Fantasy
By Emma Holness
Definition:
Fantasy is a film genre which usually
uses magic and other supernatural
wonders as a key element of plot, theme
or setting of the film. Fantasy is wellknown from science fiction, using
relevant aspects from the genre to make
genre more imaginary . The genre
usually features mythical creatures,
virtual worlds, mystical events and use
of magic.
Why I have chosen this genre to study:
I have chosen this genre to study for
many reasons.
-Firstly, because i like the
presentation of the genre, like miseen-scene, filming techniques and
editing.
-Secondly, the genre fascinates me and
I think I can be the most creative with
this genre.
- Thirdly, I am quite familiar with this
genre and enjoy watching fantasy
films, so I am looking forward to
making my own.
My TimeLine of Fantasy
The Polar Bear King
(1991)
One of the first fantasy
films created. It was
directed by Ola Solum.
It was seen an
artistic animated
fantasy film.
The Wonderful
Wizard of Oz (1910)
A film by Otis
Turner which is
based on the 1902
stage musical and
also the original
novel.
Peter Pan
(1924)
An early American
fantasy film, which
was directed by
Herbert Brenon
A Midsummer Night's
Dream (1935)
A film directed by Max
Reinhardt and William
Dieterle based on a
novel by Shakespeare.
Snow White and the
Seven Dwarfs (1937)
An American animated
film based on the book
Snow White, a German
fairy tale by the
Brothers Grimm.
The Wizard of Oz (1939)
An American musical
fantasy film produced
by Metro-GoldwynMayer and directed by
Victor Fleming. It was
the first coloured
fantasy film.
Pinocchio (1940)
An American
animated film
produced by Walt
Disney. The film is
based on the story
‘The Adventures of
Pinocchio’.
Sleeping Beauty (1959)
An American animated
film. It was produced
by Walt Disney and
based on the fairy tale
"La Belle au bois
dormant" by Charles
Perrault.
Mary Poppins (1964)
An American musical
film produced by Walt
Disney. It is based on
the Mary Poppins
books series by P. L.
Travers.
Willy Wonka & the
Chocolate Factory
1971
A musical film
version of the 1964
novel ‘Charlie and
the Chocolate
Factory’ by Roald
Dahl, directed by
Mel Stuart.
The Little Mermaid
(1989)
An animated film
produced by Walt
Disney. Based on the
Hans Christian
Andersen fairy tale of
the same title.
Edward Scissorhands
(1990)
A surreal and
romantic fantasy film
directed
by Tim Burton.
Harry Potter and the
Philosopher's Stone
(2001)
Eragon
(2006)
A fantasyadventure film
based on the
novel with the
same name and
storyline.
Directed by Chris
Columbus and based
on a novel J. K.
Rowling. It was
written by Steve
Kloves and produced
by David Heyman.
The Chronicles of
Narnia: The Lion, the
Witch and the
Wardrobe
(2005)
An fantasy adventure
film directed by
Andrew Adamson, and
it originated from on the
novel of The Lion, the
Witch and the
Pan's Labyrinth
(2006)
Mexican Spanishlanguage dark
fantasy film created
by Guillermo del
Toro. It was
produced and
distributed by a
Mexican film
company Esperanto
The Conventions of the
fantasy Genre:
There are many different and common
conventions of the fantasy genre. A few
main ones are:
Good against Evil:
Avatar (2009)
The Little Mermaid (1989)
Harry Potter 7 (2011)
The lion, the witch & the
wardrobe (2005)
The Wizard of Oz (1939)
There are usually two sides of characters which are against each
Hero/Heroine:
Narnia: the lion and the witch and the
wardrobe (2005)
The golden compass (2007)
The main character of the film is usually seen as a hero or is knighted
as one after he fulfils his or hers quest.
Virtual world:
Charley & the Chocolate Factory
(1971)
Harry Potter
Alice in Wonderland (2010)
A fantastic world created or entered by the main character.
Dark Lord/ Enemy:
The Brothers Grimm (2005)
Narnia: The Lion and The Witch and The
Wardrobe (2005)
Enchanted (2006)
A character who is usually created for the hero to face and defeat during the
Quest or Magical Journey:
Eragon (2006)
Stardust (2007)
Bridge to Terabithia 2007
A magical journey the character endures through out the film.
Enchanted Location or Object
Narnia: the lion and the witch and the
wardrobe (2005)
Harry Potter
Enchanted (2007)
A place or object which transports the main character to their virtual
world.
Magic
E.T (1982)
Harry Potter: Goblet of Fire
Eragon (2006)
A main theme which always pops up in fantasy films.
Mythical Creatures
Stardust (2007)
Twilight (2009)
Alice in Wonderland (2010)
Pan’s Labyrinth (2006)
Underworld (2003)
Different species of fantastic and mythical creatures usually living in the
virtual world.
Sidekick
Beastly (2010)
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002
A helper of the main character who helps him to get into the virtual world
and to complete his or her tasks.
Object
Ella Enchanted (2004)
Narnia: the lion and the
witch and the wardrobe
(2005)
Beauty and the Beast (1991)
Jamanji (1995)
The Golden Compass (2007)
An object that helps the main character to complete their journey or
Inspirational
Films and
Trailers
Pan’s Labyrinth
In the location of Spain during the civil war in 1944, a
young girl and her ill mother move in with her sadistic,
army officer step dad. Her life from then on becomes a
harsh one and when her mother passes away, the only way
she can escape is to a virtual world she creates in her
imagination.
I really think this scene stands out from
pans labyrinth as it uses great
presentation methods. I love how in the
scene, the fantasy world is golden and
over exposed reflecting the beauty,
glory and surrealism of the world,
contrasting with the reality word which
is extremely saturated and dark
connoting the gloom, darkness and
misery of the characters world.
http://www.youtube.com/user/pookypookypook
ypooky#p/u/0/kpVUc8cN0yI
Harry Potter:
Chamber of Secrets
The Harry Potter films are about wizards and witches who
secretly live in our normal world but escape to their wizarding
world. The main characters are teenagers who go to magical
school every year but encounter a dilemma which they have to
solve. This includes going on a long journey which is what the
film is based on.
The opening clip of harry
potter in this trailer is
extremely inspirational. I love
how the atmosphere changes
as soon as harry ( the main
character) grasps the wand.
The wind picks up, the
lighting is brightened and the
http://www.youtube.com/watc
character is spotlighted. This
h?v=gOo7K2SSSeo&feature=rel
high lights the importance of
ated
this prop.
Alice in Wonderland
19-year-old Alice (main character) runs away from a marriage proposal,
to the gardens of her home. She comes across a talking white rabbit and
curiously follows it into a dream world called Wonderland. She meets friendly
surreal characters which seem very familiar to her, who tell her about the evil
red queen and her rules. They explain that she is an awaited ‘champion’ who
is expected restore peace to their world and put the white queen back in place.
This is all accorded to a sacred scroll which tells the prophecy and future of
the land.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9POCgSRVvf0
Many features of this film are very typical such as the location,
props, characters, filming, editing and story line. Firstly, the
location. The world of Wonderland is filled with large mushrooms,
enchanted forests, castles and large lakes. All of which are
popular locations for fantasy films. Secondly; Props. A sacred
sword given to Alice to slay the dragon, a scroll which shows the
prophecy of the land and also different potions. They all reflect
Thirdly,
characters.
magic and
fantasy. Usually in fantasy films they feature two rival characters who battle against each
other at the end of the film. In Alice in Wonderland, there are two queens; one of evil and one of good
which reflect this typical trait. With the rest of the characters, they are either very surreal or mythical
(i.e. dragon) which also reflect the genre. Finally, the editing and filming. Through out the film, the
footage is over exposed, boosted in colour and contrast and most shots are taken from off angles (i.e.
extreme close ups cut to a mid/ long shot). All of the aspects of this film are very inspirational, and
would love to include some in my trailer.
Merlin
and the Book of Beasts
An Sorcerer called Arkadian has taken over the town of Camelot with a
variety of mythical beasts from his magical book. King Arthur's daughter
Avlynn asks a famous wizard called Merlin to help her take back
Camelot. She also has to find the sacred sword Excalibur to assist her as
she leads a band of knights to battle Arkadian.
This film was very typical to the genre of fantasy. It included
mythical creatures as characters, magic, sacred items: book
and sword ect. There is one particular scene from this film
which I found quite inspirational. It’s a scene which includes
the evil sorcerer bringing butterflies to life out of his book. He
waves his hand over the book and a butterfly outline comes
out the book (top image). Then the butterfly flies out the book
followed by a swarm of them. I really like this scene and how
the butterflies come to life from the book. I think it is very
inspirational and has given me a few ideas for my trailer. The
link on the right shows information about the film and also a
link to its trailer which briefly includes this scene.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1320346/
The Neverending
Story Trailer
A young troubled boy who comes from a harsh reality is able
to escape into a wondrous fantasy world through the pages
of a mysterious book. When he reaches his dream world
there are tasks and adventures that he must peruse.
I think that this trailer is really relevant to my
story line for my group. I think the techniques
they use in this trailer are really clever and
work really well to express the storyline of this
film. Through out preview, it cuts back to the
young boy reading the mysterious book while
showing other clips of him exploring the fantasy
world. I think this trailer is cleverly arranged
and may be taking some features from it to but
into my trailer.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B3DcWtkKeIY
Red Riding Hood
This film is originally set around the fairytale of Little Red
riding hood by the Brothers grim but the director has adapted
it to become a darker, more grown up film. It is about a village
which is stalked by a where wolf which takes a villiager every
full moon. The villagers become sick of this and stand up to the
wolf.
I think the editing and filming in this film is
really effective. They use great editing
techniques like over exposure, saturation,
brightness and contrast which effectively
create different different moods for different
scenes. They also film a scene from behind the
trees which over hang the camera, giving the
suspenced feeling that the character is being
watched. There is a link on the right below the
picture to the films trailer.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ekKMYA
OmTj0