Top 10 Movies Like Harry Potter

The most logical step after Harry Potter is, of course, more J.K. Rowling. We go back in time, long before Harry was born, to 1920s New York. Eddie Redmayne is perfect as the awkward, animal-loving Newt Scamander. Where Potter was about school and growing up, this is a more adult adventure about wizarding politics. It's a visual spectacle full of strange beasts, and with Jude Law as a young, charming Dumbledore it still feels like coming home.

Four children who step through a wardrobe into a magical, snow-covered land: it's the ultimate escapist fantasy. This adaptation of C.S. Lewis' classic breathes the same British atmosphere as the early Potter films. Tilda Swinton is ice-cold and terrifying as the White Witch, and the talking lion Aslan is a technical tour de force. An epic battle between good and evil, seen through the innocence of children.

Imagine a world where your soul doesn't live inside your body but walks beside you in the form of an animal. That's the concept of this visually stunning film. Dakota Blue Richards plays the brave Lyra, who takes on a sinister organization, and Nicole Kidman is deliciously villainous. It never matched Potter's success, but its world, complete with armored polar bears, is fascinating and unique.

If Harry Potter is the high school of fantasy, this is the university. Peter Jackson filmed the unfilmable and set a standard everything is still measured against. The scale is gigantic, from the green hills of the Shire to the fires of Mordor, and every frame is a painting. It's about friendship, courage and the burden of an impossible task. A must for any fantasy fan.

Lighter in tone than its big brother, but just as magical. We follow Bilbo Baggins (a perfectly cast Martin Freeman), dragged from his armchair by a group of noisy dwarves for an adventure. The encounter between Bilbo and the dragon Smaug, voiced by Benedict Cumberbatch, is one of the highlights of modern cinema. A delightful journey full of wizards, elves and gold.

Perhaps the most underrated film on this list. A young man climbs over a wall to find a fallen star, only to discover the star is a woman (Claire Danes). It's a fairy tale with a wink. Michelle Pfeiffer is brilliant as a witch seeking eternal youth, but Robert De Niro steals the show as a sky pirate with a surprising secret. Funny, romantic and completely original.

What if you discovered your backyard was full of goblins, trolls and other creatures you'd rather not see? Freddie Highmore plays twin brothers who find a field guide they should never have opened. It's an exciting adventure that gets quite creepy at times, exactly as good fantasy should. It's all about protecting your family from forces you barely understand.

Replace wizards with demigods and Hogwarts with Camp Half-Blood, and you have Percy Jackson. A teenager discovers his father is the Greek god Poseidon and must prevent the gods from going to war. Logan Lerman is a likable hero and the film is full of action and humor. It's fun to see ancient myths translated to the modern world, like the entrance to the underworld in Hollywood.

For those who loved the darker side of Harry Potter. This stop-motion film is a visual masterpiece, but one that can give you nightmares. Coraline finds a small door to a 'better' version of her life, where everyone has buttons for eyes. It's creepy, atmospheric and incredibly creative, a story about courage and appreciating what you have.

Tim Burton and fantasy are a match made in heaven. Jake (Asa Butterfield) discovers an orphanage stuck in a time loop in 1943, home to children with special gifts like invisibility or levitation. Eva Green is magnetic as the protective Miss Peregrine. It feels like a mix of X-Men and Harry Potter, with that typical gothic Burton touch.