Barbie and Edward Scissorhands show how 10 great movies confirm fantasy is the best genre
Fantasy Beyond Escapism
Fantasy can turn imaginative ideas into vivid film worlds, drawing on a wide range of subgenres. The genre’s appeal, as this selection argues, comes from combining spectacle with stories that reach beyond escapism.
The ten films span different eras and styles, from a toy entering the real world to unlikely heroes on an epic quest. Their varied approaches show how fantasy can support both playful entertainment and more serious themes.
Barbie’s Two Worlds
In Greta Gerwig’s 2023 blockbuster Barbie, Margot Robbie plays Barbie, who leaves Barbieland during an existential crisis. Ken, played by Ryan Gosling, joins her in the real world, where he encounters a society run by men and brings patriarchy back to Barbieland.
With help from Gloria, played by America Ferrera, and Sasha, played by Ariana Greenblatt, Barbie returns to reclaim her home. Gerwig uses the colorful imaginary setting to explore social expectations and difficult feelings while keeping the film’s tone comedic.
Fairy Tales Reconsidered
Beauty and the Beast follows a prince, voiced by Robby Benson, who has been cursed to live as a beast. Belle, voiced by Paige O’Hara, takes her father Maurice’s place as a prisoner and gradually forms a connection with the Beast, aided by the castle’s enchanted objects.
The film’s songs by Alan Menken and Howard Ashman and its animation helped make it a landmark of fantasy. Its story emphasizes inner character, redemption and prejudice, with Belle as a strong, independent heroine whose love is earned rather than immediate.
Otherness In Darker Worlds
In Tim Burton’s Edward Scissorhands, an inventor, played by Vincent Price, creates Edward, played by Johnny Depp, but dies before giving him hands. Peg Boggs, played by Dianne Wiest, brings Edward into her suburban home, where his artistic skills attract attention and he falls for her daughter Kim, played by Winona Ryder.
The film blends fantasy with horror and contrasts Edward’s dark appearance with a bright suburban setting. Its gentle central character and gothic style frame a critique of shallow judgments and the assumptions people make about those who seem different.
A Young Wizard’s First Quest
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone centers on an orphaned Harry, played by Daniel Radcliffe, who learns he is a wizard and begins training at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. He is joined by new friends Ron Weasley, played by Rupert Grint, and Hermione Granger, played by Emma Watson.
The trio discovers that someone is trying to steal the Sorcerer’s Stone to bring back the evil Voldemort. The story places a coming-of-age adventure inside a magical world of friendship and danger.
Key points
- Fantasy films can pair imagined worlds with themes drawn from everyday life.
- Barbie uses Barbieland to explore social expectations and existential anxiety.
- Beauty and the Beast emphasizes inner character, redemption and earned love.
- Edward Scissorhands uses a gothic fantasy to challenge judgments about difference.