Several times over the years, filmmakers from all around the world have proven that you don’t need a lot of money to make an exceptional fantasy film. Indeed, though it may seem like this genre about mythological creatures, magical elements, and imaginary realms may be at its best when it has enough of a budget to cover cutting-edge effects, that’s actually not necessarily the case at all.
Generally speaking, a film can be defined as “low-budget” if that budget is $15 million USD or less. Looking back at the history of fantasy and adjusting for inflation for the sake of historical fairness, one can find so many excellent low-budget fantasy masterpieces that it’s impossible to count them all. There are a few that are more noteworthy and iconic than others, however, and those are the ones that fans of the genre should check out sometime in their lives.
10
‘Marcel the Shell with Shoes On’ (2021)
Budget: $6M USD ($7.1M USD adjusted)
There are many A24 masterpieces out there, but only a few of them are family-friendly. From those, however, it’s easy to pick Marcel the Shell with Shoes On as one of the distributor’s most charming and magical offerings. Combining live-action and stop-motion animation, this mockumentary is based on the enchanting series of shorts by lead voice actress Jenny Slate and director Dean Fleischer Camp.
The concept of a film about a sentient inch-tall seashell seems so simple that it’s no wonder Marcel the Shell was able to work with such a small budget, but the film actually packs so much beautiful poignancy and heartwarming vibrancy that its simplicity turns out to be deceitful. It’s a funny, creative, deeply touching film that cinephiles of all ages should be delighted by.
9
‘Eega’ (2012)
Budget: $7M USD ($9.8M USD adjusted)
It goes without saying that Indian cinema, as the most prolific national film industry on the planet, is a world full of criminally underappreciated gems that audiences in the West would be wise to open themselves up to. This includes silly gems, too, and no Indian cinematic gem gets sillier than Eega, a fantasy action comedy about a man who’s reincarnated as a fly after being killed by a man who lusts after his beloved.But this is no so-bad-it’s-good flick: It’s genuinely just great all around, with well-deserved ratings of 7.7 out of 10 on IMDb and 3.8 out of 5 on Letterboxd. Delightfully creative, surprisingly well-written, and unexpectedly moving, Eega makes the absolute best of its low-budget charm to deliver an exquisitely over-the-top revenge tale like no other.
8
‘The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie’ (1972)
Budget: $800K USD ($6.1M USD adjusted)
Spanish-Mexican filmmaker Luis Buñuel was the father of cinematic surrealism, and as such, it’s no surprise that his filmography is filled with some of the greatest weird movies ever made. It’s hard to pick a single Buñuel movie as his best, but the French comedy The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie is at least his most iconic.
Bizarre in full Buñuel-ian fashion without ever being so weird that it’s alienating, this biting satire pokes fun at the consumerist culture and moral blindness of the wealthy elite. It’s smart, it’s visually lavish, and it’s often quite funny, making for an unforgettable low-budget comedy that never needs to look expensive in order to make an impact.
7
‘WolfWalkers’ (2020)
Budget: $12M USD ($14.9M USD adjusted)
Animation (animated cinema being no exception) is usually quite an expensive endeavor, but there are plenty of studios and artists willing to work with less money while delivering just as exceptional a product as Pixar or DreamWorks. This includes Cartoon Saloon, an Irish animation studio that has been delivering some of the best animated movies of the 21st century since 2009. They’ve only made five films so far, and picking one as the best is easy: It would have to be WolfWalkers.
The film, which was massively acclaimed from the moment it hit Apple TV (it remains the streaming service’s highest-rated original film to date on Rotten Tomatoes, with a whopping 99%), is both visually gorgeous and emotionally stirring. Drawing inspiration and tons of story elements from Irish folklore, this beautiful father-daughter tale is so enrapturing that kids should fall in love with its whimsical plot, while adults will surely appreciate the depth of its world-building and character work.
6
‘The Holy Mountain’ (1973)
Budget: $750K USD ($5.4M USD adjusted)
As it turns out, surrealist fantasy can sometimes be a lot cheaper to make than regular fantasy, as proved by the fact that the Chilean-French auteur Alejandro Jodorowsky, another one of the most important surrealist filmmakers in history, made The Holy Mountain. This head-scratching Mexican masterpiece may be tough to pin down, but it’s an awful lot of fun for all those who love surrealist movies.
Its jaw-dropping visuals are only one of the reasons why it’s impossible to look away from the movie at any time.
It’s nothing short of one of the greatest international movie masterpieces of all time. Its jaw-dropping visuals are only one of the reasons why it’s impossible to look away from the movie at any time, even when it’s difficult—or even impossible—to even begin to rationalize its plot. Touching on themes all related to the corruption of the world, it’s one of the most unforgettable cinematic achievements of the 1970s.
5
‘My Neighbor Totoro’ (1988)
Budget: $3.7M USD ($10.1M USD adjusted)
Though they’re no strangers to working with far larger budgets (after all, they’re behind the most expensive anime film ever made, The Boy and the Heron), Studio Ghibli are also no strangers with making masterpieces for far less money, particularly during their earlier days. Case in point: My Neighbor Totoro, the classic that gave the studio its mascot.
It’s one of the most heartwarming slice-of-life movies ever, a visually gorgeous gem with a gentle approach and tons of heart, and it achieved all of that at a fraction of the budget of most major animated productions from the time. It’s a touching, poignant, but ultimately entirely life-affirming masterpiece that Ghibli fans can’t get tired of even after several re-visits.
4
‘Millennium Actress’ (2001)
Budget: $1.2M USD ($2.2M USD adjusted)
Satoshi Kon was an anime filmmaking powerhouse unto himself, entirely up to Ghibli’s level even though he was only one man. For proof, one needn’t look any further than Millennium Actress. It might be his most mind-bending work, but it’s nevertheless an undeniable masterpiece, as well as one of the best anime movies of the 2000s.
Elegant, sophisticated, and beautifully animated, this meditation on the nature of art and cinema mixes reality and fantasy in all sorts of delectable ways. It’s a complex and profoundly thought-provoking film, so it’s definitely not for those looking for more straightforward entertainment; but people looking for an exceptional surrealist animated flick will find in this low-budget one one of the greatest ever made.
3
‘Monty Python and the Holy Grail’ (1975)
Budget: $400K USD ($2.4M USD adjusted)
There are plenty of famous movies that just so happen to have been made on low budgets; and then there are films like Monty Python and the Holy Grail, which is famous precisely because it’s low-budget. One of the funniest fantasy movies ever made, this Arthurian adventure is a perfect example of how to make a great fantasy flick with not much money.
Whether it was using coconut shells to imitate the sound of horses galloping, using their lackluster practical effects as sources of comedy, or utilizing the same actors for multiple roles, the Monty Python troupe got around their financial constraints in satirical ways whose brilliance has never been paralleled in the history of low-budget comedy filmmaking.
2
‘Wings of Desire’ (1987)
Budget: $2.5M USD ($7M USD adjusted)
The great German auteur Wim Wenders has made plenty of excellent movies over the course of his career, but few as beautiful and moving as the fantasy arthouse drama Wings of Desire. It’s one of the best fantasy movie masterpieces of all time, a beautifully deep study of the human condition seen through the eyes of an angel.
Wings of Desire is definitely a slow-burn, but each second of its slow-moving runtime is full of heart, pathos, and thought-provoking complexity. As reflected by its low budget, this isn’t an effects-heavy fantasy film at all. Instead, Wenders’ approach is quiet and subdued, finding poetry and emotion in even the smallest of moments.
1
‘The Seventh Seal’ (1957)
Budget: $150K USD ($1.7M USD adjusted)
The great Swedish filmmaker Ingmar Bergman is perhaps the greatest, most groundbreaking, and most influential Norse auteur in the history of cinema, and he was no stranger to making intensely philosophical movies—but few were ever quite as intense as The Seventh Seal. It’s probably the director’s best-known and most acclaimed movie, and for good reason.
Absolutely magical and deeply thought-provoking, The Seventh Seal is one of the most perfect and timeless fantasy movies ever. Its budget was tiny, but you can barely tell. The costumes, sets, and vistas are all absolutely gorgeous (no doubt largely thanks to Bergman’s masterful handling of the camera), and the deeply nuanced story it placed front-and-center at all times. If there’s any film that proves fantasy can be perfect with not that much money, it’s this one.
The Seventh Seal
- Release Date
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February 16, 1957
- Runtime
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96 minutes
- Director
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Ingmar Bergman
- Writers
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Ingmar Bergman
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Max von Sydow
Antonius Block
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