Fairy Tales Aren't For Kids

Isn't he amazing?

I just saw Pan's Labyrinth tonight and I am forever changed. We grow up knowing familiar fairy tales and remember them as sweet stories, but we put them behind us as stories that brought us classic characters and taught us right and wrong and good vs. evil. And even with our fondness for our childhood stories, new fairy tales are few and far between, especially for adults. Pan's is a grown-up fairy tale. It has all the right elements of magic and fantasy, hardship and evil, tragedy and even some goddess moments. The fantasy world is presented in a subtle way and is, as Tim put it, peaceful despite the dark circumstances of the human world. It is a bit graphic at times and probably inappropriate for most children (hence the R rating). The cinematography is spectacular. Guillermo del Toro is the writer, producer and director. He is famous for several epic Mexican movies and the American movies, Blade II and Hellboy. I haven't seen any of his other movies, but understand why he is so respected in the film industry. Pan's is so beautifully thought out and executed and it gives me so much insight into del Toro's brain and motivation. I don't want to write too much about the movie because I don't want to spoil it for anyone else who hasn't seen it. But when you see it, let's talk about it. I am inspired.