# Fantasy — Genre

> Films set in worlds with magic, mythical creatures, or impossible elements treated as real.

## Defining elements

- Magical / impossible elements
- World with internal rules
- Often quest structure
- Good vs evil (often)
- Wonder + danger

## Sub-genres

| Sub-genre | Example |
|-----------|---------|
| High fantasy | Lord of the Rings | Epic, fictional world |
| Urban fantasy | Pan's Labyrinth | Magic in real world |
| Fairy tale | Pan's Labyrinth, Pinocchio | Folktale roots |
| Sword & sorcery | Conan the Barbarian | Action + magic |
| Magical realism | Pan's Labyrinth, Big Fish | Magic in mundane |
| Dark fantasy | The Witcher, Pan's Labyrinth | Grim, mature |
| YA fantasy | Harry Potter, Narnia | Coming-of-age |
| Mythological | Clash of the Titans | Greek/Norse myth |

## Structural conventions

### Quest structure
- Hero called
- Mentor met
- Journey begun
- Trials passed
- Climax confrontation
- Return transformed

(Hero's Journey - Joseph Campbell)

### Magic system
- Internal rules established
- Costs to magic use
- Limits known
- Consistent throughout

### Good vs Evil
- Often clear (or subverted)
- Stakes existential
- Heroes earn their victories

### World-building
- Geography, culture, history
- Show through detail
- Don't info-dump

## Voice / Style

### Visual
- Production design = world
- Practical + VFX
- Color palette per world
- Costume crucial

### Music
- Often orchestral
- Themes for characters/worlds
- Memorable melodies

### Dialogue
- Varies by world tone
- High fantasy = elevated
- Modern fantasy = contemporary
- Historical-feeling for past worlds

## Fantasy mechanics

### Magic costs
- Best magic systems have limits
- "Hard magic" — clearly defined rules
- "Soft magic" — mysterious (Tolkien)
- Audience must understand stakes

### Hero's journey beats
1. Ordinary world
2. Call to adventure
3. Refusal of call
4. Meeting mentor
5. Crossing threshold
6. Tests, allies, enemies
7. Approach to inmost cave
8. Ordeal
9. Reward
10. Road back
11. Resurrection
12. Return with elixir

(Adapt freely; not all needed)

### Companion party
- Hero + supporting characters
- Each fills role (warrior, mage, rogue, etc.)
- Internal dynamics
- Some fall in journey

### World rules / lore
- Established gradually
- Show through events
- Internal logic crucial
- Audience infers

## Sample fantasy scene

```
EXT. FOREST EDGE - DAY

ELDAR (16), small for his age, stands at the edge of a forest
darker than any forest should be. His grandmother's pendant
warm against his chest.

GRANDMOTHER (V.O., from memory)
The path is closed to those who fear it. But it opens to those
who have lost what cannot be found.

He grips the pendant. His mother died last winter.

He steps forward.

The forest doesn't move. The birds keep singing.

He steps again.

The pendant grows hot.

A SOUND — like a great bell — from deep in the forest. Not a
warning. An invitation.

He walks in. The forest closes behind him.

The light changes. The trees grow taller. Older.

Through the branches, he sees something move. Larger than a man.
Smaller than a horse. Antlered.

It watches him.

ELDAR (whispers)
Are you what I'm looking for?

The creature steps forward into a shaft of light. A WHITE STAG,
impossibly old, eyes too intelligent.

WHITE STAG (telepathic, in his mind)
You are looking for what cannot be found.

ELDAR
Yes.

WHITE STAG
Then you must lose what you carry first.

He reaches for the pendant. Hesitates.
```

This works through:
- World rules established (lost = found)
- Magic with cost
- Specific imagery
- Wonder + danger
- Quest beginning

## Common mistakes

- Magic without cost (no stakes)
- Generic fantasy world (Tolkien-derived)
- Info-dump exposition
- Inconsistent magic rules
- Forgetting human stakes
- Too many made-up names
- Convenient power-ups

## Best fantasy films reference

- Pan's Labyrinth (dark, mature)
- Lord of the Rings trilogy (epic)
- Princess Mononoke (myth + ecology)
- Big Fish (magical realism)
- The Princess Bride (witty)
- Spirited Away (Japanese)
- The Green Knight (mythic)
- Beasts of the Southern Wild (modern)

## When to write fantasy

- Epic ambition
- Wonder + adventure
- Younger audience (often)
- Streaming or theatrical
- Franchise potential
- World-building joy

## Production realities

Fantasy ranges:
- Magical realism: low budget possible
- Urban fantasy: moderate
- High fantasy: massive (Lord of the Rings)
- Independent fantasy: focus on character/single concept

## Combination with other genres

- Fantasy + Adventure (most common)
- Fantasy + Romance (Princess Bride)
- Fantasy + Horror (Pan's Labyrinth)
- Fantasy + Coming-of-age (Harry Potter)
- Fantasy + War (Lord of the Rings)
