I talk a lot about sci fi and comedy, but one genre I hardly touch upon is fantasy. Fantasy is awesome when done right, giving us new worlds and characters that we could never see in the real world. Some of these movies and TV shows give us amazing world’s we never forget, like Wonderland. Or Neverland. These are amazing places that we find ourselves wishing that were real places we could visit and play in. In some cases, we can. Azeroth is the magic world that World of Warcraft takes place in and of course Dungeons and Dragons has several campaign settings including Greyhawk and Khorvaire.
Course not all movies get it right, even if the movie is good the world it creates does not stay with people. How about the bland “Eragon” that came out a few years ago? In the 80’s we had Ron Howard’s “Willow” which was decent but no one really remembers it. Did that world have a name? Dark Crystal was good but who remembers the world was “Thra”? Did the kingdom in Labyrinth have a name at all? The Jeremy Irons “Dungeons and Dragons” movie was ludicrous and do I even need to mention “The Last Airbender” again? And show of hands, where do the Time Lords in Dr.Who come from? If you said Gallifrey I’m impressed.
Now these have to be actual world’s apart from our normal world that requires effort to get to, for example people love King Arthur and Camelot, but Camelot was just a castle the setting was simply Great Britain. Hogwarts is freaking awesome but it’s also just a school in Scotland. Florin was an amazing place in Princess Bride, but wasn't that just a story? And in Bridge to Terabithia the world was 100% imagination in the kids heads.
Here are some fantasy world’s that I love, in no particular order.
Middle Earth
And I know people are going to go nuts but I never read JRR Tolkein’s books or seen the Lord of the Rings movies, so I don’t have much to say about Middle Earth. But I had to mention it because it set the standard, the novels and the movies, for how to do a fantasy setting right! I wasn’t sure if this counted and after getting a headache trying to research it, I just figured the heck with it. I really gotta see these movies. And from the pics I have seen it is an amazing place, I love The Shire.
Pandora
Avatar was a stupid movie. I mean, the plot was as recycled as it gets. Star Trek Voyager did it better for pete’s sake! But the thing that sold the movie was the world that movie gave us, Pandora. It really was sight to behold. So much so that a lot of people who saw the movie didn’t want to leave it! The best part is the Na’vi were a nice creation since it wasn’t just people in funny costumes. Thanks to CGI, they felt like another lifeforms altogether. This world was so memorable that Disney World is even devoting a whole land to it!
Fantasia
I don’t remember Neverending Story that well. I know I saw it, and was sad when the horse died, but that was about it. The best part were the characters we meet like Falkor and The Rock Biter. The sequels? Meh.
Narnia
I read The Lion The Witch and the Wardrobe by CS Lewis and it’s…ok. I guess, I don’t really remember it. I loved the first movie that came out a few years ago, but Prince Caspian was awful and I ignored The Dawn Treader. But the first movie was great and made this world come to life. The snowy land of the White Witch was fantastic. I think the best part is Aslan, the lion ruler who is just a million kinds of awesome.
Eternia
Yeah it’s a cartoon, so? I mentioned before that setting the Masters of the Universe movie on Earth was ludicrous when Eternia has such a rich lore to pick from. The cartoon was more than He-Man fighting Skeletor, there was lots of world building. Eternia has wizards, legends, and even dragons that may or not be good guys. Of course there is no quest centered around Masters of the Universe, but it still works.
By the way there are lots of TV world’s I am overlooking simply because I don’t watch fantasy TV any more than fantasy movies. If you’re wondering why I didn’t mention the show “Once Upon a Time”, because I never saw it and there is way to much to discuss in this article. The same for “Game of Thrones” and Westeros and Essos.
OZ
I love this one, OZ seems like the kind of place you go to just have fun. As long as the witches stay away at least. The reason Wizard of Oz has captivated kids for ages is because the world is so colorful and fun. Most of the characters are lovable and kind. The reason why we remember it as we grow up is because the acting and music is so well done. I did see Return to Oz in the 80’s and…it wasn’t what I expected. I never saw the Sam Raimi movie. Years ago John Ritter did a TV movie all about where Frank Baum came up with these stories, and the name OZ came about when a child asked what the name of the land was. Drawing a blank, Baum looked over at his filing cabinet marked O-Z. I love that. I’ve seen Wizard of OZ a million times and love it every single time.
Star Wars Universe
C’mon, you know this belongs here! Star Trek is science fiction, Star Wars is science fantasy. It takes all of the elements of fantasy stories and just puts them in a space setting. You have a heroes quest, a princess in distress, a rogue hero, a wise old mentor who dies, quirky side characters along for the ride, and a badass dark villain. The magic is condensed down to just the force, but it’s still there. It’s why little kids tend to love Star Wars more than Star Trek, because you don’t have to get the social issues being discussed to enjoy it. You just get the lightsaber out and go on an adventure! The one thing no one complained about with the prequels and CGI changes was how these world’s were made more and more elaborate. Tattoine, Hoth, the moon of Endor, Alderaan, Dagobah, Naboo, Jakku..all of these are unqiue places in the Star Wars universe that are just as memorable as the amazing characters that will be with us forever.
Themyscria/Paradise Island
Needed one comic book one. And I know most people prefer Thor and Asgard, but for me I always loved Paradise Island in the Wonder Woman comics. This was an island of women who were amazon warriors. Of course this is where Diana Prince was conceived and got her amazing gifts from. I’d be here all day if I did a history lesson into the place or the Greek Mythology this is all tied into, so either read the comics or see the awesome movie.
Hogwarts might be in Scotland. But if you're not a wizard or a witch, you will never be able to enter it. So it would qualify as a place, that it takes effort (or magic, actually) to get to. And I also want to remind you that the Harry Potter universe also has a lot of cool places other than Hogwarts (Gringotts, The Burrow, The Ministry of magic, St Mungos). You might say that they all don't count, because they're supposed to be parts of the real world. This is nevertheless though a parallell world, that 99 % of the Muggles don't even know about and can't enter. So it should qualify.
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