MOVIEPIQ · FANTASY · CURATED LIST

Best Fantasy Movies With Kids Based On A True Story

The best fantasy movies with kids based on a true story. A hand-curated list of fantasy films for Moviepiq.

Watching a film with kids means finding something that works on two levels — holding their attention completely while giving you something worth watching too.

Great fantasy films don't ask you to suspend disbelief — they build worlds so vivid that disbelief simply evaporates.

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring movie poster
1
2001 · ★★★★½ 8.8/10

A meek Hobbit from the Shire and eight companions set out on a journey to destroy the powerful One Ring and save Middle-earth from the Dark Lord Sauron.

Pan's Labyrinth movie poster
2
2006 · ★★★★☆ 8.2/10

In post-Civil War Spain, a troubled girl escapes into a fantastical labyrinth, where a mysterious faun reveals that she is a lost princess.

The Princess Bride movie poster
3
1987 · ★★★★☆ 8.0/10

A grandfather reads a story to his sick grandson about a farmhand-turned-pirate who must rescue the woman he loves from a scheming prince.

Spirited Away movie poster
4
2001 · ★★★★½ 8.6/10

A sullen ten-year-old girl wanders into a world ruled by gods, witches, and spirits, and where humans are changed into beasts.

The Shape of Water movie poster
5
2017 · ★★★½☆ 7.3/10

A mute woman working as a janitor in a secret government laboratory falls in love with a mysterious aquatic creature.

The fantasy films that endure are the ones rooted in genuine emotion. The magic is the vehicle; the story is always about something human.

Big Fish movie poster
6
2003 · ★★★★☆ 8.0/10

A son tries to learn more about his dying father by piecing together the stories he told throughout his life.

Stardust movie poster
7
2007 · ★★★½☆ 7.6/10

In a countryside town bordering on a magical kingdom, a young man makes a promise to his beloved to retrieve a fallen star.

The NeverEnding Story movie poster
8
1984 · ★★★½☆ 7.4/10

A troubled boy dives into a wondrous fantasy world through the pages of a mysterious book.

Labyrinth movie poster
9
1986 · ★★★½☆ 7.3/10

Sixteen-year-old Sarah is given thirteen hours to solve a labyrinth and rescue her baby brother when her wish for him to be taken away is granted by the Goblin King.

Princess Mononoke movie poster
10
1997 · ★★★★☆ 8.4/10

On a journey to find the cure for a Tatarigami's curse, a young warrior encounters a battle between forest gods and humans who consume the forest's resources.

True stories carry a different weight. Knowing it happened — knowing real people made these choices — changes how you watch.

A great fantasy film leaves you with that rare ache — a longing to return to a world that never existed.