The Magical World of Fantasy
Fantasy is a genre that can immerse you into a whole new world and can make things that seem inhumanly possible come to life. From opening a portal to a new world or discovering that magic exists, pretty much anything can happen.
The fantasy genre can include other genres in its plots like romance, action, sci-fi, and many others. It typically follows The Hero’s Journey writing structure. The Hero’s Journey has twelve stages, the ordinary world where we meet the main character in the world they are familiar with, the call to adventure where the hero has to overcome a challenge or quest, the refusal of the call where the hero opposes the challenge, meeting the mentor, crossing the threshold when the main character reaches the point of no return in their story; they can’t return to the life they lived before. Test, allies, and enemies are when the hero meets friends and foes, the approach to the innermost cave is the hero getting closer to their goal, the ordeal is the hero’s biggest challenge, and the road back is the hero realizing the end of the journey isn’t as imminent as it appears, resurrection is the hero’s final challenge, and finally, return with the elixir is the hero emerging victorious and returning home. The fantasy genre also includes things that are out of the ordinary and not seen in our typical world. This can include mythical creatures, aliens, anthropomorphic animals, and witches. While including atypical aspects, fantasy also includes aspects from our real life to make the story more believable. They can include relatable issues and problems like dealing with death or prejudice. It can also deal with topics like self-discovery. These are all consents typically used in the fantasy genre.
The fantasy genre also uses different production techniques to help better elevate and tell the story. One of these techniques is using color to create tone, typically earth tones and blues. The earth tones create excitement and show creativity while the blues make the story appear classical. The more color used, the more elaborate the story is. Another production technique that is commonly used is intense editing and special effects. In order for out-of-the-ordinary things to appear real, editors use tools like CGI and green screens as well as foley sounds to create new things and develop an imaginative world. Fantasy films and TV shows also use wide-angle shots to show the audience more of the world and how big it is.
The fantasy genre appeals to a youthful audience, typically kids, teens, and young adults but can be enjoyed by anyone. To market to their audience, fantasy films and TV shows often create trailers or posters. Trailers can show the basic plot of a story and get an audience interested. Posters are usually of the main character or characters and can help show the tone of the film based on the colors used and the people or things on the poster. Fantasy films and TV shows are also often based on novels. That drives a bigger audience of people to watch a production because they enjoy the novel it’s based on.
One movie that embodies the fantasy genre is Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. The entire series embodies the genre well but I’m choosing to talk about the third one because of personal preference. In this film, Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe), Ron Weasley (Rupert Grint), and Hermione Granger (Emma Watson) all begin their third year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry but they discover that a man, Sirius Black (Gary Oldman), has escaped from Azkaban, the high-security prison. Everyone believes that Sirius Black escaped to kill Harry. This film embodies the genre because it talks about magic, witches, wizards, mythical creatures, and other fictional things. They help tell the story and show the world the characters live in. It also follows the hero’s journey structure as well as uses color to convey tone. The film uses a lot of blues and browns throughout. Blue is shown whenever the “grim” is shown representing a bad omen. There are also special effects used to depict animals like the Hippogriff and green screen to depict the moving portraits.
Another movie that embodies the fantasy genre is Coraline. Coraline is about a girl named Coraline (Dakota Fanning) who lives a drab life and finds a door to her fantasy world in her house. A world where her mother (Teri Hatcher) cares for her and her dad (John Linell) isn’t always working. The exception, she has to sew buttons in her eyes to stay. This film embodies the film genre because it focuses on entering another world, a different dimension. The movie also follows the hero's journey story structure and deals with real-life issues. The issue faced in the story is the neglect Coraline faces from her family.
Other Examples of Fantasy Films:
Spirited Away (2002)
Alice in Wonderland (1951)
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018)
Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
Percy Jackson and The Lightning Thief (2010)
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe (2005)
Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (1971)
