4 Best Fantasy Movies on Netflix To Watch Right Now

The fantasy genre offers us the opportunity to escape reality and explore fantastical worlds we can only dream of. Writers and directors have brought us to see extraordinary places and meet incredible creatures through whimsical imagination, reminding us that anything is possible. Not every fantasy is a beautiful, far-off kingdom — some can be the beginnings of your worst fear — but what they share is a place beyond the here and now.

When you click on the Netflix app, you’re immediately inundated with wall-to-wall titles. If you’re like me and find it a near-impossible task to pick a movie to watch, well, you’re in luck! We’ve curated four exceptional films you can enjoy right now. Whether you’re ready for the sequel to a terrifying monster movie or to see the movie that sparked a hit sequel that is gaining buzz today, Netflix has you covered!

4

‘Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle’ (2018)

For many children, the entry point into Rudyard Kipling‘s iconic character is through Disney’s The Jungle Book. In 2018, Andy Serkis, the renowned motion-capture artist, took the director’s chair to bring those characters to life in the adventure drama Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle. In this live-action adaptation, an orphaned human boy raised by wolves, Mowgli (Rohan Chand), sets out to find a human village while struggling to understand his dual roles in life. As he learns the often harsh rules of the jungle, under the tutelage of a bear named Baloo (Serkis) and a panther named Bagheera (Christian Bale), Mowgli becomes accepted by the animals of the jungle as one of their own, but the fearsome tiger Shere Khan (Benedict Cumberbatch) doesn’t take a liking to him. A story of belonging, survival, and the harsh realities of nature versus man, Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle is the furthest you can get from the Disney version, yet it captures the extraordinary beauty of the source material.

Perhaps leaning more toward adults who know the story than a child’s entry into the jungle, Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle can feel a bit darker than anticipated, yet that’s to honor the source material. With Serkis at the forefront, the film is a motion capture wonder, and the special effects are the shining gem of the movie. Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle is a truly ambitious feat that deserves a watch if you’re seeking an honest take on Kipling’s story.

3

‘Ne Zha’ (2019)

Nezha lounging in 'Ne Zha.' — Nezha lounging in ‘Ne Zha.’

We’ve entered an era of animation in which not all extraordinary features will come from the House of Mouse. In fact, not all great animated films are American. Just look at Ne Zha! Before its sequel earned the moniker of the highest-grossing film of all time, the world was introduced to a Chinese animated fantasy adventure film from Jiaozi. Using the popular Chinese mythological character Nezha as the primary source material, the film follows a young boy named Ne Zha, who is the reincarnation of the demon orb that is separated from the chaos pearl by the Primeval Lord of Heaven, Yuanshi Tianzun. Destined by prophecy to bring destruction to the world, Ne Zha must choose between good and evil to break the shackles of fate to become the ultimate hero he was meant to be.

A sweeping epic, Ne Zha became a global phenomenon thanks to its spectacular animation, brilliant story, and fast-paced action sequences that bring humanity to the forefront. As a good animated feature should, Ne Zha’s emotional core drives the action to great heights. Jiaozi’s blend of Chinese folklore and relatable modern storytelling helped make Ne Zha the first Chinese-produced animated feature to be released in IMAX, earning critical acclaim beyond China. Now on Netflix, you can experience its brilliance and understand why Ne Zha 2 set a new record.

2

‘The School for Good and Evil’ (2022)

the-school-for-good-and-evil-charlize-theron

While you may know Paul Feig for his hilarious comedies, in 2022, he took a break from the funny for a fantasy drama: The School for Good and Evil. Based on Soman Chainani‘s 2013 novel of the same name, the film tells the story of best friends Sophie (Sophia Anne Caruso) and Agatha (Sofia Wylie), who are whisked away from their village to a magical school that trains fairy-tale heroes and villains, only for their roles to be reversed. The beauty-obsessed Sophie lands in the School for Evil, while gloomy Agatha ends up in the School for Good. After their fortunes are dramatically changed, their identities, friendships, and the very nature of good and evil are challenged as they seek the right schools and uncover their secrets. A Netflix original film, the visually ambitious feature departs from the book’s moral ambiguity to deliver a worthy, entertaining fantasy adventure.

Though critics were quick to tear the film apart, perhaps longing for it to be a television series rather than a swift two-and-a-half-hour film, The School for Good and Evil still manages to entertain as a bold fantasy entry for the 2020s. Largely an ensemble film, the cast also includes some of Hollywood’s finest, including Michelle Yeoh, Patti LuPone, Cate Blanchett, Kerry Washington, and Charlize Theron. If anything, the film is worth a watch to see those legends together in the same cinematic universe.

1

‘Troll 2’ (2025)

After the wildly successful epic monster mash Troll in 2022, there was so much hype around the Norwegian film that a sequel was destined to come to fruition. Unlike the pop-culture-infused trolls you see in animated films, the original film brought Norwegian folklore to the forefront, presenting an action-packed fantasy thriller that draws on infamous mythology to explore themes of environmental encroachment and the tension between the country’s pagan folklore and its Christian present. In Roar Uthaug‘s follow-up film, Troll 2, Nora Tidemann (Ine Marie Wilmann), Andreas Isaksen (Kim Falck), and Kristoffer Holm (Mads Pettersen) reunite to fend off another giant troll made of Earth and stone, Jotun. This time, though, they’ve come prepared with UV light-powered machinery to get the job done. They befriend a different giant troll who helps to fight Jotun. As the clock continues to run out, our heroes must overcome impossible odds to save their homeland from falling into darkness.

Essentially a Scandinavian King Kong versus Godzilla, this epic adventure brings in bigger action than before in dazzling fashion. Though it may not have lived up to the hype of the original film, which became the most popular non-English language film on Netflix with 103 million views when it was released in 2021, Troll 2 continues to bring the mythic beings to life. Not completely a monster destruction film like its predecessor, the film asks the question of whether humans can coexist with nature when, as established in the original film, they can’t control it. With both films available on the streamer, if you haven’t seen the original, now’s the perfect time for a double creature feature unlike any you’ve seen before.