Steve
Old Man Mode: Activate! Back in my day, which was the 1980s, fantasy filmmaking reigned supreme. On Saturday mornings, or after school, my generation rode on the back of a Luck Dragon, flying over the Swamp of Sadness, wisps of hair stabbing our eyes while our fingers clutched iridescent scales and mats of snow white fur. If the dragon needed slumber, we traversed an Escher-like labyrinth in search of our baby brother, the laughter of otherworldly creatures sounding from the shadows. When the darkness was overwhelming, we wandered the Endless Forrest while avoiding Skeksis, their crooked beaks speaking spells and portents of doom, the Dark Crystal threatening the world with its unfathomable power.
Movies that helped define the Fantasy genre
I don’t mean to shade modern filmmaking, though I’m sure that’s how a portion of this piece will come off. Still, movies like The NeverEnding Story, Labyrinth, The Dark Crystal, Willow, Legend, Return to Oz, and The Princess Bride were a special breed. In addition to demanding you use your imagination, fantasy films of yesteryear pushed the boundaries of filmmaking by incorporating elaborate creature designs, reality-warping puppetry, impossible worlds, and unlikely castings that led to some of cinema’s most iconic performances.
What counts as a fantasy film in modern times? Well, if you search Google, movies like Wicked and The Legend of Ochi populate near the top of the list. Which, fair, those titles are legit. However, so do movies like The Lost Lands, Fountain of Youth, The Minecraft Movie, Mickey 17, Freakier Friday, A Big Bold Beautiful Journey, and Good Fortune. Ummmm. No offense to the aforementioned films, but I hardly think of them as fantasy in any traditional sense. I’m more than willing to accept Universal’s live-action adaptation of How to Train Your Dragon as fantasy, and I’ll even throw Disney‘s remake of Snow White a bone. Additionally, animated films pick up some of the slack, such as Netflix’s In Your Dreams and KPop Demon Hunters. However, if you try to feed me Smurfs as a bona fide fantasy film, we’re going to have a very un-Smurfy conversation.
Is reality too harsh for Fantasy to exist?
I’m willing to accept that this is my nostalgia talking. I’ve not experienced a midlife crisis of note (yet). Still, I do find myself pining for “the way things used to be,” concerning live-action fantasy films that take risks, believe in magic, and cast significant names like Tom Cruise, Val Kilmer, Robin Wright, and Cary Elwes. I long for characters like Meg Mucklebones of Ridley Scott’s Legend fame, Gmork from Wolfgang Peterson’s The NeverEnding Story, and David Bowie’s the Goblin King (and his magnificent package) to give children nightmares. Granted, the horrors of the real world are more than enough for Gen Alpha, what with school shooting drills, ICE raids, and social media meltdowns hanging like the Sword of Damocles above their heads. Still, fantasy films build character. They provide an escape that other film genres cannot. When I see the absence of fantasy films in contemporary cinema, it sends a pang to my heart, knowing that either I’m out of touch or that other generations don’t care about ghouls, goblins, unfathomable beauty, princesses, and the fragility of unicorns.
Old Man Yells At Cloud
As I sit here and bemoan the state of the film industry, an entire genre seemingly going to waste, I can’t help but feel as if there’s a roundtable of shareholders and studio executives laughing at me, tutting me with a wag of their moisturized fingers. Unfortunately, in the end, it all comes down to money. Will the project make its money back? Will it turn a profit? Is it a franchise starter? Does it deserve a theatrical release, or can it be sold to a streaming service? What’s the best course of action for a quick and lucrative return? It’s no longer about craft and vision; it’s about the dollar, merchandising, and whether or not audiences will put their phones down long enough to pay attention.
It’s a fact that we live in a time of perpetual uncertainty; a time when significant cinematic swings that take wild imagination to make a dent are too risky. Studios don’t want risks. Risks are expensive. They want guarantees. If a movie flops, heads will roll, though the consequences always seem to tumble downhill, do they not? There isn’t a big enough basket to carry all the eggs that could break if an aspect of a film stumbles. Tread lightly. Do what’s easy and familiar, and hope for the best. Wash. Rinse. Repeat.
Romance succeeds while Fantasy struggles
Regarding novels, one reason Romance is such a popular genre is the “Happily Ever After” factor. There’s no risk in investing emotional energy in the story and its characters, because you know it’s going to end well. It’s safe. It feels good. People need to experience these emotions instinctively. People need heroes, even if those heroes possess powers beyond our reach as human beings. Fantasy is a genre that explores parables, revealing morality, principles, inner struggles, and the Hero’s Journey. Fantasy presents audiences with the potential to overcome impossible odds. Without perseverance, how do we rise above the noise? How do we become better people in the face of adversity? Where do we learn about sacrifice?
It’s up to us to keep Fantasy alive and well
At the end of the day, fantasy films still exist, if you know where to look. While big money, billboards, and relentless PR campaigns point audiences toward films like Zootopia 2 and Inside Out 2, movies like Arco and KPop Demon Hunters exist as burning beacons of science-fiction fantasy with an emotional core that resonates with beauty, impact, and wonder. Am I spinning my wheels, and all of this soapbox ranting is for naught? Do we, as the audience, need to pull our heads out of our phones and work harder to support fantasy when it comes along? I don’t have the answers. However, voting with our dollars and shouting excellence from the rooftops can turn the tide of a movie’s fate, maybe even an entire genre. Let’s get loud and honor the genre that helped shape generations.
