It was just ok for me, not a very mystical movie that awes me enough. I'm someone who loves mystical stuff don't get me wrong, and the special effects of this show are pretty well done.. but it's not enough for me... [spoiler]Tbh, the only reason i found and watch this show was coz i found a gif of the part where she was with the monster sitting by the "buffet table" Lotsa people were also saying how good it was so i decided to give it a shot, sad to say it wasn't as impressive as i thought it would be. There were 2 parts which i found really stupid, 1 of them was the girl eating the grapes of course. Yea i know, she's juz a small girl and livin in her current condition, food should be something that she can't resist but like seriously? If you wanna die over a whole table of food, don't juz eat grapes? She even told the Faun "it was only 2 grapes..." my point exactly! LOL if u wanna risk dying over 2 grapes when u have a whole table of food, that's juz dummbbbb. Andddd with the creepy monster sitting there, u chose to eat with your back facing it? Like seriously, guess that monster wasn't creepy to her. (Maybe i'm too timid) It juz doesn't make sense to me at some point coz she knows how magical it is and the Faun specifically told her not to eat it but his advice juz fall on to death ears.. Makes me wonder, if u can't even follow simple instructions not to eat, why do u even bother bout coming out of the labyrinth before the hourglass run out of sand? "you'll only be in a better place with buffet" (Juz hafta be sarcastic LOL) And sadly, that's the only interesting part in the entire show, the creepy monster with his buffet and it didn't even last more than 10mins. Then there was the part Mercedes stabbed the captain, she walked out, then when the guards were chasing her, she juz ran a lil (maybe about 15 steps from the place) and stopped at a tree and then spaces out.. I was like huh? you're a lady and you know you're never gonna outrun them so you should have a headstart but no, she stops at the tree and let the guards juz catch up with her. Those were the 2 parts which i thought was really stupid. The rest of the show was juz alright. Definitely violent, Captain did a great job in the show but plot wise, the ending is considered a lil poor to me. As magical as they try to make it seemed for Ofelia, you gotta admit, she was the only one who can see those creatures coz her dad started that magical kingdom (I suppose).. So does this magic only work for Ofelia alone? Will anyone ever get to come across it and even if they do, why would they be allowed to join their kingdom if they are not related to Ofelia and her fam? And her mom was carrying a baby in the kingdom, was that her brother who was still alive in the real world? Is her brother gonna go through the same thing so that he can be a prince someday? [/spoiler] So yea, overall.. juz an average film for me. =]

"Pan's Labyrinth" is a simple but heartful film that beautifully combines dark fantasy, mild horror and semi-realistic war drama in a truly unique atmosphere. It has been criticized for being a bit too simplistic and melodramatic, but if you take it as the allegoric fairytale it is supposed to be, I actually found it as one of the few successful attempts at transposing such a genre into adult cinema. The simple narration and archetypal characters reflect classic fairytale storytelling, while also managing to teach the values of rebellion and sacrifice without resulting tediously didascalic.

Ofelia's fantasy world has often been misinterpreted as an imaginary refuge from the horrors of war, or as a visual representation of war seen through the eyes of a child. However, as Del Toro Said himself, the faun and the other creatures are not a figment of Ofelia's imagination, and are supposed to exist within the film's reality. This made me think about how grown-ups tend to come up with elaborated explanations and expect overcomplicated developments from something that just wanted to tell a story.

My only complaint is that the creatures just appear like in a catalog with very little to say. It's a pity considering that Del Toro obviously spent a lot of time and effort to meticulously flesh out the hauntingly beautiful aesthetics and set the tone with his fluid direction and immersive sound design.

I think this is my favourite film, as yet, from Guillermo del Toro - and it gets better the more you watch it. Set against at backdrop of a Spain still trying to recover from it's civil war, the young "Ofelia" and her pregnant mother "Carmen" are sent to live with the rather brutish "Capt. Vidal". Now he is a singularly nasty piece of work and the girl longs to meet her own real father. It's in the middle of the night that "Ofelia" encounters a sprite who offers her some hope. It knows of a faun in the middle of a maze who might be able to help, and so they set of in search of this ostensibly sagely and benign creature. The meeting offers her far more than a glimmer, she need only complete three tasks and will find herself taking up her inheritance as a princess and reunited with her kingly father. What now ensues is a fairy tale full of dark magic and untrustworthy characters whom the young girl must face if she is to succeed. Given the atrocities being carried out in the real world around her, she seeks more and more solace in this nether world that is probably just as dangerous - it certainly has it's fair share of malevolence and duplicity - but with her father the ultimate goal, she perseveres with wisdom and gritty determination. What makes this work is the delicious permutations of evil it offers. Contrasting the real with the fabled, the human with the fantasy - and the decency the young girl epitomises is by no means certain of success. The visual effects cleverly integrate both of her worlds without dominating the look of the film or the potency of the story - one of love, ambition, fear, trickery. It's creatively exciting and captivating too. This is storytelling at it's best, and on a big screen can be appreciate to it's full - and dazzling - effect.

Beautiful movie from Guillermo del Toro and while I did like the movie and its World War II-era plot, I can't say I was totally in love, feeling this was more style over substance, though the acting from the young Ivana Baquero was really good. **4.0/5**