Avatar: The Last Airbender

With special effects so costly, animation is the perfect place for fantasy to thrive. While we've stepped away from the rabbit-hole that is anime on this list, great Western shows like Avatar still stand above many live-action efforts. Part of this is down to Avatar's extensive and intriguingly-built world. Home to hybrid animals and a parallel universe, civilization is split into four nations, each with their own respective element and style of bending – air, water, earth, and fire. And then there's the Avatar, capable of bending all four elements, their role to bring peace and restore balance. When the Avatar dies, they are reborn into the cycle's next element. Meticulously researched and well-developed, the story follows twelve-year-old Aang, an airbender, as he seeks to finally end a hundred-year war. The great concept is home to great voice acting, relentlessly developing characters, and a heavy East Asian influence. Through its young protagonist, the series tells complex and emotional stories, reaching far beyond its original 11-year-old audience.