In previous eras, the Fantasy genre was often dominated by sprawling live-action epics. The 2000s were largely defined by massive franchises such as The Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter. The 2010s also had their share of big-budget fantasy blockbusters, but this was also when animation became a highlight of this genre. 

A lot (if not all) of the movies on this list showed how animation could create worlds and ideas that would be difficult or impossible to properly realize in any other way. Rather than treating fantasy as pure escapism, many of these films used these imaginative settings to explore themes of grief, memory, identity, and loneliness, with great narrative impact.

Looking back, the 2010s successfully expanded on what fantasy movies could be, and these are the absolute best of them. 

1. How to Train Your Dragon (2010)
2. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 (2011)
3. Life of Pi (2012)
4. The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (2013)
5. What We Do in the Shadows (2014)
6. Inside Out (2015)
7. The Jungle Book (2016)
8. The Shape of Water (2017)
9. Isle of Dogs (2018)
10. The Lighthouse (2019)

How to Train Your Dragon (2010)

How to Train Your Dragon was one of the most cinematic animated films of its time. The story follows Hiccup, a young Viking who grows up in a society that sees dragons as enemies. But things change when he befriends Toothless, a feared dragon who turns out to be very different from what the legends had suggested. 

The movie brought on legendary cinematographer Roger Deakins as a visual consultant, and his influence is easy to see all over it.

In addition to creative animation and camera work, the music here gives the movie a nice emotional lift. The result is a fantasy adventure that works equally well as a coming-of-age story and a spectacular piece of visual filmmaking.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 (2011)

Ending such a culturally and narratively massive movie franchise was never going to be an easy feat, but Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 pulled it off.

Taking place during the final stages of the war against Voldemort, there’s very little downtime here. The story moves from one major confrontation to the next, building toward the Battle of Hogwarts. 

What makes the movie work isn’t just the action, though there’s plenty of that. By this point, audiences had spent a decade watching these characters grow up, and the emotional payoff matters as much as the action. The movies became darker and more mature as they went, pretty much “growing up” with their target audience. 

Life of Pi (2012)

It’s easy to talk about Life of Pi as a visual achievement because it absolutely is, but the movie would not work if viewers didn’t care about the characters, since there are very few of them. 

The story begins as a survival tale. After a shipwreck, young Pi Patel finds himself stranded in the Pacific Ocean aboard a lifeboat with a Bengal tiger named Richard Parker. 

The ocean sequences are breathtaking. Some scenes look less like traditional filmmaking and more like moving paintings. Director Ang Lee constantly found new ways to make the ocean feel beautiful, terrifying, and lonely all at the same time. 

The tiger was one of the great CGI achievements of the decade. Because filming a real tiger on a small boat was, obviously, impractical and dangerous, the filmmakers relied mostly on digital effects that looked very real. 

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (2013)

The Hobbit trilogy never quite escaped comparisons to The Lord of the Rings, and that’s understandable, but if there’s one entry that comes closest to standing on its own, it’s The Desolation of Smaug.

The movie spends much of its runtime following Bilbo and the dwarves as they move closer to the Lonely Mountain. Along the way, the story introduces some of the trilogy’s strongest storytelling elements. The forests of Mirkwood, the city of Lake-town, and finally Erebor itself all help give the film a stronger sense of adventure and a more lived-in feeling than the first movie.

This is also the point where several supporting characters became more memorable, thanks to more character development. You could tell which dwarf was who a bit more easily than in An Unexpected Journey, the first film in the trilogy.

The new characters were great too. Luke Evans’ Bard brought a grounded, reluctant hero to the story, while Lee Pace’s Thranduil commanded attention whenever he appeared on screen. Even Tauriel, a character created specifically for the films, added another welcome perspective to this world.

What We Do in the Shadows (2014)

There are actually more than a few vampire comedies out there, but very few are as consistently funny as What We Do in the Shadows. 

The story is about a documentary crew that follows a group of centuries-old vampires that share a house in modern-day New Zealand. Instead of supernatural battles or gothic horror, the movie is mostly about vampire roommates annoying each other and arguing over the most mundane (but realistic) things. 

The mockumentary format is a huge part of why it works, thanks to the fact that it treats ridiculous supernatural situations with complete seriousness. 

Inside Out (2015)

Inside Out follows Riley, a young girl struggling with a major move while, inside her mind, Joy, Sadness, Anger, Fear, and Disgust try to help her navigate the transition. 

The best part about the movie is how it visualizes abstract concepts, resulting in a pretty imaginative and impressive narrative. Instead of taking a traditional or simple route where happiness solves every problem, the movie focuses on the message that it is perfectly okay to feel sad. 

Its funny adventure bits keep kids entertained. But for adults, it might resonate on a different level, making you reflect on your own childhood. 

The Jungle Book (2016)

Disney’s live-action remakes have produced mixed results over the years, especially more so this decade, but The Jungle Book remains one of the best examples of how the remakes can work and even elevate the original material. 

Most of the environments, animals, and scenery were created digitally, yet the jungle still feels tangible and alive. The scale of the world is convincing enough that it’s easy to forget how much of what you’re seeing didn’t physically exist during filming at all.

The voice cast also helps enormously, thanks to Bill Murray, Ben Kingsley, Idris Elba, Scarlett Johansson, and Christopher Walken, all of whom bring these characters to life very well. 

The movie also successfully balances nostalgia with a more mature tone. It still includes those beloved musical moments, but it never feels trapped by them. 

The Shape of Water (2017)

The Shape of Water is set during the Cold War and follows the story of Elisa, who discovers a mysterious captive creature being held inside a government laboratory. As their bond grows, the story gradually moves from a thriller into something a bit more romantic.

One of the first things you notice here is the great production design. Every location feels carefully crafted, especially the contrast between Elisa’s apartment above an old movie theater, which has a ton of personality, and the government facility, which feels oppressive in comparison. 

It’s also easy to see how the movie is a love letter to classic cinema. At one point, the movie even has a musical sequence that pays homage to old Hollywood movies. Guillermo del Toro also does a bit of genre mixing, moving from fantasy to romance to thriller without ever feeling disjointed or incoherent.

Isle of Dogs (2018)

Wes Anderson’s films, whether animated or live-action, always look very well crafted, but Isle of Dogs might just take the cake as one of his most impressive technical achievements. 

The movie is set in a future Japan where dogs have been exiled to a massive garbage island. The story follows a young boy searching for his missing pet. 

The craftsmanship is noticeable everywhere. The dogs’ fur moves naturally in the wind while still maintaining that classic handmade stop-motion texture. Every frame is packed with tiny details that you might only pick up on the second or third watch. 

The film also does something interesting with language. The dogs speak fluent English, voiced by actors like Bryan Cranston, Edward Norton, and Jeff Goldblum. Most of the human characters, meanwhile, speak Japanese (without subtitles). 

Through this, viewers are placed directly into the dogs’ perspective and are forced to piece together information through context or translation. That’s some unique filmmaking. 

The Lighthouse (2019)

If someone told you a fantasy movie list would end with a film about two men slowly losing their minds inside a lighthouse, you probably wouldn’t believe them. But yes, The Lighthouse feels like something pulled directly from old maritime myths and sailor legends. You can’t expect any less from Robert Eggers. 

The movie showcases a black-and-white world where two lighthouse keepers become trapped together on a remote island. At first, the problem seems straightforward enough, but then reality becomes increasingly unstable, with dreams, hallucinations, folklore, and superstition all beginning to bleed into one another.

Since there are pretty much only two actors in the movie, it lives and dies on the performances, and thankfully, Robert Pattinson and Willem Dafoe carry it. Their relationship constantly changes, and watching the dynamic evolve is half the fun.

Read More: