Pan's Labyrinth

Pan's Labyrinth
Theatrical release poster
SpanishEl laberinto del fauno
Directed byGuillermo del Toro
Written byGuillermo del Toro
Produced by
Starring
Narrated byPablo Adán
CinematographyGuillermo Navarro
Edited byBernat Vilaplana
Music byJavier Navarrete
Production
companies
Distributed byWarner Bros. Pictures
Release dates
  • 27 May 2006 (2006-05-27) (Cannes)
  • 11 October 2006 (2006-10-11) (Spain)
  • 20 October 2006 (2006-10-20) (Mexico)
Running time
120 minutes[1]
Countries
  • Spain
  • Mexico[2]
LanguageSpanish
Budget€14 million[3]
Box office€83 million[4]

Pan's Labyrinth (Spanish: El laberinto del fauno, lit. 'The Labyrinth of the Faun') is a 2006 dark fantasy film[5][6] written, directed and co-produced by Guillermo del Toro. The film stars Ivana Baquero, Sergi López, Maribel Verdú, Doug Jones, and Ariadna Gil.

The story takes place in Spain in the summer of 1944, during the early Francoist period. The narrative intertwines this real world with a mythical world centered on an overgrown, abandoned labyrinth and a mysterious faun with whom the protagonist, Ofelia, interacts. Ofelia's stepfather, Captain Vidal, hunts down the Spanish Maquis who resist the Francoist regime, while Ofelia's pregnant mother grows increasingly ill. Ofelia meets several strange and magical creatures who become central to her story, leading her through the trials of the old labyrinth garden. The film employs make-up, animatronics, and CGI effects to bring life to its creatures.

Del Toro stated that he considers the story to be a parable,[7] influenced by fairy tales. It addresses and continues themes related to his 2001 film The Devil's Backbone,[8] to which Pan's Labyrinth is a spiritual successor, according to del Toro in his director's DVD commentary. The film is an international co-production film between Spain and Mexico.[2]

Pan's Labyrinth premiered on 27 May 2006 at the Cannes Film Festival, where it received a 22 minute–long standing ovation. The film was theatrically released by Warner Bros. Pictures in Spain on 11 October and in Mexico on 20 October. It garnered widespread critical acclaim, with praise towards its visual and makeup effects, direction, screenplay, cinematography, musical score, set design, and cast performances. It grossed $83 million at the worldwide box office and won numerous awards, including three Academy Awards, three BAFTA Awards including Best Film Not in the English Language, the Ariel Award for Best Picture, and the Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form. Pan's Labyrinth has since been considered to be Del Toro's magnum opus, one of the best fantasy films ever made, one of the greatest Spanish-language movies ever made,[citation needed] as well as one of the greatest films of the 2000s, the 21st century and of all-time.[9][10][11][12]

A sequel, titled 3993, was conceived by del Toro but ultimately cancelled. A novelization by del Toro and Cornelia Funke was published in 2019.

  1. ^ "EL LABERINTO DEL FAUNO – PAN'S LABYRINTH (15)". British Board of Film Classification. 6 July 2006. Archived from the original on 3 January 2014. Retrieved 13 April 2013.
  2. ^ a b (78% Spanish production, 22% Mexican production) "EL LABERINTO DEL FAUNO" (PDF). Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 21 June 2015.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  3. ^ Chappuzeau, Bernhard (2016). "Guillermo del Toro: El laberinto del fauno (2006)". In Wehr, Christian (ed.). Clásicos del cine mexicano. 31 películas emblemáticas desde la Época de Oro hasta el presente (PDF). Madrid: Iberoamericana. p. 561. doi:10.31819/9783954878543_028. ISBN 978-3-95487-854-3.
  4. ^ Chappuzeau 2016, p. 561.
  5. ^ "'Pan's Labyrinth': A Richly Imagined, Dreamlike Voyage of Self-Discovery and Character Formation • Cinephilia & Beyond". 4 January 2016. Retrieved 16 October 2024.
  6. ^ Meyers, John R. (2023). "A Multi-contextual Analysis of the Future of Folk Horror in Guillermo del Toro's Pans Labyrinth". In Bacon, Simon (ed.). Future Folk Horror: Contemporary Anxieties and Possible Futures. Lanham: Lexington Books. p. 175. ISBN 9781666921243. Archived from the original on 11 November 2023. Retrieved 30 October 2023.
  7. ^ Savlov, Marc (12 January 2007). "Once Upon a Time in Spain". Austin Chronicle. Pan's Labyrinth tries to be a parable, and I believe that the parable works across time–it is as pertinent today as it would be in 1944 in Spain.
  8. ^ Spelling, Ian (25 December 2006). "Guillermo Del Toro and Ivana Baquero escape from a civil war into the fairytale land of Pan's Labyrinth". Science Fiction Weekly. Archived from the original on 9 June 2008. Retrieved 27 January 2007.
  9. ^ O'Neill, Phelim (21 October 2010). "Pan's Labyrinth: No 24 best sci-fi and fantasy film of all time". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 18 June 2023. Retrieved 18 June 2023.
  10. ^ "Pan's Labyrinth is Still Guillermo del Toro's Best Movie". Screen Rant. 2 January 2017. Archived from the original on 18 June 2023. Retrieved 18 June 2023.
  11. ^ "Guillermo del Toro Films Ranked — from Worst to Best". 17 December 2021. Archived from the original on 18 June 2023. Retrieved 18 June 2023.
  12. ^ "Hollywood Reporter Critics Pick the 50 Best Films of the 21st Century (So Far)". The Hollywood Reporter. 6 April 2023. Archived from the original on 18 June 2023. Retrieved 18 June 2023.