The 1980s were a time of highly original movies, music, and styles. One of the genres that the 1980s did best was fantasy, with classic original films like Willow, The Dark Crystal, and Time Bandits. The resurgence of 1980s culture in modern times has been prevalent, with many older movies and TV shows getting sequels or remakes. The prequel series The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance from Netflix, while expensive and ultimately canceled, received highly positive reviews, with the consensus on Rotten Tomatoes saying that the series "expertly builds on the lore of The Dark Crystal, crafting compelling new mythos without losing sight of the humanity at the story's heart." Willow is getting a modern reboot as well, into a new sequel series for Disney+.

Remakes of beloved movies are a monumental task, not just a copy and paste. The art of capturing the feeling of another movie, as well as updating it or bringing something new to the table, requires a careful touch and an intimate knowledge of the movie itself and what made it special.

That's exactly what a remake or reboot does best. It is a sign of mastery in film to remake something into an even better version that can be loved once again by modern audiences. So, with the assumption that these remakes would of course be excellent, which 1980s fantasy movies would benefit from a modern remake?

6 The Great Mouse Detective (1986)The Great Mouse Detective

The 1980s were a strange time for Disney, with many of their feature films taking on a darker tone, and receiving mixed or poor reviews and returns. It was the time before their 1990s renaissance era, and the only animated movie that was successful both with critics and at the box office was The Great Mouse Detective. The movie was burdened by Michael Eisner's decision to slash their funding from $24 million to $10 million and to rush the release date, giving the production team only one year to complete the film.

In spite of that, The Great Mouse Detective, directed by John Musker and Ron Clements (Aladdin, The Little Mermaid), arrived in theaters as one of the more successful and well-received Disney movies of the 1980s, praised for its animation and upbeat feeling. Based on the best-selling novel series Basil of Baker Street, about a mouse detective who lives below Sherlock Holmes, the movie managed to retain both the heart and the thrill of the novels. It even delivered one of the most underrated villains in Disney history in Ratigan, voiced by the fantastic Vincent Price, who's overbearing stature was actually based on then-CEO of Disney Ron Miller.

With the impressive success of the Sherlock movies and TV shows in the last 15 years, featuring hit actors such as Robert Downey Jr. and Benedict Cumberbatch, now would be a great time to revisit the franchise in animated form.

5 Splash (1984)Mermaid on the beach

The movie Splash, directed by Ron Howard and starring Tom Hanks and the lovely Daryl Hannah, was a commercial and critical success. Released in 1984 as a rom-com fantasy movie, it was an instant hit, owing in large part to the charming and humorous story (which was nominated for an Academy Award), Howard's subtle touch at directing, and the wonderful chemistry between Hanks and Hannah. The movie helped launch the careers of both Howard and especially Hanks, who was still relatively an unknown actor and was almost passed over for the role in favor of someone more famous.

The movie still stands out in quality, though it is dated and has a very '80s feeling to it. There are rumors of a modern, gender-swapped remake, starring Channing Tatum as a merman, but not much has developed for a few years now. With the rise of the mermaid mythos in modern culture, now is a good time to revisit this classic and heart-warming movie.

Related: John Travolta Says Splash Was Written for Him, Jokes That He Made Tom Hanks a Big Star

4 The Black Cauldron (1985)The Horned King using the Black Cauldron

The Black Cauldron is a signature movie representing Disney's "dark era". There were high hopes for the movie to bring back the classical fantasy feeling of the Disney golden age. But after being stuck in production for a decade and missing multiple release dates, the movie finally came out in 1985 and instantly tanked, nearly taking Walt Disney Feature Animation (as it was called then) with it. The departure during production of Don Bluth and 14 other young animators to create their own rival studio added salt to the wound.

The production was such a disaster that after a flurry of new executives were brought on board, animators heard that Disney considered going live-action only in the future and giving up on animation entirely. It was only the return of Roy Disney, who loved animation, that held the studio together in the wake of the fallout.

When it was finally released, The Black Cauldron was the most expensive animated movie ever made at the time. Though it bombed financially, the reviews of the movie were mixed, with some of them actually positive. Roger Ebert gave it 3.5 out of 4 stars, praising the adventurous story and the rich characters. The animation is interesting and fun as well, even if some of it looks mismatched or flawed.

Since then, The Black Cauldron has retained a small but loyal cult appreciation, and in Disney's modern position as a titan of animation, a remake would do the movie long-awaited justice.

3 The NeverEnding Story (1984)

The Neverending Story
Warner Bros.

The NeverEnding Story is one of those classic '80s movies that captured the imagination and tugged on the heartstrings of an entire generation. Its influence persists in modern times, as shown in an iconic scene from Stranger Things. Based on the beloved children's book of the same name, the movie is about a boy named Bastian who begins to read a book about a fantasy land called Fantasia that seems all too real. Audience reviews and modern critics still praise the movie today, with an 81% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

But, when the movie came out, it received lackluster reviews, with many critics citing poor editing and cheap props and sets. Michael Ende, the author of the original story, wasn't consulted during production, and when it came out he was sorely disappointed, even filing a lawsuit to remove the name from the work due to the large differences from the novel.

The movie is quite different. First, it only tells the story of the first half of the book (the sequel tries to wrap up the second half, with a loose adaptation). The way it ends erases a large aspect in the book that Ende thought was essential, that of Bastian's role in recreating Fantasia. Ende felt the spirit of the book was not captured, and there is a kind of magic about the book that, for all the movie's charm and beauty, does seem to be lost.

The book is a meta commentary about the nature of reading, and of stories, which invites the reader to become a part of the story as they are reading it. In a way it is a dark book, with very adult themes about love, and power. A modern adaptation that was more faithful to its themes could bring the heart of its message to life on the big screen in a way that Ende never got to see.

2 The Last Unicorn (1982)

The unicorn vs the red bull
Jensen Farley Pictures

The Last Unicorn might be one of the best book adaptations of the 1980s. With an all-star cast that included Jeff Bridges, Mia Farrow, Sir Christopher Lee, Alan Arkin, and Angela Lansbury, accompanied by stunning hand-drawn backdrops done by the studio that would later go on to found Studio Ghibli, and based around the beautifully written children's book by Peter S. Beagle, the movie was a perfect recipe for success. Beagle himself later called the movie "magnificent," and critics praised it for how moving and beautiful the story was.

However, the soundtrack that accompanies the film, done by the band America, is very dated and has a distinct '70s feel to it. There is at least one scene from the movie involving a tree that is... awkward to watch.

The movie still holds up anyway, being called a stunning work of art that stands the test of time. Sir Christopher Lee, when offered the role of the ominous King Haggard, was a huge fan of the book and insisted that much of the dialogue would be completely unchanged from how it was originally written before he would take on the role. This helped communicate the film's theme, which, like The NeverEnding Story, is about the nature of stories and especially myths, and what the difference between legend and reality is.

A modern remake, if it wanted to live up to the beauty that is this movie, would have to take care to do the same, communicating the themes of the book and not losing the remarkable visual look of the hand-drawn animation.

Related: The Last Unicorn Live-Action Movie and Stage Show in Development

1 Labyrinth (1986)

David Bowie and Jennifer Connelly
Tri-Star Pictures

Labyrinth is the most controversial choice on this list, and that is why it sits at the top. If a remake of such an iconic movie were ever to happen, it would have no choice but to excel. With George Lucas producing the 1986 classic movie, the magical touch of Jim Henson as director, and starring the irreplaceable David Bowie and a young Jennifer Connelly, the result is nothing short of enchanting. And before Netflix's reboot of The Dark Crystal, it could safely be said that rebooting Labyrinth was perhaps not even possible with today's production priorities.

But the stellar reviews of The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance have proven that the art of puppet-making and set design is not lost, and the potential to revisit Labyrinth has never been better.

For all the original film's charm and magic, Labyrinth is not without its flaws. It released to mixed reviews and was a box office bomb, only gaining an underground appreciation years later. The wardrobe choice of Bowie's character, the Goblin King, is infamous by now. It's also a bit unnerving to think about Jennifer Connelly's character Sarah, who is only 16, being courted by the very adult Goblin King. He drugs her, asks her to marry him, and says things like, "Just fear me. Love me. Do as I ask, and I shall be your slave." There are a couple other things that haven't aged well, such as Sarah's mother encouraging her to go out and date boys, and the song "Magic Dance" suggesting we slap babies who are feeling blue.

Ultimately, there is no replacing the iconic David Bowie, and the same is true of Jim Henson. But the ability to cast a spell over audiences using puppets, music, and heartwarming storytelling is something that will never go away. In the right hands, a remake of this beloved classic could make magic.