For just about as long as cinema has been used as a true storytelling medium, both fantasy and science fiction have been among the most popular and successful movie genres out there. While the former’s stories of magic, mythical creatures, and wonderful fictional realms has charmed audiences’ imaginations for decades, the latter’s tales about speculative futures and high-tech worlds have invited cinephiles to ask questions about their contemporary world time and time again. Mix the unique wonders of both genres together, and what do you get? Science fantasy, the best of both worlds.
One might think that sci-fi’s reliance on the laws of physics (or at least pseudo-scientific world-building) and fantasy’s reliance on supernatural forces wouldn’t mix together all that well, but since the year 2000, cinematic gems like Treasure Planet and Palm Springs have demonstrated that that isn’t the case whatsoever. Instead, science fantasy has delivered several of the greatest science fiction and fantasy movies of the last 26 years. Whether it’s a massive blockbuster or an indie darling, these movies all share something in common: They should prove to be an absolute delight for anyone who likes speculative fiction.
6
‘Godzilla: Final Wars’ (2004)
The Godzilla franchise has come a remarkably long way since its 1954 days, back when producer Tomoyuki Tanaka came up with the idea for a monster feature inspired the air of paranoia that ailed Japan at the time as a result of American nuclear testing in the Pacific Ocean. From that idea, the biggest multimedia kaiju franchise in history was born, and that franchise eventually led to the international co-production Godzilla: Final Wars, directed by Ryuhei Kitamura. It’s one of the most chaotic movies of all time, and should be an absolute blast for anyone who loves kaiju movies.
Blending the futuristic, undeniably sci-fi technology that tends to populate Godzilla movies with mystical and supernatural elements that irrefutably make it also fall into the fantasy box, Final Wars is perfectly satisfying for fans of both genres. Delectably over-the-top, unabashedly bizarre, and unapologetically nonsensical, it’s a high-energy celebration of the franchise that leans all the way into pure, unadulterated fun. Is if the most complex or nuanced monster movie the world has ever seen? Absolutely not. But as a love letter to the silly, action-packed monster flicks of Toho’s ’60s and ’70s era, it’s proof that a science fantasy movie that’s pure spectacle and style with very little substance to balance things out can still absolutely work.
5
‘Treasure Planet’ (2002)
Though Disney is arguably the single biggest, most popular, and most famous animation studio in the history of cinema, they have produced so many films over the course of history that it’s only natural for a few of them to underperform at the box office and eventually fall into niche territory. John Musker and Ron Clements‘ Treasure Planet is one such movie, a House of Mouse all-out flop that has gradually become more and more of a beloved cult classic. Loosely inspired by Robert Louis Stevenson‘s 1883 classic novel Treasure Island, the film was pitched by Clements all the way back in 1989, but it wouldn’t be until the late ’90s that the movie would finally get to enter production.
Today, Treasure Planet is widely remembered as one of those forgotten Disney movies that aged like fine wine, a hugely ambitious blend of nautical swashbuckling fantasy and solarpunk fantasy elements. With some of the most breathtaking 2D animation that the 21st century has thus far scene and some of the best world-building of any Disney movie, this science fantasy gem has a level of emotional and narrative depth so tremendous that it’s hard to believe how Disney’s confused marketing strategy allowed it to fail financially. But money is nothing compared to the court of public opinion, and 24 years after its release, Treasure Planet is one of the most beloved modern Disney movies ever.
4
‘Palm Springs’ (2020)
Time travel is a narrative trope that both science fiction and fantasy storytellers are all perfectly familiar with, and if the success of beloved classics like Groundhog Day or modern gems like Edge of Tomorrow is anything to go by, the time loop subgenre is one of the most beloved under the time travel umbrella. But while most time loop movies tend to squarely fall into either sci-fi or fantasy territory, Max Barbakow‘s underappreciated masterpiece Palm Springs falls neatly into both, a testament to how science fantasy truly can offer the best of both worlds.
One of the best modern rom-coms to prove that the genre is still alive and well in the 2020s, Palm Springs is not only a charming rom-com, nor is it only a time loop comedy. It’s also a dramedy of surprising philosophical depth, using the time loop trope to explore the theme of existential crises and how important human connection is to making life make some semblance of sense. Andy Samberg and Cristin Millioti both deliver career-best performances here, perfectly anchoring both Palm Spring‘s delightful sense of humor and powerfully poignant dramatic core. Rarely are science fantasy popcorn flicks this masterfully genre-blending or crowd-pleasing.
3
‘Sorry to Bother You’ (2018)
Inspired by his own time working as a telemarketer and telefundraiser in California, jobs for which he found that he typically had to put on a different voice in order to find success, musician and auteur Boots Riley made his feature directing debut with the surrealist dark comedy Sorry to Bother You. Absurdist and mind-bending to the core, this chaotically anti-capitalist punk rock masterpiece instantly established Riley as a delightfully exciting voice to look forward to. It’s one of the most unpredictable movies of all time, one that revels in the opportunity of going in all sorts of unexpected—and often absolutely hysterical—directions.
The mind-bending wonders it does with every genre element it dares to toy with are all in service of critiquing modern capitalism.
Like all the best absurdist, surrealist comedies should, Sorry to Bother You constantly refuses the chance to box itself into the limits of any given genre. Though it’s technically science fantasy without a doubt, the mind-bending wonders it does with every genre element it dares to toy with are all in service of critiquing modern capitalism, labor exploitation, and systemic racism in the US. Thematically complex, exquisitely playful, and full of WTF moments that should make any fan of surrealist cinema burst out laughing time after time, it’s one of the most essential science fantasy flicks of the last few years.
2
‘Poor Things’ (2023)
For the entirety of his career, Greek auteur Yorgos Lanthimos has been delivering some of the freshest, most delightfully bizarre comedy movies of the 21st century. One of his latest works is Poor Things, and it may very well be his magnum opus. Bolstered by Emma Stone delivering one of the strongest acting performances that Hollywood has seen at any point during the last 26 years, this retro-futurist Victorian masterpiece is a gender-bent twist on Frankenstein that’s easily among the most original movies of the 2020s so far.
Poor Things is also one of the best science fantasy movies released since 2020, a twistedly funny and endlessly transgressive work that is definitely not for everyone, but is nevertheless almost undeniably brilliant in its subversions of typical genre tropes. Take one of the most masterfully bizarre scripts of the last 26 years and add perfect production values, an incredible cast, and Lanthimos in full control of his craft, and you get a feminist, steampunk, surreal coming-of-age that all science fantasy fans should give themselves the chance of checking out.
1
‘Everything Everywhere All At Once’ (2022)
Directing duo Daniel Scheinert and Daniel Kwan, better known as the Daniels, began researching the concept of the multiverse as far back as 2010. And as the concept began exploding in popularity throughout the late 2010s and early 2020s, it seemed like the time was as ideal as ever for Kwan and Scheinert to deliver their own unique take on a narrative trope that was already starting to become tired. Enter Everything Everywhere All At Once, an indie darling that came out of nowhere and somehow went on to win a whopping seven Academy Awards.
That’s because it’s one of the best sci-fi movies since 2020, and it’s not even particularly close. The film wears its influences on its sleeve and manages to balance its myriad of concepts, themes, and genre elements perfectly. It works equally well as a hilarious surrealist comedy, a heartfelt family drama, a thrilling martial arts action film, and a hugely imaginative science fantasy gem that employs both genres with equal glee. All in all, it’s a must-see for anyone looking to understand what 2020s genre cinema has been like so far.
