Best Fantasy Movies on Netflix

Get Your Fantasy Fix With These 25 Movies on Netflix

Aug 9 2018 by Amanda Prahl

The real world can be stressful these days. When you get home, you might just want to curl up on the couch with Netflix. Some days, a good laugh is exactly what you need, but other times, even that's not quite enough. On days like those — or just times when you want to indulge that geeky side — it can be fun to get sucked into an entirely different, fantastical world. That's where Netflix's fantasy genre comes in. You can find anything from old, comfortable favourites to quirky movies you've never heard of before. No matter what your tastes are, your next favourite movie is waiting for you. Check out 25 of our favourites!

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1. Doctor Strange

The Marvel Cinematic Universe has typically been more about science and technology than magic and mysticism, but with Doctor Strange, the universe expands to encompass the mystical arts. Stephen Strange is an arrogant, rich doctor until his hands are injured in a horrible accident. His quest brings him in contact with the Ancient One and a set of powers he never knew existed.

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2. Stardust

Fantasy tends to conjure up images of dashing heroes, lovely heroines, and magical mayhem. Stardust has all of that, but with plenty of twists along the way. We follow the quest of a young man to retrieve a fallen star for his beloved — but there's a catch (isn't there always?)

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3. Beautiful Creatures

In the great YA boom of the 2010s, Beautiful Creatures got a little lost in the shuffle. It's a Southern gothic, focussed on a coven of witches and the romance between their youngest member and a neighbour boy.

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4. Beauty and the Beast

It's a tale as old as time — but not the one you're thinking of. This 2014 European film presents the classic story in a darkly elegant way that hews more closely to the original fairy tales: Belle is one of several children, and there's no dancing candlestick to be found. But the grand enchantment and romance is ever just the same.

Image Source: Everett Collection

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5. Ella Enchanted

Anne Hathaway + Hugh Dancy + hilariously anachronistic musical numbers = one of the most iconic comedies of our time. Ella is cursed to obey everything, even when it's physically impossible, and that's about the only thing this movie has in common with the book it's based on. If you haven't watched this goofy gem before (or haven't watched in a while), do yourself a favour and settle in.

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6. Atlantis: The Lost Empire

The ultimate underrated Disney flick. A group of adventurers, led by geeky academic Milo, embarks on a journey and discovers the legendary lost island of Atlantis and the truth behind its mysterious disappearance ages ago.

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7. Thor: Ragnarok

Thor has always been the Marvel superhero closest to fantasy, with his alternate-realm Norse-god backstory and epic family history (seriously, fairy tales are full of parent issues and sibling issues). This one takes the cake: a gleefully bonkers adventure that is simultaneously the darkest Thor film yet and the funniest.

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8. Tale of Tales

More of an anthology than a straightforward film like the others listed, this movie follows three separate plot threads: one about a queen who eats a dragon's heart, one about a pair of sisters enthralled by a king, and one about a king and his giant flea pet. It's very European and more than a little quirky.

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9. Coco

Let's get this out of the way first: yep, you're gonna cry. Coco is the charming, fun Mexican-underworld-quest story that will also destroy you emotionally. Aspiring musician Miguel accidentally gets trapped in the afterlife and must find his family to get himself home - but it's not what he was expecting.

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10. The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus

Most famous for being Heath Ledger's final film, this fantasy adventure follows an immortal whose deal with the devil gets called in at last. Parnassus involves a young drifter — played by Ledger, Jude Law, Johnny Depp, and Colin Farrell at various times — in his schemes and in his many magical dimensions.

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11. Cirque Du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant

In this send-up of vampire horror and romance, a young man visits a circus's "freak show" and gets bitten by a supernatural creature. From there, he finds himself tumbling headfirst into the world of strange creatures and magical vendettas.

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12. Penelope

A sweet, magical fable, Penelope tells the story of a clever, curious young woman who is forced to live in isolation because of a family curse that can only be broken by — you guessed it — true love. There's also a subplot about a journalist (played by James McAvoy) and plenty of laughs, all with a cute, rom-com aesthetic.

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13. The Covenant

The Salem Witch Trials loom large in the popular imagination of supernatural legends. In Covenant, four teenage boys deal with that legacy when they inherit powers passed on through their families from their ancestors who escaped the trials by forming a secret pact that may have dangerous consequences in the present day. It's a teenagers-with-powers coming-of-age tale with a dark side.

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14. Moana

Disney has always had the fantasy/fairytale thing down cold, but Moana takes it in a whole new direction, with Polynesian mythology and a heartwarming twist ending. After feeling a connection to the ocean all her life, Moana sets out on an adventure to make right an ancient wrong, with a little help from some new allies and, of course, one of those classic Disney soundtracks. (Sing it with me: "See the line where the sky meets the sea, it calls me . . .")

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15. Dragonheart: Battle for the Heartfire

Dragons and kingdoms are pretty much staples of the fantasy genre, and both play central roles here. In this movie, a dragon who shared the heart of a king must find a new ruler for the kingdom, while the king's grandchildren war with one another over who deserves the throne. Daenerys wouldn't put up with this.

Image Source: Universal Pictures

16. Shrek

Honestly, an icon of the millennial generation. Shrek is the original fairytale-mocking-fairytales that spawned a franchise, but nothing can beat the witty first film. With some of the most quotable lines in modern movie history and a frankly awesome soundtrack, you can't go wrong with an ogre, a donkey, and a princess.

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17. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales

Who would have thought, when Disney adapted Pirates of the Caribbean from a theme park ride to a movie in 2003, that we'd still be following this pirate yarn fifteen years later? And yet, here we are, this time with a new generation of characters (literally, in one case) and a new curse to be broken as we revisit the mythology of pirates and assorted mystical sea dwellers.

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18. Hercules

Myths have evolved from something civilizations actually believed in to works of fantasy in the modern world. Disney's version of Hercules is the perfect example: taking the decidedly not-family-friendly story of gods and mortals and transforming it into a snazzy, quip-tastic hero's journey. Plus, "Go The Distance" and "I Won't Say I'm In Love" are two of the most underrated Disney songs of all time.

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19. Lara Croft: Tomb Raider

With all the attention on the upcoming remake, now's a great time to revisit the original Lara Croft. The titular heroine is a kick-ass protector of ancient artifacts, a female answer to Indiana Jones who goes up against normal and not-so-normal evil in her adventures.

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20. 9

In this mash-up of fantasy, sci-fi, and animation, a group of sentient rag dolls are forced into hiding as evil machines take over their world. But, as with so many fantasy stories, everything changes with the arrival of a brave newcomer.

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21. The Curse of Sleeping Beauty

The Sleeping Beauty mythos is pretty creepy at its core, but the Disney version we all know best skims over those aspects in favour of goofy fairies and a waltz borrowed from Tchaikovsky. This movie leans in to the Gothic horror possibilities when a young man who keeps dreaming of a woman in an enchanted sleep inherits an eerie mansion.

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22. Van Helsing

Hugh Jackman, Vampire Hunter. That's the basic appeal of this old-school, pre-Twilight vampire movie, back when vampires were the bad guys. Along with his allies, he goes on a journey to finally defeat the supernatural creatures of legend: Dracula, Frankenstein's Monster, and the Wolf-Man.

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23. Beauty and the Beast

No list of current fantasy films on Netflix would be complete without Disney's live-action reimagining of one of the cornerstones of their animation "Renaissance era." It tweaks just enough to fill in some of the gaps from the animated film (why does no one in the town know about the GIANT CURSED CASTLE nearby? Answered!) while keeping all the iconic moments and songs you love.

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24. Coraline

Who says fantasy is all light and sparkly? Coraline is an eerie, dark fable of a girl who gets so much more than she bargained for when she unlocks a mirror universe that seems like an improvement on her world. Key word: seems.

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25. Bridge to Terabithia

Sometimes, the most powerful fantasies are the ones that only live in our imaginations. Best friends Leslie and Jesse imagine an elaborate fantasy world just for them, where they can escape from the mundane lives they don't fit into. Most of us probably read this book in middle school, but the film takes a new gloss on it by letting us see their vivid imaginings firsthand.

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