Top 10 WORST Fantasy Movies

The stage was set for an awesome book to movie adaptation with this flick. Who wouldn’t enjoy watching a poor boy transform into a dragon rider to save the world? Sadly, bookworms were let down. The visual effects made the movie seem like it was created on Windows Movie Maker. Instead of the audience feeling immersed and part of an imaginative new world, fans couldn’t help but direct their attention to the poorly edited scenes. Even those who weren’t familiar with the story prior to seeing the film found it was pretty easy to guess what would go down next.

Transforming the lore of an incredibly popular role-playing game into a film seems like a great idea, yet somehow this rendition lacked the magical essence of the original. The plot is relatively simple: a ruler seeks to defeat a bad sorcerer. With such a straightforward storyline, how could things go wrong? The cast included some names and faces familiar to audiences, but the awful directing canceled out any positive aspects they brought. Everything about the film felt like a lower quality version of other fantasy blockbusters. Let’s not forget how the film was nominated for 8 different Stinkers Bad Movie Awards categories!

A person discovering a supernatural world while trying to find their missing parent isn’t a new plot. Yet fans adored author Eoin Colfer’s take on it as they witnessed Artemis, a very intelligent tween, seeking his father and trying to cure his ailing mother. This adaptation missed the mark, though, adapting several plotlines from the books in a half-hearted manner and mixing in some half-baked ideas of its own. Despite the presence of fairies and dwarfs, it doesn’t feel otherworldly which is essential for the genre. The humor is forced and the characterizations lack spark. With the pacing of a snail, the lackluster flick turns what could have been an awesome fantasy into a mediocre mess.

Reviving an old franchise is always risky and sadly this was not a gamble they should’ve taken! Just as the main character in the film unearthed an evil spirit, this movie dug up nothing but bad reviews. What could’ve been a modern reboot of an enchanting classic, this version completely loses the campy charm of the OG flicks. It also was needlessly complicated and was hard to keep up with the seemingly infinite plot points. Lots of people love a good action movie, but this was supposed to be a fantasy cinematic masterpiece too. World building is one of the most important aspects for these types of films, yet this rendition did nothing except confuse moviegoers!

Audiences typically expect to leave theaters mesmerized after a fantasy movie, not feeling underwhelmed once the credits roll. The origin story for some of the most beloved Peter Pan characters should have been effortlessly magical, but audiences saw none of the mystical flare that shaped their childhoods. This take follows the titular preteen as he’s unwillingly taken to Neverland and learns who he is meant to be. The boy who wouldn’t grow up is associated with crazy fun antics, which is exactly what this film lacked. Even the CGI was missing sufficient razzle dazzle.

Discovering you’re meant to stop a powerful alien from conquering Earth with dragonballs isn’t your typical 18th birthday present. With a plot like this, anything can happen, right? Which should be great, because one of the best parts of fantasy films is trying to guess what’s going to happen next. How will the underdog win the battle? How will the powerful supernatural being be defeated? Unfortunately, not only is this a predictable jumble of storylines riddled with cliches, it didn’t encapsulate the core features of the manga. Instead of rooting for the heroes, viewers were left confused as to what was even going on.

An evil god is pretty bad news to begin with. Now add in the terror of the deity overpowering Ancient Egypt and making everyone suffer. Yikes! The concept of gods and mortals living together should’ve catapulted this movie into success. And with a $140 million budget, there’s no excuse for these poorly executed visual effects. Somehow this film defies all odds (or should we say Gods) by making a big budget look cheap. In other circumstances, the terrible editing could have caused quite the chuckle, but the snooze fest pacing honestly just left people bored. Why in the world was this two hours long??

The story of a boy learning how to take control of the four different elements in order to bring stability to the world was enormously popular on television. When fans found out their favorite show was going to be adapted into a movie it was both exciting and stressful. Would it be amazing or a complete disaster? It’s almost comical how direct M. Night Shyamalan manages to dim the bright spirit of the animated series. All of the extraordinary elements that enthralled viewers with the wonderful world of benders were lost through the poor editing and acting.

The 19th century dance performance that is the basis for this film is quite whimsical on its own. Imagine how creative one could get if they put it on the big screen. At first glance, the film sticks to the plot of a child and her companions saving her nutcracker doll from a bad rodent royal family. That’s about where the similarities end. While originally known as a light-hearted holiday experience, it morphed into an incredibly dark retake. No one would guess this was tailored towards children with all the scary visuals! Instead of bringing cozy fantastical vibes, it probably inspired more shaking in the boots.

Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few dishonorable mentions.

For a Movie about Wizards, It Doesn’t Feel Magical

Lower Quality Dupe of Other Popular Films

This Is Neither Action nor Fantasy Film - At Least Pick a Genre!

Snowman? More like Scary Special Effects Man

The Modern Take No One Asked For

The marketing team for this cinematic feature seemed to not care about accuracy. This is in fact not a follow up to the film with the same name but instead is completely unrelated. The premise is that a kid must save his vacation town from evil goblins who like to munch on people. Why this isn’t called “Goblins” is beyond us. Not to be dramatic or anything, but several articles deemed it one of the worst movies ever created. Bad special effects? Check. Terrible acting? Bingo. The low quality snatched audiences out of the supernatural world and left them rolling their eyes at how bad it is. I mean who could ever forget Arnold’s infamous line about getting eaten?