Best Fantasy Movies of 1988

Thanks to an untimely demise via drowning, a young couple end up as poltergeists in their New England farmhouse, where they fail to meet the challenge of scaring away the insufferable new owners, who want to make drastic changes. In desperation, the undead newlyweds turn to an expert frightmeister, but he's got a diabolical agenda of his own.

When a young boy makes a wish at a carnival machine to be big—he wakes up the following morning to find that it has been granted and his body has grown older overnight. But he is still the same 13-year-old boy inside. Now he must learn how to cope with the unfamiliar world of grown-ups including getting a job and having his first romantic encounter with a woman.

The evil Queen Bavmorda hunts the newborn princess Elora Danan, a child prophesied to bring about her downfall. When the royal infant is found by Willow, a timid farmer and aspiring sorcerer, he's entrusted with delivering her from evil.

Frank Cross is a wildly successful television executive whose cold ambition and curmudgeonly nature has driven away the love of his life. But after firing staff member Eliot Loudermilk on Christmas Eve, Frank is visited by a series of ghosts who give him a chance to re-evaluate his actions and right the wrongs of his past.

An account of Baron Munchausen's supposed travels and fantastical experiences with his band of misfits.

When her great aunt dies, famed horror hostess Elvira heads for the uptight new England town of Falwell to claim her inheritance of a haunted house, a witch's cookbook and a punk rock poodle. But once the stuffy locals get an eyeful of the scream queen's ample assets, all hell busts out & breaks loose.

A movie that starts out with the "Man in the Mirror" music video, it then changes to a montage of video clips of Michael's career. Next comes a parody of his Bad video by children, and then Michael is chased by fans in a fantasy sequence. 2 more videos are shown, and then a movie in which Michael plays a hero with magical powers. In it he is chased by drug dealer Mr. Big and saves three children. Videos included in the movie are "Smooth Criminal" and "Come Together".

After a tragic accident, a man conjures up a towering, vengeful demon called Pumpkinhead to destroy a group of unsuspecting teenagers.

Scooby, Shaggy and Scrappy Doo are on their way to a Miss Grimwood's Finishing School for Girls, where they have been hired as gym teachers. Once there, however, they find that it is actually a school for girl ghouls.

Abby is a pregnant woman with a curious new boarder in the apartment over her garage. Turns out he's heaven-sent and is speeding along the Apocalypse by bloodying rivers, egging on plagues and following scripture word for word.

In a remote corner of England's Peak District, a mysterious skull is unearthed. But even weirder is that Lady Sylvia steals the skull for use in worshiping – very erotically – her pagan god, The White Worm, who hungers for the taste of virginal flesh.

A young girl lost in the loneliness and boredom of reality finds solace in an ill boy, whom she can visit in a surreal dream world that she drew in her school composition book.

In this feature-length film combining footage from classic Warner Brothers cartoon shorts with newly animated bridging sequences, Daffy Duck, after having induced laughter in an ailing millionaire and forestalled the millionaire's death for a time (as chronicled in Daffy Dilly (1948), is the beneficiary for the deceased millionaire's assets. But the millionaire's will clearly stipulates that Daffy must use the money for the common good, by providing a service, and should Daffy think of pursuing selfish aims, the millionaire's ghost will "repossess" his millions by making them disappear from Earthly existence. Under the pretense of community service, Daffy opens an exorcism agency and employs Porky Pig, Sylvester Cat, and Bugs Bunny to track and eliminate ghosts, ghouls, and other monsters, while Daffy secretly schemes to use his learned "ghost-busting" talents to rid himself of the millionaire's nagging spirit.

In the magical land of Narnia, it is always winter but never Christmas due to the tyrannical rule of the White Witch. The Witch fears a prophecy which states that two sons of Adam and two daughters of Eve will be crowned kings and queens of Narnia, which will not only mean the end of her reign but of her life. When she learns that the four Pevensie children have arrived in Narnia, she will stop at nothing to prevent them from fulfilling this prophecy. However, the Great Lion, Aslan, is on the move to help the four children to save Narnia.

A mysterious oriental skull transforms a father into his son, and vice versa.

Four kids travel to the magical land of Narnia where they must battle an evil queen with the direction of the Lion, Aslan.

Mickey's Magical World is a 1988 home video compilation from Walt Disney Home Video, originally released on May 31, 1988, as released as part of the Walt Disney Mini-Classics series, in honor to celebrate Mickey Mouse's 60th anniversary. Jiminy Cricket hosted this show with clips from the following classic Disney cartoon shorts: Thru the Mirror (1936) The Worm Turns (1937) Lonesome Ghosts (1937) The Band Concert (1935) Gulliver Mickey (1934) (colorized version) Magician Mickey (1937) The Sorcerer's Apprentice (1940) (from Fantasia) In between the cartoon short clips featuring Mickey Mouse, clips from This is Your Life, Donald Duck, Pinocchio, Orphan's Benefit, The Mickey Mouse Club and From All of Us to All of You are also used.

When Peter Plunkett's Irish castle turned hotel is about to be repossesed, he decides to spice up the attraction a bit for the 'Yanks' by having his staff pretend to haunt the castle. The trouble begins when a busload of American tourists arrive - along with some real ghosts.

Hansel and Gretel tells the tale of two young children driven from home by their scolding mother. Losing their way in the dark forest they stumble upon the cottage of a kindly old woman. But is this kindly old woman everything she seems...?

Four kids travel to the magical land of Narnia where they must battle an evil queen with the direction of the lion, Aslan.

In Milagro, a small town in the American Southwest, Ladd Devine plans to build a major new resort development. While activist Ruby Archuleta and lawyer/newspaper editor Charlie Bloom realize that this will result in the eventual displacement of the local Hispanic farmers, they cannot arouse much opposition because of the short term opportunities offered by construction jobs.

When the joker Tommy Tricker plays some practical jokes on some of his friends, his best friend Ralph, a stamp collector, discovers the secret of "stamp travel" to make him travel around the world on a stamp to bring back the mysterious Charles Merriweather, who never returned on a stamp for 75 years.

While their mother is dying in the modern Gimli, Manitoba hospital, two young children are told an important tale by their Icelandic grandmother about Ainar the lonely, his friend Gunnar, and the angelic Snjofrieder in a Gimli of old.

In the 14th century a village seeking escape from the Black Death are guided by a boy's vision to tunnel into an abandoned mine and emerge into 20th century New Zealand.

Shows a couple (Adam and Eve) and various objects, simultaneously, in time, space and movement.

After her father's ship is carried off by a sudden storm, the spunky Pippi Longstocking is stranded with her horse, Alfonso,and her pet monkey, Mr. Neilson, and takes up residence in the old family home, which is thought by neighborhood children to be haunted. Soon, two children, Tommy and his sister Anika, venture into the house only to meet up with Pippi. The three soon become friends and get into various adventures together, including cleaning the floor with scrubbing shoes, dodging the "splunks", going down a waterfall in barrels, and helping Pippi with the problem of having to go to an orphanage. Older children will probably get the most out of this movie.

18 Again! is a 1988 comedy film starring George Burns and Charlie Schlatter. The plot involves a grandson switching souls with his grandfather by means of an accident. This was one of a series of unrelated films, including Like Father, Like Son and Vice Versa, produced in the late 1980s involving a similar plotline.

A frog is driving his alligator-shaped car when he is stopped by a shapely she-frog who steps into the road. She tells him that her house is haunted, so he goes along to assist.

A cat belonging to a poor miller's son thinks up a great plan for bringing a title, wealth, and marriage for his owner. He begins to carry it out, using a few birds and rabbits as gifts for the king, his own wit, and a pair of boots that make him appear human when he puts them on. However, his owner has no idea that the cat has told everyone that his master is a marquis rather than a miller's son until the king has arrived to meet him. Soon the king's daughter and the miller's son fall in love, and the king wants very much to see the land and the castle belonging to this rich "marquis."

After the death of her mother, a teenage girl is faced with bizarre supernatural occurrences when her mother's estranged sister arrives and begins to infiltrate her and her father's lives.

Lester and Humphrey are the Royal Jester and Doctor, respectively, in a Kingdom terrorized by a mysterious giant whose presence is known only by his horrible voice and giant shadow. The giant takes the crown jewels which permit the Evil Prince Malokeo to convince the King to let him marry Princess Marigold. Marigold, horrified at the prospect and in love with Prince Daryl, turns to her friends Lester and Humphrey for help.

An animated version, starring the Care Bears, of the fairy tale that inspired the famous ballet.

A Mysterious Alien Creature (MAC) escaping from nefarious NASA agents, is befriended by a young boy in a wheelchair. Together, they try to find MAC's family from whom he has been separated.

The Ninja world is set ablaze when the mystical "Spirit Sword" is stolen by the Black Ninja Cal, giving its possessor the ultimate power of destruction. When the leades of the five most powerful clans are murdered, the hunt to track down and retrieve the sword is on. A titanic battle begins between all six clans, demonstrating all the skills of the ancient techniques.

Inspired by the Greek myth of Prometheus, a Titan who created the first mortals from clay and stole fire from the gods, Prometheus' Garden immerses viewers in a cinematic universe unlike any other. The dark and magical images of this haunting film unfold in a dreamlike stream of consciousness revealing an unlikely cast of characters engaged in a violent struggle for survival.

A young girl leaves for Nepal with her parents and brother. She is unhappy to leave her home at first, but soon isn't when she meets a handome young man. The story unfolds into a romantic and daring quest in search of the "Invisible City."

An epic, 20-minute, completely fabricated theatrical trailer for a crypto-Vestron Video cheapie (by way of Willow-era Ron Howard)—a supposedly 18-hour movie about a Jeff Daniels lookalike demon sent to destroy the planet (and possibly the universe) with his "Turbo-power!" Olds dragster. There are shades of John Carpenter's They Live, caffeinated Evil Dead speed-freakery, a cameo by Miles O'Keeffe, and uncanny movie preview clichés, such as sentence prepositions that never reach a resolution: "On an alien planet…the beauty and wisdom of a sorceress…." Sometimes the liner note blurbs speak for themselves: "Damon Packard is to Stephen Spielberg what George Kuchar is to Douglas Sirk."

This animated fairy tale for kids tells the classic story of Peter Pan, the boy who never grew up. Determined never to become an adult, Peter stays forever young in a magical word called Neverland, where he leads a band of mischevious kids called the Lost Boys. Unfortunately, Neverland's chief other inhabitant is a pirate named Captain Hook, who would like nothing more than to put a permanent end to Peter's fun.

Based on Kenneth Grahame's classic children's yarn, this charming animated tale follows four colorful talking critters: the blithe Mr. Toad, the sensible Mole, the urbane Rat and the cranky but insightful Badger. When Mr. Toad's passion for cars lands him in dutch, it's up to his three woodland cohorts to bail him out and restore his reputation by outfoxing a horde of underhanded weasels.

At the age of 21, Petra will transform into a horse. This is a fulfillment of the curse Silveria, the goddess of horses, put upon Kulas, Petra's father, after she caught him maltreated a horse. And the curse will only be lifted if Petra will do three heroic deeds.

Christmas in Tattertown is a 1988 television special created and directed by Ralph Bakshi about a place where everything discarded in the world came alive. It aired on the cable television network Nickelodeon.

In the 1950s, a horror-comic artist's creations come alive and kill him. Years later a new cartoonist revives the creatures in his house, now part of an artist's colony.

It's a whimsical romp through Wonderland when Alice falls down the rabbit hole and finds herself in a strange land filled with a fabulous menagerie of curious characters.

This time the subject is twins. Doreen (the voluptuous Nina Hartley) has a sexual obsession for a fantasy lover. She lusts when he lusts and is consumed with desire for him. On the advice of her friend, Taffy (Gina Giannetti), Doreen visits a psychic, Natasha (the sensual Krista Lane) because her marriage to Roger (Scott Irish) is falling apart. During the reading, Natasha unlocks Doreen's secret, the lust she has for her twin brother, Dalton (Joey Silvera ). Doreen goes to her brother. Arriving at his mountain cabin Doreen schemes to break up the relationship between Dalton and his fiance. Natasha arranges a seance with Doreen, Dalton and Michelle. With her psychic powers at their peak, Natasha unleashes a vortex of sexuality that explodes on the screen in scorching intensity, in the classic Taboo tradition.

Two Vietnam vets are hired to infiltrate a religious sect and steal an ancient relic, a magic ivory tablet. Mercenaries Sugar and Mark enter a dangerous jungle full of cannibalistic natives in an unnamed Asian country and retrieve an ancient stone relic being held by a hostile religious sect. The two accept the job but something about the gig just isn't sitting right and their client may be withholding information vital to the mission and their survival.

Three horror stories linked by a sinister delivery boy. The stories are "Heroine Overdose", "Pandora" and "Veteran's Day".

A place where ancient mysteries survive... and nightmares are real. A burial ground is unearthed. A Girl dies. An ancient curse lives on. And then there are the dreams... Dreams or nightmares?... Nightmares or premonitions? A young doctor becomes inextricably involved in a chain of supernatural events, that point towards death.

A bandleader whose career is nosediving makes a deal with the owner of a bar to sell his soul for success.

Decodings is an indelible found footage film that explores the possibilities of, and barriers to, intimate relationships between men and was produced at the height of AIDS hysteria. - Early Monthly Segments