Elements of Fantasy: Other Worlds

The idea of other worlds besides this one (in fantasy, that means other “dimensions” or other frames of reality, not merely other planets – usually) is a very old element of fantasy, and it has several different roots.

On one level, the idea of having the fantasy action take place in some other reality that the protagonists reach through the hidden doorway, the magical summoning, or a similar means is a way to have all sorts of wildly wonderful storytelling elements while preserving a comfortable view of our own world as one in which magic doesn’t happen and everything is controllable and “normal.” It’s also a way of letting the imagination run wild without it being constrained by the limitations of current reality.