My husband is a filmmaker who has introduced me to so many wonderful movies. As I sink deeper and deeper into the world of cinema, I find that I have a genre that I turn to again and again: folk fantasy. Recently defined by user Astraleyez on Instagram as distinct from, yet related to, the genre of Folk Horror, Folk Fantasy film is defined by lush, extravagant sets and costumes, extreme surrealism, and almost abstract or absurdist artistic form.
Although historically dismissed as immature movies for kids, Folk Fantasy films tend to have darker themes and more abstract storytelling forms than typical children’s retellings of fairytales. This author agrees with Astraleyez that these movies deserve study and and categorization distinct from children’s and fairytale movies in general. Folk fantasy is not, for example, Disney’s Cinderella or Sleeping Beauty; though these masterworks of animated film, of course, have their own, intrinsic artistic value.
Because I have the passionate, determined curiosity of the obsessed, I don’t just want to see I want to become an expert on Folk Fantasy films. I have compiled a list here, which I will update as we complete our viewings. If I feel inclined, perhaps I shall write reviews, as well.
- Alice in Wonderland (1915)
- Ezītis miglā or Hedgehog in the Fog (1975)
- Seen, need to re-watch
- The Dark Crystal (1982)
- Seen recently, need to review
- The Great Yokai War (2005)
- The Green Knight (2021)
- Jack Frost (1964)
- Kaschey the Immortal (1945)
- Kingdom of Crooked Mirrors (1963)
- Labyrinth (1986)
- Little Nemo: Adventures in Slumberland (1989)
- Seen recently, need to review
- The Love Witch (2016)
- Seen, need to re-watch
- The Magic Weaver (1960)
- Ma-Ma or The Rock’n’Roll Wolf (1976)
- Midsommar (2019)
- Seen, need to re-watch
- The Night Before Christmas aka Evenings on a Farm Near Dikanka (1961)
- Seen, need to re-watch
- Pan’s Labyrinth (2006)
- Peau d’âne or Donkey Skin (1970)
- Ruslan and Ludmila (1972)
- Sēd uz sliekšņa pasaciņa or Fairytale Sitting on the Doorstep (1987)
- The Singing Ringing Tree (1957)
- Tale of Tales (2015)
- Seen, need to re-watch
- Time Bandits (1981)
- Seen, need to re-watch
- Viy (1967)
- The Wicker Man (1973)
- Seen, need to re-watch
