Fantastic cinema

Extraordinary adventures

The fantastic film is a film genre that is characterized by containing some element of fantasy, however tenuous it may be. Some films in this genre deal minimally with fantasy, such as the film Portrait of Jennie (1949), considered a fantasy film, while other films in the genre, often considered the most representative, include magic., exotic fantasy worlds or completely unreal facts, characters or creatures that in no way belong to the known reality of our world. The latter is particularly true in contrast to science fiction movies or horror movies, which have or can have a realistic or scientific basis. Sometimes the term "fantastic" is also used in its broadest sense to refer to all this kind of cinema in general, including horror, science fiction, or other related genres.

Category has as much to do with focus as it does context, and there is certainly some crossover between genres. For example, part of Star Wars, like the concept of the Force (in the mystical sense of the original trilogy), can be considered fantasy despite being anchored in a science fiction setting, while Heroes of Time uses science fiction themes, such as time travel, to create fantasy.

Superhero cinema also seems to qualify as a fantasy or science fiction genre, but is often considered a genre in its own right.

Animated or children's films are not always classified as fantasy, any more than non-human talking animals are. Bambi, for example, is not fantasy, nor is Toy Story, although the latter is closer to fantasy than the former. NIMH, The Secret World of Mrs. Brisby, however, is a fantasy film, not because it includes talking animals, but because magic is included as an actual concept in the plot.

Surrealist cinema also borders on the fantastic, but by dispensing with the narrative conventions of the genre it is generally regarded as a category by itself.

Examples of fantastic genre films

• Nosferatu, the vampire (1921), by F.W. Murnau
• Dracula (1931), by Tod Browning
• King Kong (1933), by Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack
• Snow White and the seven dwarfs (1937), Walt Disney
• The magician of Oz (1939), by Victor Fleming
• Orfeo (1950), by Jean Cocteau
• The vampire dance (1967), by Roman Polanski
• Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (1971), by Mel Stuart
• King Kong (1976), by John Guillermin
• Xanadu (1980), by Robert Greenwald
• Excalibur (1981), by John Boorman
• Furia de titanes (1981), by Desmond Davis
• Indiana Jones (1981-2008), by Steven Spielberg:
  • Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
  • Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984)
  • Indiana Jones and the last crusade (1989)
  • Indiana Jones and the kingdom of the crystal skull (2008)
• Conan the barbarian (1982), by John Milius
• Dark crystal - in Spain - or The enchanted crystal –in Hispanoamerica– (1982), by Jim Henson
• Conan the Destroyer (1984), by Richard Fleischer
• Die unendliche Geschichte (1984) by Wolfgang Petersen
• Legend (1985), by Ridley Scott
• Big Trouble in Little China (1986) by John Carpenter
• Labyrinth (1986), by Jim Henson
• Highlander (1986) by Russell Mulcahy
• The Princess Bride (1987), by Rob Reiner
• Who tricked Roger Rabbit? (1988), by Robert Zemeckis
• Willow (1988), by Ron Howard
• Races at night (1990), Clive Barker
• Dracula, from Bram Stoker (1992) of Francis Ford Coppola
• Dungeons & Dragons (2000) of Courtney Solomon
• The Lord of the Rings (The Lord of the Rings(2001-2003), by Peter Jackson:
  • The Ring Community (2001)
  • The two towers (2002)
  • The return of the King (2003)
• Harry Potter Series (2001-2011)
  • Harry Potter and Philosopher Stone (2001), by Chris Columbus
  • Harry Potter and Secret Camera (2002) of Chris Columbus
  • Harry Potter and Azkaban Prisoner (2004) of Alfonso Cuarón
  • Harry Potter and the chalice of fire (2005), by Mike Newell
  • Harry Potter and the Phoenix Order (2007) of David Yates
  • Harry Potter and the Mystery of Prince (2009) of David Yates
  • Harry Potter and Death Relics: Part 1 (2010) of David Yates
  • Harry Potter and Death Relics: Part 2 (2011) of David Yates
• Big Fish (2003) of Tim Burton
• Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005) of Tim Burton
• King Kong (2005) of Peter Jackson
• MirrorMask (2005), by Dave McKean
• Narnia Chronicles Trilogy (2005-2010)
  • The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005) of Andrew Adamson
  • The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (2008), by Andrew Adamson
  • The Chronicles of Narnia: The Travesy of the Traveller of the Alba (2010) by Michael Apted
• The Labyrinth of Fauna (2006), by Guillermo del Toro
• The golden compass (2007), by Chris Weitz
• Percy Jackson and the lightning thief (2010)
• Furia de titanes (2010), by Louis Leterrier
• Wrath of the Titans (2012) by Jonathan Liesbeman
• Pacific Rim (2013), by Guillermo del Toro
• The Spiderwick Chronicles (2008) by Mark Waters

The lord of the rings saga

Fantastic film festivals

In North America, the largest and most popular festival is FantAsia, which is held each year in Montreal.

Fantasporto, in Portugal, is considered one of the most important in the world in the specialty of fantastic cinema, as is the Sitges Film Festival, held in Spain. In Europe we must highlight the Brussels Fantastic Film Festival, held in the capital of Belgium.

In Latin America, the most prominent is Buenos Aires Rojo Sangre, a fantastic film and horror film festival, focused on ultra-independent genre production.