Fantasy Movies With the Greatest Dialogue Ever
The early days of cinema were dominated by silent movies, but by the late 1920s, advancements in audio-storing technology allowed for the rise of "talkies." Today, every movie contains sound of some kind, and most of them contain dialogue between characters. Thus, scriptwriting is one of the biggest factors in making a good movie, as impressive effects will only get you so far if nobody cares about the characters.
There is a good variety of fantasy movies that have strong dialogue, which helps the movies explore their timeless themes as well as characters that explore every kind of fantastical archetype. This list is just a small fraction of these fantasy gems, but the movies here represent the peak of how well-written dialogue can enhance a movie.
'Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl' (2003)
While crossing from England to the Caribbean, a young Elizabeth Swann meets William Turner, the only survivor of a terrible shipwreck, and takes his golden medallion out of fear that he would be mistaken for a pirate. Ten years later, Elizabeth (Keira Knightley) is abducted by the Black Pearl, a legendary pirate ship captained by Hector Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush). To rescue her, Will (Orlando Bloom) makes a deal with Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp), a recently imprisoned pirate who seems to know a thing or two about the Black Pearl and its motives.
Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl kicked off one of Disney's most profitable movie franchises and is one of the crown jewels of the screenwriting duo of Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio. It does a stellar job of blending comedy, character development, and worldbuilding through its dialogue, which also keeps the audience engaged and eager for more. The majority of the best lines go to Sparrow, which helped to propel him to one of the most iconic pirate characters ever created.
'The Last Unicorn' (1982)
After overhearing two hunters talking about the decline in unicorns around the world, the last unicorn (Mia Farrow) decides to leave her forest home and find more information. A passing butterfly (Robert Klein) tells her that the unicorns were driven to the sea by a Red Bull, which is in service to a wicked king named Haggard (Sir Christopher Lee). As she travels, she gets to see firsthand how much the world has changed without the presence of unicorns, but also finds allies in a bumbling magician named Schmendrick (Alan Arkin) and a bandit named Molly Grue (Tammy Grimes).
The Last Unicorn already had some great dialogue in book form, but getting author Peter S. Beagle to also write the screenplay pretty much guarantees that the movie is going to be at least on par with it. For the most part, the dialogue is pretty light-hearted and fun, playing around with fantasy tropes and references to classic literature. Yet when it's time to get serious, Beagle steps it up by diving into fascinating monologues concerning themes of legacy, memory, immortality, and regret, which stand out even more thanks to powerful actors like Lee and Dame Angela Lansbury delivering them.
'Aladdin' (1992)
Aladdin (Scott Weinger) is a thief living in the streets of Agrabah who hopes to one day become rich and earn the respect of his peers. One day, he bumps into Princess Jasmine (Linda Larkin) when she is trying to flee the palace, leading to his arrest and recruitment by Jafar (Jonathan Freeman), the Royal Vizier, who needs Aladdin to get inside the Cave of Wonders (Frank Walker). Inside, Aladdin finds a magic lamp that contains a Genie (Robin Williams) who can grant three wishes to whoever holds the lamp.
Aladdin is one of Disney's tightest scripts in terms of pacing, story structure, and dialogue. Conversations between characters feel very earnest, which fits with the movie's major theme about self-acceptance. Then there is Robin Williams' iconic turn as the Genie, who is in a category all of his own, especially when you consider that the vast majority of his lines were improvised.
'Shrek' (2001)
Shrek (Mike Myers) is a reclusive ogre who discovers that, one night, his swamp home is overrun by fairy tale creatures who have been displaced by the local noble, Lord Farquaad (John Lithgow). With help from a talking donkey (Eddie Murphy), Shrek confronts Farquaad, who agrees to give him his land back in exchange for Shrek recovering his would-be bride, Princess Fiona (Cameron Diaz), from a dragon-guarded castle. Shrek agrees, and over the journey home, he and Fiona learn more about the other than they ever imagined.
Shrek was a revolutionary film on release thanks to its use of CGI and its satirical take on fairy tales and the Disney formula. Today, the writing is still great, be it the funny jokes or the moments of emotional vulnerability, such as when Shrek opens up about why he lives alone. This success helps the characters feel very relatable, ensuring that Shrek's story remains a still-relevant tale of acceptance, love, and friendship.
'The Emperor's New Groove' (2000)
Kuzco (David Spade) is the teenage emperor of the Incan Empire who believes he can do whatever he wants, like destroy a peasant village to make way for a summer home. Karma comes to bite him when his royal advisor, Yzma (Eartha Kitt), tries to have him poisoned for firing her, but her assistant, Kronk (Patrick Warburton), accidentally mixes the poison with a potion that turns Kuzco into a llama. When Kronk can't bring himself to kill Kuzco, the emperor accidentally winds up in the cart of Pacha (John Goodman), the elder of the village Kusco wants to destroy, and his only hope of getting back to the palace.
The Emperor's New Groove survived a very precarious production that saw nearly everything about the film rewritten, and is now remembered as one of Disney's funniest and most quotable films. It is full of 4th wall jokes and fast-paced dialogue that feels more at home in a Warner Bros. cartoon than Disney, especially when combined with the delivery from the actors. Kitt and Warburton in particular stand out thanks to their camaraderie and hilarious jokes, so it's no surprise that their lines are the ones that most often get turned into memes.
'Toy Story' (1995)
As Andy Davis' (John Morris) family prepares to move to a new home, he receives a Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen) action figure for his 6th birthday. When Andy isn't looking, his toys all come to life, though Buzz thinks he is an actual space ranger, causing friction between him and Andy's favorite toy, Sheriff Woody (Tom Hanks). Things get worse when Andy begins to favor Buzz over Woody, causing the cowboy's jealousy to surge and leading to an accident that threatens to make lost toys out of both of them.
Toy Story was the first fully CGI animated film, and captured the hearts of a generation with its sincere story and clever writing. The dialogue is peppered with fun puns based on the different toys, but it also knows when to go serious and explore some profound themes of friendship, identity, and purpose. Then there are Woody and Buzz's exchanges, which are the highlight of the movie, thanks to their contrasting personalities, transition from enemies to friends, and Hanks and Allen's performances.
'The Lord of the Rings' Trilogy (2001-2003)
Frodo Baggins (Elijah Wood) is a hobbit living in the Shire who has inherited the possessions of his uncle, Bilbo (Sir Ian Holm), when he makes a grand departure on his 111th birthday. Unfortunately, one of these possessions, a gold ring, turns out to be the One Ring forged by the dark lord Sauron (Alan Howard), and if he should reclaim it, he will have the power to subjugate all of Middle-earth. Thus, Frodo must embark on a perilous quest to deliver the ring to Mount Doom, a volcano in the heart of Sauron's domain of Mordor, where it can be destroyed.
The Lord of the Rings trilogy makes a lot of deviations from the books by J. R. R. Tolkien, but most of them keep the spirit and tone of the books, and they do include many of the most important passages. This approach really helps deliver Tolkien's message about everyday heroism and how important it is to fight to preserve the simple treasures like the beauty of the natural world and the comforts of home from the all-consuming fires of industry and war. It also helps that the cast is made up of powerhouses like Viggo Mortensen, Sir Ian McKellen, Cate Blanchett, and Sir Christopher Lee, ensuring that the dialogue is delivered with the right level of authority and gravitas it deserves.
'Star Wars' — the Original Trilogy (1977-1983)
In a far-off galaxy, on the desert planet of Tatooine, lives Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill), who dreams of leaving his uncle's moisture farm. While cleaning two new droids, he discovers a recorded message from Princess Leia Organa (Carrie Fisher) of the Rebel Alliance concerning Obi-Wan Kenobi (Alec Guinness), who is revealed to be an old hermit living close by. The message reveals that the droid R2-D2 (Kenny Baker) is carrying plans for the Galactic Empire's new super weapon, the Death Star, and after the Empire kills his aunt and uncle while looking for the plans, Luke decides to join Obi-Wan in seeking out the Rebels and training to be a Jedi Knight.
The original Star Wars is one of the most influential movies ever made, and, combined with the two sequels, tells a grand story about good vs evil, finding faith in the darkest of moments, redemption, and the hero's journey. The dialogue reflects these themes, with plenty of strong conversations as different characters give their perspectives on the galaxy-wide conflict and explore the mysticism of the Force. Fittingly, many of its best quotes, like "May the Force be With You," have become recognized the world over.
'The Princess Bride' (1987)
A grandfather (Peter Falk) reads to his sick grandson (Fred Savage) about Buttercup (Robin Wright), a peasant woman who loses her love, Westley (Cary Elwes), when his ship is boarded by the Dread Pirate Roberts. She is then chosen to marry Prince Humperdinck (Chris Sarandon), but on the eve of her wedding day, she is abducted by a trio of bandits looking to start a war with Humperdinck's rivals. As they head to the border to kill Buttercup, the bandits are pursued by both Humperdinck's men and a mysterious man in black.
The Princess Bride's laid-back and tongue-in-cheek writing results in a beautifully crafted comfort movie full of romance, action, and, of course, utterly quotable dialogue. Every character has at least one famous quote or speech, but the best examples come from the self-absorbed Sicilian, Vizzini (Wallace Shawn), and the Spanish fencer Inigo Montoya (Mandy Patinkin). The former has a hilariously memorable rant as he tries to win a deadly battle of wits, while the latter cemented the film's place in the pop culture lexicon with his catchphrase, "Hello, my name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father, prepare to die."
'Monty Python and the Holy Grail' (1975)
King Arthur (Graham Chapman) travels England to seek brave and true men to join his Knights of the Round Table. It's a tricky search that leads him to duel with the deadly Black Knight (John Cleese) and debate intellectual peasants, but eventually he finds Sir Bedevere (Terry Jones), Sir Lancelot (John Cleese), Sir Robin (Eric Idle), and Sir Galahad (Michael Palin). They are then tasked by God (Graham Chapman) to find the legendary Holy Grail, which sends them to the far corners of England and into contact with all manner of terrors and temptations.
Monty Python and the Holy Grail is one of those movies that is so ingrained into pop culture that, even if you've never seen it, you've encountered at least one reference or tangential connection through other media. Its dialogue comes from the Pythons at their best and is the perfect blending of British wit with clever jokes based on the Arthurian Legend. It's hard not to find yourself quoting the most iconic lines, such as the Black Knight, the Taunting Frenchman (John Cleese), or the description of the dreaded Rabbit of Caerbannog.
Monty Python and the Holy Grail
- Release Date
- May 25, 1975
- Cast
- Michael Palin, John Cleese, Terry Jones, Graham Chapman, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle
- Runtime
- 91 minutes
- Director
- Terry Jones, Terry Gilliam
- Writers
- Terry Jones, Graham Chapman, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Michael Palin, John Cleese
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