Critical response
Ivana Baquero and Guillermo del Toro at the Elgin Theatre in TorontoRotten Tomatoes gives the film a score of 95% based on 243 reviews and an average rating of 8.6/10. The site's consensus reads "Pan's Labyrinth is Alice in Wonderland for grown-ups, with the horrors of both reality and fantasy blended together into an extraordinary, spellbinding fable."[36] Based on reviews from 37 critics, it received a 98/100 score at Metacritic, indicating "universal acclaim",[37] making it Metacritic's best-reviewed film of the 2000s decade.[38] At its Cannes Film Festival release, it received a 22–minute standing ovation, the longest in the festival's history.[39][40] It also received a standing ovation at the 2006 Toronto International Film Festival,[41] its first release in the Americas.
Mark Kermode, in The Observer, labeled Pan's Labyrinth the best film of 2006, describing it as "an epic, poetic vision in which the grim realities of war are matched and mirrored by a descent into an underworld populated by fearsomely beautiful monsters".[42] Stephanie Zacharek wrote that the film "works on so many levels that it seems to change shape even as you watch it",[43] and Jim Emerson of Chicago Sun-Times called it "a fairy tale of such potency and awesome beauty that it reconnects the adult imagination to the primal thrill and horror of the stories that held us spellbound as children".[44] In his review, Roger Ebert deemed it "one of the greatest of all fantasy films, even though it is anchored so firmly in the reality of war".[45] The New Yorker's Anthony Lane took special note of the film's sound design, saying it "discards any hint of the ethereal by turning up the volume on small, supercharged noises".[46]
Writing for The San Diego Union-Tribune, David Elliott was more mixed on the film, opining that "the excitement is tangible" but "what it lacks is successful unity ... Del Toro has the art of many parts, but only makes them cohere as a sort of fevered extravaganza".[47]
Commercial performance
During its limited first three weeks at the United States box office, the film made $5.4 million. As of 2021, it has grossed $37.6 million in North America and $46.2 million in other territories, for a total of $83.9 million worldwide.[31] In Spain, it grossed almost $12 million, and it is the fifth highest grossing foreign film in the United States.[31]
In the United States, it has generated $55 million from its DVD sales and rentals.[31][48]
In the United Kingdom, it was 2011's eighth best-selling foreign-language film on physical home video formats.[49] It was later the UK's tenth best-selling foreign-language film on physical home video formats in 2012.[50] On UK television, it was 2013's second most-watched foreign-language film, with 200,700 viewers on Channel 4.[51]
Awards and nominations
Award | Category | Recipient | Result |
---|---|---|---|
79th Academy Awards | Best Original Screenplay | Guillermo del Toro | Nominated |
Best Foreign Language Film | Nominated | ||
Best Art Direction | Art Direction: Eugenio Caballero; Set Decoration: Pilar Revuelta | Won | |
Best Cinematography | Guillermo Navarro | Won | |
Best Makeup | David Martí and Montse Ribé | Won | |
Best Original Score | Javier Navarrete | Nominated | |
16th Actors and Actresses Union Awards[52][53] | Best Film Actress in a Leading Role | Maribel Verdú | Nominated |
Best Film Actor in a Leading Role | Sergi López | Nominated | |
Best New Actress | Ivana Baquero | Won | |
British Academy Film Awards[54] | Best Film Not in the English Language | Guillermo del Toro | Won |
Best Original Screenplay | Nominated | ||
Best Cinematography | Guillermo Navarro | Nominated | |
Best Production Design | Eugenio Caballero and Pilar Revuelta | Nominated | |
Best Costume Design | Lala Huete | Won | |
Best Sound | Martin Hernández, Jaime Baksht, and Miguel Ángel Polo | Nominated | |
Best Makeup and Hair | David Martí and Montse Ribé | Won | |
Best Special Visual Effects | Edward Irastorza, Everett Burrell, David Martí, and Montse Ribé | Nominated | |
Golden Globe Awards[55] | Best Foreign Language Film | Guillermo del Toro | Nominated |
21st Goya Awards | Best Film | Nominated | |
Best Director | Guillermo del Toro | Nominated | |
Best Actor | Sergi López | Nominated | |
Best Actress | Maribel Verdú | Nominated | |
Best New Actress | Ivana Baquero | Won | |
Best Original Screenplay | Guillermo del Toro | Won | |
Best Cinematography | Guillermo Navarro | Won | |
Best Production Design | Eugenio Caballero | Nominated | |
Best Makeup and Hairstyles | José Quetglas and Blanca Sánchez | Won | |
Best Editing | Bernat Villaplana | Won | |
Best Sound | Miguel Polo | Won | |
Best Music | Javier Navarrete | Nominated | |
Best Special Effects | David Martí, Montse Ribé, Reyes Abades, Everett Burrell, Edward Irastorza and Emilio Ruiz | Won | |
Ariel Awards | Best Director | Guillermo del Toro | Won |
Best Actress | Maribel Verdú | Won | |
Best Supporting Actor | Álex Angulo | Nominated | |
Best Cinematography | Guillermo Navarro | Won | |
Best Production Design | Eugenio Caballero | Won | |
Best Costume Design | Lala Huete | Won | |
Best Makeup | José Quetglas and Blanca Sánchez | Won | |
Best Editing | Bernat Villaplana | Nominated | |
Best Sound | Miguel Polo | Nominated | |
Best Original Score | Javier Navarrete | Nominated | |
Best Special Effects | David Martí, Montse Ribé, Reyes Abades, Everett Burrell, Edward Irastorza and Emilio Ruiz | Won | |
Fantasporto | Best Film | Won | |
12th Forqué Awards[56] | Best Film | Won | |
Spacey Awards[57] | Space Choice Awards for Best Movie | Won | |
Constellation Awards[58] | Best Science Fiction Film, TV Movie, or Mini-Series of 2006 | Won | |
Belgian Film Critics Association | Grand Prix | Nominated | |
Hugo Award[59] | Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form | Won | |
BBC Four World Cinema Awards | BBC Four World Cinema Award | Won | |
Nebula Award | Best Script | Guillermo del Toro | Won |
National Society of Film Critics | Best Film | Won | |
Best Director | Guillermo del Toro | Nominated | |
Best Cinematography | Guillermo Navarro | Nominated | |
Saturn Awards[60] | Best International Film | Won | |
Best Director | Guillermo del Toro | Nominated | |
Best Writing | Nominated | ||
Best Supporting Actor | Sergi López | Nominated | |
Best Performance by a Younger Actor | Ivana Baquero | Won | |
Best Make-up | David Martí and Montse Ribé | Nominated |
Metacritic named it the best reviewed film of the decade" in 2010.[61] It is #17 on the BBC list of best 100 films of the 21st century.[62]
Top 10 lists
The film appeared on many critics' top ten lists of the best films of 2006.[63]
|
Unranked Top 10
|
Ranked No. 5 in Empire magazine's "The 100 Best Films of World Cinema" in 2010.[64]
Comparisons to other films
Spanish films
Del Toro himself has indicated similarities with The Spirit of the Beehive, filmed in Francoist Spain, which juxtaposes issues related to the Civil War with horror film.[65][66] At least one critic has made a connection to a second Spanish film, Cría Cuervos (1975, Carlos Saura), again made while Franco was still in power. Doug Cummings (Film Journey 2007) identifies the connection between Cria Cuervos, Spirit of the Beehive and Pan's Labyrinth: "Critics have been summarily referencing Spirit of the Beehive (1973) in reviews of Pan's Labyrinth, but Saura's film–at once a sister work to Erice's classic in theme, tone, even shared actress (Ana Torrent)–is no less rich a reference point."[67]
Non-Spanish films
In a 2007 interview, del Toro noted the striking similarities between his film and Walt Disney Pictures' The Chronicles of Narnia: both films are set around the same time, have similar child-age principal characters, mythic creatures (particularly the fauns), and themes of "disobedience and choice". Says del Toro: "This is my version of that universe, not only 'Narnia', but that universe of children's literature."[68] In fact, del Toro was asked to direct The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe but turned it down for Pan's Labyrinth.[68] In addition to Narnia, Pan's Labyrinth has also been compared to films such as Labyrinth, MirrorMask, Spirited Away and Bridge to Terabithia.[65][69]