Everyone’s a critic. It’s impossible to make a “best of all time” list that everyone agrees with; each person will nitpick. Ideally, the purpose of these types of lists is to inspire people to check out some things they’ve never heard of before, but it usually ends up dividing people and leading to angry comments. Rotten Tomatoes’ list of the Best Fantasy Movies of All Time is no different. I think it’s a fairly strong list, though the ranking is definitely questionable. Some films probably shouldn’t be included at all, such as Godmothered (#77) and Nanny McPhee Returns (#69), while some people may not consider other films to be fantasy at all (Sleepy Hollow, The Seventh Seal).
Well, there I go, criticizing a list I didn’t write. What’s perhaps most interesting is how very different the highest-rated movies are on this list. One is an old-school masterpiece, another is a live-action remake of an animated classic, and the third is the final installment in an epic franchise. Let’s take a look at these top three rated fantasy films.
‘Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II’ (2011)
The final installment in the beloved Harry Potter film franchise is also the most successful, becoming the highest-grossing Harry Potter movie, raking in $1.3 billion. It was also the highest-grossing movie of 2011 and became the third-highest-grossing movie ever made at the time (it is now the 21st highest-grossing). Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II also has the highest critics’ score (96%) and audience score (89%) of the franchise on Rotten Tomatoes.
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The Rotten Tomatoes critics’ consensus reads, “Thrilling, powerfully acted, and visually dazzling, Deathly Hallows Part II brings the Harry Potter franchise to a satisfying — and suitably magical — conclusion.” While Alfonso Cuarón’s Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban has arguably held up as the best single installment of the franchise, the final movie has the advantage of bringing together everything that the storylines were leading to and delivering it all with a deeply fulfilling conclusion.
‘The Jungle Book’ (2016)
The 2016 remake of Disney’s The Jungle Book is a bit of a surprise to see in the top three. The reasoning seems to be a combination of how it adapts Rudyard Kipling’s iconic 1894 stories with then-groundbreaking photorealistic CGI. The Rotten Tomatoes critics’ consensus reads, “As lovely to behold as it is engrossing to watch, The Jungle Book is the rare remake that actually improves upon its predecessors — all while setting a new standard for CGI.”
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While Disney’s remakes have gotten a lot of deserved flack from audiences, many fans consider The Jungle Book to be one of the best live-action remakes, with director Jon Favreau (Iron Man) credited for balancing the realism of the film with the fantastical world it’s set in. The voice cast is also one of the best in modern memory, featuring incredible work from Bill Murray, Ben Kingsley, Idris Elba, Lupita Nyong’o, Scarlett Johansson, Giancarlo Esposito, Christopher Walken, Garry Shandling, Russell Peters, Favreau himself, and even Sam Raimi.
‘The Wizard of Oz’ (1939)
Release Date
August 25, 1939
Runtime
102 minutes
Director
Victor Fleming
It’s hard to disagree with The Wizard of Oz being named the best fantasy movie of all time, at least from a historical and film critical perspective. People may certainly prefer other fantasy films, but The Wizard of Oz is like the Citizen Kane of the genre. It set a standard that persists to this day, and, despite being released in 1939, still feels amazingly fresh and modern. Its story continues to influence fantasy films to this day, as evidenced by the recent success of Wicked at the box office.
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The Rotten Tomatoes critics’ consensus for The Wizard of Oz reads, “An absolute masterpiece whose groundbreaking visuals and deft storytelling are still every bit as resonant, The Wizard of Oz is a must-see film for young and old.” Rounding out the top 10 fantasy movies according to Rotten Tomatoes are A Monster Calls, Beauty and the Beast (1946), Pan’s Labyrinth, The Green Knight, The Princess Bride, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, and The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King.
Source: Rotten Tomatoes
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