10 Best Fantasy Movies According To The AFI

10 Best Fantasy Movies, According To The AFI

In 2008, The American Film Institute published numerous Top 10 lists for various film categories, including the fantasy genre.

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In 2008, The American Film Institute published numerous Top 10 lists for various film categories, including the fantasy genre. As expected with such a prestigious organization, most of the films are classics, with only some of them being from the past few decades. Many of these films have been preserved by the Library of Congress due to their cultural, historical, and aesthetic significance.

Plenty of fantasy movies have made an impact on viewers and box office numbers, but which works were so exceptional that the AFI singled them out as the best of the best?

10 Big (1988)

Starring Tom Hanks, Big is about Josh, a teenage boy who makes a wish on a fortune-telling machine at a carnival to be bigger so he can hang out with his older crush. The next morning, he awakens to find himself in the body of a man. Combining the fantasy and comedy genres, the film was a hit upon release.

Big was met with critical acclaim, earning Hanks an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor. It established Hanks as a leading man, marking a turning point in his career and making him more bankable to studios. Many find the story inspiring and heartwarming, as Josh learns how to appreciate being a kid, and it’s considered one of Hanks’s best comedy films.

9 The Thief of Bagdad (1924)

This silent swashbuckler adapted from the folktale collection One Thousand and One Nights tells the story of Ahmed, a thief who falls in love with the daughter of the Caliph of Bagdad. To be with her, Ahmed must face several dangerous trials to find the rarest gift for the princess and earn her hand in marriage.

The film was directed by Raoul Walsh, starred screen legend Douglas Fairbanks in one of his best films, and it launched the career of Anna May Wong. Most contemporary viewers will be most familiar with the story because of Disney’s Aladdin, but this version still holds up today as well.

8 Groundhog Day (1993)

Groundhog Day is the iconic comedy starring Bill Murray as Phil, a jaded weatherman from Pittsburgh who finds himself stuck in a time loop while covering the annual Groundhog’s Day event in Punxsutawney, forcing him to live the day repeatedly. It’s a beloved classic and one of the best time travel films ever made.

The film has been subject to analysis over the years, due to the themes it explores. According to Vulture, writer Danny Rubin gets calls every year from strangers, family, and friends, to tell him what they believe the film is about. While he didn’t set out to write any kind of special allegory, the story explores what it means to feel stuck during certain parts of life.

7 Harvey (1950)

In the 1950 film Harvey, James Stewart plays Elwood, an eccentric man whose best friend is a six-foot-tall rabbit named Harvey that may be real or an illusion. Reviews of the film were mostly positive, calling the performances of the leads darling, adding that it’s perfectly cast.

Harvey has been adapted for television many times since its release and has been alluded to in many other forms of media. The most notable is 2001’s Donnie Darko, where the titular character is haunted by a six-foot-tall rabbit named Frank, although writer/director Richard Kelly claimed to never have seen the film. The character of Harvey is a pooka, mischievous yet harmful creature from Celtic mythology, and its usage in other works can be attributed to the film’s success.

6 Field of Dreams (1989)

The sports comedy-drama film Field of Dreams stars Kevin Costner as Ray, a farmer who builds a baseball field in his cornfield, which attracts the ghosts of baseball legends. He fears growing old without achieving anything, and the ghosts convince him to pursue his dreams. The film also features Burt Lancaster in his final role of Dr. Archibald “Moonlight” Graham.

An adaptation of W.P. Kinsella’s novel Shoeless Joe, Field of Dreams achieved success at the box office and earned three Academy Award nominations. It is considered to be one of the best baseball movies of all time. In August of 2021, The Hollywood Reporter announced that Mike Schur will adapt the feature as a scripted drama for the streaming platform Peacock.

5 Miracle on 34th Street (1947)

The holiday classic Miracle on 34th Street follows Doris, a divorced New York mother, who is startled when the nice old man she hires to play Santa Claus at Macy’s claims to be the real deal. A lawyer defends him in court, as he believes him to be telling the truth. Based on the story by Valentine Davis, the short novelization was published alongside the film’s release.

The film won three Academy Awards, with Edmund Gwenn winning Best Supporting Actor, Davis winning Best Original Story, and Best Writing for a Screenplay. In 1994, it was remade by John Hughes and was given a more serious tone than the original. Miracle on 34th Street is watched annually by many and is considered to have one of the best depictions of Santa in a film.

4 King Kong (1933)

Iconic monster horror film King Kong premiered in 1933, starring Fay Wray and Robert Armstrong. It centers on a film crew who go to a tropical island for a location shoot, only to discover a colossal ape who takes a liking to the film’s blonde star. The ape is captured and brought to New York City for public exhibition.

The film opened in New York City to rave reviews, and has since been named the 6th greatest horror film of all time by Rotten Tomatoes. It’s well-known for its groundbreaking use of special effects, including miniatures and stop-motion animation. King Kong has received significant honors in the years since its release and is one the biggest inspirations for other monster films.

3 It’s a Wonderful Life (1946)

Directed by Frank Capra, It’s a Wonderful Life is about a guardian angel sent to help deeply frustrated businessman George by showing him how he’s touched the lives of others, and what life would be like for his loved ones if he never existed. It’s based on both the short story The Greatest Gift and the novella A Christmas Carol.

It’s a Wonderful Life was nominated for five Academy Awards, including Best Picture, and took home the Technical Achievement Award. It has been considered one of the most inspirational films of all time by the AFI, who have also included it in multiple other lists. It has been remade and adapted for stage and radio multiple times and served as the inspiration for films like Click.

2 The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)

Adapted from J.R.R Tolkien’s novel, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring is an epic fantasy adventure film set in Middle-Earth. A meek Hobbit and his companions set out to destroy the powerful One Ring and save Middle-Earth from the dark lord Sauron.

The Fellowship of the Ring was met with critical acclaim and nominated for thirteen Academy Awards, winning Best Cinematography, Visual Effects, Makeup, and Best Original Score. While the film and its sequels aren’t flawless adaptations, there are many aspects of the novel it got right, and it has become a classic since its release.

1 The Wizard of Oz (1939)

The Wizard of Oz is a musical fantasy film adapted from L. Frank Baum’s children’s novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. The film stars Judy Garland as Dorothy Gale, who, along with her dog Toto, is swept away from her Kansas farm in a tornado, landing in the world of Oz. She and her new friends embark on a quest to see the Wizard so she can return home and they can fulfill their wishes.

The Wizard of Oz is iconic and the most successful adaptation of Baum’s work. It comes as no surprise that the AFI calls it the greatest fantasy movie ever made, as this adaptation from the 30s is still one of the most beloved classics in film history.

Link Source : https://screenrant.com/best-fantasy-movies-ranked-by-american-film-institute/

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