When I was growing up, my family practiced a ritual every New Year’s Eve: We watched the entire “Lord of the Rings” trilogy in one day (about nine hours of screen time). I wasn’t allowed to watch the films any other time of year, and so I anticipated the annual New Year’s viewing marathon with a year’s worth of pent-up excitement. These were—and perhaps still are—my favorite films. Eye fatigue and excessive candy consumption aside, that yearly tradition formed me in important ways I still haven’t fully comprehended. Like all good fantasy films, director Peter Jackson’s trilogy transports you to another world, but, no matter how imaginative and “other” it may be, it remains a land where the features of our world are clearly discernible—perhaps even more clearly than they are in our daily lives. We watch fantasy in part to better understand our reality.
We suffer from a dearth of great fantasy literature and fantasy films, however. Fantasy crafted without a strong sense of universal moral and philosophical principles easily slips into the realm of the absurd or even perverted, where the “fantastic” elements are merely the grotesque productions of a twisted imagination. True fantasy, on the other hand, reflects reality and promotes the good, the true, and the beautiful, which can sometimes be distilled and magnified in fantasy and myth better than in other fictional works.
Here are five fantasy or fairy tale films that meet that qualification.
‘Cinderella’ (2015) directed by Kenneth Branagh
Cinderella attends the royal ball in a pumpkin transformed into a coach in "Cinderella." (MovieStillsDB)
The brilliance of Kenneth Branagh’s adaptation of the timeless fairy tale is that Branagh resisted the temptation to do something “original” or “modern” in his retelling, a trap so many modern fairy tale films fall into. He simply retold the traditional story in a traditional way with dazzling visuals and pitch-perfect casting (much as he has done with Shakespeare adaptations). Lilly James embodies the innocence and kindness of Cinderella in a simple and believable way. Branagh has an eye for spectacle, and the sets, costumes, and landscapes beam gorgeously on screen. Most importantly, the production champions the virtues of courage, kindness, humility, and generosity—an astonishing characteristic for a major Hollywood picture produced in the last 10 years. The film works because Branagh puts his exceptional directorial talents to work at the service of a story with universal truth and timeless appeal, rather than arrogantly trying to dominate or subvert the tale, as so many modern directors do.
‘Jack the Giant Slayer’ (2013) directed by Bryan Singer
Ewan McGregor, Eleanor Tomlinson, and Nicholas Hoult in "Jack the Giant Slayer." (MovieStillsDB)
Here is another rare modern film that eschews the subversion of a beloved tale or hammering it into a box of political messaging in favor of just telling a lively story of adventure and romance. The film retells and substantially develops the fairy tale “Jack and the Beanstalk.” In this version, when Jack goes to rescue a beautiful princess, who happened to be in his house when it was carried aloft by a beanstalk of unusual proportions, he discovers the land of the giants and their plan to invade the kingdom below. Though in a supporting role, Ewan McGregor adds just the right dash of humor and swashbuckling swagger. The script and character development are not particularly profound, but that’s partly because the film doesn’t take itself too seriously, and complicated human psychology is not the proper subject matter of a simple fairy tale of this flavor. It’s about the adventure and the courage of the protagonist and the clear-cut representation of good versus evil.
‘The Princess Bride’ (1987) directed by Rob Reiner
Cary Elwes as Westley and Robin Wright as Princess Buttercup in "The Princess Bride." (MovieStillsDB)
How many 1980s fairy tale movies do people still watch on repeat, with generation after generation joining the ranks of its fanbase? The fact that children raised in the 2000 and 2010s can not only name but extensively quote “The Princess Bride” stands as proof of its cult-classic status. What’s the magic ingredient that accounts for this wild success? In his tale of a young man who sets out to rescue his love from her uproariously awful fiancé, Reiner flawlessly blends several genres: comedy, romance, fantasy, and satire. “The Princess Bride” is a swashbuckling adventure and, at the same time, a nostalgic, affectionate satire of swashbuckling adventures, à la Errol Flynn. In the words of film critic Brian Eggert, “Few films have ever walked the thin line between earnestness and irony so flawlessly.”
‘The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe’ (2005) directed by Andrew Adamson
Aslan, a main character in "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe." (Walt Disney Pictures)
While aimed at a younger viewership, like the first entry, Adamson’s “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe” will hold some appeal for adults as well, particularly if they grew up reading the classic C.S. Lewis novel that the film adapts. There’s no substitute for reading the Narnia books, by the way, but as far as film adaptations of the series go (and there have been several), this one is the best. Like Branagh’s “Cinderella,” Adamson holds true to the spirit of the original story and takes only minor creative liberties. Moreover, he takes the fantastic seriously in this tale of four siblings swept away to another world where they’re destined to become kings and queens; there’s no condescension toward a child audience or “childish” subject matter. Without making his film heavy, Adamson understands the seriousness of Lewis’s vision. And by 2005, the filmmaking industry had the tools to bring that vision to life with outstanding visuals.
‘The Lord of the Rings’ trilogy (2001–2003) directed by Peter Jackson
Sean Astin and Elijah Wood in "The Fellowship of the Ring." (MovieStillsDB)
I kept the best for last. Though I believe all the films on this list are worth watching, none of them come close to touching the profound beauty and power of this trilogy. Jackson’s adaptation of Tolkien’s novels is a pure cinematic masterpiece, and I find myself judging other films by the standard of these. Not many, in my experience, have equaled it. Like all the best art, Jackson’s epic fantasy trilogy is about everything: friendship, courage, life, death, loss, war, peace, hope. I always come away from these films with a suddenly widened perspective, not just on my own life, but on human life in general, and particularly the very real combat between good and evil that swirls around us and will run on to the end of time. It’s as though I’ve stood on top of a tall mountain for a little, and seen all the valleys of the world stretched out below me, cradled in grandeur and tragedy. I’ve reached through and touched something fundamentally true about the nature of reality. Frodo’s journey to destroy the epicenter of evil is, somehow, the journey of each one of us.
Prior to becoming a freelance journalist and culture writer, Walker Larson taught literature and history at a private academy in Wisconsin, where he resides with his wife and daughter. He holds a master's in English literature and language, and his writing has appeared in The Hemingway Review, Intellectual Takeout, and his Substack, The Hazelnut. He is also the author of two novels, "Hologram" and "Song of Spheres."
