10 Best Fantasy Movies According to Roger Ebert

Critics are often accused of only liking “serious” movies that tend to fall in the spectrum of dramas, biographies, or war movies. Just about everything that isn’t a genre film, like a horror or a thriller. Even sci-fi has suffered this misconception of critics liking films that are mostly boring, or not commercial. But this is a foul lie, and the compilations made by iconic film critic Roger Ebert are proof.

Yes, Ebert was also very vocal when he disliked a film. He even hated some of them. But the counterpart to this hate was the love he felt for film in general. His taste for fantasy, sci-fi, and classic thrillers speaks for itself, and to prove this we gathered some fantasy features Ebert included on his lists of The Great Movies.

10 ‘Groundhog Day’ (1993)

Groundhog Day is the story of Phil Connors, a rude weatherman who gets assigned to cover the Groundhog Day festivities in Punxsutawney. In what can only be defined as a lesson straight from Heaven, Connors gets stuck on the same day in a loop that seemingly lasts centuries. Eventually, he realizes his only way out is to become a better person.

“We Can Learn To Be Better People”

The fantasy comedy starring Bill Murray is a genre classic that asks the right questions but never gets too philosophical about why this is happening to Phil. It’s engaging enough to make you cheer for his progression into becoming a better man.

“Tomorrow will come, and whether or not it is always February 2, all we can do about it is be the best person we know how to be. The good news is that we can learn to be better people. There is a moment when Phil tells Rita, ‘When you stand in the snow, you look like an angel.’ The point is not that he has come to love Rita. It is that he has learned to see the angel.”

9 ‘The Wizard of Oz’ (1939)

The Wizard of Oz follows Dorothy and her dog Toto, as they’re swept up by a tornado and transported to the magical Land of Oz. Dorothy realizes returning home isn’t going to be easy and as she takes the yellow brick road to the Emerald City, she’s forced to seek the help of some friends. Apparently, the Wizard in the city knows how Dorothy can go back, but she will have to do something first.

“It Made Good Sense to Me”

This quintessential fantasy classic is one of the best films of all time. At the time, it proved to be expensive for MGM, but as the years passed it got the cult status it deserved, eventually landing the title of a Hollywood classic. Ebert was impressed since he saw it as a child:

“It was not until I saw
The Wizard of Oz
for the first time that I consciously noticed B&W versus color, as Dorothy was blown out of Kansas and into Oz. What did I think? It made good sense to me.”

8 ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’ (1946)

George Bailey is very depressed. He’s thinking of ending his life on Christmas Eve, and everyone around him seems worried. They pray and pray, and eventually those prayers reach an angel in Heaven who pulls up George’s history and is moved by the man. He saves George and manages to show him what the world would have been like if he hadn’t been born.

“’It’s a Wonderful Life’ Is Not Just a Heart-Warming “Message Picture”

Frank Capra’s signature Christmas movie is probably the best holiday film ever produced. It’s a Wonderful Life presents a variation of the classic Christmas story A Christmas Carol and delivers a beautiful “fall and get up” story that will inspire all viewers to become better people.

Per Ebert’s essay:

“What is remarkable about
It’s a Wonderful Life
is how well it holds up over the years; it’s one of those ageless movies, like
Casablanca
or
The Third Man
, that improves with age. Some movies, even good ones, should only be seen once. When we know how they turn out, they’ve surrendered their mystery and appeal. Other movies can be viewed an indefinite number of times. Like great music, they improve with familiarity.
It’s a Wonderful Life
falls in the second category.”

7 ‘Pinocchio’ (1940)

Pinocchio follows a wooden puppet who’s brought to life by a fairy. Pinocchio is created by Mr. Geppetto, a lonely woodcarver, and when Pinocchio comes to life, he only wants to become a real boy. To accomplish this, he will have to prove himself and be “brave, truthful and unselfish,” just like the fairy orders.

“A Narrative With Deep Archetypal Reverberations”

The animated musical is part of Disney’s quintessential catalog of traditionally animated films and one of the most beloved animated stories of all time. Its 100% score on Rotten Tomatoes is proof of its legacy, and this is what Ebert had to say about it:

“
Pinocchio
is a parable for children, and generations have grown up remembering the words ‘Let your conscience be your guide’ and ‘A lie keeps growing and growing until it’s as plain as the nose on your face.’ The power of the film is generated, I think, because it is really about something. It isn’t just a concocted fable or a silly fairy tale, but a narrative with deep archetypal reverberations.”

6 ‘Un Chien Andalou’ (1929)

Un Chien Andalou (translated to An Andalusian Dog) is a 16-minute short by Luis Buñuel that follows what can only be described as a concocted nightmare of different genres. Surrealist mastermind Buñuel puts together a series of vignettes that go from an eye being slashed for the sake of art to a bizarre love story that doesn’t make much sense. Don’t even think about giving it some meaning.

“It Assaults Old and Unconscious Habits of Moviegoing”

While the film doesn’t follow any narrative, and you’re not supposed to make sense of its story, whatever audiences understood from it in 1929 is still alive today. It’s a divisive attack on… something. Ebert described it as the film “two men in their 20s made while being intoxicated by the freedom of Paris.”

Per his essay:

“It assaults old and unconscious habits of moviegoing. It is disturbing, frustrating, maddening. It seems without purpose (and yet how much purpose, really, is there in seeing most of the movies we attend?). There is wry humor in it, and a cheerful willingness to offend. Most members of today’s audiences are not offended, and maybe that means the surrealists won their revolution: They demonstrated that art (and life) need not follow obediently within narrow restrictions that have been decreed since time immemorial.”

5 ‘Orpheus’ (1950)

In Orpheus, a poet follows a woman into the afterlife. Eventually, we find out she’s Death, and the poet is obsessed with her. When he’s taken back to our realm, a tragedy occurs: his pregnant wife Eurydice is killed, and to bring her back to life, he makes a promise that’s impossible to keep. If this sounds cryptic to you, then you’re in for a treat. Orpheus is one of the most unforgiving cinematic riddles of all time.

“One of the Pleasures of the Film Is To See How Audacious the Tricks Are in Their Simplicity”

Made in France in 1950, Orpheus is a nightmarish romantic fantasy that doesn’t make much sense outside its mythos. But that’s alright. You’ll still find yourself dragged down a pit of audiovisual tricks and early practical effects that still feel innovative.

This is what Ebert said about it:

“One of the pleasures of the film is to see how audacious the tricks are in their simplicity. Rubber gloves leap onto hands in reverse photography. Glass jumps back into its frame. Mirrors are sometimes mirrors and sometimes sets on the other sides of mirrors. As characters emerge from mirrors, [director] Cocteau simply cuts to their hands being lifted from a still pool of water that still reflects their faces. Just once he uses a technique he also used in
Beauty and the Beast
, where a character is pulled on a wheeled platform we cannot see, so that he appears to be gliding.”

You can stream Orpheus on Max.

4 ‘My Neighbor Totoro’ (1988)

My Neighbor Totoro is the story of two girls, Satsuki and Mei, who are forced to move into an old house that’s near a hospital where their mother is trying to recover. Letting loose her imagination, Mei befriends a creature that comes from a tree, and eventually, Satsuki also sees the huge Totoro. Together they will indulge in many adventures in one of the most beautiful animated films in history.

The extremely upliftingMy Neighbor Totoro is a modern classic by Studio Ghibli and Hayao Miyazaki. The film’s legacy is unquestionable as it represents one of the most important pieces of animation to come from Japan, and one imbued with beautiful values that still feel relevant to viewers of every age and culture.

Per Ebert’s essay:

“It would never have won its worldwide audience just because of its warm heart. It is also rich with human comedy in the way it observes the two remarkably convincing, lifelike little girls (I speak of their personalities, not their appearance). It is awe-inspiring in the scenes involving the totoro, and enchanting in the scenes with the Cat Bus. It is a little sad, a little scary, a little surprising and a little informative, just like life itself. It depends on a situation instead of a plot, and suggests that the wonder of life and the resources of imagination supply all the adventure you need.”

3 ‘Pan’s Labyrinth’ (2006)

Pan’s Labyrinth takes audiences to 1940s Spain during a civil war, where ten-year-old Ofelia is trying to cope with her new stepfather, a ruthless officer who will stop at nothing to follow the fascist agenda of his comrades. Ofelia comes in contact with fairies who lead her into an underground labyrinth where she meets a faun who tells her that she’s the reincarnation of a princess, and she’s needed back in her kingdom.

“One of the Greatest of All Fantasy Films, Even Though It Is Anchored So Firmly in the Reality of War”

Guillermo del Toro’s fantasy horror film is a modern masterpiece of its genre. The winner of three Academy Awards, Pan’s Labyrinth is a beautiful, yet dark fantasy film that tweaks the rules of what’s acceptable and what’s innovative in terms of fairy tale tropes.

Ebert was very vocal about his love for the film:

“What makes Del Toro’s
Pan’s Labyrinth
so powerful, I think, is that it brings together two kinds of material, obviously not compatible, and insists on playing true to both, right to the end. Because there is no compromise there is no escape route, and the dangers in each world are always present in the other. Del Toro talks of the ‘rule of three’ in fables (three doors, three rules, three fairies, three thrones). I am not sure three viewings of this film would be enough, however.”

2 ‘Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind’ (2004)

In Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Joel Barish decides to “counterattack” when his girlfriend Clementine decides to literally erase him from her mind. Joel undergoes the same treatment, and audiences are treated to a mind trying very hard to delete the most important memories from a man’s broken mind and soul.

“The Wisdom in ‘Eternal Sunshine’ is How It Illuminates the Way Memory Interacts With Love”

Michel Gondry’s film is an outstanding twist on romantic films because it sheds light on something real that’s only a theory: how the human mind works when storing and deciding to delete the most endearing memories. Ebert celebrated this 2004 film by highlighting the work of Charlie Kaufman, who he calls “the most gifted screenwriter of the 2000s.”

Per the review:

“The wisdom in
Eternal Sunshine
is how it illuminates the way memory interacts with love. We more readily recall pleasure than pain. What Joel and Clementine cling to are those perfect moments when lives seem blessed by heaven, and sunshine will fall upon it forever. I hope those are the moments some of those patients are frozen in. They seem at peace.”

1 ‘Superman’ (1978)

In Superman, Kal-El is sent from the planet Krypton to Earth, before it gets destroyed. Kal-El turns out to have superpowers, and the boy is adopted by a couple of farmers in Smallville and given the name of Clark Kent. Eventually, Kent turns into a reporter, but an evil supervillain named Lex Luthor will force Clark to dish the tie and wear the superhero costume in order to save the planet.

“He Is Superman, He Fights for Truth, Justice, and the American Way, and That’s That”

Richard Donner’s Superman was the first high-profile superhero film in Hollywood, featuring Christopher Reeve in the role that defined his career. Back then, its special effects were groundbreaking, and it was the most expensive film at the time.

This grabbed the attention of Ebert who claimed the following in his glowing essay:

“More recent superhero movies are top-heavy with special effects and wall-to-wall action.
Superman
is more restrained in its telling, but doesn’t seem slow, probably because it tells a good story rich in archetypes.
It started something
…These effects on a vast scale are done well, and they upped the ante in the superhero genre. They are done traditionally, with back projection, traveling matte shots, blue screen, optical printers and all the other tools rendered obsolete by CGI. Is it only my imagination that the old-fashioned effects seem to have more weight and presence?”