Over the years quite a few animated fantasy movies have been produced, varying from cartoon and anime styled movies to puppet extravaganzas. When listing my favorite fantasy movies I decided not to include these animated movies but to dedicate a specific post to it. This, because these kind of movies are often quite different from ‘regular’ fantasy movies, have a different vibe (especially Anime movies) or are focused on a younger audience.
Within the genre of animated movies there are many, many differences in type and style of animation, making it difficult to compare the movies. Therefore, instead of a top 5 of the best animated fantasy movies ever made, below the movies I really liked and/or were very influential in no particular order.
Spirited Away
Japan has a long history in fantasy telling and in portraying fantasy in cartoon series and movies in a style called Anime. It is a style loved by many, including myself, but others hate it.
Spirited Away, also known as “Sen to Chihiro no kamikakushi” is one of the highlights of this genre. Having won many prices, including an Oscar, and ranked number 54 in the best movies list of IMDB, the movie tells the story of a young girl who finds herself in a environment filled with ghosts and spirits, has to save her parents who have been turned into pigs.
Directed by the great Hayao Miyazaki, Spirited Away is beautifully made, has an interesting and intense storyline and contains drama, action and humor: a great movie.
Princess Mononoke
Princes Mononoke, Mononoke-hime in Japanese, is another fantastic Anime movie that was also written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki.
Produced in the late nineties, the movie is about a young boy who saves his town from a monstrous boar but gets infected with a demonic disease and is therefore exiled. He goes looking for a cure and finds himself in a struggle between the habitants of a mining town and a group of forest people and animals lead by princess Mononoke.
I liked Princess Mononoke a bit less than Spirited Away, it is also listed a bit loweron IMDB, but it is still a very good movie.
The Dark Crystal
One of the many fantasy movies from the eighties, The Dark Crystal uses a completely different form of animation that the other animated movies in this list: puppetry. Puppet masters Jim Henson and Frank Oz created this fantastic movie in 1983, telling the story of birdlike monsters that cruelly rule a planet filled with strange and mysterious creatures. One of those starts on a quest to find a crystal and stand up against the evil oppressors.
The Dark Crystal is beautfully made and tells a classic fantasy story in a unique setting and is therefore a must-see.
Alice in Wonderland
Probably not the first title you think of but Alice in Wonderland is indeed a fantasy movie.
Based on the book of Lewis Carroll, Disney made the cartoon movie in 1951 which is seen by many as one of the best Disney movies ever. The story is of course very famous: little Alice falls into a rabbit hole and enters a magic world with strange beings and gets involved in bizarre situations. Eventually, she has to escape from the queen of harts.
A new Alice in Wonderland movie (not animated but with real people like Johnny Depp) came out in early 2010.
Shrek
You might consider it an odd one out in this list but I believe that the Shrek movies can be seen as part of the fantasy genre. As we all know, they tell the story of the ogre Shrek who is forced out of his swamp and marries the princess of Far Far Away who also turns out to be an ogre. Most if not all characters in the movies come straight from fairy tales.
Personally I find the movies hilarious and although it is questionable if they are really fantasy movies, Shrek is simply to good to pass over in this list.
So far my favorite animated fantasy movies. If you don’t agree with some of the movies in this list or if you any additions then please share your opinion with the rest of us!
Tags: Alice in Wonderland, Animated Fantasy Movies, Anime, Princess Mononoke, Shrek, Spirited Away, The Dark Crystal
August 28th, 2011 at 09:25
Hmmm, just wondering, why isn’t Howl’s Moving castle in there?
but I like the rest of the list, though.
July 13th, 2010 at 16:47
What a difference one letter can make
Good catch, corrected it!
July 12th, 2010 at 02:06
The boy in Princess Mononoke saves his village from a boar, not a bear.
July 5th, 2010 at 01:21
The Last Unicorn
Howl’s Moving Castle
Coraline