On the second day of our school-based movie playlist, we’re sharing fantastical school movies. These are those that are in an unrestricted imagination- science fiction, fantasy, comics, and paranormal all fit within the fantastical. Have a favorite fantastical school movie that I’ve missed below? Share it in the comments!
Sky High (2005): Three years before Marvel launched its era of Avengers with Iron Man, Disney had Sky High and honestly they should have run with it. In a world with superheroes everywhere, where his parents are two of the greatest, Will has no clue if he has any powers. He’s sent to Sky High based on his parentage, but is enrolled in sidekick classes until he discovers his true powers lie elsewhere. Pair this with books like School for Sidekicks by Kelly McCullough or Marie Lu’s Young Elite series.
Percy Jackson series: While the movies center more on Percy’s quests than his school, Camp Halfblood where the descendants live and learn plays a huge part within the realm of Percy’s world. I know many of my tweens and teens were devastated to learn that there wouldn’t be more movies forthcoming, even though the books seem never-ending.
Harry Potter series: I don’t think there could be a fantastical school movie playlist without mentioning Harry Potter. All 8 movies (even the split Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows where they’re death-glamping for three-quarters of BOTH movies and about half of the book) focus on Hogwarts and the school, and all storylines come around to it in the end. If you’re ever in the Orlando area, definitely stop by the Islands of Adventure at Universal Orlando and ask to see the Hogwarts Tour if nothing else. If you don’t want to ride the ride, you can walk through Hogwarts castle at your own pace and enjoy the special effects, then exit down into the gift shop below. Be warned, however- if you want to take the Hogwarts Express to Kings Cross Station, you have to by a park to park ticket as the train goes to the other park.
Back to the Future (1985): When terrorists seemingly kill Doc Brown to get their hands on the radioactive material he has used to turn his DeLorean into a time machine, Marty accidentally takes himself back to 1955 and changes his past, and then must fix it before his future disappears along with himself.
Carrie (1976/2013): It’s always the quiet ones, isn’t it? When the popular girls decide that the outcast Carrie needs to be pushed just a bit too far, her telekinetic powers get unleashed in the most horrific of ways. An excellent show point of bullying within high school and how teachers can be completely oblivious of things around them. Both versions (1976 original starring Sissy Spacek and the 2013 remake with Chloe Grace Moretz) are based on the Stephen King novel of the same name.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1992) : Before Sarah Michelle Geller took over television as our favorite vampire slayer, Donald Sutherland and Kristy Swanson took to the silver screen to launch Buffy for all. Learning that she is the newest generation of vampire slayers, Buffy must hone her powers and fight off the Master before he takes over her town. Both the movie and the TV show of the same name were created by Joss Whedon, who created Firefly, wrote Toy Story, and manned the helm for the first two Avenger movies.
Big Hero 6 (2014): Radically Americanized from the Marvel comics it was based off of, Big Hero 6 tells the story of Hiro and a band of super smart college heroes who band together to take on the killer of Hiro’s brother, who was their friend, while possibly saving the city at the same time. A TV series is tentatively scheduled to be released in 2017.