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The Dark Crystal poster

Movies that feel likeThe Dark Crystal (1982)

On another planet in the distant past, a Gelfling embarks on a quest to find the missing shard of a magical crystal and restore order to his world, before the grotesque race of Skeksis find and use the crystal for evil.

If you loved The Dark Crystal, the closest films we have are Peter Pan (2003), The NeverEnding Story (1984) and Jason and the Argonauts (1963). All three share The Dark Crystal's epic and warm feel, which is what we rank on before quality.

Seen the big three already? The under-the-radar pick below is Escape to Witch Mountain (1975).

πŸ… 78% Rotten Tomatoesβ˜… 7.1 IMDb β†—TMDB β†—dir. Frank Ozepicwarmcozydreamlike
10 of 12 streaming nowAmazon Prime Video Β· Hulu Β· Disney Plus

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If The Dark Crystal hit the spot, these will too

Peter Pan poster
Peter Pan
2003 Β· dir. P.J. Hogan
πŸ… 77%β˜… 6.8adventure Β· fantasy Β· family

The same two preoccupations: liberation, and fantasy world

The difference: Made in the 2000s, in a different era of the craft

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.

The NeverEnding Story poster
The NeverEnding Story
1984 Β· dir. Wolfgang Petersen
πŸ… 84%β˜… 7.3adventure Β· fantasy Β· family

One thread runs through both: creature

While hiding from bullies in his school's attic, a young boy discovers the extraordinary land of Fantasia, through a magical book called The Neverending Story. The book tells the tale of Atreyu, a young warrior who, with the help of a luck dragon named Falkor, must save Fantasia from the destruction of The Nothing.

Jason and the Argonauts poster
Jason and the Argonauts
1963 Β· dir. Don Chaffey
πŸ… 85%β˜… 7.3adventure Β· family Β· fantasy

The same mix in both: scale, then warmth

Jason, a fearless sailor and explorer, returns to his home land of Thessaly after a long voyage to claim his rightful throne. He learns, however, that he must first find the magical Golden Fleece. To do so, he must embark on an epic quest fraught with fantastic monsters and terrible perils.

The Amazing Mr. Blunden poster
The Amazing Mr. Blunden
1972 Β· dir. Lionel Jeffries
β˜… 6.8family Β· fantasyPrime Video

Cozy where it counts, dreamlike underneath

The difference: Easier on the scale than The Dark Crystal

Mysterious old solicitor Mr. Blunden visits Mrs. Allen and her young children in their squalid, tiny Camden Town flat and makes her an offer she cannot refuse. The family become the housekeepers to a derelict country mansion in the charge of the solicitors. One day the children meet the spirits of two other children who died in the mansion nearly a hundred years prior. The children prepare a magic potion that allows them to travel backwards in time to the era of the ghost children. Will the children be able to help their new friends and what will happen to them if they do?

Escape to Witch Mountain poster
Escape to Witch Mountain
1975 Β· dir. John Hough
πŸ… 87%β˜… 6.3adventure Β· fantasy Β· science fictionDisney+

Both lean on scale more than on adventure

The difference: Leans harder into science fiction than The Dark Crystal does

Tia and Tony are two orphaned youngsters with extraordinary powers. Lucas Deranian poses as their uncle in order to get the kids into the clutches of Deranian's megalomaniacal boss, evil millionaire Aristotle Bolt, who wants to exploit them. Jason, a cynical widower, helps Tia and Tony escape to witch mountain, while at the same time Tia and Tony help Jason escape the pain of the loss of his wife.

The Black Stallion poster
The Black Stallion
1979 Β· dir. Carroll Ballard
πŸ… 90%β˜… 7.4family Β· adventure

Warm family in both cases

While traveling with his father, young Alec becomes fascinated by a mysterious Arabian stallion that is brought on board and stabled in the ship he is sailing on. When it tragically sinks both he and the horse survive only to be stranded on a deserted island. He befriends it, so when finally rescued both return to his home where they soon meet Henry Dailey, a once successful trainer. Together they begin training the horse to race against the fastest ones in the world.

Return to Oz poster
Return to Oz
1985 Β· dir. Walter Murch
πŸ… 59%β˜… 6.7adventure Β· family Β· fantasyDisney+

Fantasy built on comfort, twice over

Dorothy, saved from a psychiatric experiment by a mysterious girl, finds herself back in the land of her dreams, and makes delightful new friends, and dangerous new enemies.

Labyrinth poster
Labyrinth
1986 Β· dir. Jim Henson
πŸ… 63%β˜… 7.3adventure Β· family Β· fantasyHuluPeacock

Common ground in both: race against time and castle

Frustrated with babysitting on yet another weekend night, Sarah, a teenager with an active imagination, summons the Goblins to take her baby stepbrother away. When little Toby actually disappears, Sarah must follow him into a fantastical world to rescue him from the Goblin King. Guarding his castle is the labyrinth itself, a twisted maze of deception, populated with outrageous characters and unknown dangers.

Pete's Dragon poster
Pete's Dragon
2016 Β· dir. David Lowery
πŸ… 88%β˜… 6.7adventure Β· family Β· fantasyDisney+

Dreamlike adventure, and it commits to that

For years, old wood carver Mr. Meacham has delighted local children with his tales of the fierce dragon that resides deep in the woods of the Pacific Northwest. To his daughter, Grace, who works as a forest ranger, these stories are little more than tall tales... until she meets Pete, a mysterious 10-year-old with no family and no home who claims to live in the woods with a giant, green dragon named Elliott. And from Pete's descriptions, Elliott seems remarkably similar to the dragon from Mr. Meacham's stories. With the help of Natalie, an 11-year-old girl whose father Jack owns the local lumber mill, Grace sets out to determine where Pete came from, where he belongs, and the truth about this dragon.

The Secret Garden poster
The Secret Garden
1993 Β· dir. Agnieszka Holland
πŸ… 89%β˜… 7.3drama Β· family Β· fantasy

Family with a pulse of warmth, in both cases

The difference: Sits closer to drama than The Dark Crystal does

A young British girl born and reared in India loses her neglectful parents in an earthquake. She is returned to England to live at her uncle's castle. Her uncle is very distant due to the loss of his wife ten years before. Neglected once again, she begins exploring the estate and discovers a garden that has been locked and forgotten. Aided by one of the servants' boys, she begins restoring the garden, and eventually discovers some other secrets of the manor.

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader poster
πŸ… 49%β˜… 6.3adventure Β· family Β· fantasyDisney+

Common ground: fantasy world

The difference: The scrappier of the two with critics

This time around Edmund and Lucy Pevensie, along with their pesky cousin Eustace Scrubb find themselves swallowed into a painting and on to a fantastic Narnian ship headed for the very edges of the world.

Journey to the Beginning of Time poster
Journey to the Beginning of Time
1955 Β· dir. Karel Zeman
β˜… 7.1adventure Β· fantasy Β· family

Fantasy built on scale, twice over

Four schoolboys go on an awe-inspiring expedition back through time, where they behold landscapes and creatures that have long since vanished from the earth.

In the mood for more epic?

all epic movies β†’

The best-reviewed films that share The Dark Crystal’s defining feeling.