Help me find some good movies that give you the warm fuzzies

August 9, 2008 9:54 PM

moviefilter: Can you recommend a movie(s) that has fairy tale type magic in it. By magic I mean movies like Secondhand Lions and Big Fish for example. Movies where what seemed at first a fairy tale ended up being the truth or things of that nature. Finding Neverland and Hearts in Atlantis also have that particular type of magic. I guess another way to describe it would be magical things happening in an otherwise normal, realistic setting; nothing animated or set in an alternate universe. Not sure how else to describe it so I hope this makes sense. :)
posted by GlowWyrm to media & arts (37 answers total)

Pan's Labyrinth
posted by salvia at 9:58 PM on August 9, 2008 [2 favorites]

Wonderfalls (the tv series, only 13 episodes)
posted by gudrun at 10:07 PM on August 9, 2008 [1 favorite]

No recommendations, but for future reference you may find the term "magic realism" helpful.
posted by Solon and Thanks at 10:12 PM on August 9, 2008

Oh, I'm a fool. I do have recommendations. Pushing Daisies (tv show) and Amelie (movie with not a ton of this, but a little. Very whimsical otherwise.)
posted by Solon and Thanks at 10:14 PM on August 9, 2008 [2 favorites]

august rush had some of this.
posted by visual mechanic at 10:31 PM on August 9, 2008

-The Orphanage (it will either give you warm fuzzies or terribly depress you, depending on how you look at it!)
-Penelope
-Millions
-The Fountain
-Simply Irresistible
posted by logic vs love at 10:32 PM on August 9, 2008

Dreams. Kurosawa. Love this movie.

Also, Wim Wenders! Wings of Desire is a beautiful movie. Also, Faraway, So Close.

And Being There.
posted by Ostara at 10:43 PM on August 9, 2008

Edward Scissorhands had a bit of that quality, and I'd suggest Pleasantville as well...
posted by polyester.lumberjack at 10:54 PM on August 9, 2008

Son of Rambow has some fantastical elements in which a boy's imagination is brought to life for the audience.
posted by MS_gal at 10:57 PM on August 9, 2008

L.A. Story.
posted by jamaro at 11:06 PM on August 9, 2008 [2 favorites]

Big, Chocolat, O Brother Where Art Thou
posted by MS_gal at 11:11 PM on August 9, 2008

The Green Mile, The Illusionist, The Science of Sleep
posted by arianell at 12:51 AM on August 10, 2008

Ha, yes, L. A. Story. :)

I liked Magic Hunter, but it appears not to be a universal taste.

Going down the more obvious "magic realism" route, Like Water for Chocolate.
posted by hattifattener at 1:30 AM on August 10, 2008

The Milagro Beanfield a
posted by Philbo at 2:08 AM on August 10, 2008

I second Simply Irresistible - it had a sweet, mystical quality to it. I was very pleasantly surprised by it.
posted by iconomy at 2:39 AM on August 10, 2008

The Secret of Roan Inish.

Also the Princess Bride, and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. Yes, I mean it =)
posted by headnsouth at 4:03 AM on August 10, 2008

Bridge to Terabithia
posted by ian1977 at 4:24 AM on August 10, 2008

The first film that came to my mind was Atanarjuat (The Fast Runner) because you can absorb its story either literally or allegorically and its works both ways. It's also quite beautiful.
posted by copystar at 4:56 AM on August 10, 2008

The 10th Kingdom, even though that's a tv mini series, still very good though and I think it meets your criteria very well...
posted by Ms. Next at 5:58 AM on August 10, 2008

Nanny McPhee is set in a real world, although the sets and costumes are a bit fanciful. At it's heart it's about an overwhelmed widower who can't adjust to life without his wife. Who just happens to get a Nanny who's a witch.
posted by saffry at 6:23 AM on August 10, 2008

Holes, a really solid adaptation of a really good book, and a sterling example of magic realism. (Though, it almost goes without saying, the book is better.)
posted by zardoz at 6:25 AM on August 10, 2008

Amélie and Like Water for Chocolate spring to mind immediately (having just added those to this question).
posted by ceri richard at 6:37 AM on August 10, 2008

The Fisher King and The Adventures of Baron Munchausen, both are directed by Terry Gilliam, who is a master at this genre.
posted by kimdog at 6:56 AM on August 10, 2008 [2 favorites]

What Dreams May Come and A life Less Ordinary both might fit your bill
posted by merocet at 7:24 AM on August 10, 2008 [1 favorite]

I'd actually disagree with BRIDGE TO TERABITHIA, at least, I would if it follows the book. (I'll admit I haven't seen the film, but read the book to death when I was eleven.) The "magic" in TERABITHIA is squarely 'just pretend' -- it's a realistic-feeling, but still imaginary, play world that the kids make up for themselves. But in the book it never really crosses into "wait, it's real after all", as I think the OP is looking for.

But, again, I haven't sesen the movie, so I may be wrong about the movie itself...
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 7:54 AM on August 10, 2008

Stardust
The Butcher's Wife
posted by mygothlaundry at 8:37 AM on August 10, 2008

Harry Potter involves magical things in an otherwise realistic world.

Roald Dahl's The Witches. A lot of Dahl's books involve this, actually.
posted by amicamentis at 8:44 AM on August 10, 2008

the Milagro Beanfield War, old but still good.

Amelie
posted by KenManiac at 8:49 AM on August 10, 2008

Thanks for all the suggestions. I appreciate it.
posted by GlowWyrm at 9:06 AM on August 10, 2008

Joe Vs. The Volcano. The weirdest, most inspiring mix of fairy tale and real world ever. By Oscar- and Pulitzer-winning writer John Patrick Shanley.
posted by MrVisible at 9:44 AM on August 10, 2008 [1 favorite]

The Water Horse
posted by peagood at 10:51 AM on August 10, 2008

Possibly a bit weirder than you were asking for, but The Adventures of Baron von Munchhausen.
posted by bettafish at 12:51 PM on August 10, 2008

I'll add The Price of Milk". Quirky, magical. Here's the trailer.
Like Water for Chocolate,
Fanny and Alexander.
posted by dog food sugar at 7:44 PM on August 10, 2008

Field of Dreams (magical realism + baseball + James Earl Jones = win)
posted by Rock Steady at 8:10 PM on August 10, 2008

Another film by Terry Gilliam, Time Bandits, has a very similar fairy-tale feel. The only drawback is the somewhat-less-than happy ending.
posted by Deathalicious at 9:55 PM on August 10, 2008

Tuck Everlasting & The Secret of Roan Inish
posted by belladonna at 8:16 AM on August 11, 2008

You could go older with the wonderful A Matter Of Life And Death or Bell, Book and Candle.
posted by merocet at 8:16 AM on August 17, 2008