Fantasy Film Conventions A-Z

Ancient World
This features analogues of Ancient Egypt and the Roman Empire, among others. This links to Medievalism.

Dark Lord
The forces of evil are normally led by a Dark Lord who possesses dark qualities and normally possesses dark magical abilities. Examples of Dark Lord's can bee seen in 'Lord of The Rings' (Sauron) 'The Inheritance Cycle' (Galbatorix), and 'Harry Potter' (Voldemort). They are normally outcast and therefor a lone figure who is typically unmarried although some have been known to marry and even have children (e.g. Valentine in the Mortal Instruments).

Good vs Evil
Good versus evil is one of the most common themes in fantasy films; stereotypically evil characters venture from their own lands to invade and suppress the good characters and their lands. Fantasy author J.R.R.Tolkien can be seen using this idea throughout 'The Lord of The Rings'.

Hero
Another extremely common element of fantasy films is the hero - which can be found in both genres of high fantasy and sword and sorcery. These characters are potentially normal with average backgrounds or perhaps a maltreated person who grow throughout the film to become the hero of the story via the fulfilment of a dream. They occasionally also turn out to be unknown royalty which could arguably be symbolic of the recognition of inner worth amongst the characters and perhaps the audience.

Magic/Magician
Magic normally has an overwhelming presence throughout both the genre in films and literature. It can be portrayed via a magical land such as Middle Earth (Lord of The Rings) or a hidden element within life such as the Shadowhunters (Mortal Instruments).
Someone who can wield magic is also portrayed as uncommon element within a world and so this normally makes them major roles in the fantasy genre. This means that a character such as a magician, wizard, sorcerer, warlock or necromancer are common protagonists or secondary characters within fantasy. Interestingly, the Star Wars franchise is considered part of the fantasy genre as well as science fiction and the Force is essentially a magicl power.
There also magical items within the genre which play a key part in the story such as the One Ring (Lord of The Rings) as the most common are magic swords and rings.

Medievalism
Many creatures from the fantasy genre are drawn from myth, legend and folklore such as dragons, unicorns, griffins, giants and goblins. Interestingly, races of intelligent creatures such as elves, dwarves and gnomes are often drawn from medieval or pre-Christian roots of origin.

Prophecies
These are one of the most common parts and are often used as a plot device. It is extremely rare for a prophecy in a fantasy film to be false.

Quest
These are also very common in fantasy and one of the most stereotypical ideas within the fantasy genre. There are many examples of this which can be seen throughout the genre such as in 'Lord of The Rings' when Frodo leaves to ultimately destroy the One Ring or in the 'Inheritance Cycle' when Eragon leaves to avenge the dragon riders and train as one himself with his dragon, Saphira.

Races
Many fantasy stories involve unique fantasy race instead of humans. An example of this can be seen in J.R.R.Tolkien's series 'Lord of The Rings'. Non-human characters range from dwarves, elves, gnomes, halflings, half-elves and half-orcs. Anthropomorphic animals (humanoid creatures that appear like animals, such as wolves, bears, boars and other animal species) are also common.