Pan's Labyrinth: News from Comic-Con 2006

San Diego, CA -- Guillermo Del Toro's new film, Pan's Labyrinth, promises to be a stunning, fantastical, and insightful new film. The plot is a fairly typical coming-of-age story in which a young girl, faced with the reality of post-war fascist Spain, retreats to her own fantasy world using mythic devices to approach and manage the difficulties of real life. However, while the plot may seem initially superficial, Del Toro combines Spanish sensibilities, fairytale conventions, and a battery of visually remarkable effects to make Pan's Labyrinth something entirely unique. Described as "some Alice [in Wonderland], some Hans Christian Andersen, and lots of oral tradition," Del Toro says he hopes to show how much imagination Spanish and Mexican filmmakers really have, and, for this reason, would not do the film in English, despite its widening the prospective audience.

Released at the Cannes Film Festival, Pan's Labyrinth is the first fantasy genre film in the festival's history to make an appearance, and, according to Del Toro, the reaction was amazing, hopefully betokening a change in how fantasy, as a genre, is perceived. While often thought of as a children's genre, Del Toro makes the case during his presentation that fantasy can, and should, be adult in nature, offering a different means to process and approach the truth of the human spirit.

Doug Jones, the physical presence of Abe Sapien in Hellboy, was also present at the panel and will be playing the part of both Pan and the Pale Man, both fantasy creatures in the film who, combined, comprise the largest speaking role in Pan's Labyrinth. Rather than relying on CGI effects for fantasy sequences, Pan's Labyrinth will be using physical effects and prosthetics, depending on the actors to give them life. However, despite the extensiveness of costuming in the film, Del Toro remains insistent that it is the actors, Doug Jones especially, who give these creatures life through posture and gesture. "It is a gift" and one that Del Toro greatly admires. In this regard, Doug Jones says he wishes "to do some character research not at the zoo."

Despite both Guillermo Del Toro and Doug Jones's articulate and entertaining presentation, however, the highlight of the panel was the film trailer shown to the Comic-Con audience. The fantasy scenes are as visually stunning as promised, reminiscent of The Dark Crystal and Legend in feel and appearance, nearly jumping off the screen. These dreamlike fantasy sequences, shot in bright, vivid colors, are then starkly contrasted to the sequences of reality, muted greens and blues, drawing attention to the conflict between these two worlds.

Little more than a minute in length, Pan's Labyrinth's trailer manages to awe its audience, promising a fantasy that addresses adult issues while not losing sight of the fact that it is a child's world it depicts. Pan's Labyrinth has been described as Del Toro's "masterpiece." It is easy to see why.