Introduction: Ofelia from "Pan's Labyrinth"

[dieastra]

A while ago I saw pictures of Ofelia from "Pan's Labyrinth" but didn't know the movie yet. Finally I have watched it and promptly ordered the figure. I never learn LOL
She comes with the stone, you even can take the eye out! Plus fairies, key and book.

Comments

[arashinoookami]

That's cool! I love that movie.

[alumfelga.livejournal.com]

I haven't seen the movie, I don't like to be scared. Even the look of the stone is enough ;)

[dieastra.livejournal.com]

I just read on IMDB that they had to put a warning that it is not for small children as parents were bringing their kids to the cinema.

It was surprisingly dark. I am usually not into fantasy but I was really curious because sometimes I feel I need to educate myself, and also I have become appreciating the director, Guillermo del Toro. Have you seen "The Shape of Water" or the first two "Hellboy" movies? In all of these movies you will find weird characters, but also great imagination of sets and costumes and rich decoration, and I really like that. It's a magical world.

I originally only watched the second Hellboy movie because Seth MacFarlane is voicing a character there. He does not even play him, only voice him. I was very reluctant at first, thinking I would not enjoy it, but in the end I can truly say that I did, and Doug Jones who works a lot with this director and is really great at playing all these magical figures (it took him 5 hours to get into costume for one of the characters of this movie, can you imagine?) did draw me in at the end.

Pan's Labyrinth is set during the Spanish civil war, so we have the real and very bad world on one side, and the fantasy world that needs to be saved on the other side. And the girl is the heroine.

Sadly that beautiful dress that her mother made for her does not stay pristine for very long as she is then crawling through mud and it gets ripped apart :(

She also feels a bit like Alice in Wonderland to me.

Also, as I just learnt, the movie is not in English but in Spanish, with subtitles. But my version was dubbed German (on TV) of course.

[alumfelga.livejournal.com]

I'm afraid I haven't seen any Guillermo del Toro films. I know him as a maker of "dark, unsettling movies" I avoid. Even Tom Hiddleston in "Crimson Peak" wasn't enough to watch it :) I know "The Shape of Water" isn't a horror, but it still feels gloomy and I like light and colour in movies. Maybe I should watch it though, it won an Oscar after all.

Five hours to get into the costume? So when the shooting starts at nine, you have to be there at four. That's a challenge.

[dieastra.livejournal.com]

I truly can recommend "The Shape of Water". Yes, there are bad guys (military, soldiers) doing bad things, but there are also good guys (female heroes! Yay!) helping the creature. There is not much talk as the creature and also the main woman don't speak but still understand each other.

It did not feel gloomy to me. It felt old-fashioned. Like a movie from old Hollywood, in the Thirties or Fourties. The whole look, sets, costumes. In this warm color palette. Classic. Stylish. Or maybe like a fairytale?

My brother found it boring and fell asleep but I found it mesmerizing. One of those movies that draws me in and I forget everything and don't dare to breathe. It does not happen often but when it does I enjoy it.

I ended the movie and went straight to the internet to see whether a figure of the amphibian man had been made. It had not come out yet at the time, but I saw pictures and ordered him immediately. For some reason I skipped the introduction post but you can see him here and I think it is an amazing figure: https://dieastra.livejournal.com/338894.html

I am so out of the loop with Tom Hiddleston, I never even have heard of "Crimson Peak". I need to rectify that! If I know what to expect, I can adjust.

I watched "Only Lovers Left Alive" for him. Now THAT was a big pile of absolutely nothing! I remember, my friend went to the cinema back then, asking if I want to come along and I declined, thinking it would not be for me. By now I have a pretty good sense of what I will enjoy and what not. But when it was in TV recently, I thought I might give it a go and you should be open for new things, right?

But I was absolutely right. I could not find a story anywhere. It was just talking, talking, sitting around, more talking and nothing ever happened. And it felt all so lifeless, subdued. I mean, they are vampires having lived for hundreds of years and are bored out of their minds, so maybe that was what they wanted to achieve, but... ;)

Yeah, some of those call-sheets for actors in costume are crazy early indeed. I heard that some just go back to sleeping while the make-up team applies stuff. It is very demanding. Also, since Doug Jones also is in the current Star Trek, I keep seeing some of his tweets on Twitter, and I never would have guessed that he already is 60 years old! He looks amazing.

[alumfelga.livejournal.com]

My brother found it boring and fell asleep but I found it mesmerizing.
Everyone has their own interests! I guess I just have to watch and see myself :)

Being open for new things surely sounds like a good idea, but you seem to know yourself well :) I often have different needs in different times. Like, when I saw a couple episodes of "Friends" and I was quite busy with my life and happy, I thought "Why should I watch those people? They only talk about relationships and have boring jobs, they're not extraordinary, I'm not getting anything from this show". Some time later I felt lonely and had a lot of time, and then the show didn't seem like a waste of time, watching those people having downs and bad days, too was uplifting.

The creature figure looks good. I guess there's a possibility of a crossover with Doctor Who here? I'm not sure what the story would be, but the Doctor would surely object to keeping the creature chained!

[vjezkova.livejournal.com]

Wow - this is great! I haven´t seen the film but I do know the story enough.

[dieastra.livejournal.com]

Where do you know the story from? Is it also a book?
The movie is in Spanish with English subtitles. So unless it was dubbed and played on Czech TV, it would be difficult to watch for you. My TV had German dubbing.

[dustbunny105.livejournal.com]

Ohh, nice haul! I picked this movie up thinking it was something completely different-- hoorah for deceptive packaging-- and my sister and I ended up enjoying it a lot.

[dieastra.livejournal.com]

Oh what did you think it would be?

Actually, I watched it also under a false impression. I learn a lot about stuff through action figure pages and there is also a labyrinth movie with David Bowie, which apparently everyone loves but I never have seen. I thought it would be this one.

I was surprised at all the deaths, I had not expected those. But it was great! Do you also know the other movies by the same director, "Shape of Water" and the Hellboy movies? I love these too.

[dustbunny105.livejournal.com]

The blurb/summary on the DVD case made it sound more high fantasy than "historical drama with fantasy elements" and like sort of a cross between Lord of the Rings and The Labyrinth (the David Bowie movie). There was also no immediate indication that the movie was in Spanish, haha. I hadn't heard of it before but I've read about it since and apparently those are both issues held over from the marketing of the American theatrical release and is why it didn't do well in theaters.

I saw The Shape of Water in theaters! Really enjoyed it, though I don't think the creature was fleshed out enough as a character in his own right. I've seen some of Hellboy but need to watch the whole thing still. Same for Pacific Rim, which I have but never even opened.

[dieastra.livejournal.com]

I don't think "Pacific Rim" is for me, too violent, but I loved "The Shape of Water". I saw it on TV. It's Doug Jones playing all of these wonderful creatures - the Amphibian Man, a similar character in "Hellboy" and also both the Pale Man and the Pan in "Pan's Labyrinth" (there are figures of those too but I'm not sure I need them).

I recently even got a like from him on Twitter, for my crossover of the Amphibian Man with Star Trek pictures - especially since he is also in the latest Star Trek series.

https://dieastra.livejournal.com/337573.html

I also used him in this crossover with "X-Files":

https://dieastra.livejournal.com/338894.html

[dustbunny105.livejournal.com]

I'm generally not into really violent stuff anymore either but what I've heard about the characters' relationships is appealing to me and what I've seen of the cinematography is really cool. I really enjoyed del Toro's direction in The Shape of Water and Pan's Labyrinth, so I think I'll enjoy it whenever I finally watch it. Plus, giant robots are kinda my thing XD

Yes, I love Doug Jones! So cool that he gave you a like on Twitter-- and entirely understandable, since you do such excellent work :D I think Pan's Labyrinth is the first time I really became aware of him, though I'd seen his work before. The man is like a chameleon, so talented and so much range. I think the coolest thing about his role as the faun is that he doesn't speak Spanish and couldn't hear well inside his costume. He not only had to memorize his own lines phonetically but also memorize Ofelia's, so he could read his cues from her lips. He did such a good job that when they dubbed a Spanish actor's voice over him for the final cut, they were able to do it almost seamlessly. One of the reasons I bumped Hellboy up my to-watch list is I read that del Toro considers The Shape of Water to be a sort of unofficial prequel/backstory for Doug's character in it. Similarly, I want to watch del Toro's movie The Devil's Backbone because it's considered a "sibling" to Pan's Labyrinth.

[dieastra.livejournal.com]

Plus, giant robots are kinda my thing XD

Really? I never would have guessed ;)

I first heard of it when Burn Gorman (from "Torchwood") was announced of being in it, but not even that would make me watch. He seems to have made it quite big in Hollywood though!

I think I saw Doug first in "Star Trek Discovery", the first three episodes that I watched. He was the only one that kinda interested me, the rest was rather flat. I had heard his name thrown around when "The Shape of Water" came out and everyone praising him, so it kinda stuck with me.

When I then watched "Hellboy" I thought he kinda looks familiar (the eyes!) and looked it up and see, it was him. And yes, this character does indeed feel similar to the Amphibian Man. He has a very graceful way to walk. Can you believe this man is 60 already? Unbelieveable! I don't watch Discovery but aparently in recent episodes he was also seen out of costume, as himself. In case you're interested.

I certainly don't know many directors by name as I prever deciding on the story or on the actors in it but not the director (like I blindly watch anthing with Tom Hanks as I know it will be good), but I might be interested to check out some more of his work as well. I like people who have a vision and stick with it.

[dustbunny105.livejournal.com]

Really? I never would have guessed ;)

Well, I am pretty quiet about it ;D

Pan's Labyrinth is when I first became aware of him but The Shape of Water is what made me pay attention. Then came Disco and I was like, wait, that can't be the same Doug Jones... But it was! I didn't know his age, though, that's even more wild. I don't follow Disco either but I am curious to see him as himself, so I may check that out.

I'm not good with director names either but there are a few I watch out for and I'm trying to pay more attention to it lately. Direction can have such a huge impact on the story and characters, plus some directors are prolific enough that you can get a decent idea of what to expect based on the kind of project they like to do.

[niviene.livejournal.com]

Pan's Labyrinth is such an interesting movie. I really like Guillermo Del Toro and saw his exhibit At Home with Monsters at our art gallery in 2018

[dieastra.livejournal.com]

It'd certainly different and also different than I expected. I was surprised how dark it got at the end. That exhibit sounds amazing!

I first got to know the name Guillermo Del Toro from watching the Hellboy movies and then also Shape of Water of course.

[niviene.livejournal.com]

Love his movies. I have photos from the exhibit but not video as we weren't allowed to film in it.

[niviene.livejournal.com]

The exhibit was amazing. I wish you had seen it but I think it was only in North America. Such an interesting and varied collection.