Film Analysis: The 10th Kingdom

The 10th Kingdom centers on a parallel universe where fairy tales have their kingdoms and are real. In an early scene, when a group of trolls travel through a transporting mirror to the real world, they declare this new land, upon first seeing New York City, as The 10th Kingdom, which explains the title. Although this film is considered many genres, such as romance comedy, science fiction, and adventure, one genre speaks the loudest: The 10th Kingdom fits in the fantasy genre because of its focus on multiple mystic lands and with the strong use of magic. Despite that a strong amount of science-fiction-specific elements exist, such as transporting through different dimensions through a magical mirror and an arrow that can redirect itself to

the closest living heart, these elements can alternatively be seen as fantasy in a larger sense. In this essay, I will explain genre though an observation of its locations, themes, subject matter, actors, and iconography.
There are many locations in The 10th Kingdom, spanning all four-hundred and seventeen minutes of this film.

The nine kingdoms of fairy tales origin, including Fourth Kingdom Prison, castles, and villages, are the primary locations of scenes, which does reflect strongly the fantasy genre. New York City, the so-called 10th Kingdom, is another location. The parts of the nine kingdoms have magical variety and adds a layer of depth toward its fantasy. With a magical wishing well, a mining shaft, and factories within caves, this film speaks fantasy with its emphasis on magical and old-school locations. Mining shafts are considered uncommon in mainstream films; however, in fantasy, the locations are a large aspect of the film’s aesthetics. In fact, the nine kingdoms use different forms of magic; some kingdoms have love spells, whereas others have evil mushrooms that will try to kill you and fairies that will deceive you and get you lost in the enchanted forest. The enchanted forest, in fact, is another example of a stock fantasy

setting.
There are some overarching themes in The 10th Kingdom. First, blaming yourself even if it is not your fault. This theme, despite not being exclusive of fantasy films, is one of the leading faults of characters in fantasies. Take for example, Handel and Gretel are indirectly blamed by their stepmother as the leading cause of their family’s poverty; however, they discover that it is out of their control. Additionally, the universal theme of most fantasy/science fiction films is the fight of good versus evil; this is accomplished in the film through the evil queen when she tries to kill her own daughter. Christine White and the Troll King, the leading antagonists, desires to take over the kingdoms and reorder social order. Good versus evil is common in fantasies, such films include Alice in Wonderland, Harry Potter, The Hunger Games, Star Wars, The Lord of the Rings, and The NeverEnding Story.
The subject matter of the film is mostly light, comedic moments mixed with dark, creepy situations. The subject matter does not play so much for the fantasy, because this depends on the movie specifically. Take The Hunger Games for instance, the tone is serious but hopeful, whereas The NeverEnding Story is a boyhood fantasy with creepy yet light-hearted subject matter. In The 10th Kingdom, it fits more into The NeverEnding Story, but there are also adventure and romance comedy aspects to it, making it increasingly difficult to place The 10th Kingdom into fantasy by its subject matter alone.
There are many award-winning actors, mostly found in television on NBC, the network that is producing this.

Kimberly Williams plays Virginia Lewis, a woman who lives near Central Park with her father. Later in the film, it is revealed that she blames herself for her mother leaving, which is one of the primary themes that I mentioned before. While at first she cares only about returning to her own world, Virginia attempts to help Wendell, the prince, save his kingdom. She develops feelings for Wolf. John Larroquette, the star from Night Court, plays Anthony Lewis, a janitor and single father. It is revealed later in the film that he mostly wants to protect his daughter -- from a strange danger nonetheless. Scott Cohen plays Wolf who is released from the Snow White Memorial Prison by the Evil Queen. He travels to New York City in search of Prince Wendell and meets Virginia, whom he falls head over heels with. He teams up with Virginia and her father, but he is unsure which side he belongs on. Dianne Wiest plays Christine White, the mom from Edward Scissorhands, usually called the Evil Queen. The lead antagonist and Prince Wendell's stepmother is sentenced to life in prison for murdering both of Wendell's parents and almost killing Prince Wendell. She is later in the film revealed to be Virginia's mother. Dianne Wiest is the only actress associated with fantasy films, but she does not belong to the genre exclusively. Most of actors and actresses belong to the comedy

genre.
A lot of iconography exist in this film to denote its fantasy genre: transporting mirrors, kingdoms, castles, dead dragons, beanstalks, trolls, queens, and a magical bean. Trolls are particularly important to the genre, because they play the norm of a fairy tale society. Iconography in general tell of what type of fantasy it is; fantasy is a broad genre. For example, a lot of science-fiction films can be confused as fantasy. The main distinction between the two is all science-fiction narratives set out to predict or define the future, whereas fantasy lives in a world where magic and/or mythical or supernatural creatures exist.
Lastly, The 10th Kingdom or any fantasy does not rely on actors, subject matter as much as iconography, themes, and locations. From reading this essay, I hope that you have a better understanding of how genre impacts The 10th Kingdom though an observation of its locations, themes, subject matter, actors, and iconography.