Lud in the Mist

It seems to me that most fantasy adventure stories I find have similar ideas. Both The Hobbit and Lud in the Mist have protagonists that are of middle age. They are characters that one would not originally think to be "heroes" of a story. I suppose writers do that so more people can relate to what the characters are feeling as they go on these fantastic adventures. Magic is a big part of fantasy so it is no surprise to find evidence of both good and bad magic in Lud in the Mist. But the bad magic reminds me more of drugs. Hope used a magical fruit that acts like a drug to cause uproar in the story instead of a dragon or some other evil character. Lud in the Mist is such an odd story and unlike any fantasy I have read before but that is what makes it so appealing. There are so many things in the story that can be taken as metaphors about the time in which the book was written. It is one of the things that keep the reading guessing as to the intention of the author.
As for the movie Time Bandits, I am kind of glad that I did not see it as a child because if I did i think it would have scarred me. It has traditional fantasy elements of good and evil and an unsuspecting character going on a journey but the ending is very different. In a kids movie one would suspect that when the boy gets home and the house is on fire that his parents are glad to see him and not even worry about how the fire started. But instead they ignore what he says and end up exploding into tiny pieces. In the end the boy is left all alone....what the hell? That is no kids movie and no traditional good defeating evil but that is part of what makes it an unforgettable fantasy movie.