Is the endless minutia of everyday life getting you down? Are you craving more excitement in a life filled with emails, expensive coffee and time spent stuck in traffic? Don’t worry, we’re right there with you – why isn’t our world filled with magical creatures and why aren’t we all going on life-changing quests to learn about the true meaning of friendship!?

If you’re after a film that’s a bit more dreamy and a lot less dreary then cast your peepers onto our list below: we’ve cooked up a rad list of movies for you all to watch when you want to escape the real world.

THE NEVERENDING STORY Quite literally the most ‘80s movie to ever exist – chock-full of practical effects, strangely terrifying monsters and even a title track that’ll be stuck in your head for weeks to boot – this 1984 film might be four decades old but it’s still one of the most magical things you’ll ever see. This film follows a young boy discovering a magical book that tells the story of a warrior on a quest to stop The Nothing, a malevolent foe hellbent on destroying the world, who encounters scary creatures like laser-eyed sphinxes, experiences the heavy weight of grief and even struggles with nihilism – and this is all in a children’s film, mind you. It’s a perfect watch when you want a healthy heaping of high-fantasy that doesn’t shy away from whimsy and fun.

EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past two years then you’ve already heard of this one and probably seen it already, but we reckon that this is one of those rare types of films that are not only worth the hype, they’re worth multiple re-watches too. Starring the always fabulous Michelle Yeoh, Jamie Lee Curtis, Ke Huy Quan, James Hong, Stephanie Hsu and other famous faces, this flick is absolutely bonkers – in the best way possible. It manages to tackle complex and meaty issues like existentialism, inter-generational trauma and the immigrant experience alongside dazzling visuals that we can guarantee you have never seen before and will likely never see again.

HOWL’S MOVING CASTLE OK, we really could have added any Studio Ghibli movie on here, but we have to admit that we have a soft spot for this animated classic crafted by the iconic Hayao Miyazaki. Like most of his movies, this story takes place in a fantastical world and follows young woman Sophie after she is placed under a curse that transforms her into an old woman, who then goes and travels alongside wizard Howl in his (you guessed it) moving castle. Everybody and their mum have gushed about how beautiful this animated movie is already, but wow – this one we could watch on a loop forever and still be happy. If you’ve had a rough day or need a pick-me-up, add this as the number one item to do on your self-care list.

MAD MAX: FURY ROAD Not all escapist movies are filled to the brim with lush botanicals, charming characters and fairytale creatures plucked straight out of a Disney classic – sometimes they take place during the apocalypse. George Miller’s 2014 action film is one such film, which is technically the fourth instalment in the Mad Max series that first began way back in 1979. Starring familiar faces such as Charlize Theron, Tom Hardy and Nicholas Hoult, this movie takes place in a post-nuclear desert wasteland in Australia (woo, represent!) where the titular Max builds an alliance with hardened officer Imperator Furiosa to help rescue the sex slaves of warlord Immortan Joe, resulting on a haywire car chase adorned with a heart-pumping soundtrack that’s sure to get you all fired up.

THE GREEN KNIGHT Starring Dev Patel in the titular role and taking place in the world of King Arthur in medieval England, this epic fantasy flick is based on a 14th-century poem involving a literal green knight and a game of decapitation – and this film is just as wild as the original piece it’s based on. There are talking foxes, ghosts and other magical characters that fit right at home in the world that director David Lowery built, and it doesn’t hurt that the visuals in this fantasy epic are just as dreamy as an Arthurian-inspired legend should be.