Lack Of Fantasy Films In Film These Days?

Depends on how you're defining fantasy. Sword and sorcery not so much. We just came off Harry Potter, Twilight is IMO fantasy, Percy Jackson, the Titans movies, Immortals, Thor. There are a slew of direct to video B and C movies that fall into the category. Just browse Netflix and you'll find a bunch of crap you probably won't want to waste time on.

 

There was an influx for a minute there but they weren't doing big business except for Harry Potter and the LOTR series.

 

I think this would be a valid criticism in the 1990s, but not now. If I wanted to see a fantasy movie made within the last few years, I'd have too many to choose from.

The main difference between the 1980s and now is that the R-rated sexploitation fantasy movies are now an extinct genre, but that has as much to do with the wide availability of real pornography than anything else.

 

Avatar is not straight fantasy. but the navi characters looke like out of a fantasy book . and it made money.

fantasy movies can brake box office records. the public can have a good time and studios can be rich. but its hard to have a fantasy movie in a time where everything needs to be gritty and grounded in reality. Nolan-style

 

This year alone so far:

Snow White and the Huntsman
Brave
Wrath of the Titans
Mirror Mirror
Underworld Awakening
The Lorax
Journey 2: The Mysterious Island
John Carter
Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter
Beasts of the Southern Wild

And also, come December, I recall hearing something about a small independent film being released. It think it's called "The Bobbit" or something like that, and it's being made by the director of Meet The Feebles.

 

I don't agree with you, but for argument's sake, I'll accept your premise temporarily: 4 major big-budget fantasy movies (adding in The Hobbit) in a single year is pretty good.

 

There's more on the way and I see a possible rise in films based on L. Frank Baum's properties as well. Oz, Wicked, and there's another I know of. Plus fairy tales will be continuing to come in over the years - unsure if all of them will be made, but the scripts rotating around are numerous. I think Peter Pan might hit next, unsure where production stages are on them though. Disney has also picked up a new take on Aladdin, unsure again where the production is on that way just that they picked up the rights about two years ago. Disney's also working on a new Jungle Book. To those who don't understand film making process, it takes years sometimes for all of these to come out - but once the CGI effects hit, there's been a huge influx which will take a couple years to truly hit like the hero genre has.

 

You do realize Brave featured guiding forest spirits, witches, and people getting turned into bears right in a Medieval setting right?

 

I think the problem is, the fantasy movies back then just had this really distinctive style that is now gone because of advancements in technology, trends in 'realism' and a tendancy to try and make fantasy something more accessible to adults (at least in the bigger budget films).

However, giving it some thought I realised there have been a fair few. So I did a bit of looking around to remind myself, and here's a few i've seen in the past decade or so.

LOTR
POTC
Chronicles of Narnia
Pan's Labyrinth
Mirrormask
Peter Pan (2003)
Where the wild things are
Secret of Moonacre
Spiderwick Chronicles
Immortals
The Last Airbender
Prince of Persia
Eragon
Dungeons and Dragons
How to train your Dragon
Shrek
Brave
Big Fish
The Golden Compass
Inkheart
Alice in Wonderland
Arthur and the Minimoys
Stardust
Bridge to Terabithia
Enchanted
Wristcutters: A love story
The Imaginarium of Dr Parnassus
Gulliver's Travels
Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole
Sucker Punch
300
Clash of the Titans
Immortals
John Carter
Snow White and the Huntsman
Red Riding Hood
Mirror Mirror

 

Yeah, but that stuff actually happened, right?

 

Have you included -

Eragon (2006)

The Golden Compass (2007)

The Chronicles of Narnia Trilogy

Alice in Wonderland (2010)

and the upcoming

Bryan Singer's Jack The Giant Killer ?

It seems to be that there are enough movies being produced.

 

So perhaps the question of this thread, is why do the fantasy movies out today kind of suck?

 

Good list, but I think he means Fantasy Films ==Fairy Tales.
Those in Red qualify.(IMO.)

If we exclude the Animated movies and Superhero stuff.

 

The practical effects of puppetry and fantastical sets instead of fully cg rendered characters and green screen is I think what the difference is between the 80's fantasy and today. There was alot more charm and heart it seems to me than the mostly lifeless and cold CG worlds we get today.

 

a lot of them either take themselves way too seriously (snow white and the huntsmen) or not just plain don't give a sh** about telling an actual story (the titan movies).

 

How come Conan The Barbarian(2011), and Solomon Kane are not on this list? Not to mention that, ironically, they are Robert E. Howard characters; the man, arguably, responsible for creating the genre of sword and sorcery.

 

We need more Conan the Barbarian type of movies that's fo sho.

 

Fair enough then. I miss the days of Henson's creature shop and Harryhausen's stop motion monsters.

 

Well, here's hoping Robert Rodriguez will do his Fire and Ice remake right after Sin City 2.

 

yeah, maybe in fifteen years. and people think edgar wright drags his feet lol.