This epic Lucasfilm fantasy serves up enough magical adventure to satisfy fans of the genre, though it treads familiar territory. With abundant parallels to Star Wars, the story (by George Lucas) follows the exploits of the little farmer Willow (Warwick Davis), an aspiring sorcerer appointed to deliver an infant princess from the evil queen (Jean Marsh) to whom the child is a crucial threat.

William Steig's delightfully fractured fairy tale is the right stuff for this computer-animated adaptation full of verve and wit. Our title character (voiced by Mike Myers) is an agreeable enough ogre who wants to live his days in peace. When the diminutive Lord Farquaad (John Lithgow) evicts local fairy-tale creatures (including the now-famous Seven Dwarfs, Pinocchio, and the Gingerbread Man), they settle in the ogre's swamp and Shrek wants answers from Farquaad.

There is trouble in Izmer. With the emperor dead from an assassin's poison, the 16-year-old princess Savina (Thora Birch) inherits not just the throne but also the royal scepter, which has the power to command gold dragons. With a youthful idealism, she decides all people should be equal, from lowly commoners to the ruling-class, magic-wielding mages.

If you haven't seen the original Dragonheart, never fear - this story doesn't have much to do with it. Geoffrey (Chris Masterson) is a stable boy at a monastery, with dreams of knighthood - dreams that seem out of reach until he discovers a young dragon living in the monastery's dungeon, a scaly but kindly faced fellow named Drake (voiced by Robby Benson).

Despite its box-office failure in 1981, Dragonslayer was gradually recognized as one of the finest fantasies to emerge from the post-Star Wars boom in special effects. It's still one of the best adventures of its kind, featuring one of the most fearsome fire-breathing serpents in movie history.

In the closing paragraph of his 1996 review of Dragonheart, noted critic Roger Ebert summed up this adventurous fantasy quite nicely: "While no reasonable person over the age of 12 would presumably be able to take it seriously, there is nevertheless a lighthearted joy to it, a cheerfulness, an insouciance, that recalls the days when movies were content to be fun." That's precisely the quality that makes Dragonheart so appealing, despite the fact that it didn't exactly take flight and breathe fire at the box office.

The dark, brooding tone of Conan the Barbarian is replaced in this rousing sequel by a lighter, more humorous tone and one of the campiest casts ever assembled. This time, Conan is assigned by a duplicitous queen (Sarah Douglas) to escort a virgin princess (Olivia d'Abo) on a treacherous trek to a crystal palace where they will retrieve a priceless gemstone.

Conan the Barbarian, the movie that turned Arnold Schwarzenegger into a global superstar, is a prime example of a match made in heaven. It's the movie that macho maverick writer-director John Milius was born to make, and Arnold was genetically engineered for his role as the muscle-bound, angst-ridden hero created in Robert E. Howard's pulp novels.

Directed by John McTiernan (Die Hard), it's the tale of young Arab ambassador Ahmahd ibn Fahdalan (Antonio Banderas), who's vanquished from his homeland for loving the wrong woman. On his journeys he associates with a ragtag group of Vikings who are traveling back to their homeland to confront a nefarious threat that's cloaked in such superstition they're forbidden to speak its name.

After only one month of being on screens Shrek 2 has surpassed Return Of The King's lifetime domestic gross of $377,027,325 . Will the green ogre beat the Spiderman (at $403 million)? We will know soon enough. For more info take a look at BoxOfficeMojo.com.

After the smashing success of the second Shrek movie DreamWorks announced that two more sequels to this animated movie are to be made. Shrek 2 earned 108 million dollars over its first weekend. Read the story at BBC .

The sequel to the incredibly funny fantasy fairytale for adults is entering theatres right now. It is said that the movie is great - will it be as good as the first part? We shall have to see :-) To learn more about the movie and see its first five minutes visit the www.shrek2.com website.

Citing TheOneRing.Net: There's a real funny spoof of LotR in Shrek 2. Shrek get's a golden ring out of a fire, much like Gandalf did. He accidently throws it up in the ear and it 'falls' on Fionas finger in exactly the same way with Frodo at the prancing pony. Then words lit up that say 'I love you'.

You could say that "Ella enchanted" is a fantasy movie. Ella lives in fanciful and magical world where all children are given "a gift" from fairy Godmother at the moment of birht. Little Ellas bithright gift - and curse - is obedience. Ella cannot refuse any command and often is left at mercy of unscrupulous personalities. In a bid to control her life, Ella goes on a quest to free herself from this curse. Ella must outwit a kingdom filled with ogres, giants, taking books and evil plots. Trailer to the movie can be found here .

There have been a couple of preview screening of the Shrek 2. What is the feedback? Great, funny, better than the oryginal. Want to know more? Check out the AintItCoolNews review.

Do you know Shrek? Big, green guy with funny ears? Did you see the movie? Do you want to see another one? Yes, that's right, Dreamworks pictures is making Shrek 2! Teaser & trailer can be seen on the www.shrek2.com .

One of the best SF books, "Enders Game" by Orson Scott Card is being filmed. Official page of the author, Hatrack River, states: "Dan Harris and Michael Dougherty, the writing team that created the X-Men 2 screenplay, have been hired by Warner Brothers to write the second draft of the Ender's Game screenplay."

Ancanar is an original story, a tale set in a land of growing fear and evil, in a time awaiting the onslaught of the great storm of war. Ancanar is also a movie that went into production in 1999, with two people, only $20,000 and a Canon XL-1. Currently the team is working with producer Barry Opper and real studio budget. The movie is being re-shot. If you want to download its trailer or learn more about Ancanar go to www.ancanar.com .

I know this isn`t exactly fantasy news, but it`s good anyway. "The Matrix Reloaded" is coming. If you want to see its newest trailer (it`s worth it, belive me!) you better go to www.thematrix.com .

The struggle betwean Star Wars fans and Lord Of The Rings fans is well known. If you want to know what makes LOTR better than SW (or vice versa) go to the TheForce.Net. You`ll find there 46 reasons in favour of each movie :-)

There is a fantasy movie in production, that is based on the original story written by Sam Balcomb. If you want to check out its trailer, go to the page http://www.ancanar.com/trailer .

The Prisoner of Azkaban movie has been shortlisted along with "Spider-Man 2", "The Aviator", "The Day After Tomorrow", "I, Robot", "A Series of Unfortunate Events" and "Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow" for the special effects Oscar. Only three will receive official nominations.