Crafting a setting has the power to make or break a movie, drawing you in and immersing you into the story. This makes traveling back through the many decades of magnificent worlds that have painted the silver screen a thrilling journey. With all of these wonderful choices, it is nearly impossible to pick favorites. Nevertheless, I have set out to do just that! So, without further ado, in no particular order, here are my picks for five of the greatest settings in movie history.
Starting our list off is Willy Wonka’s factory from the 1971 masterpiece “Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory.” Wonka’s factory is the perfect blend of weirdness and magic. This extends from the flavored wallpapers (“Lick an orange. It tastes like an orange.”) to Wonka’s office, where the furniture is all split in half. Also, of course, to the chocolate room where anything you see is made of candy. It all makes the factory almost an extension of the chocolatier himself. It really is something that can only come out of “Pure Imagination.”
Next we have Jurassic Park from, well, 1993’s “Jurassic Park.” When everything is working properly, the park offers a lush and beautiful landscape filled to the brim with dinosaurs. However, it is when things go awry that the park really shines. With the power off and dinosaurs lurking at every corner, Jurassic Park takes on a dangerous ambience, wonderfully complimenting epic scenes such as Dr. Alan Grant’s distraction of the T-Rex with a flare. Not to mention, those gates are absolutely iconic.
Traveling back a decade, we step into the world of Endor from the 1983 conclusion to the original “Star Wars” trilogy, “Star Wars: Return of the Jedi.” The galaxy far, far away has no shortage of legendary locations. I mean, who can’t picture Luke Skywalker standing amongst a desert and gazing off at the twin suns of Tatooine? For me at least, however, the forest moon of Endor stands above the rest. The beautiful forest landscape is stellar. Add in the gorgeous Ewok village nestled above ground amongst the trees and exquisitely lit by the warm glow of roaring fires and you have an absolutely unforgettable movie location.
Moving on we have Pandora from the “Avatar” franchise. Now, Pandora is already magnificent during the daytime, with its floating mountains and captivating wilderness, but it is at night when it really begins to shine, both literally and figuratively. The bioluminescence of the plants and creatures is breathtaking, turning Pandora into an enchanting and luminous landscape of vibrant colors that will leave you mesmerized. Pandora is one of the absolute highlights of the films and is undoubtedly one of the biggest reasons I fell completely in love with them. The fact that both films take so much time exploring these locations just goes to show how spectacular they truly are.
Now, while the rest of the list is unranked, The Shire from “The Lord of the Rings” franchise is my number one. For me, The Shire is the definitive landscape for what a fantasy world should look like, the one that made me fall in love with the genre in the first place and the one that all others will inevitably be compared against. It is a jaw dropping display of creativity and worldbuilding, simply exuding warmth and coziness. From its rolling, green hills to the perfect, little houses made into them that look like the most snug and comfortable places anyone could ever dream to live in, The Shire is endlessly charming. Alas, there can only be one land to rule them all and it is, without a doubt, The Shire.
In the end, whether your personal favorite settings in cinema are similar to or different from mine, the many terrific worlds of film are simply wonderful. And, if you have yet to experience the lands I mentioned, you should set out on your journey right away! You certainly won’t regret it.
