Lighthearted Fantasy Movies/TV?

[Palanan]

Most fantasy movies tend to take themselves very seriously, which sometimes works and sometimes doesn’t. A certain recent series took itself extremely seriously, and ponderous gravitas seems to be the overall trend.

But what about fantasy movies and series that are more lighthearted? I’m thinking in the vein of Princess Bride, which has just enough depth amidst all the silly. I haven’t seen Baron Munchausen, but I have a feeling it’s along the same lines.

Are there any others that have a lighter and/or comedic tone? Specifically live-action movies or TV series, and I should clarify I’m looking for those which are light and comedic on purpose, rather than from cheesy gravitas gone wrong.

The movie adaptations of Discworld novels certainly qualify, and Labyrinth has to be included. What else is there along those lines?

[MarkVIIIMarc]

Ever since the 2004 Battlestar which I LOVED it seems the genre took a turn to the dark. Your question is timely for me also.

The first Charmed (which I am slowly watching finally)

I Zombie

Teen Wolf

Flash Gordon 1980ish

The 1978 Battlestar

Teen Titans

Star Trek TNG

[Rynjin]

I quite enjoyed Merlin when it was on.

[NotASpiderSwarm]

Galavant. Might be more silly than you're looking for, honestly, but it's great fun.

[Palanan]

Originally Posted by MarkVIIIMarc
Ever since the 2004 Battlestar which I LOVED it seems the genre took a turn to the dark. Your question is timely for me also.

I appreciate the suggestions, although I’m mainly interested in fantasy right now.

I'm completely with you on BSG, though.

Originally Posted by Rynjin
I quite enjoyed Merlin when it was on.

Interesting, thanks. I hadn’t heard of this one, but John Hurt as a dragon sounds promising. Although does sound like it takes itself fairly seriously.

Originally Posted by NotASpiderSwarm
Galavant. Might be more silly than you're looking for, honestly, but it's great fun.

Thanks. I lasted about five minutes into the first episode. Vastly more silly than I’m looking for.

[Lvl45DM!]

Most fantasy movies tend to take themselves very seriously, which sometimes works and sometimes doesn’t. A certain recent series took itself extremely seriously, and ponderous gravitas seems to be the overall trend.

But what about fantasy movies and series that are more lighthearted? I’m thinking in the vein of Princess Bride, which has just enough depth amidst all the silly. I haven’t seen Baron Munchausen, but I have a feeling it’s along the same lines.

Are there any others that have a lighter and/or comedic tone? Specifically live-action movies or TV series, and I should clarify I’m looking for those which are light and comedic on purpose, rather than from cheesy gravitas gone wrong.

The movie adaptations of Discworld novels certainly qualify, and Labyrinth has to be included. What else is there along those lines?

Stardust, Buffy, Conan (Arnolds version), The Hobbit book and first film and Xena and Hercules the 90s shows

[Morty]

If you don't mind cartoons, Dragon Prince might work.

[Palanan]

Originally Posted by Lvl45DM!
Stardust, Buffy, Conan (Arnolds version), The Hobbit book and first film and Xena and Hercules the 90s shows....

How could I forget Stardust? That's exactly the sort of thing I'm looking for.

As it happens, I just re-watched the first Conan film a few days ago, and apart from a few goofy moments it generally takes itself tremendously seriously. The second movie...we don't talk about the second movie.

Originally Posted by Morty
If you don't mind cartoons, Dragon Prince might work.

Thanks, but I'm only looking for live-action right now.

[comicshorse]

'The Beastmaster' is silly fun

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0083630/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0

[Rynjin]

Interesting, thanks. I hadn’t heard of this one, but John Hurt as a dragon sounds promising. Although does sound like it takes itself fairly seriously.

Depends on what you consider "seriously". It does have a plot, and the plot elements are treated with a certain gravitas, but it is very much a high adventure series, largely episodic, and knows when to let its hair down and just let the characters breathe, or cut the tension with humor.

It fits the same tonal vein as Buffy the Vampire Slayer. but probably a little more lighthearted overall for the most part. Or maybe more accurately Hercules the Legendary Journeys but with significantly better acting and passable effects.

If you're looking for pure comedies...I've got nothin' for ya in terms of fantasy series, but it seems like you're not looking for that either, since you didn't seem to like Galavant (which makes me very sad...though given its ratings, you're not in a minority, unfortunately).

[Kitten Champion]

I would define Merlin as Smallville only it's using Arthurian mythology rather than a century of DC comic books. Similar teen drama, ongoing "he needs to hide his powers"-kinds of tension, the use of "the younger version of a character everyone knows as his main villain is his friend" concept, and even the cinematography is rather similar to WB/CW's.

Personally, I genuinely don't know what I'd recommend which you likely haven't seen already. Maybe Ash vs Evil Dead? Though that's more horror than fantasy.

[Clertar]

The Shannara Chronicles? It was too goofy-"lighthearted" for my taste, but people seemed to enjoy it alright.

[Lvl45DM!]

How could I forget Stardust? That's exactly the sort of thing I'm looking for.

As it happens, I just re-watched the first Conan film a few days ago, and apart from a few goofy moments it generally takes itself tremendously seriously. The second movie...we don't talk about the second movie.



Thanks, but I'm only looking for live-action right now.

Well we can agree to disagree on Conan. Its obviously not Stardust, but to me 'taking itself seriously' is acting like its saying something real and important about the world, grandiose and essential. Conan is self contained. It only speaks of itself. And I love the second movie. No accounting for taste I guess haha. Maybe give Red Sonja a whirl though. Heavier in some ways than Conan, lighter in others.

Pirates of The Caribbean technically counts.
Zorro isnt fantasy but the Antonio Banderas Zorros fit the same mould as Princess Pride i think.
The 2010s Three Musketeers is a bit goofier, but loads of silly fun. Orlando Bloom as a simply ludicrously camp villain is either really stupid or really fun depending on your Taste.
Thor: Ragnarok is more fantasy than anything else in the MCU.

Once Upon a Time is...ugh i hate it with a fiery passion, but its not actually awful. Just rubs me wrong way and its realtively lighthearted if i remember correctly. Angel/Buffy level rather than Princess Bride

[KillianHawkeye]

The thing about the Buffy and Angel tv shows is that they fluctuate wildly between light-hearted silliness and super serious drama (even within single episodes). I honestly don't think I've seen anyone who cries on screen more than Sarah Michelle Gellar.

[Yora]

Avatar fits and is fantastic.

[paddyfool]

Avatar fits and is fantastic.

Which Avatar? Are you talking about the terrible Cameron giant blue space elf movie, the excellent anime series, or the terrible live action movie loosely based on the anime?

On the whole I wouldn't recommend any of these to the OP, since he was looking for live action.

Beyond the recommendations already given... Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves veers so far into historical anachronism it's basically slightly silly low-magic fantasy. Not quite so tongue in cheek as Princess Bride, of course, but worth watching for Alan Rickman alone.

And then there's Monty Python's The Holy Grail...

[DavidSh]

For really old fantasy TV sitcoms, there's Bewitched, and also I Dream of Jeannie.

[Yora]

Which Avatar? Are you talking about the terrible Cameron giant blue space elf movie, the excellent anime series, or the terrible live action movie loosely based on the anime?

On the whole I wouldn't recommend any of these to the OP, since he was looking for live action.

Beyond the recommendations already given... Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves veers so far into historical anachronism it's basically slightly silly low-magic fantasy. Not quite so tongue in cheek as Princess Bride, of course, but worth watching for Alan Rickman alone.

And then there's Monty Python's The Holy Grail...

I said fantastic. That obviously rules out anything but the TV show.
I also only watched The Last Airbender, which everyone loves. I've not seen The Legend of Korra, which has a not so great reputation.

[Palanan]

Originally Posted by Lvl45DM!
Thor: Ragnarok is more fantasy than anything else in the MCU.

Apart from Dr. Strange, which is literally all about magic.

Ragnarok does have some fantasy elements, but most of it is loaded with advanced tech.

Originally Posted by Lvl45DM!
Once Upon a Time is...ugh i hate it with a fiery passion, but its not actually awful.

I tried watching a few episodes and disliked it, in part because it did seem to take itself so seriously, what with Rumpelstiltskin wrestling with some weighty moral dilemma, some missing heart being agonized over, and so forth.

Originally Posted by paddyfool
Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves veers so far into historical anachronism it's basically slightly silly low-magic fantasy.

o gawd. So much silly.

I enjoyed it in the theater, but it hasn’t aged well.

Originally Posted by DavidSh
For really old fantasy TV sitcoms, there's Bewitched, and also I Dream of Jeannie.

Thanks, I hadn’t remembered those.

There was an even older fantasy TV show, latest 70s or earliest 80s, which was pretty basic sword-and-sorcery. Thoroughly goofy and almost entirely forgettable. Pretty much Mork & Mindy with swords and an evil wizard.

[Wraith]

The Highlander TV spinoffs had had their moments of levity, and were generally just a little bit too camp to really be taken as serious works of dramatic angst. I liked them, anyway

The New Adventures of Robin Hood had a short run in the late 90's, but they were of similar tone to Xena and Hercules. The Adventures of Sinbad fall under pretty much exactly the same description, come to think of it....

Willow and Krull are both staples of campy 1980's fantasy. Krull is somewhat more po-faced, closer to Conan in tone, but Willow is very silly and suitable for all ages.

Big Trouble In Little China gets a line all of its own, because it's amazing.

Same goes for The Mummy (1999) with Brendan Fraiser at the peak of his power.

Despite the film being quite a dark angst-fest, the TV series of Constantine was pretty good. It didn't quite have the edge that I was looking for, but there was enough in there that I liked it. It's not as dark as Supernatural, but has that same sort of "smart-alec wizard solving crimes" kind of vibe.
There was also a cross-over between it and Lucifer which is also worth a look. I never got around to watching the 4th season when it moved to Netflix, but I quite enjoyed what I did see, so long as you don't mind "Fantasy" in this case meaning "Biblical" themes.

A recent favourite of mine is Bubba Ho-Tep, a movie about an octogenarian Elvis Presley who, having retired to a care home, discovers that ancient Egyptian evil is snacking on his fellow residents, and so he suits up for one last ride to take them down. It's very similar in tone to Evil Dead 2, though with less focus on the gore and a few impressively emotional moments mixed in with fighting giant scarab beetles with a BBQ-fork.

And finally, it would be remiss of be not to mention any of Mel Brooks' 1990's catalogue - Robin Hood: Men In Tights and Dracula: Dead And Loving It are outright comedies, but they're excellent and should definitely be considered, if you can.

[Sermil]

More kung-fu-fantasy than western fantasy, but Kung Fu Hustle is really good, pretty silly, and lots of fun.

[comicshorse]

Oh how could I forget that classic of the fantasy genre, Krod Mandoon and the Flaming Sword of Fire'

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1299897/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0

6 part TV series of ....variable quality. But I remember laughing a lot

[Palanan]

Originally Posted by Wraith
The Highlander TV spinoffs had had their moments of levity, and were generally just a little bit too camp to really be taken as serious works of dramatic angst.

The show was strangely divided, with half the episodes filmed in Paris and the other half in some American city. It felt like two different shows: the episodes in Paris were usually decent, but the ones produced in America were generally crud.

I did like the one with the romance novelist, though.

Originally Posted by Wraith
Krull is somewhat more po-faced, closer to Conan in tone….

I loved this when I was a kid, but I find it unwatchable now. It’s unbearably 80s in all the worst ways.

Originally Posted by Sermil
More kung-fu-fantasy than western fantasy, but Kung Fu Hustle is really good, pretty silly, and lots of fun.

Thanks, I keep meaning to watch this.

Originally Posted by comicshorse
Oh how could I forget that classic of the fantasy genre, Krod Mandoon and the Flaming Sword of Fire'

Never heard of it, but it looks promising.

*YouTubeYouTubeYouTube*

A little crude in places, but it is funny in a slightly disturbing way.

[PoeticallyPsyco]

Seven Deadly Sins is a guilty pleasure of mine. Wow can that anime get dumb, but how can I dislike a show where someone can throw a lightning spear to destroy a town miles away and be thwarted because one of the main characters somehow anticipated this, was waiting in the main square, caught the spear, and then threw it back? It definitely has some off episodes, but every time I said "Okay, you've got one more episode to impress me before I give you up forever" the next episode was awesome enough to pull me back in.


EDIT:

Thanks, but I'm only looking for live-action right now.

Whoops, guess that's SDS right out the window.

Hmm... Scott Pilgrim vs. The World fits if you squint a bit. The main character's kind of a jerk, but that's kind of the point since his personal arc is basically realizing that he's been a selfish ass, and the movie is hilarious. Some pretty unique cinematography going on, too, mixing movie, comic book, and video game aesthetics and visual short-hands.

The Forbidden Kingdom if you like martial arts movies. Jackie Chan and Jet Lee together in the same movie, some sweet fight scenes... if that's not enough to sell you on it, you're probably not going to like it.

[NotASpiderSwarm]

Lost Girl. It's a canadian urban fantasy series. Not really lighthearted in a comedic sense, but definitely not dark. It's more like one of the lower-stress police procedurals than anything else, except it's about a succubus working as a PI for the fae. May be worth checking out.

[Lvl45DM!]

OOOH!

wait.
damn.
Not lighthearted.

But its soooo good anyway.

Robin of Sherwood. Old 80s Robin Hood adaptation that really focuses on Celtic Mysticism and Paganism. The Silver Arrow is a holy relic, Little John is geased to fight Robin and Herne the Hunter is a god that watches over Robin.

Its not Stardust by any means and takes itself moderately seriously. But its still awesome.

[Giggling Ghast]

Although you’re only looking for live-action series and films, if you want a light-hearted fantasy anime series and don’t mind a fair bit of nudity, I can say with all honesty that Interspecies Reviewers is pretty fun.

It’s about a group of adventurers who review brothels staffed by fantastic creatures like fairies, minotaurs, cyclops, myconids and undead. There are absolutely zero stakes - all the focus is on the sex and a lot of goofy puns. (The one time the main characters save the world, it happens entirely off-screen and is mentioned kind of an aside.) But there is some surprisingly good world-building.

Funimation was airing the dub for a while but pulled it after a couple episodes when it got a little too raunchy. But I’ve been watching the episodes on a site whose name rhymes with Corntub.

[Wraith]

The show was strangely divided, with half the episodes filmed in Paris and the other half in some American city. It felt like two different shows: the episodes in Paris were usually decent, but the ones produced in America were generally crud.

I was thinking more of Highlander: The Raven rather than the original (?) spin-off series. Duncan MacLeod did a lot of scowling, complaining and generally being as likeable as dishwater, but (as troubled as the show was) Amanda at least seemed to be having fun and occasionally enjoying herself.

Neither are great television, I'll freely admit, but they are generally enjoyable

As someone above mentioned Kung-Fu Hustle, that has reminded me of Monkey which is probably the Ur-example of weird Japanese shows being imported and then dubbed (hilariously badly in some cases) into English. It's an insane mix of 1970's production value, made in Japan, based on Chinese folklore, then dubbed into English by someone who spoke neither Japanese nor Chinese so the quality is all over the place.... and yet it is both endearing and fascinating to watch simply for its inventiveness. Definitely worth a watch if you want something a bit... different.

[KillianHawkeye]

I almost forgot this one, but Dragonheart fits perfectly.

[Palanan]

Originally Posted by PoeticallyPsyco
The Forbidden Kingdom if you like martial arts movies. Jackie Chan and Jet Lee together in the same movie, some sweet fight scenes….

Thanks, I’m about to start another thread for martial arts movies.

I tried watching Forbidden Kingdom, but found it disappointing and rather generic. I can’t remember if this is the one where Jet Lee is actually Sun Wukong or if that was something else.

Originally Posted by Lvl45DM!
Robin of Sherwood. Old 80s Robin Hood adaptation that really focuses on Celtic Mysticism and Paganism. The Silver Arrow is a holy relic, Little John is geased to fight Robin and Herne the Hunter is a god that watches over Robin.

Not strictly what I’m looking for here, but even so it sounds superb, and I’ll definitely check it out. I may have come across this several years ago, because I remember a rather mystical 80s version of Robin Hood that seemed thoughtful and interesting. Sounds like this is it, and I appreciate the recommendation.

Originally Posted by NotASpiderSwarm
Lost Girl. It's a canadian urban fantasy series. Not really lighthearted in a comedic sense…

Repeatedly draining the life force from unsuspecting lovers isn’t really comedy material, no.

That said, I’ve come across this before and wouldn’t mind checking it out. Typically I avoid urban fantasy, since I’ve had a string of bad experiences with that genre, but this one seems to be well-regarded, so I’ll give it a try.

Originally Posted by Giggling Ghast
But I’ve been watching the episodes on a site…

…which I won’t be visiting and don’t want recommendations from, thank you.

Originally Posted by Wraith
Duncan MacLeod did a lot of scowling, complaining and generally being as likeable as dishwater, but (as troubled as the show was) Amanda at least seemed to be having fun and occasionally enjoying herself.

I never watched the Raven spinoff, but I should get to that. Amanda did seem to be having fun.

Originally Posted by KillianHawkeye
I almost forgot this one, but Dragonheart fits perfectly.

This is the one with Sean Connery? Worth keeping in mind, thanks.

.