8 Fantasy Films From the 1980s to Fuel YourDark Crystal: Age of ResistanceObsession

IfThe Dark Crystal : Age of Resistance , which hit Netflix on Friday , has you in the temper to keep an eye on more eighties fantasy movies about unlikely hero — preferably with creature — we’ve got you covered . And if you finish your Dark Crystal binge and desire more in the same vein … well , this same list still apply .

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8. The NeverEnding Story

Stranger thing already did some heavy lifting on this one , showcasing The NeverEnding Story’sgloriously cornball report songduring its late third time of year . But if you did n’t already go back and watchWolfgang Peterson ’s 1984 fantasy — about a lonely kid who gets go down on into the exciting , terrific , beautiful , and now and then distressingly pitiful ( RIP Artax ) man of Fantasia , thanks to the thaumaturgy of indication — now ’s the perfect time . The exceptional gist , in particular the puppets , do n’t look most as slick as what we ’re used to today , but the movie ’s iconic beast , like Falkor the Luck Dragon , the sinister Gmork , and the melancholy Rock Biter , have a power that still endures .

7. Willow

Ron Howard ( who take aim ) and George Lucas ( who came up with the story ; Lucasfilm’sILMalso worked on the film ’s then - groundbreaking special effects ) reunited 15 years after American Graffiti for this apologue about a baby with a very crucial destiny and the citizenry and magic creatures who ill-use up to assist her . The title character is an unconvincing hero , a bungle magician play byWarwick Davis(whose intimately - love prior purpose was under furry costuming as Wicket the Ewok in Return of the Jedi ) . His pursuance to render the baby to safe sees him cross paths with all manner of colorful characters : brownie , round , faerie , a rakish warrior ( Val Kilmer , post - Top Gun ) , and multiple thaumaturgist , including an evil queen playact by Jean Marsh — who also depict an evil beldam in Return to Oz ( more on that movie below ) .

Willow leans into its comedic elements fairly heavily , though there ’s also plenty of action and romance — Kilmer and Joanne Whalley , who plays villain Sorsha who make dear after fall for Kilmer ’s character , actually got hook up with after meeting during the production , though they later divide . But there ’s still trust for another sort of well-chosen ending beyond the film , if Disney+ ever have good onits rumblings about a Willow subsequence serial publication .

6. The Princess Bride

You ’ve likely already seen Rob Reiner ’s beloved 1987 classic , adapted by William Goldman from his novel , more or less one zillion times . The Princess Bride — starring Cary Elwes and Robin Wright — is easily one of the most repeatable flick ever made , and is so instantly recognizable ( even 30 - plus years after its initial expiration ) that its frame story was repurposed for another inlast class ’s PG-13 re - do of Deadpool 2 . But we feared being tossed in the Pit of Despair if we did n’t include The Princess Bride on this very genre - specific list .

5. Legend

Legend is a movie deserving revisiting every few years just to cue yourself that it live . Yes , in 1985Ridley Scottmade a darkness ( yet sorta campy ) fantasy tale starring a post - Risky Business ( but pre - Top Gun ) Tom Cruise as a forest - habitation scamp who romance a princess ( Mia Sara from Ferris Bueller ’s Day Off ) .

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Yes , Princess Lili unwisely , albeit somewhat understandably , seizes the opportunity to pet a unicorn . Who would n’t ? Yes , that forbidden human activity sets a mountain chain of awful thing in movement , at least “ frightful ” in the context of Legend , because Tim Curry ’s performance as the Lord of Darkness — a deeply evil quality who tempts Lili with a super - goth , magical dancing dress!—is a majestic curiosity , help oneself along by the genius of special effects make - up master copy Rob Bottin .

A particularly glamorous moment from Labyrinth

A particularly glamorous moment from LabyrinthImage: Lucasfilm

4. The Secret of NIMH

After animator Don Bluth allow Disney , where he ’d worked on celluloid like Robin Hood , The Rescuers , and Pete ’s Dragon , he place up his own studio and got to exercise on this 1982 adaption of darling children ’s record Mrs. Frisby and the skunk of NIMH ( in the movie , the main theatrical role was renamed “ Mrs. Brisby ” to fend off legal entanglements with the manufacturer of “ Frisbee ” toy dog ) .

The story — about a widowed field of operations computer mouse desperate to keep her children safe from the many cruelties of the mankind ( sickness , farm machinery , qat ) , and the topnotch - smart rats ( and other assorted beast ) who help her — is as action - packed as it is tearjerking , and the voice cast has some surprising entries . Among the big name like Derek Jacobi and John Carradine , you ’ll also get wind a couple of kid actors named Wil Wheaton and Shannen Doherty .

3. Return to Oz

The sole feature film head by noted editor in chief Walter Murch , 1985 ’s Return to Oz was a bit misunderstood at the time of its handout — but has since become a cult favourite , thanks in no little part to its marvelously creepy , Oscar - nominated ocular effects . An 11 - year - sure-enough Fairuza Balk ( who would go on to leadThe Craft ) star as Dorothy , whose life-time has gotten incredibly bleak since the events of the first flick ( the most obvious audience reference degree , though Return to Oz takes its cues from L. Frank Baum ’s Oz books rather than the 1939 motion-picture show ; ai n’t no singing in this one ) . The family farm has been in struggle fashion since the crack cocaine six months prior , and so has Dorothy , who ca n’t kip through the night or stop blabbing about Oz .

When Auntie Em ( Piper Laurie of Carrie and Twin Peaks renown ) decides to sign her up for jounce intervention , Dorothy escape and ends up back in Oz , but it ’s not the Technicolor dream world she remembers ; all her friends are either absent or have been reverse to stone , thanks to a sinister newfangled regime that has allowed the Emerald City to slue into ruination . fortuitously , Dorothy makes some fantastical new allies — mostly portray by intricate puppets , including a loquacious crybaby who chase after along from Kansas . There ’s a certain amount of flightiness in Return to Oz , but it fare wrappedin a blanket of despair and dark , which only makes it more timeless . Mustachioed mechanical valet Tik - Tok , who ’s fond of saying things like “ I have always treasure my lifelessness , ” is a forever humour .

2. Labyrinth

Labyrinth has a lot of shared DNA with other film on this leaning — it ’s directed by Jim Henson , executive produced by George Lucas , and phantasy artist Brian Froud ( who also worked on The Dark Crystal ) make the conceptual plan . ( What ’s more , Froud ’s boy , future Age of Resistance design supervisory program Toby , also make for “ the sister ” in the movie ; you could read more about that below . )

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The puppet quality are as remarkable as all that behind - the - view natural endowment would have you believe , as is the production design , but Labyrinth ’s human characters are also exceptional — Jennifer Connellyas Sarah , as the angsty teen fairy - narration fanatic who rapidly regrets wishing her small brother away into a fantasy land , and of course of instruction David Bowie as the gloriously - man Jareth , the Goblin King . Bowie also recorded several song for the film , include eternal snag - the - social club - up phantasy muddle “ Magic Dance . ”

Image: Warner Bros.

What kid didn’t want to be best buddies with Falkor?Image: Warner Bros.

1. The Dark Crystal

This one ’s obvious , but if , somehow , the hype over Netflix ’s lavish prequelhasn’t yet tempted you to revisit Jim Henson and Frank Oz ’s 1982 original photographic film , what are you await for ? It ’s as intricate and terrifying as you remember , with astonishingly well - realized world construction and puppets that may be several generations behind the Netflix serial publication — but are no less eerie and expressive .

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FantasyGeorge LucasLabyrinthNetflixStreamingThe Dark CrystalWillow

Image: Warner Bros.