I want to know if there are others like me who's love for all things magical began with a movie they saw once. Or a cartoon - but what kicked it off for you?

For me it was the Beastmaster. With Marc Singer, 1984 (I think). I saw it when I was a kid and though it gave me nightmares forever (those big wierd bat people who hugged you and sucked out all your body fluids - eeeek), it fascinated me. From there it was Black Cauldron, The Hobbit, The D&D cartoon, Willow...and the list goes on and on.

Any takers? (ps - anyone else see Beastmaster? Not the lame TV show...) This may not be the first time this has been asked, but oh well. I'm still curious.

[ March 28, 2003, 22:54: Message edited by: Death Rabbit ]

I own it on DVD. And the Sword and the Sorcerer, and almost any other fantasy movie ever made.

My most influential fantasy movie had to be Conan the Barbarian.

Conan, yeah! Conan the Barbarian, and then all of the dark magic in Conan the Destroyer (the crystal tower, the mirror-beast, the quest to resurrect the god Dagon...it played out just like a DND adventure).
In Conan the Destroyer, you had the whole adventuring party thing. Conan, his little thief buddy, the old magician, Bombata the rival warrior...it was great. Still two of my favorite movies of all time!

Mine was Lord of the Rings!!!(the animated version) ;) I wonder how many of you were alive when that came out. :D

For me it all began with a game, Dark Sun 2: Wake of the Ravager, but both Conan films helped to get me more involved in fantasy stuff.

Excalibur - It had it all. I think I was play DnD before it came out...But I still love the ending when the knights ride to Carmina Burama!

Rent it, Learn it, Live it!

Well it would probably have to be willow, and of course time bandits (sorceryish).
Conan is of course a work of genius, lord of the rings never dissapoints.

But it was really games and books who got me hooked on fantasy. I like to think of my self as being introduced in the classic fashion:
Hobbit and BG1 ;)

I feel pretty old saying this..but I'm sure some people will remember this film:
Hawk the Slayer!!!!

Don't forget about Krull!

Interesting to watch now, to see all the big-name actors in their early days. Liam Neeson and the guy who plays 'Hagrid' in Harry Potter are both in it. A few others too, but I can't think of them. Watch it and you'll recognize some people.

Good show, though. Cool special effects, for the 80's anyway. Classic 'party going on a quest' movie, with lots of diverse characters making things interesting. It's really more like watching a BG2 style RPG than a movie.

Willow was absolutely awesome. Heh, Val Kilmer as Madmardigan will forever hold the image of what a fantasy swordsman should be.

Krull and Excalibur were good ones, too.

As for anime, Record of Lodoss War is a very DND-ish movie series.

Where to start ... there were so many:

Dragonslayer (starring the dorky guy from Alie McBeal)
Excalibur ... my first on-screen frontal nudity
Conan the Barbarian

Gosh, some are so old that I can't remember the titles anymore. What was the one that had the elf, a fighter, a guy with a rapid-fire crossbow, etc?

Sword & the Sorcerer ... who wants that 3-bladed sword w/ a hidden dagger???

Happy memories!

Now if I could get my wife to go out of town, I'd rent them all and have a field day.

Willow was defenitly the first fantasy film that really brought me to this sort of film.Then there was also the game Secret of Mana on the Snes,I still play it sometimes :)

Sword & the Sorcerer ... who wants that 3-bladed sword w/ a hidden dagger??? ME! Don't forget the blades shoot too! Eat your heart out, Legend of Zelda.

For Ranger fans, 'Ladyhawk' is a big one too.

Probably Conan was the first, but I remeber "The Dark Crystal" was way back when too :)

The Dark Crystal was one of my favorites. Then my brother went and pulled all the tape out of the casette, and I've never been able to watch it since.

I also had Baldur's Gate to help.