by Melissa Werkema

Created on: July 05, 2009

One of the most thought capturing genres around would have to be the role and character of fantasy creatures in fictional movies or books. These fantasy creatures such as Elves, Dwarfs, Wizards, Fairies and the well-known Dragon all contain packets of history from where they originated. These creatures have originated from several different cultures and beliefs from individuals who have withheld the talent of story telling in a mythical manner. Cultures of the such include the Chinese, who created the dragon. Others include the people who were magicians that used illusions and of the sort. From these character traits arose the fantasy creature known as the Wizard. The Fairy came about from the former Celtic nations of Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Britain and sometimes Germany. There are also holiday featured creatures such as the Elf, which are represented as Santa's helpers that withhold strong powers and are swifter ad more adept than humans in almost any action, intent or thought.

In the question of if fantasy creatures really exist, it merely becomes a complex separation between fact and truth. Movies such as Lord of the Rings, Chronicles of Narnia, Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty are more than just simple fairy tales. These stories examine the truth while using fantasy or fictional creatures. Using fantasy creatures simply allows the imagination to perceive stories to it's own liking, while understanding the underlying truth behind the plot. By visual debates of fantasy creatures, it would soon be concluded that dragons, fairies, wizards and elves do not exist, whereas with the imagination and mythical story telling, they become a virtual reality. These creatures are merely a figure of the authors imagination that continually touch and inspire people from any culture or religion. They are almost the thoughts of the heart put into a character.

So as we have several cultures and religions, so there has been a growth of numerous fantasy creatures that continue to touch and inspire people around the world. It is interesting to note that within the deeper meanings and intents of each character, you can begin to realize the difference between what we all think and believe in our hearts. Creatures such as Unicorns, Leprechauns, Goblins and Trolls merely has to deal with the psyche and beliefs of ancient man and their view of the world as a place veiled in magic and superstition. Other fictional characters such as Aslan from the Chronicles of Narnia movie, are not so much visual fictional characters, whereas their characters and roles in the movies are. Aslan serves as the central character in the movie, and is known as the "Great Lion". He is wise, compassionate, has a magical authority which is both temporal and spiritual, mysterious and a beloved guide to the human children who visit Narnia. The author of these series, C.S. Lewis, described Aslan as an alternate version of Christ. The form Christ might have appeared in a fantasy world.

Characters such as Aslan, that are figures of the authors imagination, help all of us in the relation to every day life to the battles that come our way. Though they are not real, we can still continue to dream and allow our imagination to create more of these fascinating creatures.

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