10 Greatest Fantasy Movie Opening Scenes, Ranked

Fantasy was one of the first genres to make the jump to film, and advancements in technology have made it easier than ever to bring these fantastical worlds to life. The opening to a film is among the most important moments, since it needs to hook the audience and set up the story. Fantasy films especially have to work hard to convince the audience of the world they will be witnessing, but fortunately, they have plenty of great ones.

10 'Monty Python and the Holy Grail' (1975)

When the British comedy group Monty Python decided to make theatrical films, they started off with And Now for Something Completely Different, which was made up of classic Python skits, and was all around lackluster. Their next film, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, was a satirical take on Arthurian legend, and has gone on to become one of the most quoted movies of all time. Of course, in typical Python fashion, the film starts off not with a leap into medieval times, but a prolonged series of jokes in the opening credits.

Audiences start the film laughing at a series of subtitles written in faux Swedish that transition from advertising the country as a tourist destination to a strange story about a moose biting someone's sister. Attempts to stop the strange subtitles via sacking eventually lead to the final bit of the credits taking on a new style with flashing lights and references to llamas. It's exactly the kind of off-the-walls and unpredictable comedy you'd expect from the Pythons, and is but a taste of what the rest of the film has to offer.

9 'The Last Unicorn' (1982)

When they weren't making iconic stop-motion holiday specials, Rankin/Bass Animation Entertainment teamed up with the Japanese studio Topcraft to create animated fantasy films in the 1970s and 1980s. Their best film is The Last Unicorn, based on the book of the same name by Peter S. Beagle, who wrote the screenplay. It opens with a conversation between two hunters about how they might have found the forest of the last unicorn, before transitioning to a title sequence set to the main theme, sung by America.

The song is melancholic in tone, and, coupled with the imagery done in the style of medieval tapestries, speaks to the inevitability of time. In the beginning, it talks about how time crumbles all things, but as the song goes on, it also talks about cycles and how new things begin after the passing of the old. All of this tells the audience that the movie they're about to watch is not going to be any old fairy tale, and that there's a good chance they'll feel both sad and hopeful before it's all through.

8 'Princess Mononoke' (1997)

After Topcraft filed for bankruptcy, many of its animators went on to found Studio Ghibli. It has since become one of the most well known and beloved animation studios from Japan, producing beloved animated films distinguished by their fluid and detailed animation and universal stories, especially those directed by co-founder Hayaou Miyazaki. One of his masterpieces is Princess Mononoke, a film that explores man's conflict with nature and the destructive power of hate.

It opens with Prince Ashitaka defending his people from Nago, a boar god who has transformed into a demon consumed with rage. The design of Nago's demon form is beautifully grotesque, being made up of a swarm of bloated blood-colored worms that leaves a trail of death wherever it goes, and only occasionally parts enough to show the crazed beast within. It's all brought to life with fast-paced animation that doesn't skimp on the detail, and the fact that the demon is animated using CGI makes it feel even more otherworldly.

7 'Shrek' (2001)

Although DreamWorks released three movies in the 1990s, it wasn't until Shrek that they truly became a major force in the world of animation. It captivated audiences with its timeless story, lovable characters, and satirical take on Disney and fairy tale clichés, while also cementing that 3D animated films were the new way forward. All of this is brilliantly established from the get-go, where Shrek scoffs at a fairy tale, uses the pages for toilet paper, before going about his day while Smash Mouth's All Star plays in the background.

Shrek's daily routine is presented in all its gross glory, and it ends with him scaring off a band of villagers who have come to kill him. This is some great character building for Shrek, showing his contentment with life and establishing that he isn't as monstrous as he appears, which plays into the film's main themes about judgment and self-acceptance. All Star further reinforces this with its lyrics about overcoming life's adversities to reach for the stars, and is a fun little smack against Disney, who dominated the Academy Awards with their grand musical numbers written for the movie.

6 'The Seventh Seal' (1957)

If you're looking for a movie that explores the concepts of death and finding meaning in a flawed existence, look no further than The Seventh Seal. This Swedish film by Ingmar Bergman follows Antonius Block, a crusading knight on his way home, who now finds himself questioning his faith. We first meet Block on a beach with his squire, Jöns, before he is approached by Death, whom he challenges to a chess match.

This minimalist opening is the perfect way to start the film. The moments before Death's arrival tell us a lot about Block's personality as he stares at the sky in haunting silence, hinting at what he must have endured to bring him to this state. Death's arrival is also brilliant, as it's treated not as some grand display, but as normal as meeting a stranger on a beach, which represents how death is an ever-present factor of everyday life, though that shouldn't stop us from enjoying the small pleasures.

5 'The Princess Bride' (1987)

Though a financial disappointment on release, The Princess Bride has since been re-evaluated as one of the greatest fantasy films ever made. It's a film that knows exactly what it is, and invites the audience to join in the ride with its beloved characters, witty dialogue, and engaging romance. The tone is set perfectly when it opens up with a sick boy being visited by his grandfather, who reads the film to him as a bedtime story.

This opening segment is split between two parts: the grandfather talking to his grandson, and setting up the romance between protagonists Buttercup and Westley. The romantic moments are really strong, and it's hard not to fall in love with Westley's "As you wish," linw thanks to how much it conveys with so few words. Finally, the grandson interrupts the story a few times to object to the romance, which helps to establish the film as a self-aware fairy tale that plans to have as much fun as possible.

4 'Pan's Labyrinth' (2006)

Guillermo del Toro is seen by many as the undisputed king of dark fantasy cinema. This is thanks to his unique ability to blend fantasy whimsy with dark imagery and mature themes, creating timeless stories that regularly top best fantasy movie lists. His magnum opus is Pan's Labyrinth, an imaginative fairy tale set against the backdrop of Spain under the rule of Francisco Franco, which hooks you in right from the beginning.

After a title card that establishes the setting, we see the protagonist, Ofelia, gasping for breath, with blood coming out of her nose. Time then begins to rewind, and we go into Ofelia's eye as a narrator talks about a fairy tale concerning the missing princess of the underworld before jumping to Ofelia and her mother on the way to join her new stepfather. This immediately gets the audience questioning what they just saw and how the fairy tale elements paralleled Ofelia's own experience, which the film is all too happy to answer.

3 'Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope' (1977)

Though primarily viewed as a science fiction series, Star Wars contains plenty of fantasy elements, particularly through its depiction of the Force and the more spiritual elements of the Jedi and Sith dichotomy. The original movie, now called Episode IV - A New Hope, easily has one of the best opening scenes in cinematic history. Following the iconic opening crawl, it transitions to a space chase that sees the ship of Princess Leia Organa overtaken by an Imperial Star Destroyer, before Stormtroopers under the command of Darth Vader fight their way onto the ship.

This scene does everything right to get you hooked into the story. The action is quick and brutal, and Vader's introduction, where he lifts Captain Raymus Antilles with one hand and snaps his neck, instantly establishes him as a villain to be feared. All of this is set to John Williams' iconic music, setting the stage for one of the greatest space operas ever made.

2 'Conan the Barbarian' (1982)

The 1980s was a golden age for fantasy movies, and the film that most point to as the jumping off point is Conan the Barbarian. It's the film that launched Arnold Schwarzenegger to major celebrity status, and still holds up incredibly well thanks to its world building, epic music, and intense action. The film opens with a narration from Mako that transitions to the opening credits, which play over the forging of a new sword.

Mako's narration sets an epic tone that tells of a bygone age of myth and legend, where men could rise to become great heroes in battle against horrible foes. The forging scene, and the accompanying musical score, add to this atmosphere by emphasizing the power of creation. You know right away that this will be a rawer, more gritty take on fantasy, where strength of arms and human determination will win over any magic.

1 'The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring' (2001)

If you ask people what the greatest film trilogy is, a lot of people will point towards Sir Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings trilogy. They broke new ground with their stellar special effects, grand scale, epic tone, and stellar casting choices, which proved that fantasy films could be major blockbusters. The intro to the first film, The Fellowship of the Ring, is narrated by Galadriel and goes over essential exposition concerning the rings of power, the Dark Lord Sauron, and the fate of his One Ring.

This prologue is mandatory to help establish key information, and Jackson and his team executed it perfectly. The pacing is excellent: information is dwelt on only as long as needed, which leaves room for key details, such as the identity of Gollum or the three elven rings, to be explored further in the main story. We are also given a glimpse of Sauron at the height of his power, which lingers in the audience's mind throughout the trilogy as an omen of what will happen should he aquire the One Ring.