Films with fairies and mythological creatures

There are many films in circulation that feature fairies and mythical creatures. the number could range in the hundreds. i have picked a few that i feel i might think about using in my upcoming idea development and also some of my favourites.

The first is 'Pans Labyrinth' directed by Guillermo del Toro and released in 2006.
the film is about a young girl in fascist Spain 1944 who is the step daughter of a sadistic army officer. she escapes into her own fantasy world.

There are many reasons why i have chosen this film: firstly it utilises the idea of the imagination and dreams. Also in the film when the young girl tries to tell the adults about her 'visions' and fantasies, they turn her away and tell her to grow up. This ties into a point of my earlier research that stated that the world of childhood fantasies are not accessable to adults.
secondly the main mythical creature (i am aware that there is a difference between the words mythological and mythical, in this case both could apply) is a faun. in myth the Faun was a creature that was half man and half goat (top half goat). the creature in the film known as Pan, is a friendly creature however it looks rather intimedating and scary. (right)

Other well known references to the Faun are: the narnia chronicles by C.S Lewis.

the Faun comes from ancient Greek and Roman Mythology, they were associated with forests and forest gods, and the Greek god was called Pan - like the film. other than this i do not know much about the origins of the creature. this will be something i will have to research further.


At this point i would like to stress that i am looking at creatures that as a university students with limited means i may be able to create. otherwise i'd be looking at things like Dragons.


the second film is 'Hook' directed by Steven Spielberg released in 1991. this film features Peter Pan as a grown up, returning to Neverland to save his children from the grips of Captain Hook. the film obviously features the fairy 'Tinkerbell' who in all literary versions of Peter Pan to my knowledge has been represented as a friendly fairy. This film is no different, however there is a scene where 'Tinkerbell' has a pretty impressive fight scene with a group of pirates which shows her to be very dangerous for a small creature.

The next film is 'The Lord of the Rings' Directed by Peter Jackson released in 2001. This film shows the creature known as the Troll (left). the Troll has only ever been shown in a bad light. as a very dangerous creature. The best reference to it in my knowledge is: The Grimm Brothers 'Billy goats gruff' with the troll under the bridge. other similar creatures include the 'Ogre'






I will look further into the Faun and the Troll to find out the origins and characteristics.

References:

Pans labyrinth faun - Google images [online] last accessed 18th December 2012 on https://www.google.co.uk/search?num=10&hl=en&safe=off&site=imghp&tbm=isch&source=hp&biw=1280&bih=666&q=fauns&oq=fauns&gs_l=img.3..0l3j0i5j0i24l3j0i10i24l3.391.974.0.1119.5.5.0.0.0.0.102.367.4j1.5.0...0.0...1ac.1.TDM-IXtlHR0#hl=en&safe=off&tbo=d&site=imghp&tbm=isch&q=pan%27s+labyrinth+faun&revid=224291262&sa=X&ei=gI3QUMuoLsK30QXFlIHQCg&ved=0CHgQgxY&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_cp.r_qf.&bvm=bv.1355534169,d.Yms&fp=e0a3f6b714b94685&bpcl=40096503&biw=1280&bih=666&imgrc=http%253A%252F%252F2.bp.blogspot.com%252F-rYzGtI062j8%252FT51a3SXXSJI%252FAAAAAAAAABc%252FTx-kNMlq0Bo%252Fs1600%252Fpanslabyrinthfaun.jpg%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fdaylifebims.blogspot.com%252F2012%252F04%252Fpans-labyrinth-s-sexuality-question.html%3BII0vkVi3MbxnFM%3B4m6a7joH5UqmzM%3A%3B117494581454074646023%3B277%3B300

Lord of the rings troll - Google images [online] last accessed 18th December 2012 on https://www.google.co.uk/search?num=10&hl=en&safe=off&site=imghp&tbm=isch&source=hp&biw=1280&bih=666&q=fauns&oq=fauns&gs_l=img.3..0l3j0i5j0i24l3j0i10i24l3.391.974.0.1119.5.5.0.0.0.0.102.367.4j1.5.0...0.0...1ac.1.TDM-IXtlHR0#hl=en&safe=off&tbo=d&site=imghp&tbm=isch&sa=1&q=lord+of+the+rigns+troll&oq=lord+of+the+rigns+troll&gs_l=img.3...190136.193681.24.193860.24.17.0.6.6.0.111.1369.16j1.17.0...0.0...1c.1.KiDcUxD_uhc&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_cp.r_qf.&bvm=bv.1355534169,d.Yms&fp=e0a3f6b714b94685&bpcl=40096503&biw=1280&bih=666&imgrc=http%253A%252F%252Fimages3.wikia.nocookie.net%252F__cb20101218100435%252Flotr%252Fimages%252F8%252F88%252FCtrol.jpg%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Flotr.wikia.com%252Fwiki%252FTrolls%3B6QkFhc8EBNsmUM%3BpAFK068ijhPO4M%3A%3B117494581454074646023%3B527%3B354

Imdb - [online] last accessed on 18th December 2012 on http://www.imdb.com/