Best Fantasy Movies of 2003

Jack Sparrow, a freewheeling 18th-century pirate, quarrels with a rival pirate bent on pillaging Port Royal. When the governor's daughter is kidnapped, Sparrow decides to help the girl's love save her.

Throughout his life Edward Bloom has always been a man of big appetites, enormous passions and tall tales. In his later years, he remains a huge mystery to his son, William. Now, to get to know the real man, Will begins piecing together a true picture of his father from flashbacks of his amazing adventures.

In stifling Edwardian London, Wendy Darling mesmerizes her brothers every night with bedtime tales of swordplay, swashbuckling and the fearsome Captain Hook. But the children become the heroes of an even greater story, when Peter Pan flies into their nursery one night and leads them over moonlit rooftops through a galaxy of stars and to the lush jungles of Neverland.

Bruce Nolan toils as a 'human interest' television reporter in Buffalo, N.Y., but despite his high ratings and the love of his beautiful girlfriend, Bruce remains unfulfilled. At the end of the worst day in his life, he angrily ridicules God—and the Almighty responds, endowing Bruce with all of His divine powers.

Vampires and werewolves have waged a nocturnal war against each other for centuries. But all bets are off when a female vampire warrior named Selene, who's famous for her strength and werewolf-hunting prowess, becomes smitten with a peace-loving male werewolf, Michael, who wants to end the war.

The sailor of legend is framed by the goddess Eris for the theft of the Book of Peace, and must travel to her realm at the end of the world to retrieve it and save the life of his childhood friend Prince Proteus.

When young Buddy falls into Santa's gift sack on Christmas Eve, he's transported back to the North Pole and raised as a toy-making elf by Santa's helpers. But as he grows into adulthood, he can't shake the nagging feeling that he doesn't belong. Buddy vows to visit Manhattan and find his real dad, a workaholic publisher.

A troubled and bullied high school student fights against judgement from his community after threatening to bomb the football team.

Mother and daughter bicker over everything -- what Anna wears, whom she likes and what she wants to do when she's older. In turn, Anna detests Tess's fiancé. When a magical fortune cookie switches their personalities, they each get a peek at how the other person feels, thinks and lives.

Playwright Tony Kushner adapts his political epic about the AIDS crisis during the mid-eighties, around a group of separate but connected individuals.

A movie length edit of the Clone Wars micro series. Before the rise of the Galactic Empire, there was the Old Republic and the advent of the Clone Wars. Taking place after Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones (2002) and showing the events that lead into Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (2005), Star Wars: Clone Wars (2003) shows the Jedi Council's finest hour and how this war changes the galaxy forever.

To prevent a world war from breaking out, famous characters from Victorian literature band together to do battle against a cunning villain.

As if the Penguin wasn't enough to contend with, a new vigilante has surfaced in Gotham City, and her strong-arm tactics give Batman cause for concern.

Lara Croft ventures to an underwater temple in search of the mythological Pandora's Box but, after securing it, it is promptly stolen by the villainous leader of a Chinese crime syndicate. Lara must recover the box before the syndicate's evil mastermind uses it to construct a weapon of catastrophic capabilities.

Workaholic Jim Evers and his wife/business partner Sara get a call one night from a mansion owner, Edward Gracey, who wants to sell his house. Once the Evers family arrive at the mansion, a torrential thunderstorm of mysterious origin strands them with the brooding, eccentric Gracey, his mysterious butler, and a variety of residents both seen and unseen.

Under Paul ‘Muad'Dib’ Atreides' rule as Emperor, the planet Arrakis has enjoyed a renaissance. However, the revolution that Muad'dib inspired has transformed into a brutal jihad that has plunged all of humanity into a bitter, neverending cycle of interstellar war. Now a conspiracy on Arrakis threatens to rob Muad'Dib of his throne and his life.

A man blinded in a childhood accident fights crime using his superhumanly-elevated remaining senses.

The Yowie Yahoo starts kidnapping musicians at a concert attended by Scooby and the gang in Vampire Rock, Australia.

Milo and Kida reunite with their friends to investigate strange occurances around the world that seem to have links to the secrets of Atlantis.

A mysterious and immortal Tibetan kung fu master, who has spent the last 60 years traveling around the world protecting the ancient Scroll of the Ultimate, mentors a selfish street kid in the ancient intricacies of kung fu.

Conrad and Sally Walden are home alone with their pet fish. It is raining outside, and there is nothing to do. Until The Cat in the Hat walks in the front door. He introduces them to their imagination, and at first it's all fun and games, until things get out of hand, and The Cat must go, go, go, before their parents get back.

A Hong Kong detective suffers a fatal accident involving a mysterious medallion and is transformed into an immortal warrior with superhuman powers.

For centuries, a secret Order of priests has existed within the Church. A renegade priest, Father Alex Bernier, is sent to Rome to investigate the mysterious death of one of the Order's most revered members. Following a series of strangely similar killings, Bernier launches an investigation that forces him to confront unimaginable evil.

In South Dakota, in an Indian reservation, an old storyteller Indian asks his grandson Shane, who is in trouble owing money to some bad guys, to take his old pony and him to Albuquerque to the great powwow, an Indian meeting. While traveling, Grandpa tells mysterious Indian tales of love, friendship and magic.

Lord Farquaad was eaten by the dragon, but his ghost has returned, and he's still evil. With the help of his henchman, Thelonious, he kidnaps Fiona. Shrek and the donkey set out to save her, with help from the dragon, before she goes over a waterfall on a raft.

In Depression-era Winnipeg, a legless beer baroness hosts a contest for the saddest music in the world, offering a grand prize of $25,000.

When he takes his girlfriend to a seedy abortion clinic in the back room of a combination hair salon / bordello, Guy Maddin meets the madam’s daughter and falls in love. But she won’t let any man touch her until her father’s murder has been avenged.

With darkness encroaching on the island of Mata Nui, the only hope for the survival of the islanders rests with two Matoran villagers, who must find the seventh Toa and deliver to him the fabled Mask of Light.

An evil Druid warlord resurrects a young man and transforms him into a wicked superhero. With the help of a nice young woman, the superhero eventually begins to question his diabolical beliefs. As if his hands weren't full enough with his study of good and evil, he also has to deal with the confusion caused by his clone, the beasts of The Druid Gladiator Match, and, of course, the scheming Druid warlord.

In Manhattan, the aspirant writer Jabez Stone is a complete loser: he is not able to sell his novels, he lives in a lousy apartment and he does not have success with women. When one of his friends Julius Jenson sells his novel for US$ 190,000.00 to an editor, Jabez fells envy and promises to sell his soul to the devil for success and accidentally kills a woman with his typing machine. The Devil knocks on his door, fixes the situation and seals a contract with Jabez. His low quality novels have bad reviews but become best-sellers; Jabez enriches; has success with women, but has no time for his friends. Jabez meets with the publisher Daniel Webster who offers him a chance to break the contract with the devil.

Wensicia's plot to assassinate the Atreides heirs fails, but provides Leto an opportunity to fake his own death and buy time to overcome Alia. Alia's madness reaches its peak as Baron Harkonnen's grip on her consciousness strengthens and a civil war brews with the rebel Fremen. Leto returns from the deep desert, having used sandtrout — the larval form of Arrakis' sandworms — to acquire the superhuman speed, strength, and invulnerability of the sandworms themselves.

The year is 1955, and a great flood is coming to Northfork, Montana. A new hydroelectric dam is about to be installed in the mountains above the town, ready to submerge the valley in the name of progress. It is the charge of a six-man Evacuation Committee to relocate the townsfolk to higher ground. Most have duly departed, but a few stubborn stragglers remain – among them a priest caring for a sickly orphan, a boy whose fevered visions are leading him to believe he is a member of a roaming band of lost angels desperately searching for a way home.

Nutcracker! is Matthew Bourne's deliciously witty and colourful version of the most traditional of Christmas ballets, with Tchaikovsky's magical score at its heart. This box of treats is crammed full of his trademark saucy humour, inventiveness and a childlike sense of fun. Bourne's Nutcracker-with-a-twist still follows the theme of growing up and first love, a coming of age story told through the dreams and nightmares of a young girl.

Wonder Woman returns to Paradise Island after her abrupt departure, only to find the Amazons turned to stone. Sorcerer Felix Faust demands three mystical artifacts as the ransom.

The film tells the story of two good friends who live together, Andrew, an agoraphobic travel agent who works from his home, and Dave, a loser who works in an office where he is treated with contempt. Just when it seems things can't get any worse for the two, the entire world outside of their house disappears and is replaced with an endless white void.

A documentary about the creation of Gollum for The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers.

A documentary about the editing of The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers.

A documentary about the creation of Tolkien's Middle-Earth franchise

It's Kimono's birthday, and the ponies want to throw her a surprise party. But it's hard to surprise the wisest pony in Ponyville, so Minty, Rainbow Dash, and all their friends have to work extra-hard to pull together the best celebration Ponyville has ever seen.

A documentary about the designing of The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers.

A documentary about the filming of The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers.

Wile E. Coyote is chasing the Road Runner (still) and comes across the Acme Book of Magic. With the power to levitate heavy boulders, fly on broomsticks, and transfigure anything to suit his need, it seems like Wile E. finally has a chance at getting his breakfast... but then again, this is Wile E. Coyote we're talking about.

High-powered single-woman Jane Berry is focused on the important things in life, such as advancing her career and spending a bundle on fashionable shoes. But then a car accident on Christmas Eve changes her forever: Jane wakes up after the crash to discover that she is a married stay-at-home mom with two kids and a passion for charity work. Is she dreaming? Crazy? Is this a strange twist of fate?

A documentary about the adaptation process of The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers.

A documentary about the release of The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers

Carol Cartman, a tempestuous talk show host, is a high-heeled, high-maintenance Scrooge. This insensitive, self-centered and stingy woman is about to experience a holiday she'll never forget.

The year is 1890 and Bible professor Russell Carlisle has written a new manuscript entitled "The Changing Times". His colleague, Dr. Norris Anderson, believes that what Carlisle has written could greatly affect the future of coming generations and, using his secret time machine, Anderson sends Carlisle over 100 years into the future, offering him a glimpse of where his beliefs will lead.

Join Little Joe and his rootin' tootin' French pea brothers on an adventure that will take them from an abandoned mineshaft all the way to Dodge Ball City--with Little Joe's faith being tested every step of the way! It's a Wild West yarn that teaches us to keep the faith when facing hardship because, in the end, god can work all things out for good. Yee-haw!

A documentary about Weta Workshop's work on The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers