The fantasy genre has provided a central pillar of 21st century cinema, but nothing has seriously come close to troubling The Lord of the Rings atop that particular panthenon. Since Peter Jackson’s trilogy concluded in 2003 with The Return of the King, the only fantasy movie to hit a similar level of quality has been Guillermo del Toro’s Pan’s Labyrinth in 2006.
The past 20 years have yielded plenty of good fantasy movies, even some great ones, but nothing in that same league. The How to Train Your Dragon movies were brilliant, The Green Knight deserved better, and Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves was huge fun. The best effort so far has arguably been Puss in Boots: The Last Wish from 2022, but a TV series on Prime Video eclipses any fantasy movie released post-2006.
The Legend Of Vox Machina Beats Any Fantasy Movie From The Past 20 Years
Looking at the greatest fantasy stories of all time, the very best are defined by two qualities: strength of character, and strength of world-building. Most of the genre’s movie releases over the past 20 years have been found lacking because they either prioritized sword-twirling and visuals over character, or only provided a shallow snapshot of a fantasy world that might’ve been far more interesting if we learned more about it.
The Legend of Vox Machina excels in both areas. Developed by Critical Role over a tabletop RPG, the Prime Video series is fueled by a deep passion for fantasy, with each creative mind fully invested in the colorful characters that make up Vox Machina, as well as the shadowy caves, noisy taverns, and bustling citadels they inhabit.
The Legend of Vox Machina‘s unique, natural development over several years is a one-of-a-kind situation, but it’s that ground-up development that allows the series to feel so rich and inviting as season 4 looms in 2026.
One could argue that The Legend of Vox Machina lacks the live-action visual scale that has been part of fantasy movies since the genre started. The adventures of Vox Machina are beautifully animated, but are obviously missing the same dimensional depth a live-action movie would have. For proof that such things don’t matter, look no further than the How to Train Your Dragon franchise, where the (almost like-for-like) live-action remake failed to usurp the original animated movie as the definitive version of Hiccup’s story.
The Legend Of Vox Machina Takes Fantasy Comedy To A New Level
While there’s a time to be serious (no one wants The Lord of the Rings as a full-on comedy), it should come as no surprise that some of the fantasy genre’s best movies over the past 20 years have been humor-filled affairs. Even going back to the 1980s with The Princess Bride and ’70s with Monty Python and the Holy Grail, the marriage of fantasy and comedy has delighted decade after decade.
And when it comes to funny fantasy in the 2020s, it’s hard to look past The Legend of Vox Machina. From Scanlan’s outrageous songs and toilet humor to recurring gags about opening locks and instant-classic quotes like “f**k this day,” The Legend of Vox Machina can be brilliantly silly when it isn’t breaking your heart or lighting a fire in your belly.
Most modern fantasy movies leverage their humor with the aim of appealing to a younger or more mainstream audience, and it’s difficult to find a great fantasy film from the last 20 years that has deployed comedy for grown-up viewers. The Legend of Vox Machina‘s endless hilarity not only puts it above other fantasy TV shows, therefore, but also its genre counterparts on the big screen.
The Prime Video series is daring, refreshing, and beautifully balanced between the darkness that comes from character deaths and certain doom, and the lightness that comes from Scanlan’s giant, pink, raised middle finger soaring majestically through the sky. Fantasy movies should take note.
- Release Date
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January 27, 2022
- Network
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Prime Video
- Showrunner
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Brandon Auman
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Laura Bailey
Vex’ahlia (voice)
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Taliesin Jaffe
Percy (voice)
