Blending magic with the trending grunge and nihilism, some amazing fantasy movies came out in the decade leading up to the new millennium. This resulted in severalgreat 90s fantasy horror movies, exhibiting the decade’s favored aesthetics as well as supernatural ongoings.The best fantasy movies of the 1990s also demonstrate a certain modern twist,with previously unthought-of creatures and witches parading through high school halls.
Additionally,the 1990s saw a spike in family animationwith the Disney Renaissance taking off in the late 1980s. Thebest Disney Renaissance moviesas well as thebest Studio Ghibli moviesdeserve to be considered among the standout fantasy titles of the decade. Furthermore, 1990s fantasy movies are still just a little bit different from the rest of the genre, illustrating the macabre and revisionist ideas on the rise at the time.
Mulan
Cast
To save her father from death in the army, a young single woman secretly goes to replace him, wearing a disguise, and becomes one of China’s greatest heroes in the process.
The Disney Renaissance era saw the rise of several Disney Princesses who demonstrated more developed characters and self-determination than any of their predecessors. However,Mulanis the only one where a branded Disney Princess movie meets a war epic.Using the Chinese legend of Hua Mulan as its source material,Mulanis not completely accuratebut is generally regarded as one of Disney’s best classic animated movies.
In addition to enjoyable songs, beautiful animation, and the hilarious talents of Eddie Murphy as Mushu,Mulanpulls off a major battle sequence that has all the gravitas of some live-action counterparts.Meanwhile,Mulantells a realistic story about belonging and not fitting a role prescribed by society. With an intelligent, resourceful, and determined heroine,Mulanis an empowering movie to watch about someone wanting to do good, but also making their own way.
Edward Scissorhands
From director Tim Burton, Edward Scissorhands follows the titular character, an artificial human created by an inventor, who has scissor blades instead of fingers. After his creator’s death, Edward is taken in by a normal suburban family and becomes attracted to the family’s teenage daughter, Kim Boggs. Johnny Depp and Winona Ryder star as Edward and Kim.
After struggling to work with the executives at Disney, Burton got his big break as a director elsewhere.
Introducing the world to the world to one of thedefining movie characters of the 1990sand giving more screen time to actors perfect for what the decade would bring,Edward Scissorhandsis one of the earliest classic Tim Burton movies.After struggling to work with the executives at Disney, Burton got his big break as a director elsewhere withPee-wee’s Big Adventurein the 1980s.
With his newfound fame, Burton was able to kick off a new decade with a movie starring one of his strange, characteristically spooky personages.Edward Scissorhandsshowcases the worldview of the misunderstoodand the mundane cruelty of a nauseatingly suburban setting.
Every Tim Burton Movie Ranked, Worst To Best
With the premiere of his latest film Dumbo, we look back at the career of director Tim Burton, from his worst film to his best.
The plastic world almost calls back to earlier movies and TV, discarding earlier visions for the distinctly new, no matter how it would be received. As well as Johnny Depp,Edward Scissorhandshighlights the talents of Winona Ryder, who would star in multiple famous 1990s movies covering an impressive variety of genres.
Jumanji
Jumanji is an action-adventure comedy film by director Joe Johnston and starring Robin Williams. Two orphan siblings move into a home occupied by the former Parrish family, whose son disappeared years ago. When the two start playing a mysterious board game known as “Jumanji,” they unknowingly release the missing Alan Parrish later, along with various other jungle-themed dangers that can only be stopped if they finish the game.
“Starring Robin Williams"is almost its own subgenre of fantasy from the 1990s.Williams would star in many more movies both before and after this decade,but his big fantasy movies that came out during it have something of a familiar atmosphere.Aladdinhad to adhere to Disney’s conventional style but still has Williams' customary humor that characterizes more off-beat fantasy movies likeHookandJumanji.
The latter revolves around the concept of a jungle-themed board game coming to life, for a morbid blend of fantasy, horror, adventure, and comedy.Jumanjifeatures some albeit predictable life lessons but gets very creativewith how the game takes over the house and the town. This bizarre fantasy is one of the ways weird manifested itself during the 1990s, helped along by Williams believably alternating between being scornful and caring in his performance.
The Crow
The Crow, directed by Alex Proyas, follows Eric Draven, portrayed by Brandon Lee, as he returns from the dead to avenge his and his fiancée’s tragic murders. Set in a moody, atmospheric cityscape, the film blends elements of supernatural and action as Draven seeks retribution against the criminals responsible.
The moody revenge thriller that came beforeJohn Wick,The Crowembraces 1990s punk rock and emo aesthetics but leverages them in a movie much more dangerousthanThe Nightmare Before Christmas. The revenge quest isn’t nearly as straightforward as some other cinematic examples when the protagonist is put through a much more painful discourse on grief. Talented though Bill Skarsgård may be, his movie and performance can’t live up to Brandon Lee’s original.
Lee’s stylish final movie embraces both the musical and fashion trends of the time and boasts some great fight sequences.Lee was sadly killed in an accident while filmingThe Crowand, therefore, didn’t make any other feature-length movies after he had demonstrated his talent in this one. His performance is recognized as the element holding the movie together, the themes of revenge and grief driven by his intense and layered portrayal of Eric Draven.
The Blair Witch Project
The Blair Witch Project is a 1999 horror film that follows three film students who venture into the Black Hills near Burkittsville, Maryland. As they document their search for the Blair Witch legend, strange and unsettling events unfold. Presented as found footage, the film is directed by Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sánchez, and it pioneered the found footage genre in mainstream cinema.
The Blair Witch Project’s fantasy operates on ambiguity and the fear of the unknown.
The Blair Witch Projectnotably gave rise to numerous other"found footage"horror movies, but none were quite so committed. With the leads listed as"missing"on IMDB,The Blair Witch Projectwent to great lengths to uphold its supposed realism.The"documentary’s"gritty and muted pallet and shaky cinematography captures the dread of the filmmakers getting closer to what they are looking for, even if the latter element famously caused motion sickness in movie theaters.
The Blair Witch Project’s fantasy operates on ambiguity and the fear of the unknown. With only an abrupt final ending and the claim of the actors' disappearances, speculation about the"real"Blair Witch is the intended result.The Blair Witch Projectalso saw several low-brown tie-ins after its major reception,none of which measured up to the original’s daring execution.
Hook
Directed by Steven Spielberg, Hook stars Robin Williams as Peter Banning, a harried American lawyer who, after his children are kidnapped by Captain Hook, finds out that he is Peter Pan, having lost his memories of Neverland. In order to rescue his children, Peter must find his childlike spirit of adventure and regain his memories as he does battle with Hook and his crew. Dustin Hoffman stars alongside Williams as Captain Hook, along with Julia Roberts, Maggie Smith, and Charlie Korsmo.
Williams' other big fantasy movie of the decade (non-Disney category) delves into the emotional state of Peter Pan whereas the original story simply doesn’t.InHook, a grown Peter is married and has children of his own,and has become the very picture of an adult he once despised. When his children are kidnapped by Captain Hook, the idea of Neverland can no longer be forgotten.
This supports a much more nuanced and meaningful discourse on the relationship between childhood wonder and inevitable adulthood than is seen in the original story.Peter rediscovers his old philosophy when he returns to Neverland,but it is mingled with tragedy, and he still happily returns to his life in the real world.
Maggie Smith’s 15 Best Movies, Ranked
Maggie Smith has made a big impact in film, appearing in some of the best movies over the decades, including Gosford Park and Harry Potter.
Williams' despicable then melodramatic then heartrending portrayal of Peter is propped up by A-list actors in supporting roles, namely Dustin Hoffman playing a grandiose and genuinely scary Hook and Julia Roberts as a reflective Tinker Bell.Hookis an edgier take onPeter Panthat does justice to its themeswhen Peter as a child is often too unlikable for his philosophy to work.
The Craft
The Craft is a 1996 teen horror movie starring Robin Tunney, Neve Campbell, Fairuza Balk, and Rachel True. The Andrew Fleming-directed film focuses on a group of outcasts at an LA high school who practice witchcraft and create their own coven. The film received mixed reviews but was a surprise hit at the box office for Columbia.
The Craftis an underrated fantasy movie, although many have now vouched for it. An exploration of the toxicity of high school and certain friendships,The Craftintroduces many likable characters who still turn malevolent as the consequences of their revenge take shape.A newcomer at a Catholic prep school joins a group of outcast girls who are practicing witches,but once they have achieved power, three out of four of them go to extreme lengths to keep it.
The Craftcovers a lot of ground,as the main group is collectively dealing with racism, body issues, dysfunctional families, poverty, and mental health. Empowerment can be interpreted out of the depiction of a found sisterhood, but when the group becomes pernicious, the protagonist must stand on her own. It is a complex narrative about youth when real teenagers don’t have access to magic but still may make bad decisions when emboldened by social power.
Beauty and the Beast
A selfish prince is doomed to become a monster for the rest of his life, unless he manages to fall in love with a beautiful young woman.
One of the best movies of the Disney Renaissance,Beauty and the Beastcontributed to Disney’s roster of more independent-minded princesses, Menken-Ashman composed soundtracks, charismatic supporting characters, and deeply detailed settings. PerhapsBeauty and the Beast’s only glaring weakness is that the concept of the story has been oft-criticized. However, Belle deals with both Beast and Gaston on her own terms — the former is the one to adjust to her requirements.
The Baroque-inspired castle is still gorgeous, while the music remains uplifting.Beauty and the Beastlooks fondly on characters like Belle and her father, who think outside the box and are often ridiculed for it,while Gaston is a disturbing villain due to his casual sexism. Its melancholy opening music and epic set designs give it an almost gothic feel that hasn’t found a place in many other Disney movies, while the fantasy elements reinforce the idea of karma and are, at some points, simply dazzling.
Princess Mononoke
In this epic animated fantasy by Hayao Miyazaki, Princess Mononoke explores the struggle between the supernatural guardians of a forest and the humans who consume its resources. The story follows Ashitaka, a young warrior inflicted with a deadly curse, as he navigates a battle that pits the industrialized human society against the gods of the forest, alongside San, a fierce girl raised by wolves.
Unlike some of Studio Ghibli’s other environmentalist movies,Princess Mononokeimplies the need for cooperation between humans and the environmentand maybe even condones industrialization in moderation. Lady Eboshi is helping people by providing jobs and shelter at Irontown but at the cost of the environment. The conclusion she comes to is that she will rebuild her town but with better practices. Meanwhile, San’s assertion that she cannot forgive emphasizes that irrevocable damage has been done.
However,Princess Mononoke’sdepiction of the tragic and haunting destruction of a wilderness settingis its final word. The complicated characters sometimes have conflicting duties to themselves and their found families, but as always, Ghibli shows how the world must be taken into consideration.Princess Mononokewas brutal enough to make waves in the animation industry, forcing audiences to think about the matter being debated when the movie only shows the people going back to what they were doing, but hopefully better.
The Nightmare Before Christmas
Henry Selick directs The Nightmare Before Christmas, a stop-motion fairytale from the mind of Tim Burton. Jack Skellington is the king of Halloween and one of Halloweentown’s most beloved citizens, but he longs for something more. When he stumbles across a magical door that leads him to discover Christmas, he makes it his mission to replace Santa Claus and bring festive cheer to his perpetually spooky hamlet.
On the surface,The Nightmare Before Christmasmay appear mildly redundant when the characters end the story where they began,having only nearly destroyed a holiday in between. However, what makes it a deserving masterpiece of a cult classic is its artistic stop-motion, terrifyingly poetic songs, and relatable characters.
Caught up in the wild holiday world though they may be, Jack and Sally experience real-life scenarios.Jack has become discontent and melancholic because of his repetitive routine, while Sally is forced to innovate and endurewhen no one else in Halloween Town will help her. It is a story about feeling appreciated, which Jack and Sally eventually find in each other.
This Tim Burton Theory Fuels His Movie Theory (& Explains The Nightmare Before Christmas’ Sally’s Origins)
A theory adds to the Tim Burton Movie Theory while also giving a backstory to The Nightmare Before Christmas' Sally – and it’s tragic.
On the other hand, Danny Elfman’s songs are so perfectly written in service of the movie’s tones and themes, and people have been demanding to hear them again and again in concert ever since.The Nightmare Before Christmasis the epitome of a 1990s fantasy movie,exhibiting the attitude and style of the decade in a memorably timeless fashion.
