Every now and then, a movie will toss the name of a country at an audience only for them to not recognize it. That lack of recognition is likely because the filmmakers have created a fictional setting for the narrative and its characters. This can happen for any number of reasons, including potential legal/diplomatic issues related to depicting a real location or a simple desire on the part of the crew to exercise their creativity.
While the examples of "worst" fictional countries aren't necessarily "offensive," they don't hold a candle to the pop-culture legacy of the "best" fictional countries. Across live-action and animated films in every genre, there have been a number of fictional countries that stand above the rest.
10 Worst: Wadiya - The Dictator (2012)
Admiral General Aladeen and his Republic of Wadiya are blatantly based on dictators like Gaddafi and Jong-il. The issue is that the middle ground between goofy caricature and real-life monster can become blurry. The Dictator never manages to make Wadiya seem real - much less remotely funny.
The Dictator was right in the middle of Sacha Baron Cohen's lull between Borat and Who Is America?. It received mixed reviews, with criticism directed towards Baron Cohen for essentially aping what he had done in Borat. U.S. audiences felt about the same, and it fizzled at the box office. The criticism is fair, as the Republic of Wadiya is just one example of how this film wasn't Sacha Baron Cohen at his most brilliant.
9 Best: Zubrowka - The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014)
The eponymous residence in Wes Anderson's The Grand Budapest Hotel is as fabricated as its home country of Zubrowka. However, through Anderson's unique vision, this Central European country is a gorgeous, wintry landscape that makes the movie even easier to revisit.
When famous concierge Monsieur Gustave H. (Ralph Fiennes) is framed for the murder of a wealthy widow, he and his assistant, Zero (Tony Revolori), go in search of an extremely expensive Renaissance painting. While doing so, they evade the police all throughout the Grand Budapest Hotel as well as a savage hitman on the Zubrowka mountains.
8 Worst: Bengalla - The Phantom (1996)
Predating the big superhero films that would come in the early 2000s, The Phantom (based on the comic strip of the same name) was criticized as vapid and subsequently discarded from public consciousness. While the production values are intermittently impressive and it features one of Billy Zane's best performances, it can't escape the feeling of been-there-done-that.
When a young boy is left stranded on the island of Bengalla, he is given a sacred treasure called the Skull Ring. With it, the boy swears to combat piracy and anyone else who commits acts of cruelty. With that, he becomes "The Phantom" - a seemingly immortal costumed crime-fighter. Sadly, the setting of Bengalla was as subpar as The Phantom's story.
7 Best: Arendelle - Frozen (2013) And Frozen II (2019)
When Frozen was released, it became the highest-grossing animated film of all time. While that record has been surpassed, it was a feat achieved by Frozen II. Audiences took to the lovely characters of Anna, Elsa, Kristoff, and Olaf just as they took to the surrounding land of Arendelle.
In the first Frozen, with the threat of a permanent winter looming large and threatening Arendelle, Princess Anna must travel in search of her estranged sister, the ice-powered Queen Elsa. Along for the ride are an iceman, his sidekick reindeer, and her lifelong friend, a sentient snowman by the name of Olaf.
6 Worst: Sokovia - Avengers: Age Of Ultron (2015)
Avengers: Age of Ultron was marred by controversy from the moment of its release. A big part of that mixed reaction had to do with the country of Sokovia. The country itself wasn't the issue, but rather how the inhabitants were treated.
The Avengers essentially fly through, battle, and let the elevated city plummet to the Earth. Fans felt their reckless disregard for human life uncharacteristic and irresponsible, even if it was just setting up Captain America: Civil War.
5 Best: Genovia - The Princess Diaries (2001)
The Princess Diaries essentially starts by throwing the protagonist, Mia, into Genovia. Apparently, she is meant to be the ruler of this country, and though it is foreign to her, it's still beautiful and enticing.
What makes Genovia great is how central it is to the plot and Mia's character development. The filmmakers characterize it further by tossing in little details like Genovia being famous for its pears, and it starts to seem like a real place to visit.
4 Worst: Val Verde - Commando (1985)
Arnold Schwarzenegger's ridiculously fun 1985 romp Commando frequently falls victim to leaps in logic. This mostly comes in the form of corpses defying physics or Schwarzenegger's John Matrix having meta-knowledge of the inhabiting actor's catchphrase, "I'll Be Back." However, when the narrative starts mentioning Val Verde, questions are raised.
In reality, Val Verde is a fictional country used by writer/producer Steven E. de Souza. He came up with Val Verde upon realizing that narratives that take place in South-American or Central-American locations could present legal problems in the future. In the context of the narrative, with John Matrix hunting down the crazed former ruler of Val Verde, it all just plays a little silly.
3 Best: Zamunda - Coming To America (1988)
Coming to America's Zamunda is certainly one of the more unique fictional countries on the list. Furthermore, the location manages to be fully fleshed out for the audience despite being onscreen for only a brief period.
The script does a stellar job at informing the viewer of Zamunda and the protagonist's role in it via visual humor (i.e. a massive elephant sauntering by an equally massive dining room table). Zamunda even made an appearance in the redundant sequel Coming 2 America, though to lesser effect.
2 Worst: Azmenistan - The Expendables 3 (2013)
Many fans would argue that making a film in The Expendables franchise PG-13 was The Expendables 3's major sin. However, there is an argument to be made that the decision to create a fictional country named Azmenistan was even worse.
Like everything else about this trilogy-capper, the name is lazy and pointless, and the location itself is rather lackluster, as it doesn't provide the film with any personality, and it feels rather anonymous when all is said and done.
1 Best: Wakanda - Black Panther (2018)
Much has been written about Black Panther's success and its stature not only as a pop-culture juggernaut but as a genuinely important film that has allowed countless African-American boys and girls (of all ages) to see themselves as a superhero on the big screen.
Because of its staggering success, audiences will be yelling out "Wakanda Forever" for the foreseeable future. And it's not just some movie quote that is forever ingrained in the pop-culture lexicon; Wakanda is now a word that means something very beautiful to a very large amount of people.
source https://screenrant.com/best-worst-fictional-countries-from-movies-ranked/
0 comments: