Research: History of Fantasy

Fantasy Genre Research

Fantasy genre films are usually based around magic, supernatural events, supernatural characters/ make – believe creatures and exotic fantasy worlds. The genre is considered to have originated from science fiction and horror film genres. Many films within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic and magical creatures are common. Fantasy films also stereotypically have good endings when the villain loses against the hero. Most fantasy films have are well known for being ideologically traditional, Disney is the most well know conglomerate for making fantasy films that tend to teach gender roles to their target audience. There is often a made up world shown throughout the story, for example in ‘Peter Pan’ there is Neverland which the characters escape to. ’Alice in Wonderland’ there is Wonderland or Underland depending on different versions of the film and in ‘Lord of the Rings’ there is Middle Earth.

Typical Conventions

•  Usually low key lighting to create a very spooky and eerie atmosphere, this also makes everything  mysterious and unknowing
•  Mythical creatures or monsters, for example Vampires, Dragons, Goblins
•  The trailers aren't very revealing, and don’t give away much of the story-line like trailers in other genres  do, this intrigues the audience to watch the film and find out more for themselves
•  Action is usually shown in quick, fast snippets to avoid too much of the story-line being given away

Typical Settings

• Fairy-tale settings – seen classically in Disney fantasy films with princes and princesses, enchanted forests, animals and castles
• Mediaeval era

Characters involved

•  Hero/ heroine – embarking on a quest for example to find a princess or treasure
•  Villain – Goes up against the hero and cause conflict, usually played by a male as they are stereo  typically ‘stonger’ and are more violent. However there are films that use female characters as villains so  that companies aren’t deemed as sexist.
•  Mythical Creatures – these could be; dwarfs, hobbits, ogres, dragons, witches, goblins, ghouls, centaurs  and talking animals which are normally found in all fantasy genre films.

Props

•  Weapons
•  Magical Objects – these hold special powers that can affect characters or are beneficial to the character  using it. These are very commonly used in fantasy films. Magical objects could consist of books,  furniture for example the wardrobe in ‘Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe’
•  Some props are made to be made extra-large just to enforce how small some characters are

Lighting and Colours

•  Lots of saturated colours and lighting, this allows for a lot more friendly feel and also gives a strong  contrast between darker colours that are used when the villain appears on screen