now. There was some discussion of a remake in 2014 but nothing has really come of that — and the discussion of a remake is pretty much the most anyone ever spoke about the film, at least until October of this year, when it was finally added to Disney+, making it available to stream for the very first time.

5) The Fountain

The Fountain is one of those movies that spans several genres — it’s sometimes considered sci-fi — but it is also very much a fantasy film as well. Directed by Darren Aronofsky and starring Hugh Jackman, Rachel Weisz, and Ellen Burtstyn, the 2006 film has three storylines of immortality, love lost, and one man’s attempt to avoid fate. It is, in a word, complicated. But it is also visually stunning and moving as it explores the fear of death and the human acceptance of mortality. It admittedly takes a few watches to fully appreciate, but it is well worth it.

That said, it was met with mixed reviews and was a box office bomb, making just $16.5 million against a $35 million budget. The film quickly fell out conversation and no one really talks about it which is a real shame. In retrospect, it’s a surprisingly good film and was even listed on Empire’s list of 500 greatest films of all times in 2016.

4) The Last Unicorn

There are going to be people who say that yes, people do talk about The Last Unicorn and you’re right, they do. That’s because The Last Unicorn has a bit of a cult following but it still is a film that hasn’t gotten nearly the love it deserves. Released in 1982, The Last Unicorn is an animated fantasy film produced by Rankin/Bass adapted from Peter S. Beagle’s 1968 novel of the same name which follows a unicorn how learns that she’s the last of her species and goes on a quest to discover what happened to the rest of her kind. The film features the voices of Alan Arkin, Jeff Bridges, Mia Farrow, Angela Lansbury, and Christopher Lee. The film did well critically but tanked at the box office.

The Last Unicorn is a gorgeous film thanks to the wonderful animation from the Japanese studio Topcraft (which, by the way, was succeeded by Studio Ghibli). It is also a deeply moving film full of humor, incredible world-building, and so much emotion. It has everything you want in a fantasy film, particularly an animated fantasy film which is why those who do talk about The Last Unicorn love and adore it. It just needs more people to do so because it’s an absolute classic.

3) The Black Cauldron

To be fair, people do talk about The Black Cauldron but not in the way you’d think. When people talk about this animated fantasy film, they talk about it in as the movie that almost destroyed Disney animation rather than about how good the movie actually is. Released in 1985, The Black Cauldron is loosely based on the first two books in The Chronicles of Prydain series of novels and is surprisingly scary for a Disney movie. And when I say scary, I mean so scary that Disney wanted edits to make the ending a bit less disturbing and it was still terrifying.  The film follows a lowly young pig herder named Taran who dreams of becoming a gallant knight. When the evil Horned King kidnaps Hen-Wren, a prophesying pig entrusted to Taran, he gets his heroic call.

The Black Cauldron is great. It’s scary, it’s dark (it is the first Disney animated film to get a PG rating even) and it is also the first Disney animated film to use computer-animated imagery. Even outside of its firsts, though, it’s just a very complex film with a rich story — and there’s yet to be an animated villain as truly horrific as the Horned King.

2) Return to Oz

Another creepy kid-oriented Disney movie from the 1980s, Return to Oz is actually a fantastic fantasy film that tanked at the box office and not nearly enough people talk about it — though in this movie’s case it has grown in popularity over the years and has started to see a bit of a rise thanks to an overall trend for all things Wizard of Oz-related thanks to Wicked. The film is a sequel of sorts to The Wizard of Oz but is absolutely terrifying in comparison — and bleak. Dorothy is exposed to electroshock therapy, forget the Flying Monkeys this movie has Wheelers, and the villainous Princess Mombi changes out her head regularly. Pure nightmare fuel all around.

However, the film is honestly just great. Return to Oz is much closer to L. Frank Baum’s source material than The Wizard of Oz was so fans of the books will truly love it, and young Fairuza Balk gives an incredible performance. It was also nominated for an Academy Award for Best Visual effects.

1) The Fall

If there is one movie on this list that more people really need to see and talk about, it’s The Fall. Starring Lee Pace, The Fall tells the story of a bedridden stuntman hospitalized in 1915 Los Angeles after jumping of a bridge for a film. He meets a young woman named Alexandria who is in the hospital for a broken arm and the two form a bond with the stuntman telling her an epic tale of adventure, misfortune, and courtship. Another case of a film that is simply great but no one talks about, the movie bombed at the box office.

But The Fall is incredible. While it is based on a 1981 Bulgarian film, director Tarsem Sing does an outstanding job of making it entirely unique. The film is full of mind-bending visuals and is stunning from start to finish. A brilliant study on the nature of storytelling, The Fall is an impressive film and is one of the best films of the 21st century to date.

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