Best Fantasy Movies of the 1980s

1. 1
   My Neighbor Totoro 1988

   Directed by Hayao Miyazaki · Streaming on HBO Max
   8.1

   8.1 · 9.2K votes
2. 2
   Castle in the Sky 1986

   Directed by Hayao Miyazaki · Streaming on HBO Max
   7.9

   8.0 · 4.9K votes
3. 3
   Warriors of the Wind 1984

   Directed by Hayao Miyazaki · Streaming on HBO Max
   7.9

   7.9 · 4.3K votes
4. 4
   Kiki's Delivery Service 1989

   Directed by Hayao Miyazaki · Streaming on HBO Max
   7.8

   7.8 · 4.8K votes
5. 5
   Wings of Desire 1987

   Directed by Wim Wenders · Streaming on HBO Max
   7.7

   7.8 · 1.6K votes
6. 6
   Vincent 1982

   Directed by Tim Burton
   7.7

   7.8 · 951 votes
7. 7
   The Princess Bride 1987

   Directed by Rob Reiner · Streaming on Hulu
   7.7

   7.7 · 5.4K votes
8. 8
   Nothing Left to Do But Cry 1984

   Directed by Roberto Benigni
   7.6

   7.7 · 1.2K votes
9. 9
   Fanny and Alexander 1982

   Directed by Ingmar Bergman · Streaming on HBO Max, Shout! Factory TV, Plex
   7.6

   7.8 · 926 votes
10. 10
    Who Framed Roger Rabbit 1988

    Directed by Robert Zemeckis · Streaming on Disney Plus
    7.5

    7.5 · 6.4K votes
11. 11
    Evil Dead II 1987

    Directed by Sam Raimi · Streaming on HBO Max, Kanopy, IndieFlix Shorts
    7.5

    7.5 · 3.7K votes
12. 12
    Angel's Egg 1985

    Directed by Mamoru Oshii · Streaming on HBO Max
    7.5

    7.7 · 627 votes
13. 13
    Ghostbusters 1984

    Directed by Ivan Reitman · Streaming on Hulu, fuboTV, YouTube TV
    7.5

    7.5 · 10K votes
14. 14
    The King and the Mockingbird 1980

    Directed by Paul Grimault
    7.5

    7.8 · 429 votes
15. 15
    Saint Seiya: Legend of Crimson Youth 1988

    Directed by Shigeyasu Yamauchi
    7.4

    7.9 · 257 votes
16. 16
    The Man Who Planted Trees 1987

    Directed by Frédéric Back
    7.4

    8.0 · 186 votes
17. 17
    Time of the Gypsies 1988

    Directed by Emir Kusturica
    7.4

    7.6 · 461 votes
18. 18
    Beetlejuice 1988

    Directed by Tim Burton · Streaming on fuboTV, HBO Max
    7.4

    7.4 · 8.8K votes
19. 19
    Somewhere in Time 1980

    Directed by Jeannot Szwarc · Streaming on Amazon Prime Video, The Roku Channel, Fandango at Home Free
    7.4

    7.5 · 697 votes
20. 20
    The Little Mermaid 1989

    Directed by Ron Clements · Streaming on Disney Plus
    7.3

    7.4 · 8.6K votes
21. 21
    The Secret of NIMH 1982

    Directed by Don Bluth · Streaming on The Roku Channel, Xumo Play, Tubi TV
    7.3

    7.4 · 994 votes
22. 22
    The Purple Rose of Cairo 1985

    Directed by Woody Allen · Streaming on Hoopla, YouTube Free, Tubi TV
    7.3

    7.4 · 1.2K votes
23. 23
    The Snowman 1982

    Directed by Dianne Jackson · Streaming on Fandango at Home Free, Amebatv
    7.3

    7.6 · 373 votes
24. 24
    Labyrinth 1986

    Directed by Jim Henson · Streaming on Hulu, fuboTV, Peacock Premium
    7.3

    7.3 · 2.9K votes
25. 25
    Saint Seiya: The Heated Battle of the Gods 1988

    Directed by Shigeyasu Yamauchi
    7.3

    7.7 · 223 votes
26. 26
    A Christmas Carol 1984

    Directed by Clive Donner · Streaming on The Roku Channel, MGM Plus, Plex
    7.2

    7.5 · 441 votes
27. 27
    Batman 1989

    Directed by Tim Burton · Streaming on HBO Max, Cinemax
    7.2

    7.2 · 8.9K votes
28. 28
    The NeverEnding Story 1984

    Directed by Wolfgang Petersen · Streaming on Philo, The Roku Channel, YouTube Free
    7.2

    7.2 · 4.5K votes
29. 29
    Big Trouble in Little China 1986

    Directed by John Carpenter · Streaming on Philo
    7.2

    7.2 · 3.5K votes
30. 30
    Poison for the Fairies 1986

    Directed by Carlos Enrique Taboada · Streaming on Philo, Hoopla, FlixHouse
    7.2

    7.8 · 154 votes
31. 31
    Alice 1988

    Directed by Jan Švankmajer · Streaming on Kanopy, Hoopla, OVID
    7.2

    7.4 · 372 votes
32. 32
    Big 1988

    Directed by Penny Marshall · Streaming on Disney Plus
    7.2

    7.2 · 4.2K votes
33. 33
    Hanna-Barbera's 50th 1989

    Directed by Marshall Flaum
    7.2

    9.1 · 48 votes
34. 34
    The Last Unicorn 1982

    Directed by Jules Bass · Streaming on Amazon Prime Video, Kanopy, Fandango at Home Free
    7.2

    7.3 · 628 votes
35. 35
    Gremlins 1984

    Directed by Joe Dante · Streaming on HBO Max
    7.1

    7.1 · 7.2K votes
36. 36
    Scooby-Doo and the Ghoul School 1988

    Directed by Charles August Nichols
    7.1

    7.4 · 344 votes
37. 37
    Dimensions of Dialogue 1983

    Directed by Jan Švankmajer
    7.1

    7.6 · 176 votes
38. 38
    The Dark Crystal 1982

    Directed by Jim Henson · Streaming on fuboTV, Peacock Premium, Philo
    7.1

    7.2 · 1.3K votes
39. 39
    Saint Seiya: Warriors of the Final Holy Battle 1989

    Directed by Masayuki Akehi
    7.1

    7.4 · 266 votes
40. 40
    A Chinese Ghost Story 1987

    Directed by Tony Ching Siu-tung · Streaming on Amazon Prime Video, Philo, AMC Plus
    7.1

    7.3 · 356 votes
41. 41
    Field of Dreams 1989

    Directed by Phil Alden Robinson · Streaming on Netflix, YouTube TV
    7.1

    7.1 · 1.8K votes
42. 42
    Moonwalker 1988

    Directed by Colin Chilvers
    7.0

    7.1 · 697 votes
43. 43
    Willow 1988

    Directed by Ron Howard · Streaming on Amazon Prime Video, Disney Plus
    7.0

    7.0 · 2.3K votes
44. 44
    Ladyhawke 1985

    Directed by Richard Donner · Streaming on The Roku Channel, Hoopla, YouTube Free
    6.9

    7.0 · 1.3K votes
45. 45
    Quest for Fire 1981

    Directed by Jean-Jacques Annaud · Streaming on Amazon Prime Video, Hoopla, Artiflix
    6.9

    7.0 · 602 votes
46. 46
    The Adventures of Baron Munchausen 1988

    Directed by Terry Gilliam · Streaming on Sony Pictures Core
    6.9

    7.0 · 1.1K votes
47. 47
    Excalibur 1981

    Directed by John Boorman · Streaming on YouTube Free
    6.9

    7.0 · 1.2K votes
48. 48
    Son of the White Mare 1981

    Directed by Marcell Jankovics · Streaming on Kanopy, Night Flight Plus, Plex
    6.9

    7.6 · 100 votes
49. 49
    Clash of the Titans 1981

    Directed by Desmond Davis
    6.9

    6.9 · 905 votes
50. 50
    Saint Seiya: Evil Goddess Eris 1987

    Directed by Kozo Morishita
    6.8

    7.1 · 258 votes

Smart score = (votes × rating + 82 × 6.03) ÷ (votes + 82): the TMDB rating, pulled toward the catalog average as if every film had 82 extra average votes.

1. 1
   Godzilla Fantasia 1984

   Directed by Ishirō Honda
   6.5

   9.7 · 13 votes
2. 2
   ThunderCats Ho! – The Movie 1987

   Directed by Katsuhito Akiyama
   6.5

   7.8 · 27 votes
3. 3
   The Treasure of Swamp Castle 1985

   Directed by Attila Dargay · Streaming on Eternal Family
   6.4

   7.7 · 25 votes
4. 4
   Ico, the Brave Horse 1983

   Directed by Manuel García Ferré
   6.4

   7.8 · 20 votes
5. 5
   Meeting Place 1989

   Directed by Goran Marković
   6.4

   7.5 · 30 votes
6. 6
   The Miracle Fighters 1982

   Directed by Yuen Woo-ping
   6.4

   7.4 · 31 votes
7. 7
   How the Cossacks Celebrated a Wedding 1984

   Directed by Volodymyr Dakhno
   6.4

   7.5 · 23 votes
8. 8
   The Nine-Colored Deer 1981

   Directed by Qian Jiajun
   6.3

   7.5 · 21 votes
9. 9
   The Princess and the Robot 1984

   Directed by Mauricio de Sousa
   6.3

   7.8 · 14 votes
10. 10
    The Monkey King Conquers the Demon 1985

    Directed by Te Wei
    6.3

    8.1 · 11 votes