Outright incredible

Rating: 9/10 (21 April 2007)

I wasn't sure what to expect from this movie. My family and I had waited a long time to see it and the advertising was somewhat vague. It appeared to be a fantasy for children based on the commercials, but the people I'd spoken to said it was nothing of the kind. Finally, we saw this yesterday and I was outright blown away by the story. Guillermo Del Toro's writing crafted an incredible fantasy world while keeping the movie dark and serious. Ivana Baquero's lead role as Ofelia was also amazing. This girl was able to carry the movie and look strong despite being so much younger than the other characters.
One of the best things about this movie was the way the characters were given personalities without being pushed ahead of Ofelia. I was very impressed with the "Pale Man" character. He was legitimately creepy and evil-looking. I can't believe the imagination that was put into this film. Usually such imagination is only in children, and since this story was from the point of view of a child Del Toro did a fantastic job.
Yes, this is a foreign film so you'll have to read subtitles. I actually am able to read and speak Spanish, but read the subtitles anyway. It never distracted from the film. The film seemed to be influenced from many other fantasy stories and films such as Alice in Wonderland, Chronicles of Narnia, Excalibur, and even Beetlejuice. However, the homage to these films was done in such a fantastic way that I felt it was on par, and often even better, than those films.
This is not a film for children, despite the fantasy images, but it also isn't a bloodbath so violent that your young teenagers will be mortified. My 14-year-old also enjoyed it. I highly recommend seeing this in the 2nd run theaters or picking it up on DVD very soon.