Click to play videoNew Delhi: As boy-wizard Harry Potter wove his goodwill magic on the viewers, he brought back the nostalgia of Mary Poppins, the last word on super-nannies and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, the wonder car.
Drawing heavily from both these films, Harry Potter proved to be the poster whizkid for the 21st century. And soon Hollywood woke up to the new money-minting genre -- fantasy.
Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, followed close on its heels during the winter of 2001. Revolving around the young Hobbit named Frodo entrusted with an ancient Ring, the film became a cult success winning multiple Oscars.
This combination of critical acclaim and commercial success only encouraged Lord of the Rings sequels and paved the way for a deluge of fantasy films.
With a potent mix of fantasy and folklore the ultimate pirate, Jack Sparrow sailed into the theatres in 2003 with Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl.
And when four kids walked through a cupboard into the wonderland of Narnia audiences got a whiff of an alternative universe brimming with the white witch, fauns and Aslan's army of animals.
And fantasia got a new name in 2006 when Eragon released to packed theatres. The story of an orphaned Eragon, the protector of the last surviving dragon, Saphire, the film resorts to the age-old fight of good over evil. And this fight got a whole new meaning with the Oscar winning Spanish film Pan's Labyrinth.
With Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End and Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix hitting screens, it only proves that fantastic fantasy genre in Hollywood is far from over.
(For updates you can share with your friends, follow IBNLive on Facebook, Twitter and Google+)
displayed with permission. Use of the CNN name and/or logo on or as part of CNN-IBN does not derogate from the intellectual property rights of Cable News Network in respect of them.