Fantasy Film Festival at Magic Lantern Video & Book Store

"Stories of imagination tend to upset those without one." — Terry Pratchett [1948-2015]

This fantasy Film Festival was extracted from the Horror, Monster & Fantasy Film Festival Page of the Magic Lantern Video & Book Store in early 2017. It became obvious that while the horror and monster genres have elements of fantasy, the fantasy genre seldom has monsters or horror or terror elements.
So here we define what is and is not included in selecting movies of the fantasy genre for this page:

NOT included: science fiction and space opera, which are coded on the Science Fiction Film Festival and the 'Star Wars' Movies Page and the "Star Trek" Movies & TV Page

NOT included: robots & cyber tales, which are coded on the Robots & Cyborgs Pages and Cyber Film Festival Pages

NOT included: sword & sorcery movies, which are coded on the Muscle-Head Film Festival and on the Conan the Cimmerian Page

NOT included: superheroes, which are coded on Spirit of America Bookstore's Superheroes Page and on the Lester Dent and "Doc Savage" Page

NOT included: The 'Harry Potter' Books & Movies and the 'Pirates of The Caribbean' Movies and the 'Lord of The Rings' Books & Movies because each series has their own page already.
(There will also be a "Fantastic Beasts" Books & Movies Page after the sequels are available.)

NOT included: many children's stories, which are rife with talking mice & dolls and enchanted princessesses; but if you want, "The Nutcracker" [1816] and "Alice In Wonderland" [1865] and "Winnie The Pooh" [1926] and "The Little Prince" [1943] have long had pages of their own.

NOT included: cartoonery, from Winsor McKay's pioneer dinosaurs to shorts & features by Walt Disney [1901-66] or Fleischer Studios or M.G.M. or Warner Bros. to today's C.G.I. "Cars" or "Pets" or "Lego" feature films.

INCLUDED HERE are movies with angels, unicorns, wizards, leprechauns & menehunes & faeries, friendly dragons & giants, and time travel.

	"Fantasy Adventure Collection: 10 Movies" DVD Box Set [2014?] Echo Bridge Home Ent. widescreen color DVD set [2014?] for $7.75 NO DETAILS PROVIDED by either Amazon or distributor Echo Bridge
	"Fantasy Collection: 8-Movies" DVD Box Set [2014] Echo Bridge Home Ent. color DVD set [10/2014] 2 disks - out of prodn/used contains 7 feature-length films about Merlin and-or King Arthur and one movie not: "The Excalibur Kid" [video 1999]; "King Arthur, The Young Warlord" [1975]; "The Magic Sword" {not King Arthur, but Sir George and the dragon} [1962]; "Merlin and The War of the Dragons" [video 2008]; "Merlin: The Return" [2000]; "Merlin's Apprentice" 2-part TV mini-series [2006]; "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" [video 2001]; and "Sword of Lancelot" [1963]
	"Fantasy Collection: 4 Movies" DVD Box Set [2014] Echo Bridge Home Ent. color DVD set [10/2014] for $9.99 contains 4 feature films included on the 2014 '8 Movies' DVD box set just above: "The Magic Sword", "Merlin: The Return", "Merlin's Apprentice", and "The Sorcerer's Apprentice"
	"Fantasy Adventure Collection: 5 Movies" DVD Box Set [2015] Echo Bridge Home Ent. color DVD set [2/2015] for $7.99 contains 5 feature films included on the 2015 '9 Movies' DVD box set just below: "The Excalibur Kid", "The Secret Kingdom", "The Shrunken City", "Mysterious Museum", and "Stone of Destiny"
	"Fantasy Adventure Collection: 9 Movies" DVD Box Set [2015] Echo Bridge Home Ent. color DVD set [8/2015] 2 disks for $12.00 contains 9 feature-length live-action family films: "The Excalibur Kid" [video 1999] with Merlin and King Arthur; "The Fairy King of Ar" [1998]; "The Last Leprechaun" [1998]; "The Little Unicorn" [video 2002]; "The Magic Door" [2007]; "Mysterious Museum" TV movie [video 1999]; "The Secret Kingdom" [video 1998]; "The Shrunken City" [video 1998]; and "Stone of Destiny" [2008]
	"Fantasy Collection: 6 Movies" DVD Box Set [2015] Echo Bridge Home Ent. color DVD set [8/2015] for $12.00 contains 6 feature-length family films: "Mysterious Island" 3-hour TV movie [2012]; two films included on the 2014 '8 Movies' DVD box set just above: "Merlin's Apprentice" and "Merlin: The Return"; and 3 films included on the 2015 '9 Movies' DVD box set just above: "The Last Leprechaun", "Mysterious Museum", and "The Shrunken City"

"Absolutely Anything" comedy fantasy film
[Europe Aug 2015, Atlas Distrbn USA May 2017]

Absolutely Anything comedy fantasy film starring Simon Pegg

Space alien overlords decide to destroy Earth, but first test for good/evil by giving super-powers to a random inhabitant
Co-written & directed by Terry Jones; co-written by Gavin Scott; starring Simon Pegg, Kate Beckinsale, Sanjeev Bhaskar, Rob Riggle, Robert Bathurst, Eddie Izzard, Joanna Lumley, Marianne Oldham, Emma Pierson, Meera Syal, Mojo the Dog {voiced by Robin Williams}; alien voices by Monty Python members John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, Michael Palin; also James David Robinson, Judy Loe, Alexa Davies, Ellie Green, Prof. Brian Cox
Region 1 DVD/Blu-ray not yet available
full credits at IMDb • official movie site • movie entry at Wikipedia
watch 5/2015 U.K. official trailer [1:56] at YouTube

"The Adventures of Baron Munchausen" fantasy film [March 1988]
Directed by Terry Gilliam

"Back To The Future" time machine trilogy [1985]
"The way I see it, if you’re gonna build a time machine into a car, why not do it with some style?" — Dr. Emmett Brown, in BTTF1

"Beauty and The Beast" animated fantasy film [Disney Nov 1991]
Directed by Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise - Angela Lansbury singing

"The Christmas Chronicles" fantasy film [netflix nov 2018] 11/2018

Christmas Chronicles movie starring Kurt Russell

Two siblings decide to take a photograph of the real Santa Claus . . . • Directed by Clay Kaytis; written by Matt Lieberman; starring Kurt Russell {as Santa Claus}, Judah Lewis, Darby Camp, Kimberly Williams-Paisley, Oliver Hudson, Lamorne Morris, Lauren Collins, Martin Roach, Elena Khan, Kayla Lakhani, Jonathan Kim, David Kohlsmith, Seth Mohan, Jack Bona, Solla Park, and lots of CGI elves & reindeer
DVD/Blu-ray not yet available •
full credits at IMDb • official movie site • movie entry at Wikipedia
watch 10/2018 official trailer [1:50] at YouTube

"The Chronicles of Narnia" fantasy films
based on the classic books by C.S. Lewis [1898-1963]

"Conan The Barbarian" swords & sorcery movie (May 1982)
Directed by John Milius; Arnold Schwarzenegger's breakout role
is detailed on the Conan the Cimmerian Page

"Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" martial arts movie [2000]
Directed by Ang Lee; not all martial arts films are fantasy, but this one is particularly so, with fighters flying over tree tops
and so on: see this & others on the Samurai Films Festival Page at Magic Lantern

"The Dark Crystal" fantasy film [Dec 1982]
Directed by Jim Henson & Frank Oz

"Edward Scissorhands" fantasy film [Dec 1990]
Directed by Tim Burton - Johnny Depp's remarkable performance as the title character

"FairyTale: A True Story" fantasy film [Warner Bros. Oct 1997]

'FairyTale: A True Story' fantasy drama film featuring Arthur Conan Doyle & Harry Houdini

French-American fantasy drama film about the real-life photographs in 1917 purported to be of fairies in the garden of two British children, soon believed by some to be the first scientific evidence of the existence of fairies; story involves Sherlock Holmes' author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (Peter O'Toole) and master illusionist Harry Houdini (Harvey Keitel) • Directed by Charles Sturridge; written by Albert Ash, Tom McLoughlin & Ernie Contreras; starring Harvey Keitel, Jason Salkey, Peter O'Toole, Lara Morgan, Adam Franks, Guy Witcher, Joseph May, John Bradley, Anna Chancellor {as Peter Pan}, Florence Hoath, Phoebe Nicholls, Leonard Kavanagh, Elizabeth Earl, Paul McGann, Anton Lesser, Bob Peck, Lynn Farleigh, Sarah Marsden, Tara Marie, Alannah McGahan, Bill Nighy, Tim McInnerny, Peter Mullan, Jim Wiggins, David Calder, Anthony Calf, John Grillo, Benjamin Whitrow, Dick Brannick, Barbara Hicks, Christopher Godwin, Andrew Cryer, Paul Popplewell, David Norman, Matilda Sturridge, Anna Ramsay, Charlotte Champness, Peter Wight, Willie Ross, Ina Clough, Carol Noakes, Stephen Chapman, Bill Stewart, Don Henderson, Stuart Howson, James Danaher, Martin Gent, Anthony Collin, Tom Georgeson, Angus Barnett, Felicity Brangan, Martin L. Evans, Harry Fielder, Mel Gibson, Hal Lindes; and fairies portrayed by Suzy Barton, Ali Bastian, Anna Brecon, Sean Buckley, Lindsey Butcher, Norma Cohen, Matt Costain, Philip Fowler, Katie Gibbon, Sophie Griffiths, Sara Li Gustafsson, Tara Kemp, William Lawrance, Caleb Lloyd, Marianne Melhus, Genevieve Monastesse, Simon Penman, Briony Plant, Anna-Louise Plowman, Jane Read-Wilson, Isabel Rocamora, Tom Sturridge, Mark Tate, Hayley Tibbins
Paramount Home Video widescreen color DVD [11/2003] for $5.99
Paramount Home Video widescreen color DVD [11/2003] for $16.01
Paramount Home Video widescreen color DVD [11/2003] for $16.40
Warner Home Video color VHS [6/98] out of prodn/used
Atlantic Records movie soundtrack composed by Zbigniew Preisner on CD [10/97] out of prodn/used
full credits at IMDb • movie entry at Wikipedia
watch official trailer [5/2012 upload; 1:37] online at YouTube

"Groundhog Day" fantasy film [Feb 1993]
Directed by Harold Ramis - Bill Murray

"How To Train Your Dragon" fantasy film (March 2010)
Directed by Dean DeBlois & Chris Sanders - with Toothless, the most adorable dragon in movie history

"Signore e Signori" [Italy 1984]
said to be a remake of "It Happened Tomorrow"; co-written & directed by Tonino Pulci • partial credits at IMDb

"Jumanji" fantasy film [Dec 1995]
Directed by Joe Johnston - with Robin Williams

"The Kingdom of The Fairies (Le Royaume des Fées)" silent short [Star-Film France Sept 1903]
A prince is about to marry, but a witch steals the bride and takes her to a strange and distant land; the prince follows and rescues her with help from several magic goddess figures;
YouTube upload is tinted, without intertitles, and with modern abstract orchestral music • Produced, adapted & directed by and starring Georges Méliès; also starring Bleuette Bernon
bare credits at IMDb • watch tinted film [3/2014 upload; 16:44] online at YouTube

"Labyrinth" fantasy film (June 1986)
Directed by Jim Henson - David Bowie's most iconic performance as Jareth the Goblin King

"Legend" fantasy film [April 1986]
Directed by Ridley Scott; starring Tom Cruise & Tim Curry

"Maleficent" fantasy film [Disney May 2014]
Directed by Robert Stromberg - with Angelina Jolie

"Mary Poppins" fantasy film [Disney Sept 1964]
Directed by Robert Stevenson - the unforgettable music and Julie Andrews' beloved performance

"Monty Python and The Holy Grail" fantasy film [May 1975]
Directed by Terry Gilliam & Terry Jones

"The NeverEnding Story" fantasy film [July 1984]
Directed by Wolfgang Petersen - with Falkor the Luck Dragon

"Nothing Lasts Forever" fantasy film [M.G.M. 1984 - never released]

Nothing Lasts Forever unreleased M.G.M. fantasy film

Very odd movie, with a very odd history, essentially 'never released': pulled by distributor M.G.M. from its September 1984 theatrical release; shown on BBC2-TV in U.K. and in Germany in 1993 & 1994; leaked onto YouTube in 2011; American TV debut on Turner Classic Movies in January 2015. A young concert pianist causes a riot when he reveals that he is using a player piano, and flees to Europe; he attempts to return to the U.S., fails a drawing test {!}, and is forced into menial labor; kindness to a tramp leads to meeting the tramps who rule all the cities of the world. But they have been unable to control the Moon, so they send the young man there on a space bus driven by Bill Murray . . . • Written & directed by Tom Schiller; starring Zach Galligan, Apollonia van Ravenstein, Lauren Tom, Sam Jaffe, Paul Rogers, Bill Murray, Imogene Coca, Dan Aykroyd, Mort Sahl, Anita Ellis, Eddie Fisher, Jan Tríska, Rosemary De Angelis, Clarice Taylor, John Garson, Bert Wood, Michael Kimak, King Donovan, Dortha Duckworth, Avon Long, Andrea Coles, Kiya Ann Joyce, Tiger Haynes, Dr. Bronner, Edwin Cooper, Walt Gorney, Raynor Scheine, Ida Bernardini, Leora Dana, Charles Bruce Mill-holland, Erick Avari, Joanne Garahan, Peter Christensen, Marc Alderman, Moultrie Patten, Ingrid Wang, Lawrence Tierney
VHS/DVD/Blu-ray not available • full credits at IMDb • watch 8/2007 fanmade trailer [3:29] online at YouTube

"Okja" fantasy film [Plan B Ent./Netflix streaming June 2017] 8/2016

Filmed in New York City, South Korea, and Vancouver, BC, Canada; a Korean farm girl raises a fantastic beast escaped from a corporate factory farm • Co-produced by Brad Pitt & Tilda Swinton; co-produced, co-written & directed by Bong Joon Ho; co-written by Jon Ronson; starring Seo-Hyun Ahn/An Seo Hyun, Tilda Swinton, Paul Dano, Hee-Bong Byun, Steven Yeun, Lily Collins, Je-mun Yun/- Yoon Je Moon, Shirley Henderson, Daniel Henshall, Devon Bostick, Woo-sik Choi, Giancarlo Esposito, Jake Gyllenhaal, Adam Auslander, Lena Avgust, Marshall Axt, Zachary Belgard, Kristoffe Brodeur, Michelle Clarke-Brown, Ann Evans, Boyd Ferguson, Phillip Garcia, Jamar Greene, Colm Hill, Myles Humphus, Rebecca Husain, Alex Kabel, Lynn Marocola, T. Sahara Meer, Carl Mon-toya, Amber Snow, Pavla Tan, Eha Urbsalu, Justin Blake, Sonia Conlin, Rita Duran, And Palladino, Lynnae Stine, Linley Subryan
DVD/Blu-ray not yet available •
full credits at IMDb • official movie site • movie entry at Wikipedia
watch 2/2017 Netflix teaser trailer [0:55] at YouTube
watch 5/2017 Netflix trailer [2:14] at YouTube

"Pete's Dragon" live-action fantasy film [Aug 2016]
Directed by David Lowery - with Oakes Fegley as Pete and the amazing animation of Elliot the Dragon

"The Princess Bride" fantasy film [Oct 1987]
Directed by Rob Reiner - one of the most-quoted films ever

"The Spiderwick Chronicles" fantasy film [Feb 2008]
Directed by Mark Waters - it will be remembered for its treatment of the source material and fascinating characters

"Star Wars" fantasy films
especially "Episode IV: A New Hope" [May 1977] directed by George Lucas - the movie that literally changed the industry forever
are detailed on the 'Star Wars' Movies Page at Magic Lantern

"Star Wars really isn't a science-fiction film, it's a fantasy film and a space opera." — George Lucas at Sundance in 2015

"The Time Machine" fantasy novel by H.G. Wells [1866-1946]
The thing that Wells got right back in 1895 is the split of society in twain, and the realization of his prophecy is already too apparent
at the beginning of the XXIst Century – the eloi and the morlocks are today's Haves and Have-Nots. The 1960 film is a sci-fi classic;
the 2002 release altered the adventure tale into an unrecognizable and weak love story (and is best forgotten).

"Willow" fantasy film [May 1988]
Directed by Ron Howard - nominated for two Special Effects Oscars

"Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory" fantasy film [June 1971]
Directed by Mel Stuart; based on the book by Roald Dahl [1916-90] - with Gene Wilder

"Your Name (Kimi no Na Wa)" animé feature film
[Japan Aug 2016, USA April 2017]

Overcame political tensions to break box-office records across Asia, including Most Popular Animé of All Time in Japan. High school girl Mitsuha lives in a small mountain town and dreams of someday going to live in Tokyo. Tokyo high school boy Taki works in an Italian restaurant and dreams of becoming an artist. One night they wake up in each other's body, which recurs randomly; they adjust and become accustomed to it. One night they are each watching the sky and see a shooting star and begin to want to meet in person. But something seems to prevent their meeting . . . • Written & directed by Makoto Shinkai; English script by Clark Cheng; music by Radwimps; Japanese voice actors include Ryûnosuke Kamiki, Mone Kamishiraishi, Ryô Narita, Aoi Yuki, Nobunaga Shimazaki, Kaito Ishikawa, Kanon Tani, Masaki Terasoma, Sayaka Ohara, Kazuhiko Inoue, Chafûrin, Kana Hanazawa, Etsuko Ichi-hara, Masami Nagasawa; English voice actors include Ray Chase, Marc Diraison, Glynis Ellis, Catie Harvey, Kyle Hebert, Cassandra Morris, Laura Post, Ben Pronsky, H.D. Quinn, Alyson Leigh Rosenfeld, Michelle Ruff, Stephanie Sheh, Michael Sinterniklaas, Katy Vaughn, Scott Williams
DVD/Blu-ray not yet available •
full credits at IMDb • Japan movie site • USA movie site • movie entry at Wikipedia
watch 3/2017 official English-dub trailer [1:46] at YouTube

"Zoom" partly-animated fantasy film [Screen Media Films Sept 2016]

'Zoom' partly-animated 2016 fantasy film

Filmed in Canada, Portugal & Brasil; comic book artist Emma pays the rent by painting faces on 'love doll' manikins; her cartoons about her film director dream man start asking why she is drawing him, while his movie is about a fashion model who escapes to Brasil and writes a novel about Emma's life; then a man from Buffalo special orders a manikin that looks like the fashion model which is loaded with drugs and delivered to the film director . . . • Directed by Pedro Morelli; written by Matt Hansen; music by Kid Koala; starring Gael Garcia Bernal, Alison Pill, Mariana Ximenes, Tyler Labine, Jason Priestley, Don McKellar, Claudia Ohana, Jennifer Irwin, Michael Eklund
Cinedigm widescreen color DVD [10/2016] for $19.99
full credits at IMDb • official movie site • movie entry at Wikipedia
watch 8/2016 official trailer [2:10] at YouTube

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	M.G.M. feature film [1960] Directed by George Pal, starring Rod Taylor & Yvette Mimieux; won Academy Award Oscar for Special Effects Turner Home Ent. widescreen color DVD [11/2010] for $11.58 Warner letterbox color DVD [10/2000] out of prodn/used M.G.M. Video Limited Edition widescreen color DVD [12/2000] out of prodn/used Warner color VHS [3/2001] for $9.99 Crescendo soundtrack CD [4/89] out of prodn/used full credits from IMDb • movie entry at Wikipedia
	"The Time Machine: An Invention" [1895 novel] Kindle Edition from Public Domain Books [5/2012] for FREE {sic} Kindle Edition from Halcyon Classics [7/2009] 25 books for 99¢ {sic} Tor mass pb [12/95] for $3.99 Ace movie tie-in pb [12/2001] out of print/many, many used
	"Morlock Night" [1979] by K.W. Jeter "What happened when the time machine returned . . ." A sequel to "The Time Machine" with the Morlocks invading Victorian London by time machine; considered the first 'steampunk' novel. {Call this the 'pulpy' sequel.} Grafton pb [5/89] out of print/rare (high priced} Daw mass pb [6/79] out of print/rare (high priced}
	"The Time Ships" [1995] by Stephen Baxter The Time Traveler's return from the future has altered that same future, so he must hop around thru Time before he can return to the proper future and save Weema. {Call this the 'philosophical' sequel.} Eos mass pb [11/95] for $7.99 Voyager mass pb [9/95] out of print/used HarperCollins hardcover [2002] out of print/used
	DreamWorks/Warner feature film [March 2002] Directed by Simon Wells & Gore Verbinski; starring Guy Pearce, Yancey Arias & Jeremy Irons full credits from IMDb

	"The Encyclopedia of Fantasy" [1997] Edited by John Clute & John Grant Not only describes the genre authoritatively, but redefines it; with more than 4,000 entries and over one million words covering every aspect of fantasy – literature, film, television, opera, art, and comics. St. Martin's Griffin 9¼x7½x2" {3.5 pounds} pb [3/99] out of print/many used Palgrave Macmillan 9¾x7¾x2½" {5.4 pounds!} hardcover [4/97] out of print/many used
	"Encyclopedia of Fantasy and Horror Fiction" [ages 8 & up; 2006] by Don D'Ammassa Checkmark Books 9x7¼ pb [9/2006] for $19.76 Facts On File 9¼x7½ hardcover [2/2006] for $71.25
	"Ad Astra: 20 Years of Newspaper Ads For Sci-Fi & Fantasy Films" [2019] by Michael Gingold, Foreword by Larry Karaszewski 1984 Publng hardcover [9/2019] for $34.95

	"Your Name" light novel [2016] by Makoto Shinkai Kindle Edition from Yen Press LLC [5/2017] for $7.99 Yen On 8½x5¼ hardcover [5/2017] for $13.52 Kadokawa Japanese-language 10¾x8¼ tankobon hardcover [6/2016] out of print/40+ used book entry at Wikipedia
	"Your Name" animé movie soundtrack album on CD & MP-3 [2016] by Radwimps Caroline Deluxe Edition soundtrack CD [3/2017] 30 tracks on 2 disks for $9.49 E.M.I./Caroline Intl. soundtrack CD [9/2016] 27 tracks for $16.98 E.M.I./Caroline Intl. MP-3 soundtrack album download [11/2016] 27 tracks for $11.49 soundtrack album entry at Wikipedia

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Magic Lantern Video & Book Store
Fantasy Film Festival