Some of us have experienced the feeling of being orphaned after the end of the Ring Trilogy. They are films that have made history, that have accompanied us in time, and that have brought the fantasy film genre back into fashion. They opened up a world for cinema, made up of new special effects and a thirst for adventure, leaving us with the need to explore it.
And if the Hobbit trilogy was a disappointment for many, at least it expanded that universe, strongly intertwining it with popular and digital culture, taking care to give space and feed the hopes of fans on forums, fanfiction and unleashed shipping.
1. The Lord Of The Rings
We begin with The Fellowship of the Ring, and embark on the best journey in history, along with a mild-mannered Shire Hobbit and eight companions. The goal is to destroy Evil, enclosed in a powerful ring, and save Middle-earth from the Dark Lord Sauron. Bilbo Baggins has decided to celebrate his one hundred and eleventh birthday in a very special way; at the end of the party, he abandons relatives, friends, acquaintances and his affectionate nephew Frodo, to whom he leaves everything. The sorcerer Gandalf insists that the hobbit also leave Frodo his magic ring, on which he intends to keep a watchful eye and do some research, because it may be hiding a more disturbing mystery than it seems.
2. The Shape Of Water
Directed by Guillermo del Toro Cast, the film stars Sally Hawkins, Michael Shannon, Doug Jones, Lauren Lee Smith, Michael Stuhlbarg and Octavia Spencer and is set against the backdrop of the America of War Cold in 1962, in a secret high-security laboratory wanted by the government, Elisa (Sally Hawkins), a woman trapped in a life of solutidine, works. But everything changes when he and his colleague Zelda (Octavia Spencer) discover a strange, unclassified experiment.
3. Maleficent
Time has been kind to Maleficent and Aurora. Their relationship, originating from betrayal, revenge and ultimately love, has grown and is strong. Nonetheless, there is still some hatred between men and magical creatures. Aurora’s marriage to Prince Philip is a cause for celebration throughout the Kingdom and in neighboring lands as the wedding will unite the two worlds. An unexpected meeting, however, will give birth to a powerful new alliance: Maleficent and Aurora will find themselves on opposite sides of a Great War that will test their loyalty and lead them to wonder if they can really be a family.
4. Aladdin
The live-action adaptation of Disney’s animated classic: two-time Oscar nominee Will Smith(“Ali”, “Men in Black”) in the role of the Genius who has the power to grant three wishes to anyone who owns his magic lamp; Mena Massoud as Aladdin, the hapless but lovable street kid who falls in love with the sultan’s daughter; Naomi Scott (“Power Rangers”) as Princess Jasmine, the Sultan’s beautiful daughter who wants to have a say in how to live her life; Marwan Kenzari (“Murder on the Orient Express”) as Jafar, an evil sorcerer who devises a terrible plan to overthrow the Sultan and rule Agrabah himself.
5. Oz the Great and Powerful
Oscar Diggs, a circus illusionist with a somewhat dubious professional ethics, is hurled from dusty Kansas into the vibrant Kingdom of Oz. There, Oscar thinks he has won the lottery – fame and fortune are at his disposal – until he meets three witches, Theodora, Evanora and Glinda, who see him as the great wizard everyone has been waiting for. Drawn, albeit reluctantly, into the epic troubles that plague the Kingdom of Oz and its inhabitants, Oscar must tell the good from the bad before it’s too late. Thanks to his magical arts, a good dose of ingenuity – and a pinch of witchcraft – Oscar becomes not only a great wizard, but a better man.
6. Alice In Wonderland
A Tim Burton film. With Mia Wasikowska, Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Crispin Glover, Anne Hathaway, Released March 3, 2010. Walt Disney distribution. In the sequel to the famous Lewis Carroll classic, Alice will return to Wonderland to help its inhabitants in revolt. But there’s a problem, she doesn’t remember her past visit.
7. Pinocchio
A film by Matteo Garrone. With Federico Ielapi, Roberto Benigni, Gigi Proietti, Rocco Papaleo, Massimo Ceccherini Released December 19, 2019. Distribution 01 Distribution, Filmauro and Vision Distribution, Productions Alberto Valtellina. Matteo Garrone directs the film adaptation of the novel of the same name (1881) by Carlo Collodi. There are all, the main characters of Collodi’s novel, in Garrone’s Pinocchio: Geppetto and his puppet, Lucignolo, Mangiafuoco, up to the Butterman, the Tuna and the Whale. Because this new adaptation of one of the most famous Italian fairy tales in the world is enormously respectful of the original.
8. Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire
A Mike Newell film. With Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, Bonnie Wright, Robert Pattinson Released November 25, 2005. Harry Potter returns in the most interesting and complex of the films dedicated to him. Harry and the other wizards Ron and Hermione are growing up and with them the doubts and certainties of a life that is not really “normal.” Harry Potter and his friends Ron and Hermione are growing and with them awareness and doubts grow. This is the pivot around which Mike Newell’s film revolves in a perfect balance between drama and comedy. Because the pain weighs terribly on the shoulders of this Chosen One who would like to be just a “normal” wizard and all the absences of the past (the dead parents) and the tasks of the future become pressing. The tension is therefore not so much entrusted to dragons or to the trials to be overcome as to an inner suffering.
9. The Chronicles Of Narnia – Prince Caspian
A film by Andrew Adamson. Starring Ben Barnes, William Moseley, Anna Popplewell, Skandar Keynes, Georgie Henley Released August 14, 2008. Walt Disney distribution. The Pevensie brothers are still magically transported from England to the world of Narnia, where an exciting and risky adventure awaits them and their faith and courage will be tested even harder.
10. A Bridge To Terabithia
A film by Gabor Csupo. Starring Josh Hutcherson, Anna Sophia Robb, Robert Patrick, Zooey Deschanel, Bailee Madison Released March 30, 2007. Moviemax distribution. A fantastic and adventurous story about friendship, family relationships and the power of the imagination. Jess is an eleven-year-old boy, his life changes when he meets Lesile, a girl like him who attends the same school. The two are surrounded by adults who do nothing but quarrel so they decide to invent a world of their own to be king and queen: Terabithia, a fantasy world populated by trolls, giants, elves and magical creatures. However, the possibility of taking refuge in a fantasy world will not be enough to protect them from a tragic event.
11. Dumbo
A Tim Burton film. With Colin Farrell, Michael Keaton, Danny DeVito, Eva Green, Alan Arkin Released March 28, 2019. Walt Disney distribution. The story of the little elephant Dumbo, teased for his big ears, who will find a way to redeem himself and find his happiness. The war is over, Holt Farrier returns to his circus, which is not doing very well. The director points to the incoming baby elephant, but is furious at birth because of his big ears. Milly and Joe, on the other hand, grow fond and discover an extraordinary ability: Dumbo can fly!
12. A Christmas Carol
A film by Robert Zemeckis. With Jim Carrey, Robin Wright, Gary Oldman, Colin Firth, Cary Elwes Released December 3, 2009. Walt Disney distribution. The story of an old miser who must face the Ghosts of the Past, Present and Future, who will bring kindness to his cold heart. Ebenezer Scrooge begins her Christmas holidays with her usual contempt, getting angry with her loyal employee and cheerful nephew. But when the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Future take him on a journey where truths he doesn’t want to face are revealed to old Scrooge, he’ll have to open his heart to remedy the years of misbehaving before he is too late.
13. Lemony Snicket – A Series Of Unfortunate Events
A film by Brad Silberling. With Jim Carrey, Emily Browning, Liam Aiken, Kara Hoffman, Shelby Hoffman, released March 18, 2005. Goth fairy tales aren’t Tim Burton’s prerogative, just as kids’ movies aren’t a Harry Potter monopoly – make way for Lemony Snicket’s, the new insane character played by Jim Carrey. The Baudelaire orphans are three decidedly unlucky children. A diabolical villain points to their riches and persecutes them relentlessly.
14. The Beauty And The Beast
A Bill Condon film. With Emma Watson, Dan Stevens, Luke Evans, Kevin Kline, Josh Gad Released March 16, 2017. Walt Disney distribution. The story of a ‘bestial’ looking prince imprisoned in his castle and his encounter with a beautiful princess.
Twenty-six years after the animated film that first broke the barrier of being nominated for an Oscar for Best Picture, Disney returns to those enchanting places: the French village of Belle and the haunted castle of the Beast, where a clock, a candlestick, a teapot and its cup, little Chicco, spend their existence prey to a spell, hoping that the last petal of a rose does not fall prematurely or they will never be human again.
15. The Little Prince
A Mark Osborne film. With Riley Osborne, Alessandro Gassmann, Rachel McAdams, James Franco, Marion Cotillard Released January 1, 2016. Lucky Red distribution. Antoine de Saint-Exupery’s classic in an animated version, at the cinema on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the opera. A little girl moves with her mother to a new neighborhood. Here she will have to engage in the study according to an extremely articulated planning elaborated by her mother who, a career woman, absolutely wants her daughter to be included in the courses of the prestigious Werth Academy aimed at training the managers of the future. The new neighbor is an elderly aviator who begins to tell the little girl about her encounter, which took place many years earlier in the African desert, with a Little Prince who arrived on Earth after a long journey among the asteroids. The little girl initially seems to want to resist the narration but progressively gets captured by it.
16. Edward Scissor Hands
A Tim Burton film. Starring Johnny Depp, Winona Ryder, Dianne Wiest, Anthony Michael Hall, Kathy Baker. Released April 24, 1991. 20th Century Fox distribution. A boy who, instead of hands, has sharp blades, tries to integrate himself into the community. He falls in love with a girl but his love has no future.
17. The Hobbit – The Desolation Of Smaug
A Peter Jackson film. Starring Ian McKellen, Martin Freeman, Richard Armitage, Benedict Cumberbatch, Orlando Bloom. Released December 12, 2013. Warner Bros Italy distribution. In this second adventure, Bilbo Baggins must contend with the evil dragon Smaug, keeper of the treasure accumulated by the dwarves.
18. ET – The Extra-Terrestrial
A film by Steven Spielberg. Starring Henry Thomas, Drew Barrymore, Robert MacNaughton, Peter Coyote, Dee Wallace Released December 10, 2012. A helpless extraterrestrial, abandoned by his companions on Earth, is helped by a child to find his way home. An alien with a short, stocky body, huge feet and a crushed head is left behind on Earth by his fellow explorers. Wandering through a wood he comes to a house inhabited by a woman with her 3 children: Michael, Elliott and Gertie. Elliott will discover its presence and hide it in the house. When the brothers in turn become aware of it, they will join forces to defend it from the adults who seek it. But soon the extraterrestrial will need medical attention.
19. Maze Runner: The Escape
After escaping the Labyrinth, the Gladers must face a new set of challenges on desert roads and desolate landscapes where unimaginable dangers lurk. Thomas and his companions must find new clues to the mysterious and powerful organization known as WCKD. Their journey will take them to the Burnt Zone where, with the help of the Resistance, they will face the WCKD and its secret plans.
20. Miss Peregrine – Home For Peculiar Children
When the tragedy strikes his family, 16-year-old Jacob decides to cross the ocean to discover the secret contained within the walls of the house in which, decades earlier, grandfather Abraham and other little orphans who escaped the horror of the second had found refuge. world War. Only in those abandoned and ruined rooms, rummaging through the trunks full of dust and debris of distant lives, Jacob will be able to establish whether the memories of his grandfather, overflowing with adventure, magic and mystery, really have a foundation.
21. Into The Woods
A modern reinterpretation of the most beloved fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm, in which the plots of some stories are intertwined, to explore the consequences of the adventures and desires of the characters. The classic fairy tales of Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, Jack and the Beanstalk) and Rapunzel come together in an entirely new story centered around a baker and his wife, their desire to form a family and their relationship with the witch he has cast a spell upon them.
22. Valerian And The City Of A Thousand Planets
A dark force threatens the metropolis of Alpha, inhabited by species from thousands of planets. Valerian and Laureline are involved in a race against time to identify the threat and save not only Aplha, but the entire universe. Cara Delevigne and the return of Luc Besson.