Though fantasy might be a popular genre, there are plenty of movies that slip right through the cracks. Whether they’re overshadowed by other, more popular releases, or they simply come out at the wrong time, there are many reasons for these movies to not have the recognition they deserve.
If you’re a fantasy lover but have already watched all the popular movies and are looking to try something new, consider looking into some underrated movies. These hidden gems can come from all over, both newer decades and older ones. Check out this list of some underrated fantasy films from the 1970s if you’re interested in the genre, as you should definitely give them a second chance.
8 Jabberwocky
The title of Jabberwocky was taken from a Lewis Carroll poem of the same name, and directed by the legendary Monty Python member and director or Time Bandits, 12 Monkeys, and Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Terry Gilliam. This movie follows Dennis Cooper attempting to pursue a career within his father’s workshop. However, his father doesn’t like how his son values profit over craftsmanship and publicly disinherits him before his death.
Needing to find a new source of income, Dennis decides to leave the small village and head into the kingdom’s capital, where he discovers terrified refugees running from a monster ravaging the countryside. As Dennis tries to find a new job, he gets swept up in the attempts to slay this monster through a series of perfectly-timed misfortunes.
7 Pete's Dragon
Pete’s Dragon is a live-action and animation hybrid musical, not unlike the more popular Mary Poppins. Pete is an orphan who runs away from his current abusive foster family with an unseen force known as Elliott. Soon after they give up the search, it’s revealed that Elliott is a large cartoon green dragon with the power to turn invisible. He and Pete travel together and end up in a new town, where Pete is labeled as bad luck thanks to Elliott’s unseen clumsiness.
Pete begins to try and make a new life for himself here, but things begin to grow tense as more problems arise, including the continued blame on him for Elliott’s accidents, some people accidentally seeing Elliott when he wasn’t invisible and sparking worry in the town, and the return of the bad foster parents trying to get Pete back.
6 Wizards
A post-apocalyptic hybrid of sci-fi and normal fantasy, Wizards is an animated film set in a world that was ravaged by nuclear war; as such, it's a pretty dark film. The humans who survived have now become mutants thanks to the radioactive clouds, and several fantasy creatures now resurface from where they were hiding.
The queen of the fairies gives birth to twin wizards Avatar and Blackwolf, who quickly become enemies. Blackwolf is defeated after his first attempt to take over after their mother’s death, but begins to gather an army of mutants and evil fantasy creatures where they restore ancient technology to try and fight back against the magic of the good fantasy creatures. Learning of his plans, Avatar sets out with a small group to try and destroy his brother’s technology and put an end to his evil schemes.
5 The Hobbit
While you might not understand why The Hobbit would ever be on a list of underrated movies, this isn’t about the ones released in the 2010s. This is an animated special adapting the book of the same name by J.R.R. Tolkein, directed by the great artist Ralph Bakshi. It's weirder, more psychedelic, and about six merciful hours shorter than the Peter Jackson film trilogy of The Hobbit.
Bilbo Baggins is visited by the wizard Gandalf who is looking for someone to join in on adventure with him and several other dwarves who were driven out of the mountains by the dragon Smaug. From there, they adventure together to try and defeat Smaug but run into many mishaps, including trolls, goblins, and giant spiders. Along the way, Bilbo finds a ring that makes him invisible but holds more secrets in it than he knows.
4 Bedknobs & Broomsticks
Another live-action and animation hybrid, Bedknobs & Broomsticks is set in the midst of World War II. Charlie, Carrie, and Paul Rawlins are children evacuated from London to the countryside and are put under the care of Miss Eglantine Price. She’s reluctant to let them stay, however, and they soon find out it’s because she is learning witchcraft and hopes to use her spells against the Nazis. To keep the children quiet, she casts a transportation spell on a bedknob in exchange for their silence.
When her school soon announces its closure and prevents her from learning the final spell, she convinces the children to use the bed to return them all to London, where they begin to try and chase down the last spell so she can complete her training, growing closer as they all spend more time together.
3 The Golden Voyage of Sinbad
The Golden Voyage of Sinbad is based on the fictional hero and sailor Sinbad. The second of a trilogy of Sinbad movies, this one begins when Sinbad comes across a golden tablet in his travels. When a sudden storm throws the ship off course, he begins to encounter people he saw in his dreams, soon discovering the tablet is just one of three, which together will reveal a map to the fabled Fountain of Destiny.
The evil magician named Koura is trying to get there first and use this magic to his advantage, so Sinbad teams up with the Grand Vizier and a few others to try and beat Koura to the fountain and stop him from gaining its powers.
2 Time After Time
Inspired by a book of the same name by Karl Alexander, the very clever Time After Time follows a fictional interpretation of British author H.G. Wells as if he was the scientist and inventor in his own novel, The Time Machine. Wells reveals the machine to some of his dinner guests one evening who are rightfully skeptical of it even as he begins to explain how it works to them.
They’re soon interrupted by the police who are searching for the serial killer Jack the Ripper, and find evidence that one of his friends at the dinner is the murderer. However, this friend takes the time machine to escape, getting stuck in the future as the time machine returns without him. Using the proper mechanisms this time, Wells takes the time machine to follow after him and bring him to justice.
1 The Phantom Tollbooth
The Phantom Tollbooth is another live-action and animation hybrid film, but unlike the others, this one isn’t a musical too. It’s based on the beloved book of the same name by Norton Juster. Milo, a boy who lives in San Francisco, often finds himself bored. One day, a large wrapped package appears in his bedroom, which he quickly discovers is a tollbooth that acts as a gateway into a magical universe.
The boy hardly hesitates before getting into the toy car and using it to pass through the tollbooth, leaving the real world behind and entering the world of animation. Accompanied by a watchdog Tock, Milo proceeds on a series of adventures to rescue the captured Princesses of Sweet Rhyme and Pure Reason, meeting various eccentric characters along the way. It's one of the greatest kids books of all time, and the movie deserves much more love.