The best fantasy movies of all time are both escapist and imaginative. They can make you believe magic is real, or help you see the world in entirely new ways. The films below are full of wonder and imagination, but they also all feature elements of magic. Some are based on books, while others are entirely original, but all are sure to transport you to other worlds.
One of my favorite movies in the fantasy genre is Jack the Giant Slayer. The movie is about a young farmhand who accidentally opens a gateway between the worlds of humans and giants. The giants are fascinated by what they find in our world, but they’re also angry that Jack did not close the gateway. Jack must find a way to fix his mistake before the giants destroy everything in their path.
If you love watching the movie, you are sure to love the following 15 jack the giant slayer similar movies. In the meantime, you may also want to check this list of 20 Top Alien Movies, Extra-terrestrial Invasion Films Ever Made.
1. The BFG | 2016 | 6.8 IMDB
The BFG is no ordinary bone-crunching giant. He is far too nice and jumbly. It’s lucky for Sophie that he is. Had she been carried off in the middle of the night by the Bloodbottler, or any of the other giants—rather than the BFG—she would have soon become breakfast. When Sophie hears that the giants are flush-bunkering down for the night, she sneaks out to the Big Friendly Giant to warn him about the horrible man-eating giants.
The BFG doesn’t believe her, but he is soon convinced when he hears the sound of Fleshlumpeater and Bonecruncher searching the forest for humans. And when he discovers that Sophie has been taken prisoner by the man-eating giants, he resolves to do something about it.
Available on: Netflix | Watch Trailer
2. Snow White and the Huntsman | 2012 | 6.5 IMDB
After the Evil Queen marries the King, she performs a violent coup in which the King is murdered and his daughter, Snow White, is taken captive. When Snow White escapes into the Dark Forest, she befriends the Huntsman and journeys with him in search of allies to retake the kingdom. Along the way, they encounter Ravenna, the Queen’s sister, who has previously been locked away by the Queen.
Available on: Netflix | Watch Trailer
3. Oz the Great and Powerful | 2013 | 6.7 IMDB
When Oscar Diggs (James Franco), a small-time circus magician with dubious ethics, is hurled away from dusty Kansas to the vibrant Land of Oz, he thinks he’s hit the jackpot—fame and fortune are his for the taking—that is until he meets three witches, Theodora (Mila Kunis), Evanora (Rachel Weisz) and Glinda (Michelle Williams), who are not convinced he is the great wizard everyone’s been expecting.
Reluctantly drawn into the epic problems facing the Land of Oz and its inhabitants, Oscar must find out who is good and who is evil before it is too late. Putting his magical arts to use through illusion, ingenuity—and even a bit of wizardry—Oscar transforms himself not only into the great and powerful Wizard of Oz but into a better man as well.
Available on: Google Play | Watch Trailer
4. Alice in Wonderland | 2010 | 6.7 IMDB
Alice, an unpretentious and individual 19-year-old, is betrothed to a dunce of an English nobleman. At her engagement party, she escapes the crowd to consider whether to go through with the marriage and falls down a hole in the garden after spotting an unusual rabbit.
Arriving in a strange and surreal place called “Underland,” she finds herself in a world that resembles the nightmares she had as a child, filled with talking animals, villainous queens, and ridiculous obstacles.
Available on: Google Play | Watch Trailer
5. Eragon | 2006 | 5.7 IMDB
A 15-year-old farm boy discovers a polished stone in the forest. Even though he can’t remember where he found it, Eragon feels a connection to the stone that he names “Eldunarí” (“ruler” in the ancient language).
The film is written by Peter Buchman, based on the novel by Christopher Paolini, and directed by Stefen Fangmeier. Eragon is a great watch for anyone who likes a good adventure full of fantasies.
Available on: iTunes, Disney Plus | Watch Trailer
6. The Last Unicorn | 1982 | 6.2 IMDB
A unicorn is captured by a gang of thieves, who take her far away to be sold. She manages to escape but falls into the hands of a master magician, who turns her into a woman. She meets a young boy named Schmendrick, who helps her recover her lost horn, and then she sets off to find the rest of her kind.
Available on: Amazon Prime | Watch Trailer
7. Maleficent | 2014 | 7.1 IMDB
The untold story of Disney’s most iconic villain from 1959 classic ‘Sleeping Beauty’. A beautiful, pure-hearted young woman, Maleficent has an idyllic life growing up in a peaceable forest kingdom, until one day when an invading army threatens the harmony of the land. Maleficent rises to be the land’s fiercest protector, but she ultimately suffers a ruthless betrayal-an act that begins to turn her pure heart to stone.
Bent on revenge, Maleficent faces an epic battle with the invading king’s successor and, as a result, places a curse upon his newborn infant Aurora. As the child grows, Maleficent realizes that Aurora holds the key to peace in the kingdom and perhaps to Maleficent’s true happiness as well.
Available on: iTunes, Amazone Prime | Watch Trailer
8. Seventh Son | 2014 | 5.7 IMDB
In a time long past, an unwanted child is born of a witch and an innocent man. He is raised by his mother, hidden from the evil that lurks in the land. But when the mother is executed for her powers, the child is taken into custody by the lords of the land and is raised to one day destroy the evil creatures that plague their land.
Written by Bryan Miller, the story is about a young man, Tom Ward (Ben Barnes), who is apprenticed to the local Spook (Jeff Bridges) in order to learn to fight evil creatures of darkness. The Spook sees great potential in Tom, but the local villagers do not like him because he is different.
Available on: Netflix | Watch Trailer
9. The Last Witch Hunter | 2015 | 5.2 IMDB
The modern world holds many secrets, but by far the most astounding is that witches still live amongst us; vicious supernatural creatures intent on unleashing the Black Death upon the world. Armies of witch hunters battled the unnatural enemy across the globe for centuries, including KAULDER, a valiant warrior who managed to slay the all-powerful QUEEN WITCH, decimating her followers in the process.
In the moments right before her death, the QUEEN curses KAULDER with her own immortality, forever separating him from his beloved wife and daughter in the afterlife. Today KAULDER is the only one of his kind surviving and has spent centuries hunting down rogue witches, all the while yearning for his long-lost loved ones. However, unbeknownst to KAULDER, the QUEEN WITCH is resurrected and seeks revenge on her killer causing an epic battle that will determine the survival of the human race.
Available on: Google Play Movies | Watch Trailer
10. The Spiderwick Chronicles | 2008 | 6.6 IMDB
The Spiderwick Chronicles is an American fantasy-adventure film based on the children’s book series of the same name by Holly Black and Tony DiTerlizzi.
The film was directed by Mark Waters and stars Freddie Highmore, Sarah Bolger, Mary-Louise Parker, Martin Short, Nick Nolte, and Seth Rogen. The family film was produced by Nickelodeon Movies and Paramount Pictures and was distributed by Paramount Pictures.
Available on: Netflix | Watch Trailer
11. The Book of Masters | 2009 | 5.9 IMDB
The Immortal Nicholas Flamel is the greatest Alchemyst in the world and the most powerful man who has ever lived. He has spent over six hundred years searching for the legendary Book of Abraham the Mage. Now, he must find the book before the evil Dr. John Dee does; Dee is determined to use the book’s secrets to become a god.
The Book of Masters: The Secret of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel is a 2007 film based on the novel The Alchemyst: The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel by Michael Scott. The film was directed by Scott Hicks and stars Paul Bettany, Josh Hutcherson, and Jonny Lee Miller.
Available on: Hulu | Watch Trailer
12. The Golden Compass | 2007 | 6.4 IMDB
The story of Lyra Belacqua, an orphaned girl raised in a college in the north of England. Lyra’s search for a kidnapped friend uncovers a sinister plot involving stolen children and becomes a quest to understand a mysterious phenomenon called Dust.
The Golden Compass is an upcoming fantasy film based on Northern Lights, the first novel in Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy. The film is directed by Chris Weitz, with a screenplay by Weitz, Andrew Nicolaides, and Deborah Forte, based on the novel by Pullman.
Available on: Google Play Movies | Watch Trailer
13. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them | 2016 | 7.4 IMDB
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is a 2016 fantasy adventure film directed by David Yates, written by J. K. Rowling, and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures.
The film is a spin-off prequel of the Harry Potter series and stars Eddie Redmayne, Katherine Waterston, Alison Sudol, Dan Fogler, Ezra Miller, Colin Farrell, Carmen Ejogo, Samantha Morton, Jon Voight, Ron Perlman, and Johnny Depp. The film is loosely based on the book of the same name by J. K. Rowling, which serves as a companion to the Harry Potter series.
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is a great watch for anyone who likes a good adventure full of fantasies.
Available on: Netflix | Watch Trailer
14. Alice Through the Looking Glass | 2016 | 6.5 IMDB
Alice Kingsleigh is still in Underland, where she is now the author of a wildly successful book series, which she immediately rejects. She encounters the White Queen, who is still mad at Alice for taking the Jabberwocky’s head.
The White Queen gives Alice an opportunity to return to the real world if she can get the Mad Hatter to take her place.
Available on: Google Play Movies| Watch Trailer
15. Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle | 2018 | 6.4 IMDB
Mowgli, a human child, was raised by a wolf pack in the jungles of India. As he learns the often harsh rules of the jungle, under the tutelage of a bear named Baloo and a black panther named Bagheera, Mowgli becomes accepted by the animals of the jungle as one of their own.
The film is directed by Andy Serkis, written by Callie Kloves, and stars Rohan Chand, Christian Bale, Benedict Cumberbatch, Cate Blanchett, Naomie Harris, Matthew Rhys, Freida Pinto, Peter Mullan, Jack Reynor, Eddie Marsan, Tom Hollander, and Matthew McConaughey.
Available on: Netflix | Watch Trailer