Pan's Labyrinth (2006)
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- To accurately portray their role in Pan's Labyrinth, Ivana Baquero spent weeks conducting hands-on research and rehearsing directly with director Guillermo del Toro.
- Pan's Labyrinth utilized mostly practical sets and locations to ground the story, a specific choice insisted upon by Guillermo del Toro.
Pan's Labyrinth is a 2006 Spanish-Mexican dark fantasy film written and directed by Guillermo del Toro, set in Spain in 1944 in the aftermath of the Civil War. The film follows Ofelia, a young girl played by Ivana Baquero, who moves with her pregnant mother to the rural estate of Captain Vidal, her new stepfather played by Sergi López, a sadistic fascist military officer hunting Republican guerrillas in the surrounding forest. Escaping the horror of Vidal's cruelty, Ofelia discovers an ancient labyrinth near the estate where a faun tells her she is the reincarnation of Princess Moanna of the underworld and must complete three dangerous tasks before the full moon to reclaim her throne.
Guillermo del Toro's masterpiece operated on two planes simultaneously — the historical reality of fascist Spain, depicted with unflinching brutality, and the fairy tale realm of the labyrinth, rendered with dark, beautiful imagination — leaving the audience to decide whether Ofelia's fantasy world is a genuine magical reality or a psychological escape from unbearable suffering. The creature designs, realized primarily through practical effects and puppetry by DDT Studios, were among the most memorable in fantasy cinema, particularly the Pale Man — a horrifying eyeless creature with eyes in its palms — who became an iconic image of modern horror. Pan's Labyrinth earned $83 million worldwide on a $19 million budget and won three Academy Awards for Art Direction, Cinematography, and Makeup.
It is widely considered one of the greatest fantasy films ever made and the definitive work of Guillermo del Toro's career.
