Television series
The Elephant Princess
- Portal fantasy
- Light-hearted
A suburban Australian girl discovers on her sixteenth birthday that she's a princess with magical powers in a parallel kingdom. Balancing rock-band ambitions against royal destiny, she learns to harness elephant-granted abilities while protecting two worlds. It's earnest, colourful fantasy for younger teens who want their magic grounded in real friendship and consequence.
If you liked this
Sabrina the Teenage Witch1996
A girl navigates double life between normal teenager and magical being. Same premise-driven charm, same way it uses humour to defuse the anxiety of not fitting in anywhere. Sabrina's got the tone exactly right.
But It's very 1990s in the broadest possible way — the fashion and references will feel dated if that bothers you at all.
The Owl House2020
A human girl trapped in a demon realm learns magic while building genuine found family. Richer animation, sharper writing, and it respects its audience enough to let characters grow and fail and change their minds.
But It's more serialised and darker than The Elephant Princess — less episodic hijinks, more actual stakes and sadness.
Mako Mermaids2013
An Australian show about ordinary teens discovering supernatural heritage and learning to manage powers while keeping their normal lives secret. Same energy, same regional flavour, same mix of comedy and genuine danger.
But The special effects are often noticeably cheap, and the plotting can get repetitive if you binge it.
Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from The Elephant Princess
The wildcard
Something you would not have found on your own.
The NeverEnding Story1984
Both pivot on a young person learning that fantasy worlds are not escapism but parallel truths that matter just as much as real life. Both ask: what do you owe to a world you're responsible for?
A boy escapes into a magical fantasy book that is literally being destroyed. It's about the real power of imagination and how stories save us. Visually astonishing, genuinely emotional, and treats fantasy as consequential.
But It's slower and more melancholic than typical children's fantasy, and some of the creature designs are unsettling rather than cute.
More like this (8)
Descendants2015
Teenagers discovering hidden identities and magical abilities while reckoning with who they're expected to be. Musical, colourful, unashamed about its earnestness. Pure comfort-watch fantasy.
But It's a Disney Channel film — if that particular brand of brightness and sincerity makes you wince, this won't change your mind.
H2O: Just Add Water2006
Three Australian girls gain mermaid powers and must hide it from the world. Lighter than Mako Mermaids, episodic, focused on friendship first and magic second. Genuinely funny and surprisingly touching.
But The production values are very early 2000s — low-budget sets and green screen that hasn't aged well.
The Sarah Jane Adventures2007
A woman and her teenage adopted son investigate alien threats in contemporary London. Smarter than it needs to be, genuinely frightening in places, treats its young characters with real respect and agency.
But It's Doctor Who spin-off mythology-heavy — you might feel lost if you've never watched the parent show.
Jem1985
Animated '80s show about a girl with a secret identity and a band. Exactly the same emotional core as Elephant Princess — the music and friendship matter as much as the magic does.
But It's a 40-year-old cartoon that looks and sounds like one. The animation is jerky and the synth score is relentless.
Wizards of Waverly Place2007
Disney show about three siblings hiding wizard powers in modern New York. Snappier dialogue and better-paced episodes than many of its contemporaries, with real heart underneath the sitcom mechanics.
But It veers toward slapstick at times, and the emotional beats can feel tacked on if you're watching for plot.
The Magicians2015
College students discover magic is real and attend a secret school. Darker, more literary, takes its fantasy world seriously as a place with actual physics and consequences. Excellent for when you want stakes.
But It's often quite bleak and contains graphic violence and sexual content — much harder edge than Elephant Princess.
Adventure Time: Distant Lands2020
Both use fantasy adventure as the frame for a deeper story about growing up and choosing between the life you want and the life you're needed for. Both let their protagonists be uncertain about the right choice.
An animated series about a boy and his magical dog fighting monsters in a post-apocalyptic world. Starts silly and episodic but becomes genuinely complex, exploring identity, loss, and what it means to be responsible for others.
But Early episodes feel like shapeless monster-of-the-week stuff. The show doesn't fully click until season two, and some plot threads demand multiple rewatches to parse.
Princess Mononoke1997
Both feature a young woman discovering she belongs to a magical kingdom while protecting the ordinary human world she came from. Both insist that being royalty means responsibility, not privilege, and that some duties can't be refused without cost.
Studio Ghibli's epic about a young woman caught between human and spirit worlds. Visually transcendent, morally complex, genuinely moving. Fantasy that assumes you have a brain and emotional depth.
But It's 135 minutes, hand-drawn, Japanese, and refuses to resolve its central conflict neatly. If you want a tidy ending where good wins, this isn't it.
