by Robin White

Created on: April 16, 2008

When reading on the subject of fantasy films, I am struck dumb. Not at the talent of my peers (though it often surpasses my own) but at the lack of feeling in their words. The sheer joy in works of fantasy are the waves of enthusiasm and fan boy love that bring them along. Who amongst us didn't see the ocean of queues that hit the world when The Phantom Menace' hit the cinema? I think that's enough water imagery, sorry.

Anyway, I shall do my utmost to reproduce that sort of passion in this article. There's my quest, no matter how difficult it seems. Which brings me neatly (and completely intentionally, I spent more time thinking up that intro than Saruman spent exciting himself over Rings) into the first of characteristics. The quest, the mission, the seemingly insurmountable task. We as a species love to see triumph over ridiculous odds. A mortally wounded Gladiator overcoming an Emperor? Sorted. A teenage boy defeating the greatest evil wizard to have lived? Brilliant. A hairy footed runt from a land based on Somerset (and we know what they're like) evading the myriad forces of evil? Fantastic.

And there (quite unintentionally this time) is another characteristic. The small, somewhat weedy hero. As a true, stereotypical fantasy lover, I was just such a person throughout my school life. And as such I loved to see just such a person triumph. Sauron was the captain of the football team and Frodo was the geek playing guitar in the garage. Morganna is the head cheerleader (she let herself go a bit) and Perceval the video game geek, who'll one day go on to be the Special effects advisor on just such a film.

Did you see what I did there? The special effects are a major area for fantasy movies these days. Can you imagine if the trolls in the LOTR were of the same caliber as the original King Kong? The cinematography has to be top notch and has to be consistent, as we saw in the Fellowship of the Ring in 2001, in which Andrew Lesnie accordingly won the Oscar. In that year the same movie won the Best Visual Effects award, it's two sequels making it a full house over the next two years. Although where the Lord of the Rings did receive a taste of failure, was in best picture, which it only won once.

But that is, perhaps another endearing feature. We enjoy to see failure, no more so than in fantasy. A character hits a hard time, it looks like they're down and out for the count. This just makes it all the sweeter when that character battles through and fulfills his aim. If

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