Pan's Labyrinth

Reception

Critical response

Ivana Baquero and Guillermo del Toro at the Elgin Theatre in Toronto

Rotten 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]

  • 1st – Mark Kermode, The Observer
  • 1st – Andrew O'Hehir, Salon
  • 1st – Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
  • 1st – Marjorie Baumgarten, The Austin Chronicle
  • 1st – Richard Corliss, TIME magazine
  • 1st – Shawn Levy, The Oregonian
  • 1st – Staff, Film Threat
  • 2nd – Empire
  • 2nd – A. O. Scott, The New York Times
  • 2nd – Ann Hornaday, The Washington Post
  • 2nd – Jack Mathews, New York Daily News
  • 2nd – Marc Savlov, The Austin Chronicle
  • 2nd – Peter Hartlaub, San Francisco Chronicle
  • 2nd – Stephen Holden, The New York Times
  • 3rd – Keith Phipps, The A.V. Club
  • 3rd – Lawrence Toppman, The Charlotte Observer
  • 3rd – Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly
  • 3rd – Ray Bennett, The Hollywood Reporter
  • 3rd – Rene Rodriguez, The Miami Herald
  • 3rd – Richard James Havis, The Hollywood Reporter
  • 4th – Stephanie Zacharek, Salon
  • 5th – Michael Wilmington, Chicago Tribune
  • 6th – Glenn Kenny, Premiere
  • 6th – Noel Murray, The A.V. Club
  • 7th – Claudia Puig, USA Today
  • 8th – Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times (tied with Children of Men)
  • 9th – Kevin Crust, Los Angeles Times (tied with Babel)
  • 9th – Kirk Honeycutt, The Hollywood Reporter

Unranked Top 10

  • Ty Burr, The Boston Globe
  • Dana Stevens, Slate
  • Joe Morgenstern, The Wall Street Journal
  • Liam Lacey and Rick Groen, The Globe and Mail
  • Ruthe Stein, San Francisco Chronicle
  • Steven Rea, The Philadelphia Inquirer

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]


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