You cannot rate this by comparing it to a modern movie. That would be like denigrating the intelligence of a dolphin because it doesn't think with a human brain. Given the date of release (1903: that is OH THUREE!!!) it is a wonder that this movie even exists. That is it is available in what appears to be a well-preserved first or second-generation print, almost scratch-free and in dazzling color, is practically miraculous enough to have made Darwin a believer.The best version of this film that I know of is in the Flicker Alley 5-dvd set, enhanced by Eric Beheim's synthesized but nonetheless completely fitting and well-synchronized musical soundtrack. There is still much that could be done to clean up this print: it is possible to matte over much of the sparkling on the left side of the frame, and blot out almost all of the blobs of crud and scrapes that come and go, eliminate a few flash frames, and of course hide all the splices. There is still a little annoying jitter in the underwater scene, but it's not too bad (and after all it IS "underwater"). If these things are corrected, or if you just use a little imagination to overlook the blemishes, the quality of this film is really staggering (1903!!). It is probably the most beautiful of all the existing Mèliés films (maybe right beside "Inventor Crazybrains and his Wonderful Airship", also in color).Of course Mèliés uses a number of antiquated stage conventions, such as trap doors and wobbly sliding flats; and for some reason he hired an oddly stolid and frumpy fairy grand-godmother to introduce the apotheosis (itself a creaking stage convention), but this all adds to the fun. (Remember, it is NINETEEN OH THREE!) The story itself is secondary, and it has no particular depth, but it is extremely well put together. And besides, unless we're talking classic literature, story should really be secondary anyway: it's what you DO with the story that matters, and here Mèliés really "pulls out the stops" with fabulous pantomime, running and leaping (most notably from Mèliés himself), exotic costumes, amazing fantastic backdrops and characters (and animals!), cumulative drama with a fantastic climactic fire scene, a well-constructed and engaging narration, and in the case of the Flicker Alley release, a speaker who really charms and amuses with some highly mangled (but still understandable) English, like a dear old granduncle from The Old Country spinning a story for the kids. So far this is the only movie I've ever rated a 10. I wish I could rate the restoration a 10, but 9.5 is pretty good.

There's a lot of Gilliam and Kubrick to be found in Georges Melies fifteen minute phantasmagoria epic A Kingdom of the Faires made 30 an 40 years before they were born. Melies pulls out all the stops with this wildly color tinted happily ever after nightmare featuring hallucinogenic compositions and early experimentation with miniatures and fish tanks between camera and set.A King insults a witch who exacts revenge by abducting the princess to a far off lair. The Prince pursues, has to undergo a series of challenges including a stop in Atlantis but ultimately vanquishes the witch with enormous assistance from the good fairy Aurora by drowning her.Melies moves everything but the camera in this multi set-up (backdrop) picaresque struggle between good and evil lush in opulent design and color; epitomized in the stunning turn of the century pop-out book finale. Despite its creaky look Kingdom is filled with wildly etched compositions of audacity and comedy all from the mind and eye of the neglected pioneer Melies.

This is another epic on the scale of Melies' earlier Voyage to the Moon but which lacks the iconic images of that film which is perhaps why it is now relatively unknown. Without a doubt it is every bit as interesting and fantastic as Voyage with elaborate sets and costumes and typically exuberant performances from the actors. One thing about Melies' films is that everyone up there on the screen looks like they're having a whale of a time - a fact which adds to the viewers' enjoyment. The story is a typical fairy tale with a noble prince braving all manner of obstacles to save his beloved from the clutches of a wicked witch. The acting is of the 'hands in the air to express surprise/shock/fear' variety, but in this case that just adds to the enjoyment.

"Kingdom of the Fairies" is undoubtedly one of Georges Méliès's best féeries, or fairy films, alongside other such ones as "Blubeard" (1901) and, if you want to consider it as part of the genre, "Le Voyage dans la lune" (1902). It is also one of his best films in general. Its narrative follows the abduction of a princess by a wicked fairy/witch, and her subsequent rescue by the prince (played by Méliès)--an adventure which takes the prince and his men to the depths of the sea, where they meet the kingdom of the fairies, ride inside a whale to shore, and to the eventual rescue of the damsel from a burning castle. This was one of the most elaborate Star Film productions, with 20 some changes of scenery, a requirement of many costumes, and a runtime nearing 20 minutes.Méliès consistently produced the best movie set designs of his era, but the ones in this film especially stand out, including the undersea design and the burning and collapsing castle. Even the miniature model scene of the ship sinking works, because, after all, it's fantasy. The aspect, however, that I particularly appreciate in these fairytale films is their frequent use of the fairy as a narrator, or manipulator of the characters and plot. Another good example of this can be seen in "Bluebeard", as well as in films by others, such as "The Magic Sword" (1901) and "Jack and the Beanstalk" (1902). One scene in "Kingdom of the Fairies" is especially remarkable: it's a vision scene projected by the wicked fairy to the prince and involves the changing of the scenery from the castle room to the vision and back to the castle room.(EDIT: The hand-colored print now available on home video makes this film look even better.)