Image credit: Destination Films, RadicalMedia, Double Edge Films, New Line Cinema, BSkyB, Canal+, RPC, Walt Disney Pictures, Walden Media, Paramount Pictures
These movies remind us that sometimes the most enchanting stories are the ones hidden just beneath the surface.
10. "Dust" (2001) Rotten Tomatoes score: 20% This movie takes a wild western and shakes it up with a mystical Macedonian tale. Two stories intertwine: one of two brothers in love with the same woman in the rugged Wild West, and the other of a grandfather on his deathbed, recounting a convoluted tale to a young burglar.
As the grandfather narrates, we're whisked to the Ottoman Empire, complete with ancient curses, passionate duels, and hidden treasures.
9. "Mirrormask" (2005) Rotten Tomatoes score: 54% Enter the world of Helena, a girl who is tired of her family's circus life and dreams of escaping to a more ordinary existence. After a heated argument with her mother, Helena finds herself in a dreamlike realm, straight out of her sketchbook creations. This world is on the brink of darkness because the White Queen sleeps a cursed slumber.
Helena embarks on a journey through cities made of origami, along with masked companions and sphinxes, to find the fabled Mirrormask. She must replace the charm to awaken the queen and, perhaps, find her way back to reality.
8. "City of Ember" (2008) Rotten Tomatoes score: 54% Imagine a city where the sky is always dark, and the great lamps above are all that keep the darkness at bay. For generations, the citizens of Ember have flourished in this artificial glow, forgetting the world beyond until the generator begins to fail. Step in two teenagers, Lina and Doon, who stumble upon ancient secrets and clues to the outside world.
They embark on a subterranean adventure through the bowels of their dying city, evading corrupt officials and solving riddles. Their mission: to find the exit to Ember and lead their people to the light of the surface.
7. "The Last Mimzy" (2007) Rotten Tomatoes score: 55% A family vacation takes an extraordinary turn when two siblings discover a box filled with strange devices, including a stuffed rabbit named Mimzy. These aren't just toys; they're futuristic gadgets from the distant future, and Mimzy is more than a plaything — it's a sentient being. The children develop wild talents, from spinning spiders' webs to reading each other's thoughts.
As government agencies begin to take notice, it's a mad dash to understand Mimzy's urgent message: these children could be the key to saving the future.
6. "Franklyn" (2008) Rotten Tomatoes score: 57% Split between contemporary London and the fantastical Meanwhile City, "Franklyn" weaves together the lives of four lost souls. In the labyrinthine Meanwhile City, everyone must wear masks and adhere to a faith, any faith. Enter Jonathan Preest, an atheist vigilante on a vengeful hunt for the enigmatic "Individual."
Meanwhile, in London, a heartbroken artist, a spiritually lost man, and a damaged soul who escapes into her own vivid imagination grapple with existential crises.
5. "The Fall" (2006) Rotten Tomatoes score: 62% In a picturesque 1920s hospital, a stuntman with a broken heart befriends a little girl with a broken arm. To while away the hours, he spins a fantastical tale of five mythical heroes on a quest for revenge against the dastardly Governor Odious. The epic saga mirrors the inner turmoil of our storyteller, with the girl becoming increasingly entangled in the fable.
The story twists and twines, blending the grim with the beautiful, as both our heroes face their darkest moments just before their destinies unfurl.
4. "Stardust" (2007) Rotten Tomatoes score: 77% "Stardust" is a star-studded journey quite literally. When a young man named Tristan vows to retrieve a fallen star for his beloved, he vaults over a magical wall and into a realm of pirates, witches, and market towns that trade lightning. But Tristan isn't the only one after the star, who turns out to be a luminous woman named Yvaine. They're chased by princes seeking to claim the throne and a witch yearning for eternal youth.
What unfolds is a whimsical odyssey of love and adventure, where stars are coveted treasures, and hearts can be both figuratively and literally stolen.
3. "Bridge to Terabithia" (2007) Rotten Tomatoes score: 85% Based on the beloved novel, this film follows Jess Aarons and Leslie Burke, two kids who escape their mundane school life into the enchanted realm of Terabithia. It's a kingdom of their own creation, hidden in the woods, filled with all manner of fantastical creatures, dark overlords, and heroic battles.
But Terabithia is more than just a magical land; it's a refuge for two friends coping with the trials of growing up. They learn about friendship, courage, and the power of imagination.
2. "The Secret of Kells" (2009) Rotten Tomatoes score: 90% Young Brendan lives in the Abbey of Kells, where life is simple and the biggest concern is the encroaching barbarian threat. That is until an illuminator arrives with an ancient, unfinished book that's full of mystical powers.
Brendan embarks on a quest for the perfect ink, diving into enchanted forests, braving an array of otherworldly creatures, and meeting the ethereal wolf-girl Aisling. The quest? To complete the book that turns darkness into light.
1. "Ink" (2009) Rotten Tomatoes score: 100% As the lights go out and the city sleeps, two ethereal forces emerge: the Storytellers, who give us sweet dreams, and the Incubi, who whisper nightmares. Caught between these opposing entities is a disfigured creature named Ink, who kidnaps a young girl's soul to become part of the dark cohort.
What ensues is a race through dimensions as the girl's father, in the real world, and a band of rogue Storytellers, in the dream world, battle to save her.
