There’s an undeniable freedom intrinsic to the fantasy genre, because whatever one can imagine and execute with special effects can be realized on screen. It’s for this reason that fantasy films have always maintained some level of popularity over the decades, and as far back as the silent era, too. Filmmakers want to stretch themselves creatively, and viewers seem happy to get lost in fantastical worlds.
As for those fantasy movies that go above and beyond, visually speaking? The following titles arguably achieve such a thing, and prove particularly dazzling to look at. They’re not necessarily the best fantasy movies of all time (though some are classics generally speaking, not just in terms of how they look), but instead, they’re all moviesworth checking out for anyone after visual spectacle, technical wizardry, and pure cinematic imagination.
10’The Wizard of Oz' (1939)
Director: Victor Fleming
The Wizard of OzisThe Wizard of Oz, and kind of a no-brainer to mention whenever the topic of great-looking movies arises. It’s one of themost well-known and frequently referenced movies ever made, andthough it wasn’t the first movie to utilize color, it was one of the first movies to use color perfectly, not to mention use so many different colors.
Beyond beingan iconic musical fantasy/family movie,The Wizard of Ozhas a bold switch between black-and-white and color that feels as though it was a turning point for cinema. Again,not the first color movie, but it’s understandable why it’s often the first movie that comes to mind when thinking of early color films. Oz is still a land that one can lose themselves in, even more than eight decades on from when the film first came out.
The Wizard of Oz
9’Fanny and Alexander' (1982)
Director: Ingmar Bergman
As far as fantasy movies go,Fanny and Alexanderdoes admittedly downplay fantastical elements. It is more of a family drama, but there is something of a supernatural component to the film through the appearances of some ghosts; potentially real, or maybe metaphorical. Anyway, the filmcertainly has a beefy enough runtimeto go off in those directions while keeping things balanced. Along the way, it’s visually stunning to look at, too.
Narratively,Fanny and Alexanderfollows the two titular children as they try to survive life with a new stepfather who proves himself to be rather tyrannical.It’s certainly an arthouse film, butone of the more approachableand most openly emotional ones out there, so long as one’s okay with watching something that exceeds three hours (or five hours, if one selects the extended miniseries cut).
Fanny and Alexander
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8’Puss in Boots: The Last Wish' (2022)
Director: Joel Crawford
2011’sPuss in Bootswas nothing to write home about, a mostly okay spin-off for theShrekseries that was, typical for Dreamworks, at least decently animated.Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, on the other hand, was a hugeimprovement as far as sequels gonarratively speaking, and it was also a much bolder movie visually, really utilizing the fact it was animated to do things that would be just about impossible to pull off in live-action and/or with photorealistic CGI.
Its story sends the titular sword-fighting cat on a lengthy odyssey that sees him traveling throughout various locales, meeting many colorful characters,and confronting his own mortality.Puss in Boots: The Last Wishispredominantly for kids, but there’s a ton here to appreciate for older viewers, and it might well be one of the most eye-popping animated fantasy movies of the 21st century so far on a purely visual front.
Puss in Boots: The Last Wish
7’Wings of Desire' (1987)
Director: Wim Wenders
you may often rely onthe films ofWim Wenderslooking pretty great, thanks in large part to his frequent collaborations with cinematographerRobby Müller… though, withWings of Desire,Henri Alekandid the cinematography. The film’s one of the best-looking ever directed by Wenders, with black-and-white cinematography potentially reminiscent ofanother black-and-white romantic fantasy movieAlekan shot: 1946’sBeauty and the Beast.
Wings of Desireisa slow but immersive film, following two angels as they watch over various people on Earth, with one of the pair finding himself falling in love with a particular woman (and humanity, generally speaking). It does an excellent job of observing life from an unusual perspective, and itfittingly captures somewhat ordinary things in ways that look beautiful and sometimes even otherworldly.
Wings of Desire
6’The Phantom Carriage' (1921)
Director: Victor Sjöström
Even if a movie is more than a century old, it can still look incredible and entirely unique,as shown byThe Phantom Carriage. This silent film is a rather eerie ghost story that still has an undeniably effective atmosphere, and a story that follows the last person who dies before the year ends, and how, in the new year, they become a carriage driver for Death itself over the next 12 months.
Different sequences inThe Phantom Carriageare tinted different colors, andearly special effects are also utilized to makecertain characters transparent and efficiently ghostly. Some might consider it all looks a bit primitive, and yes, it is old, but this is all easy to appreciate as being visionary stuff for the time it was released, and a good deal of it still looks cool when watched today.
The Phantom Carriage
5’Millennium Actress' (2001)
Director: Satoshi Kon
Satoshi Kondirected some ofthe best anime movies of the 2000s(thoughPerfect Blue, arguably his best-known film, did come out in the 1990s),Millennium Actressincluded. This film is a celebration of cinema that also happens to be somewhat fantastical, with a premise about a documentary filmmaker who wants to try and find a once-famous actress who disappeared from public life when she was at her most popular.
It’s another animated movie that really utilizes the fact it’s animated, as though much of the story’s emotions feel grounded and real,Millennium Actressrecreates images from the narrative’s past with stunning detail and fluidity. It’s easy to getswept up in such a bold visual experience, and it’s one of several films that demonstrate Kon’s knack for creating stunning and immersive animated worlds.
Millennium Actress
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4’Pan’s Labyrinth' (2006)
Director: Guillermo del Toro
Pan’s Labyrinthis a movie that manages to contrast a couple of different pairs of things very well. It’s a movie that manages to bebeautiful and grotesque in tandem, given it works as both a gritty war movie and a dark fantasy film, with the protagonist spending time in both the real world and a fantasy one; both grim, but the latter perhaps less horrifying than the former.
Also,Pan’s Labyrinthis a movie thatmanages to be an emotional rollercoaster, with moments of excitement, catharsis, and tragedy all working together perfectly.There are few – if any –Guillermo del Toro moviesthat anyone could call bad-looking, butPan’s Labyrinthmight well be the most visually stunning film he’s directed to date… not to mention also being his greatest film full-stop.
Pan’s Labyrinth
3’Dreams' (1990)
Director: Akira Kurosawa
Akira Kurosawamade a fair few filmsin his time, and they were generally grounded affairs, be they samurai dramas or crime/thriller movies set in the modern day.He wasn’t against fantasy, though, as shown byDreams, which is a movie without a real plot. Instead, it’s an anthology film that aims to capture and visualize a total of eight dreams the director had during his life.
Dreamsis a top-tier art film, and an undeniably successful attempt at doing just what it sets out to do.It turns out that yes, Kurosawa’s dreams are more cinematic than most people’s. The use of color throughout is genuinely stunning, with just about every image popping visually in much the same way that his 1980s work – namely, thenon-fantasy moviesKagemushaandRan– also looked incredible.
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2’Spirited Away' (2001)
Director: Hayao Miyazaki
To be fair, an entire ranking of amazing-looking fantasy movies could be taken up with pretty muchnothing butHayao Miyazakimovies, and it would still probably be decent (and not too inaccurate). He’s made many fantasy movies, and everything he’s done looks absolutely incredible. But, to keep things fairer for other filmmakers, perhaps it’s best just to stick to what might be his best-looking fantasy flick:Spirited Away.
This is also arguably his best movie, and is probably the one where there’s just the most going on visually. It’s non-stop with showing viewers various different sights, creatures, and locations within a fascinating and unique fantasy world.Spirited Awaynever slows down and is an always engrossing journey. Of course,it’s narratively and emotionally impactful, too, butthe quality of the animationis perhaps what wows the most, in the end.
Spirited Away
1’The Fall' (2006)
Director: Tarsem
Thoughthere is a decent adventure storyto be found withinThe Fall, and an interesting structure that works as a commentary on storytelling, it’s the visuals of this 2006 film that prove most memorable. Simply put, just about everything else feels kind of secondary when a movie looks as good asThe Falldoes, with just about every shot having color, spectacle, style, or just something that proves breathtaking.
It’s a movie shot in and around a myriad of interesting locations, packed with expressive characters and their eye-catching costumes, and all of it shot boldly byTarsem(sometimes credited as Tarsem Singh).The Fallcould well be one of the best-looking movies of all time, and within the fantasy genre, it’s hard to think of too many other films that clearly outdo it… or even just come close.
