by Elizabeth Kelly

Created on: April 16, 2008   Last Updated: August 31, 2008

In Ancient Greece, people entertained each other with tales of the exploits of gods and goddesses. Hercules, one of the most popular heroes, was not a god but a man. The heroes we have always loved best, even back then, are the ones that seem most like us. Musclebound warriors will always exist in fantasy movies, but the heroes that are the most memorable are the most like us. Through them, we escape our own realities and learn about ourselves.

Dorothy Gale

The best heroes don't just go out and change the world. The world changes them. Dorothy Gale, in The Wizard of Oz, does not seek an adventure; she has an adventure thrust upon her. Suddenly in a terrifying world she doesn't understand, she manages to forge on. She follows the road in front of her and accepts the consequences. What Dorothy brings to this world is the best of what's inside us all: bravery, friendship, determination. When all is said and done, despite all of the dazzling adventures she has had, what matters to Dorothy is home and family. Dorothy is one of the most memorable fantasy heroes, because, in our own way, we've been where she has.

Frodo Baggins

Unlike Dorothy, when Frodo chooses to leave the Shire in the first part of The Lord of the Rings, he distinctly chooses to leave. Later, he chooses the dangerous task of bearing the ring to Mordor. Frodo chooses a path that he knows is fraught with danger and surrounded by evil, knowing that he is not strong, not trained and probably not even mentally prepared. Why did he choose such a task? Because he felt like it was what he should do. It seemed like fate. In life, we all have come to crossroads where we face a difficult choice. Sometimes we know that the hardest direction is the right one. Frodo makes us all feel brave enough to make those choices, however hard, simply because we should.

King Arthur

Turning up in fantasy movies like The Sword in the Stone and Excalibur, the legendary Arthur has gripped us for centuries in tales and for decades on film. Why does a noble king appear in a list of ordinary people who become heroes? Because in many of the versions of Arthur's life he is raised as an orphan by Sir Ector, then trained by Merlin. Arthur's story teaches us that even becoming the King of England is not out of the grasp of an unwanted orphan boy. Unbelievable? Perhaps, but this is what fantasy is for: to help us dream of the impossible.

Alice

The Wonderland adventures of Alice are some of the strangest ever undertaken in literature and film. It's easy to forget that Alice is just a little girl as she holds her own against the menacing characters and creatures she meets underground. She asserts herself, makes choices and even gets sassy sometimes. When Alice is the most threatened, as the Queen of Hearts screams the order "Off with her head," the girl takes control. "Why you're nothing but a pack of cards," says Alice. Suddenly, all the threatening faces are reduced to paper playing cards. Alice shows us that fantasies are in the mind of the dreamer. You can control the fantasy yourself. It's your story and your world. If you don't like it, leave it. Change it.

These memorable fantasy characters teach us that all of us, no matter how ordinary, can have extraordinary lives. Take risks. Pull that moldy book off the shelf, turn the key in the strange door or peek into the beautiful garden. It could be the beginning of a grand adventure.

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