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Best Fantasy Movies With Your Parents From The 80S And 90S Based On A True Story

Every fantasy film here was chosen with watching with your parents in mind. These aren't algorithmically ranked, they were chosen because they actually work for this.

The best fantasy movies with your parents from the 80s and 90s based on a true story. Includes The Green Mile, Princess Mononoke, Neon Genesis Evangelion: Th...

Watching a film with your parents is one of those things that's harder to arrange than it should be, and more worthwhile than you expect when it actually happens.

The 80s and 90s remain a goldmine. Films that were commercially dismissed on release and now considered essential.

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

The Green Mile movie poster
1
1999 · ★★★★½ 8.5/10

A supernatural tale set on death row in a Southern prison, where gentle giant John Coffey possesses the mysterious power to heal people's ailments. When the cell block's head guard, Paul Edgecomb, recognizes Coffey's miraculous gift, he tries desperately to help stave off the condemned man's execution.

Princess Mononoke movie poster
2
1997 · ★★★★☆ 8.3/10

Ashitaka, a prince of the disappearing Emishi people, is cursed by a demonized boar god and must journey to the west to find a cure. Along the way, he encounters San, a young human woman fighting to protect the forest, and Lady Eboshi, who is trying to destroy it. Ashitaka must find a way to bring balance to this conflict.

Neon Genesis Evangelion: The End of Evangelion movie poster
3
1997 · ★★★★☆ 8.3/10

SEELE orders an all-out attack on NERV, aiming to destroy the Evas before Gendo can advance his own plans for the Human Instrumentality Project. Shinji is pushed to the limits of his sanity as he is forced to decide the fate of humanity.

My Neighbor Totoro movie poster
4
1988 · ★★★★☆ 8.1/10

Two sisters move to the country with their father in order to be closer to their hospitalized mother, and discover the surrounding trees are inhabited by Totoros, magical spirits of the forest. When the youngest runs away from home, the older sister seeks help from the spirits to find her.

Castle in the Sky movie poster
5
1986 · ★★★★☆ 8.0/10

A young boy and a girl with a magic crystal must race against pirates and foreign agents in a search for a legendary floating castle.

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

Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind movie poster
6
1984 · ★★★½☆ 7.9/10

After a global war, the seaside kingdom known as the Valley of the Wind remains one of the last strongholds on Earth untouched by a poisonous jungle and the powerful insects that guard it. Led by the courageous Princess Nausicaä, the people of the Valley engage in an epic struggle to restore the bond between humanity and Earth.

Vincent movie poster
7
1982 · ★★★½☆ 7.9/10

Young Vincent Malloy dreams of being just like Vincent Price and loses himself in macabre daydreams that annoy his mother.

Kiki's Delivery Service movie poster
8
1989 · ★★★½☆ 7.8/10

A young witch, on her mandatory year of independent life, finds fitting into a new community difficult while she supports herself by running an air courier service.

The Nightmare Before Christmas movie poster
9
1993 · ★★★½☆ 7.8/10

Tired of scaring humans every October 31 with the same old bag of tricks, Jack Skellington, the spindly king of Halloween Town, kidnaps Santa Claus and plans to deliver shrunken heads and other ghoulish gifts to children on Christmas morning. But as Christmas approaches, Jack's rag-doll girlfriend, Sally, tries to foil his misguided plans.

Porco Rosso movie poster
10
1992 · ★★★½☆ 7.8/10

In Italy in the 1930s, sky pirates in biplanes terrorize wealthy cruise ships as they sail the Adriatic Sea. The only pilot brave enough to stop the scourge is the mysterious Porco Rosso, a former World War I flying ace who was somehow turned into a pig during the war. As he prepares to battle the pirate crew's American ace, Porco Rosso enlists the help of spunky girl mechanic Fio Piccolo and his longtime friend Madame Gina.

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.

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