A Comparison of Guillermo Del Toro’s Pan’s Labyrinth (2006) and Tim Burton Alice in Wonderland (2010)
Research Question: To what extend is fantasy expressed in Guillermo del Toro’s Pan’s Labyrinth (2006) and Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland (2010) considering the different cultural backgrounds using symbolism, appearance, and good contrasting evil?
Film (fantasy) Candidate Code: May 2018 Word Count: 3,893
Table of Contents
Introduction ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 3
Body: ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 4
The Conflicts of and Understanding of Guillermo Del Toro and Tim Burton: …………………….. 4 Fantasy Created by Symbolism:…………………………………………………………………………………….. 6 The Appearance in Fantasy: ………………………………………………………………………………………….. 8 Evil within Fantasy and Purity in Characters:………………………………………………………………… 11
Conclusion ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..12 Works Cited………………………………………………………………………………………………………………15
Introduction
Fantasy has been incorporated in the work of Tim Burton and Guillermo Del Toro since the beginning of their artistic ability. Del Toro became inspired by his childhood film favorites during his production of Pan’s Labyrinth (2007). During Del Toro’s childhood he experienced films that creatively developed horror with fantasy but in a crueler way than Del Toro creates in his films (Toro, 2015). As for Burton, he began working for Disney as an animator but, he never acquired the natural Disney talent of soft, sweet characters (Biography.com Editors, 2016). This is dramatically shown in the Night Before Christmas (1993) where Burton helped produce the characters and script. So, with Burton on a horrific and distorted side of fantasy and with Del Toro on a more extreme side of distorted horror and reality, they are a perfect match to compare.
This essay will compare the cinematic view points on three common aspects of these directors’ films. The aspects are: symbolism, appearance and the correlation between good intentions and evil intentions. Del Toro uses symbolism to represent the real issues that occur, using appearance to create fantasy feelings in the real world. In Pan’s Labyrinth, Del Toro uses appearance to his advantage to depict Ofelia’s character. Del Toro uses multiple worlds in Pan’s Labyrinth to show that fantasy and reality are closer related than thought to be. Burton tries to explain that dreams are real and the “impossible is possible” (Burton, 2010) using symbolism. He uses appearance to his advantage by making his characters dominate Alice’s thoughts and nightmare. While Burton is mainly in one world, the nightmare, the real-world, Alice’s engagement party, initiates how the nightmare will go. There are is also a type of allegory between characters in the nightmare and in the party (Charity, 2014).
Both directors created a fantasy film that hinted at evil. The evil was present due to the appearances of the dark characters and ideas. Each director created a real world and added an
unrealistic or a distorted view to the film creating a fantasy with little doubt of being a horror film. While Del Toro’s film had to exist in Ofelia’s mind to be developed, he allowed the audience into her mind without the audience realizing the difference between the party and her imagination. Burton also does this when he foreshadows that Alice will be in her nightmare without knowing. A majority of the film takes place in Alice’s mind, when Alice falls asleep with her father at her bedside in the beginning of the film. However, when Alice falls down the hole she wants to leave, and she thinks that it is not possible to leave because she pinches herself and does not leave. Thus, playing into how Alice is in her imagination to solve a problem in her life that she cannot run from.
Body:
The Conflicts of and Understanding of Guillermo Del Toro and Tim Burton:
Guillermo Del Toro is a well-recognized director, starting out as a creator of an effects company addressed as Necropia, he became interested in fantasy (Haynes, 2015). His interest in fantasy began when he was young, he would go watch Mexican films that, to him, would infiltrate fantasy into an evil film (Toro, 2015). Little did he know, he would be recognized in the film industry thanks to his ability to create horrific fantasy creatures. The creatures Del Toro creates in his notebook are not classified as fairy tale creatures but as fantasized-beings because they have an evil nature with specific looks only he could create due to his personal life (TheDenzelGriffen, 2010). While Del Toro was creating Pan’s Labyrinth he stuck to a strong belief that violence “harmonized” in the world of children. Del Toro was young when he watched his first horror movie, and read a book of fairy tales that encouraged violence. He stood out because he decided to express his gravity towards violence in film rather than in hate towards
others (Toro, 2015). Del Toro enjoys “discussing the choices” to make in a film rather than figuring out the script (Toro, 2015). He prefers to focus on how the script will be told and the small details that will make the film something a little more interesting at least to him. Del Toro creates the character’s world and matches it to his script to create characters that can be interpreted with more than what they mean to him alone. Del Toro discusses that he wants his creations to be interpreted differently in respect to what they mean to any individual (Toro, 2015).
And then, there is Tim Burton, the director that started out at as an animator who did not have a characteristic innocent enough for Disney regarding character development. After creating characters as seen in the Night Before Christmas (1993) Burton was recognized for being a little weird. Feeling inspired from writers like Lewis Carroll who wrote the first version of Alice and her Wonderland. Burton decided to make his own version, one that stood out from the Disney version in 1951 and others. Also, a film that showed Alice as Burton perceived her in Carroll’s work, deciding her fate. In Alice in Wonderland, Burton pairs up with Johnny Depp, both believe that anything can be classified as “weird” or normal, to produce a film that has an eviler than the typical fantasy film (Burton, 2010). All the while, represent the film using fantasy with just enough reality to make the film intriguing. Overall Burton was weird and made his films weird hoping that the audience would understand his decisions (Burton, 2010).
Now, there are a few important key elements that Burton and Del Toro used in their films to create this demented fantasy world. For Del Toro, the Spanish Civil War was his inspiration however, Burton used Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Del Toro developed fear, curiosity, and bravery to introduce the feelings of the people during this war (Toro, 2016). He planned Ofelia as a young girl with no power with an unselfish mother and no father figure.
Ofelia was the quintessence of weakness that the Spanish population felt during the war. The monsters he created were to influence the fear of things unknown to show that death is something unknown that the people are scared. Ofelia overcomes this fear by the two domains and intentions as well as her death and her death, but her soul thrives in the other domains. Others are too afraid because they do not have another life after their death, which will come quickly if Ofelia’s step-father continues with his mission. While Burton does not create horror, he uses evil to adapt his fantasy to his opinion that Alice is battling between her decision of what the future holds (Burton, 2010). Thus, Alice would describe her dreams to Carroll and he would write them down to create a story book. Burton made Alice's dreams real, so the truth behind them would arise and make the fairytales horrific and develop nightmares for Burton’s “Underland” (Herbert, 2013). Therefore, Burton had to use a different tactic to make his film evil, the fairytales needed to come to life. So, since the now nightmares were originally dreams he made the impossible become possible in a dream because it could be controlled by Alice subconsciously contributing to the idea of verisimilitude.
Fantasy Created by Symbolism:
Fantasy is portrayed, using symbolism, in many ways and changes by who is creating the fantasy. Del Toro symbolizes rebirth, the strength of danger in a child’s world, the ‘devouring’ of children, and masculinity to contrast Ofelia. Rebirth is demonstrated throughout Pan’s Labyrinth by the tree, the baby, and the similarity of the opening and closing scene. Ofelia enters a tree that is shaped like fallopian tubes representing birth. Ofelia enters the tree and leaves with a different point of view (MrNerdista, 2015). She realizes that she must save her mother and act as the Faun tells her. This realization is considered rebirth of her mind and as she gathers a new perception of the Faun like a mother’s love is enhanced with the birth of her child. The Mandrake Root
represents Ofelia’s unborn brother, Ofelia nourishes the root under her mother’s bed like Ofelia’s mother is doing with the baby in her Womb. Del Toro also represents rebirth in the film by using the closing scene as the opening scene (Nerdwriter1, 2015). Del Toro is inspired by the reality of danger in a child’s world that children are unaware of. He represents the magnitude of danger by colors, because danger is not laid out for Ofelia the colors in her world are pale. As Ofelia enters a zone of danger the colors become colder as the real world is (Toro, 2016). The Pale Man represents the devouring of children, he has plenty to give but does not share unless a price is paid like Captain Vidal in the real world (NerdWriter1, 2015). In Ofelia’s case, she grasps food and devours it like the Pale Man would have done to Ofelia if she would not have escaped his reach, resembling how the church ‘devours’ children. Del Toro’s plan was to remove the friendly appearance of the man by rearranging his face onto other parts of his body. His face has holes for a nose, and a gaping mouth but, the eyes were on his hands to see that children were destroyed by the selfishness of the church who saw only what they could physically grasp. Masculinity that contrasts Ofelia’s feeling of being lost to help her find her way is shown through the Faun. The Faun is from the fantasy world but affects Ofelia’s decisions in the real world (Explained, 2016).
Burton uses fantasy to symbolize that Alice is “Underland” (Dargis, 2010). To Burton, Alice’s experiences in Wonderland are her dreams from Lewis Carroll’s novel. Alice knows that the impossible is possible, however she does not realize that it is because of her dreams or nightmares that the impossible can be completed. Throughout the film, Alice is in her Wonderland, her dream, she believes she is not the right Alice, this causes her to believe that the impossible being possible is a myth. In the beginning of the film, Burton puts Alice to bed by her father, where she enters her dream. Some believe that this is the only time she enters the dream domain and that the dream itself takes place in the future. So, she does not know what is going to
happen, but she can easily manipulate the impossible into the possible. Therefore “she is Wonderland” (Dargis, 2010) because she is inside her dream which is symbolized by her ability to change the future but not predict the future. This is shown when Alice begins to believe that impossible is possible, that she is the “right Alice” (Burton, 2010). It is demonstrated through the whimsical activities that occur while keeping the audience alluded to a fake reality. This fake reality can be true and real because dreams are real and the impossible can become possible within a dream. However, when Alice falls into the rabbit hole she begins her “nightmare”. Burton allows Alice to think she is having a nightmare because she is “not in the bright Wonderland of her dreams, but in the twisted, barren world known as Underland” (Burton, 2010). Although Alice finds similar characters to her childhood, Burton focuses on the negative and promotes the evil in the characters (Dargis, 2010). This evilness symbolizes that Alice is surrounded by evil and must make a choice on which direction to choose while realizing that there is evil in both directions and either choice will change her future drastically.
Fantasy is portrayed in different ways; Del Toro wants to create a reality based on feelings. He uses fantasy and evil fairy tale creatures to allude to a reality in a fantasy world. Burton, on the other hand, uses a nightmare to relay the ideas of Alice’s adventures thus, creates a world that is completely real because anything can happen in dreams and dreams are real. Burton understands that to keep things real within a dream the character cannot make things up but only change what is already in the dream. Therefore, both directors created a verisimilitude fantasy, with evil, using symbolism.
The Appearance in Fantasy:
Fantasy uses the appearance of characters, and ideas to control how the fantasy is interpreted. In Del Toro’s work of Pan’s Labyrinth, the fantasy compliments the character’s
appearances. Which develops horror from the emotional roller coaster of how the people in the Spanish Civil War felt during this time, especially children (Toro, 2016). Del Toro created Ofelia, a young girl that did not have much of a say in her life. Ofelia interpreted that running from life problems may be the only solution. She was a young girl who had no definite place in her fantasy world until her mother needed help. She sought to gain order in her fantasy to help gain courage in real life for her mother. However, she was unsuccessful because she ran away from her problems this is foreshadowed when she gives herself a place in her fantasy world with the Faun in the Labyrinth. Ofelia was helpless and her belief in fairytales suggests that the Spanish’ belief in the church would fail them because the church was ‘fake’ or corrupt. Del Toro’s audience gets a feeling of corruption because of the dark appearance of the characters which was influenced by his belief that children deserve to know how the real world works and do not need to know their innocence (Toro, 2016). Even though dark colors, like black, represent evil and hatred, the Pale Man is in disguise like the church (and Captain Vidal) who was thought to help families during this time but did the opposite to children in need. The old Pale Man, white in color, with weight loss to make his skin wrinkly, has a rearranged face. His eyes were on his hands to represent greediness and how the church takes the souls of lost children. On the other hand, Captain Vidal, Ofelia’s stepfather, is a monster because he is cruel due to his power and only wants to win the war, representing corruption. Captain Vidal is opposite in color to the Pale Man, representing a difference in monstrosity. Del Toro shows this by projecting how Ofelia’s mother must live with the Captain. Ofelia wants to free her mother but when she cannot she is forced to run away from reality like her actions with the Pale Man but instead she is running to reality.
Burton carries fantasy through the film using appearance by making remarkable characters in the dream world stand out and resemble another character in the real world and vice versa. Burton does this by giving characters similar roles such as the Chattaway sisters correlating with Tweedledee and Tweedledum. Also, the Red Queen and Hamish’s mother have a correlation due to their hatred for “innocent life” (Charity, 2014). Burton also uses each actor’s personality to fit his character’s projection of emotion and crazy, like Johnny Depp and the Mad Hatter. Thus, Burton relates the real world to Alice’s dream to make things intertwined and keep the audience believing that what Alice is going through is real. The characters are very unrealistic, and many things occur such as Alice’s shrinking that would not normally happen. However, Burton allows his audience to keep in mind that the impossible is possible and throws the balance of what is real and what is fake off. Burton’s screenwriter, Linda Woolverton, for Alice in Wonderland, described Alice as a character who “plays straight man to a bunch of screwball comics” (Dargis, 2010) which shows the drastic measures Burton uses to focus on the appearance of the characters rather than the main character. For example, Burton’s screenwriter believes that Alice is unsound psychologically and that the Mad Hatter helped show how shot her mind is. The Hatter did this by speaking his thoughts and acting peculiarly. The way the Hatter is introduced as mad helps demonstrate the abnormality of the character. The Hatter suggests odd statements such as “I’m investigating things that begin with the letter M” however, this is significant to a theme of the film, madness. This is because Burton is referring to Mercury, when hat-makers would make hats, during Lewis Carroll’s time, they would use mercury in the glue and cause them to go “mad” (Dargis, 2010).
The appearance in each work of art is similar but the forms that fantasy is presented in are different. Del Toro uses examples and emotions from the real world to inspire fantasy in
Pan’s Labyrinth creating a false sense of security for Ofelia and children of war. Del Toro decides that a mature viewpoint of the war on children transforms into a child's view by adding fantasy and monsters. Also, Del Toro believes that children should not control the film. Burton uses Alice’s imagination to make fantasy come to life. Even though Burton starts out with the real world, it is Alice beginning her dream state which causes the audience to lose track of whether Alice is living in reality or, in fantasy from the moment her father, Charles Kingsleigh, puts her sleep. The audience is drawn into a party, Alice’s engagement party, where she falls into a hole. The beginning of this scene is based on reality however, Alice falling into a hole is fantasy. Thus, there is confusion on where Alice begins her nightmare. Burton uses fantasy that came from a child's mind and turns it into a dark film.
Evil within Fantasy and Purity in Characters:
There are two domains in each film, a pure domain, and an evil domain. Del Toro uses these domains to create a fantasy film that has a twisted feeling to it. Del Toro traps Ofelia between the real world, an evil domain, and a fantasy world which is still evil but has some happiness and good. Ofelia is running from her step-father while she needs to face him to free her mother and other civilians. As would somebody need to do during the Spanish Civil War, or what Del Toro would have needed to do with the criminal that took his father for ransom (Haynes, 2015). She finds the fantasy world, the Labyrinth, when she is wandering in the forest. The Faun is her guidance and while she is unsure if he can be trusted she takes a risk and listens to him to play out her fantasy. Ofelia is the pure domain while the world around her is impure and evil. When Ofelia enters the Labyrinth, the doorway is a gateway to her evil fantasy world where she finds the Faun, her savior. The chalk door is also a gateway to the fantasy world that endangers Ofelia showing the evil within the fantasy world that she is enduring in the real world
as well. This is where Del Toro addresses how there is a “fantasy world to escape to but, you have a fantasy world to understand” the real world (Toro, 2016).
Burton uses the same domains of good and evil however, Burton places Alice in the middle of a decision between good and evil (Herbert, 2013). The characters around her are pure and help her find herself but they are in trouble and have some evil inside them. The evil is shown by their personality, such as the dormouse and her anxiety of having her things taken from her. Also, when the Mad Hatter bursts out in anger and confusion about losing his family and the Red Queen’s reign (Burton, 2010). Even Though, the Hatter helps Alice and is pure inside. However, the Red Queen is the evilest, she rules Underland because everyone fears her power. Except for Alice, who discovers that she must fight to become the person she truly is. Burton’s plan to exaggerate the evil found in Wonderland and turn it into Underland eliminates the “original innocence” found in Carroll’s work. However, this defines Alice’s “struggle between good and evil” (Herbert, 2013).
So, each director chooses to allude to how the main protagonist is a pure soul. In Pan’s Labyrinth, Ofelia is too young to realize what she must do for her family. Ofelia is guided by creatures that are evil but try to be sweet and deceive Ofelia. However, in Alice in Wonderland, Alice must choose between two paths in her life that are both filled with evil that takes her innocence away but allows her to become who she is. Both protagonists realize what the real world is however, Alice realizes she must fight through the evil and Ofelia learns to escape it.
Conclusion
Del Toro’s early connection with horror films and films with an R rating allowed his creativity to blossom. He formed a strong relationship with violence in childhood and believes that children should be introduced to violence at a young age, so they know what the world holds
for them. This impacts his films especially Pan’s Labyrinth where Ofelia is in a world with constant violence so much that now her imagination and fantasy world includes violence (Toro, 2015).
Pan’s Labyrinth represents how symbolism helps create a fantasy film by incorporating fantasy figures and characters into the storyline but giving them a meaning that is important to the overall message of the film. For example, the magnitude of danger with colors (Toro, 2016), and rebirth through similar opening and closing scenes of the film (MrNerdista, 2015). Del Toro allows appearance to be a drastic part of his fantasy film because of his dedication to his actor’s look, especially his monster’s look and design. The Faun’s appearance is very important and took a lot of time for Del Toro to create. Ofelia’s innocence as a young girl with no father figure was important to Del Toro too. The use of two worlds allowed Del Toro to prove Ofelia’s innocence and helped show the evil fantasy within the movie.
In a sexist view, if Del Toro used a young boy, instead of a girl, the characters innocence would be less important because a boy would have taken initiative when he was urged.
Burton’s mission is to gather odd stories and add an unusual or different view on his films. He did just that with Alice in Wonderland, he took Carroll’s work and made it his own by adding his own style to it.
Burton used symbolism to his advantage by making characters in Alice’s life characters within Underland. Appearance was big for Burton as it was Del Toro because, Burton cared about his character's appearance. He wanted to make sure that the Underland characters could represent the kind of twisted evil and purity he needed to create the mood of Alice’s decision on her adulthood. Burton used two worlds well in his version of Alice and her Wonderland by
seamlessly adding them into each other with similar characters and introducing the connection between pure and evil as well as the connection between Alice and these two entities.
Burton’s development for evil and a curiosity with strange storylines and novels to create films like Alice in Wonderland is yet to be considered. Unlike Del Toro, who wears his curiosity of violence in films on his shoulder.
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