50 Greatest Fantasy Movie Characters
The things of dreams and nightmares
The Black Knight - Monty Python And The Holy Grail (1975)
The Character: A knight (well duh) with a seriously inflated ego - and the kind of fighting spirit that we've only ever seen again in the form of Scrappy Doo.
In short: The Black Knight's encountered in the woods by Arthur (Graham Chapman), who chops off all of his limbs - which only causes the Black Knight to want to fight even more.
Fantastic Dialogue: "'Tis but a scratch."
Fizzgig - The Dark Crystal (1982)
The Character: The pet of last surviving female Gelfling Kira, Fizzgig's essentially a big ball of fluff with a giant mouth.
He's temperamental but adorable, turning himself into a dust bunny to roll around to his heart's content. And God help anybody who makes him angry…
Fantastic Dialogue: [BARK BARK BARK whimper BARK]
Ursula - The Little Mermaid (1989)
The Character: If a mermaid is a human crossed with a fish, Ursula's a mermare - a human crossed with a nightmare.
She's part woman, part octopus, and just as deadly as that combination suggests. Also known as the Sea Witch, she has dominion over all the evil-looking creatures of the ocean - and dreams of seizing the throne from King Triton.
Fantastic Dialogue: "In my day, we had fantastical feasts when I lived in the palace. And now, look at me - wasted away to practically nothing…"
Loki - Thor (2011)
The Character: A demi-god who turns out to be descended from Frost Giants, Loki (Tom Hiddleston) is the adopted younger brother of Thunder God Thor (Chris Hemsworth).
Possessed of grand aspirations, he wants the Asgardian throne for himself and will stop at (almost) nothing to get it. Don't trust this guy…
Fantastic Dialogue: "Look at you. The mighty Thor! With all your strength! And what good does it do you now? Do you hear me, brother? There's nothing you can do!"
Falcor - The NeverEnding Story (1984)
The Character: The chirpiest, cuddliest of the inhabitants of Fantasia, the world that Atreyu (Noah Hathaway) goes on a quest in an attempt to save.
When Atreyu runs into a spot of bother, luck dragon Falcor swoops in to save him just in the nick of time. That'll be the 'luck' part, then…
Fantastic Dialogue : "Having a luck dragon with you is the only way to go on a quest."
Princess Mononoke - Princess Mononoke (1997)
The Character: A rough-and-tumble princess raised by wolves, Princess Mononoke has no empathy for humanity, instead allying herself with the wild things of the forest.
Decked out in war paint, she's as fast as a hawk and silent as a wolf, which is why she's the one who attempts to kill Lady Eboshi, the head of Irontown.
Fantastic Dialogue: "Ugh, I smell like a human."
The Bandits - Time Bandits (1981)
The Characters: A bunch of cranky, thieving dwarves (among them Randall, Fidgit, Strutter, Og, Wally, and Vermin).
They were once employed by the Supreme Being to fix the holes in the fabric of spacetime, but then decided to use those holes to steal unimaginable riches. Well, you would, wouldn't you?
Fantastic Dialogue: "Heroes! Heroes! What do they know about a day's work?"
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Hermione Granger - Harry Potter (2001-2011)
The Character: A swot. A know-it-all. A nerd. Hermione Granger (Emma Watson) is the bookwork best bud to Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe) and Ron Weasley (Rupert Grint).
She gives nerds a good name by getting her chums out of a tight spot on numerous occasions. And even though we hate to admit it, she's almost always right.
Fantastic Dialogue: "Come on Buckbeak! Come and get the nice dead ferret!"
The Wicked Witch Of The West - The Wizard Of Oz (1939)
The Character: Has there ever been a witch scarier than the Wicked Witch of the West (Margaret Hamilton)? Not even the Blair Witch comes close…
Like the evil sister of the Hulk, she's entirely green (and angry, to boot), commands an army of flying monkeys (shudder) and holds a serious grudge. Don't mess with her.
Fantastic Dialogue: "Just try and stay out of my way. Just try! I'll get you, my pretty, and your little dog, too!"
Gollum - The Lord Of The Rings (2001-2003)
The Character: Should that be 'characters'? Gollum's a bit of an oddity, being both Hobbit Smeagol and insane alter ego Gollum, who, shall we say, has something of a dark sense of humour.
Though he turns out to be a disloyal rotter in the end, we can't help feeling sorry for Gollum (Andy Serkis), who's been corrupted and twisted by the One Ring.
Fantastic Dialogue: "Stupid, fat Hobbit."
Josh Winning has worn a lot of hats over the years. Contributing Editor at Total Film, writer for SFX, and senior film writer at the Radio Times. Josh has also penned a novel about mysteries and monsters, is the co-host of a movie podcast, and has a library of pretty phenomenal stories from visiting some of the biggest TV and film sets in the world. He would also like you to know that he "lives for cat videos..." Don't we all, Josh. Don't we all.
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