AFI's 10 Top 10 Part VI: Fantasy

Next up of AFI's Top 10 lists is the Top 10 Fantasy Films:

1. The Wizard of Oz
2. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
3. It's A Wonderful Life
4. King Kong
5. Miracle on 34th Street
6. Field of Dreams
7. Harvey
8. Groundhog Day
9. The Thief of Bagdad
10. Big

Oh, so that's where Field of Dreams went to. I still think it belongs with the sports movies. Once again, I'm forced to ask, "How are we defining Fantasy for this list?" Let's take them one at a time.

The Wizard of Oz - Okay, this one I get as fantasy, a trip through an alternate realm with munchkins and witches and flying monkeys. It's also a great film and a recognized classic. It's a good call.

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring - Glad to see one of the Lord of the Rings movies on the list. I question choosing Fellowship of the Ring over The Return of the King, though, as I thought the last movie was a little better than the first. Of course, it's hard to pick just one of the three movies as they are all parts of the same big story. They probably could have gotten away with cheating on this one and calling the whole Lord of the Rings trilogy one big movie for the purposes of the list (Entertainment Weekly certainly did on their recent list).

It's A Wonderful Life - Call me a sap, but I love this movie. It's got such an optimistic outlook on human nature, not to mention a great cast and story. It would not have occurred to me to label it a fantasy film, though. I suppose we are dealing with angels and alternate realities, so the label is probably a fair one.

King Kong - The classic version of King Kong is still great fun as a movie, even if the effects aren't as super-sophisticated as those available today (they're still plenty impressive, though).

Miracle on 34th Street - Haven't seen, though I have to question, does the fact that the film posits the existence of Santa Claus really qualify it as a fantasy film?

Field of Dreams - I suppose phantom voices, ghostly baseball players, and a little bit of time travel can justify calling this a fantasy film, but I still think it falls more comfortably in the sports category. Still, I'm glad to see it make it on a list.

Harvey - Haven't seen.

Groundhog Day - Yes, yes, a thousand times yes! This is a great movie due in equal parts to a genius premise and Bill Murray being a comedy god. Is there anyone in the world who doesn't like Groundhog Day?

The Thief of Bagdad - Haven't seen, but didn't they misspell Baghdad?

Big - You know, I liked Big back when I first saw it, but I saw it again recently on TV and I'm not sure it really holds up. It's a good movie, but I'm not sure it quite deserves to make the cut on this list. So, what to put in its place? How about Superman? There's a noticeable absence of any superhero movies on any of the lists, so why not throw me a bone and put Superman on here, huh? Or what about Big Fish or Edward Scissorhands? They'd both fit comfortably in this category and I think they both rank higher than Big. So, there's my main quibble with this particular list.