Charlie Brown, Peanuts Gang Get New Feature Film

[Although this press release does not say specifically, the film will apparently be computer-animated, which is obvious (I guess) as Blue Sky Studios does 3D and computer-animated films. - Editor]

20th Century Fox Animation, Blue Sky Studios and Peanuts Worldwide Announce Iconic Peanuts Gang to Hit Theaters

Release To Coincide With The 65th Anniversary Of The Beloved Comic Strip in 2015

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Twentieth Century Fox Animation and Blue Sky Studios have acquired rights to make a feature film based on the late Charles Schulz’s beloved and iconic “Peanuts” franchise. The agreement is the culmination of over two years of discussions – focused on the film’s creative direction – between the Studio and members of the Schulz family. The announcement was made today by Vanessa Morrison, president of Twentieth Century Fox Animation.

The as yet untitled animated event will be released on November 25, 2015. 2015 will mark the 65th anniversary of the debut of the “Peanuts” comic strip and the 50th anniversary of the landmark television special, “A Charlie Brown Christmas.”

Charles Schulz drew the most popular and influential comic strip of all time, which was read everyday by 355 million people in 75 countries. In addition to the famous strip, Peanuts holiday television specials such as “It’s The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown” have won Emmy’s and continue to be among the highest rated prime time TV specials.

Steve Martino will direct the “Peanuts” feature; previously, he brought to the big screen (with Jimmy Hayward) Fox/Blue Sky’s “Dr. Seuss’ Horton Hears a Who!” Martino also directed (with Michael Thurmeier) Fox’s recent box-office smash “Ice Age: Continental Drift.” The screenplay is by Craig Schulz and the writing team of Bryan Schulz & Cornelius Uliano. Craig Schulz and Bryan Schulz, respectively Mr. Schulz’s son and grandson, along with Uliano are producing.

Also playing a key role in the deal was Neil Cole, chief executive officer and president of Iconix Brand Group (NASDAQ: ICON), which, in a joint venture with Charles M. Schulz Creative Associates, formed Peanuts Worldwide in 2010, the home to the global “Peanuts” property.

Twentieth Century Fox Animation director of development Ralph Millero worked closely with Morrison and with the Schulz estate in securing the rights to the property.

Commented Vanessa Morrison: "We are thrilled to partner with the Schulz family and Iconix and honored to bring the Peanuts characters to the big screen. This all started with our love and respect for the work of Charles Schulz. We thank the Schulz family and Iconix for letting Fox and Blue Sky bring his vision to new generations of film goers.”

Craig Schulz, President, Charles M. Schulz Creative Associates, commented, “We have been working on this project for years. We finally felt the time was right and the technology is where we need it to be to create this film. I am thrilled we will be partnering with Blue Sky/Fox to create a Peanuts movie that is true to the strip and will continue the legacy in honor of my father."

“This is a momentous step for the Peanuts brand. The beloved characters, Snoopy, Charlie Brown and the whole gang resonate with multiple generations all over the world,” commented Neil Cole, CEO, Iconix Brand Group. “This film will give us a new medium in which to engage consumers globally and showcase the power of the Peanuts brand,” added Cole.


About 20th Century Fox Film
One of the world’s largest producers and distributors of motion pictures, 20th Century Fox Film produces, acquires and distributes motion pictures throughout the world. These motion pictures are produced or acquired by the following units of FFE: Twentieth Century Fox, Fox 2000 Pictures, Fox Searchlight Pictures, Fox International Pictures, and Twentieth Century Fox Animation.

About Charles Schulz
Charles Schulz once described himself as "born to draw comic strips." A Minneapolis native, he was just two days old when an uncle nicknamed him "Sparky," after the horse Spark Plug from the "Barney Google" comic strip. Throughout his youth, he and his father shared a Sunday-morning ritual of reading the funnies. After serving in the army during World War II, Schulz got his first big break in 1947 when he sold a cartoon feature called "Li'l Folks" to the St. Paul Pioneer Press. In 1950, Schulz met with United Feature Syndicate, and on Oct. 2 of that year, "Peanuts," so named by the syndicate, debuted in seven newspapers. Schulz died in Santa Rosa, Calif., Feb. 12, 2000 – just hours before his last original strip was to appear in Sunday papers.

PEANUTS WorldwideThe PEANUTS characters and related intellectual property are owned by Peanuts Worldwide LLC, a joint venture owned 80% by Iconix Brand Group, Inc. and 20% by members of the Charles M. Schulz family. Iconix Brand Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: ICON) owns, licenses and markets a growing portfolio of consumer brands including CANDIE'S (R), BONGO (R), BADGLEY MISCHKA (R), JOE BOXER (R), RAMPAGE (R), MUDD (R), MOSSIMO (R), LONDON FOG (R), OCEAN PACIFIC (R), DANSKIN (R), ROCAWEAR (R), CANNON (R), ROYAL VELVET (R), FIELDCREST (R), CHARISMA (R), STARTER (R), WAVERLY (R), ZOO YORK (R), and SHARPER IMAGE (R). In addition, Iconix owns interests in the ARTFUL DODGER (R), ECKO (R), MARC ECKO (R), ED HARDY (R) MATERIAL GIRL (R), PEANUTS (R), and TRUTH OR DARE brands. The Company licenses its brands to a network of leading retailers and manufacturers that touch every major segment of retail distribution from the luxury market to the mass market in both the U.S. and worldwide. Through its in-house business development, merchandising, advertising and public relations departments Iconix manages its brands to drive greater consumer awareness and equity.

"The Skeleton Key" Unlocks Harmless, Eerie Fun

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 136 (of 2005) by Leroy Douresseaux


The Skeleton Key (2005)
Running time: 104 minutes (1 hour, 44 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for violence, disturbing images, some partial nudity, and thematic material
DIRECTOR: Iain Softley
WRITER: Ehren Kruger
PRODUCERS: Daniel Bobker, Michael Shamberg, Stacey Sher, and Iain Softley
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Daniel Mindel
EDITOR: Joe Hutshing
COMPOSER: Edward Shearmur

HORROR/THRILLER/MYSTERY

Starring: Kate Hudson, Gena Rowlands, John Hurt, Peter Sarsgaard, Joy Bryant, Ronald McCall, and Jeryl Prescott Sales

Set in the backwoods of Houma, Louisiana (in the same region as New Orleans) in Terreborne Parish (what La. calls its counties), The Skeleton Key is the story of Caroline Ellis (Kate Hudson), a young hospice nurse hired to take care of an elderly woman named Violet Devereaux’s (Gena Rowlands) ailing husband, Ben (John Hurt). Ben supposedly had a stroke while poking through the attic of the Devereaux’s home, a foreboding and decrepit old plantation-style mansion in the Louisiana delta. Ben can’t speak because of the stroke, and Violet is certainly… eccentric. However, the enigmatic couple and their dark and rambling home intrigue her, so Caroline, armed with a skeleton key that unlocks every door in the house, Caroline begins to explore the home and discovers that the large attic actually hides a secret room.

The hidden room holds some darkly mysterious and terrifying secrets; according to Violet it was once the secret room of Papa Justify (Ronald McCall) and his wife, Mama Cecile (Jeryl Prescott Sales). Violet also tells Caroline that the couple practiced hoodoo, a mixture of African, European, and Native American conjuring or black magic (not related to voodoo), and that the couple was lynched and burned because they allegedly tried to teach their witchcraft to their white boss’ son and daughter. The written spells, potions, powders, etc. that they used in their dark arts remain in the secret room. Caroline believes that the method to curing Ben lies in that secret room, and that she must use psychology to convince Ben that the hoodoo only affects him because he believes in it. If she can prove to him that it’s all nonsense, he should be cured… or so Caroline believes as she slowly entangles herself in a dark trap that she’s apparently too stupid to recognize.

Universal Pictures’ advertising tried to sell The Skeleton Key as being a horror movie in the tradition of such late 60’s/late 70’s suspense thriller-type horror movies as Rosemary’s Baby and The Exorcist, or modern atmospheric suspense flicks such as The Sixth Sense and Stir of Echoes. Director Iain Softley (K-PAX) certainly makes use of the charmingly gothic and dread-inducing New Orleans area locations, and his cinematographer Daniel Mindel (Spy Game) and his crew add the final touches that make the film look both moody and morbid. Art directors Drew Boughton and Suttirat Anne Larlarb and set decorator Fontaine Beauchamp Hebb team up, however, to be The Skeleton Key’s true stars. The Devereaux’s creepy old mansion, the surrounding swamps, and dilapidated dwellings are like the drawings of Graham “Ghastly” Ingels, beloved creator of some of the best art ever to appear in legendary EC horror comic books. Ultimately, any legitimacy that The Skeleton Key has as a good horror movie rests in their creative vision; the film is as much theirs as it is Iain Softley’s.

The Skeleton Key, for all that it is sinister, is the kind of film that the less you think about it the more sense it makes. Dig deeply enough into Ehren Kruger’s (The Ring and The Ring Two) script and the film falls apart because its internal logic is full of holes that Kruger either didn’t notice or chose to ignore – likely that latter. Horror movies aren’t supposed to make sense (which is the belief of many fans and quite of few of its practitioners); the scary movie’s success lies in scaring people, and The Skeleton Key is certainly a delightfully spine-chilling affair… as long as you don’t take a hard look at it.

Sure, it seems as if Kate Hudson is slumming for a paycheck; sometimes she doesn’t even bother to act. She stands or sits there with a stony, blank expression on her face, as if she’s wondering in which script hides another potential Oscar nod while a movie is being made around her. Luckily, the superb Gena Rowlands is there to tear it up; her Violet Devereaux is a combination of pointed wickedness, proud dishonesty, and dismissive sarcasm. Rarely has matronly evil looked so good; she’s Joan Collins/Dynasty mean. John Hurt is also great, taking his crippled Ben Devereaux and turning him into a totem of fear-drowned and cuckolded manhood.

While Ms. Hudson struggles to bat .300 in this film and although the villains are as comical and they are scary, The Skeleton Key is a solid, suspense filled horror hit. For all the holes in the concept, screenwriter Ehren Kruger is probably the best writer of scary movies this new century. Cast and crew have glossed over their missteps with enough hair-raising and spine-chilling tropes to make The Skeleton Key a must-go trip to the theatre, at least for true fans of the scary. Sit back, let the feelings and emotions take control, and submit to the will of a big screen full of eerie.

6 of 10
B

Saturday, August 27, 2005

"21 Jump Street" Good from Jump Street

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 77 (of 2012) by Leroy Douresseaux


21 Jump Street (2012)
Running time: 109 minutes (1 hour, 49 minutes)
MPAA – R for crude and sexual content, pervasive language, drug material, teen drinking and some violence
DIRECTORS: Phil Lord and Christopher Miller
WRITERS: Michael Bacall; from a story by Michael Bacall and Jonah Hill (based on the television series created by Patrick Hasburgh and Stephen J. Cannell)
PRODUCER: Neal H. Moritz
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Barry Peterson (D.o.P.)
EDITOR: Joel Negron
COMPOSER: Mark Mothersbaugh

COMEDY/CRIME

Starring: Jonah Hill, Channing Tatum, Ice Cube, Brie Larson, Dave Franco, Rob Riggle, DeRay Davis, Dax Flame, Ellie Kemper, Chris Parnell, Holly Robinson Peete, Caroline Aaron, and Joe Chrest with Peter DeLuise and Johnny Depp

Right up front, I must say that I like Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum. I haven’t seen all the movies in which each actor has appeared, but I try to see as many as I can. I don’t plan on watching two of Tatum’s biggest hits, Dear John or The Vow, unless someone pays me. No one is going to pay me to see either movie.

21 Jump Street is a crime comedy starring Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum. The film is based on 21 Jump Street, the television series created by Patrick Hasburgh and Stephen J. Cannell and which aired from 1987 to 1991 on FOX and in first-run syndication (in the series’ final season). The movie follows two underachieving cops who go undercover at a high school in order to break up a drug ring.

Morton Schmidt (Jonah Hill) and Greg Jenko (Channing Tatum) were high school classmates, but Morton the geek and Greg the cool kid weren’t friends. They became friends after they entered the police academy, where they made up for each other’s weaknesses. After graduating from the academy, they are assigned to park patrol, where they screw up so badly, they’re almost kicked off the police force.

Their last chance is a recently revived police department specialty division, 21 Jump Street, which uses youthful looking police officers to infiltrate high schools. The division head, the profanity-spewing Captain Dickson (Ice Cube), sends Morton and Greg to Sagan High. There, they must find the dealers of a new synthetic drug, H.F.S., but their ultimate goal is to find out the identity of the suppliers behind the dealers. While trying to fit in and not look like narcs, Morton and Greg learn that much has changed since their own high school days a decade ago.

21 Jump Street turned out to be much funnier than I thought it would be, and I thought that it might be a guilty pleasure or, at least, mildly amusing. There is nothing guilty about this pleasure. First, I think that it is a sarcastic send up of action comedies, especially of the buddy-cop variety, and it’s quite good at that. It is smart and dead-on about generational shifts in culture, especially concerning attitudes on identity, sexuality, and technology. Mostly, the movie seems to be about friendships: how they develop, what keeps people together, what can cause strife, etc. The dynamic of friendship between two young men, one that seems to have the potential to last a long time, plays out between the film’s jokes about demanding bosses, eccentric teachers, socially-conscious students, and a group of geeks who really want the new guy to like them.

I think 21 Jump Street works so well as a cop comedy because the relationship between Morton and Greg, with all its odds and ends, seems genuine in the context of a fictional union created for a movie. This movie is worth watching because of Morton and Greg and the way that Hill and Tatum, respectively, portray them. I liked the two enough to be very happy when I learned that a sequel to this movie is in the works.

I don’t want to make 21 Jump Street sound like a “bromance.” There is some ridiculous and crazy shit that happens in this movie, and almost all of it is very funny. It’s never over the top, even in the way Rob Riggle’s character, Mr. Walters, tries to save a special body part near the end of the film.

7 of 10
A-

Tuesday, October 09, 2012

Actor and NFL Great, Alex Karras, Dies

Professional football player Alex Karras played his entire NFL career with the Detroit Lions. After starring for four years at the University of Iowa, the Lions drafted Karras with the 10th overall pick in 1958. He was a four-time All-Pro defensive tackle, making it to the first team in 1960, 1961 and 1965, and he was also a four-time Pro Bowl selection. After 12 seasons with the Lions (1958 to 1970), he retired in 1971 at the age of 35. Karras was also selected to the 1960s All-Decade NFL team.

Alexander George “Alex” Karras died today (Wednesday, October 10, 2012).  Here's the Yahoo.com obituary.

Karras’ football career was long over by the time I started watching NFL games, so I best remember him as an actor. From 1983 to 1987, he was actor Emmanuel Lewis’ adoptive father, George Papadapolis, in the sitcom, Webster. I’ll never forget the shocking murder of Karras’ character, Hank Sully, in Against All Odds (1984).

To me, however, Karras will always be Mongo, the not-so-bright bruiser in Mel Brooks’ classic spoof of Westerns, Blazing Saddles. I fondly remember the scene in which Mongo slugged a horse and also his classic line, “Mongo only pawn in game of life.” [Another favorite moment is when Cleavon Little’s Sheriff Bart announces, “Telegram for Mongo!” during the scene in which Bart tries to capture Mongo.]

I offer my condolences to Mr. Karras’ family. Rest in peace, Alex Karras.

"Argo" Soundtrack Now Available

Argo Soundtrack Coming October 9th

Preview the Album, Featuring Original Music by Alexandre Desplat, at the WaterTower Music Website

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--On October 9, 2012, WaterTower Music will release Argo: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack at all digital retailers. The original music was composed by four-time Academy-Award® nominee Alexandre Desplat.

The film’s director Ben Affleck said, “We needed to find a theme that we would use throughout—obviously different instrumentation and tempo, but still the same piece of music.” He turned to composer Alexandre Desplat. “Desplat was amazing at crafting an atypical score, incorporating uncommon instruments, many Middle Eastern in origin. It doesn’t feel too literal or cliché, but he created a sound that instantly puts you in that place.”

Desplat received his most recent Oscar® nod for his score for the Best Picture winner “The King’s Speech,” for which he also won a BAFTA Award and earned a Golden Globe nomination. He previously garnered Oscar® and BAFTA Award nominations for his score for the animated “Fantastic Mr. Fox”; Oscar®, Golden Globe and BAFTA Award nominations for David Fincher’s “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”; and Oscar® and BAFTA Award nominations for Stephen Frears’ “The Queen.” In addition, Desplat won a Golden Globe Award for John Curran’s “The Painted Veil,” and also received Golden Globe nominations for his scores for Stephen Gaghan’s “Syriana” and Peter Webber’s “Girl with a Pearl Earring.”

Desplat more recently created the scores for “The Tree of Life,” directed by Terrence Malick; George Clooney’s “The Ides of March”; “Carnage,” for director Roman Polanski; Stephen Daldry’s “Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close”; and the two-film finale of the Harry Potter film franchise, “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Parts 1 and 2.”

Oscar® winner Ben Affleck (“The Town,” “Good Will Hunting”) directs and stars in “Argo,” opening nationwide on October 12, 2012. Based on real events, the dramatic thriller “Argo” chronicles the life-or-death covert operation to rescue six Americans, which unfolded behind the scenes of the Iran hostage crisis, focusing on the little-known role that the CIA and Hollywood played — information that was not declassified until many years after the event. On November 4, 1979, as the Iranian revolution reaches its boiling point, militants storm the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, taking 52 Americans hostage. But, in the midst of the chaos, six Americans manage to slip away and find refuge in the home of Canadian Ambassador Ken Taylor. Knowing it is only a matter of time before the six are found out and likely killed, the Canadian and American governments ask the CIA to intervene. The CIA turns to their top “exfiltration” specialist, Tony Mendez, to come up with a plan to get the six Americans safely out of the country. A plan so incredible, it could only happen in the movies.

Warner Bros. Pictures presents, in association with GK Films, a Smokehouse Pictures production, “Argo.” The film will be distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company. Affleck directed the film from a screenplay by Chris Terrio, based on a selection from The Master of Disguise by Antonio J. Mendez and the Wired Magazine article “The Great Escape,” by Joshuah Bearman. The film is produced by Grant Heslov and George Clooney. David Klawans, Nina Wolarsky, Chris Brigham, Chay Carter, Graham King and Tim Headington are the executive producers, with Amy Herman co-producing. “Argo” also stars Bryan Cranston, Alan Arkin and John Goodman.

The Argo - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack on WaterTower Music will be available digitally on October 9, 2012, and can be previewed at www.watertower-music.com.

www.argothemovie.com

Hollywood Film Awards to Honor Cast of "Argo"

Hollywood Film Awards to Honor 'Argo' Cast. Ben Affleck, Alan Arkin, Bryan Cranston and John Goodman will accept the Hollywood Ensemble Acting Award at the first awards show of the season.

The 16th Annual Hollywood Film Awards, presented by the Los Angeles Times, is pleased to announce that the feature "Argo," directed by Ben Affleck, will receive the "Hollywood Ensemble Acting Award."

"We are very proud to recognize the ensemble cast of "Argo," for their dramatic and outstanding performances," said Carlos de Abreu, Founder and Executive Director of the Hollywood Film Awards.

The 2012 Hollywood Film Awards has also announced that it will honor director David O. Russell with the "Hollywood Director Award"; Oscar-winning actor Robert De Niro with the "Hollywood Supporting Actor Award"; Academy Award-winning actress Marion Cotillard with the "Hollywood Actress Award"; three-time Academy Award-nominated actress Amy Adams with the "Hollywood Supporting Actress Award"; producers Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner with the "Hollywood Producers Award"; writer/director Judd Apatow with the "Hollywood Comedy Award"; actor John Hawkes with the "Hollywood Breakout Performance Award" for "The Sessions"; and Quvenzhané Wallis with the "New Hollywood Award" for "Beasts of the Southern Wild." Other honorees include cinematographer Wally Pfister, editor Dylan Tichenor, production designer Sarah Greenwood, and visual effects supervisors Janek Sirrs and Jeff White. In addition, director Peter Ramsey's "Rise of the Guardians" will be honored with the "Hollywood Animation Award," along with additional honorees to be announced in the coming weeks.

The Hollywood Film Awards Gala Ceremony will take place at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills on October 22, 2012. The event honors cherished stars and up-and-coming talent, and traditionally kicks off the film awards season with the biggest stars and top industry executives in attendance.

"We are very gratified to be the first stop of the awards season. In the last nine years, a total of 85 Oscar nominations and 32 Oscars were given to the honorees of the Hollywood Film Awards," said de Abreu.

Last year's awards show reached a total TV audience of more than 41 million media impressions, in addition to more than 300 million online and print readers' impressions.


ABOUT ARGO:
"Argo" is a dramatic thriller based on true events. Ben Affleck leads an ensemble cast that also includes Bryan Cranston, Alan Arkin, John Goodman, Victor Garber, Tate Donovan, Clea DuVall, Scoot McNairy, Rory Cochrane, Christopher Denham, and Kerry Bishé.

On November 4, 1979, as the Iranian revolution reaches its boiling point, militants storm the U.S. embassy in Tehran, taking 52 Americans hostage. But, in the midst of the chaos, six Americans manage to slip away and find refuge in the home of Canadian Ambassador Ken Taylor. Knowing it is only a matter of time before the six are found out and likely killed, the Canadian and American governments ask the CIA to intervene. The CIA turns to their top "exfiltration" specialist, Tony Mendez, to come up with a plan to get the six Americans safely out of the country. A plan so incredible, it could only happen in the movies.

ABOUT THE HOLLYWOOD FILM AWARDS:
The Hollywood Film Awards were created to honor excellence in the art of filmmaking, both in front of and behind the camera, and launch the awards season. The criteria are: recipients are selected to be honored for their body of work and/or a film(s) that is to be released between January 1 and December 31 by an advisory team. In addition, for the recipients of our "film awards craft categories" (aside from evaluating their body of work), our Advisory team takes into consideration the recommendation of their guilds/societies. Last year alone, our recipients received 12 nominations and 5 Oscars. In the last 9 years, a total of 85 Oscar nominations and 32 Oscars were given to our honorees.

Review: "Pan’s Labyrinth" is a Fantasy Film Masterpiece (Happy B'day, Guillermo del Toro)

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 95 (of 2007) by Leroy Douresseaux

Pan’s Labyrinth (2006)
El Laberinto del fauno – Spanish title
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: Mexico/Spain/USA; Language: Spanish
Running time: 119 minutes (1 hour, 59 minutes)
MPAA – R for graphic violence and some language
WRITER/DIRECTOR: Guillermo del Toro
PRODUCERS: Álvaro Augustín, Alfonso Cuarón, Bertha Navarro, Guillermo del Toro, and Frida Torresblanco
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Guillermo Navarro
EDITOR: Bernat Vilaplana
COMPOSER: Javier Navarrete
2007 Academy Award winner

FANTASY/DRAMA/HISTORICAL

Starring: Ivana Baquero, Sergí López, Maribel Verdú, Doug Jones, Ariadna Gil, Álex Angulo, Manolo Solo, César Vea, and Roger Casamajor

The subject of this movie review is Pan’s Labyrinth, a 2006 Mexican fantasy film. The film is directed by Mexican director, Guillermo del Toro.

Set in post-World War II Spain during the regime of Francisco Franco, El Laberinto del fauno (or Pan’s Labyrinth) is director Guillermo del Toro’s adult fairy tale that blends classic folklore with 20th Century political themes in a manner similar to del Toro’s Spanish Civil War-set The Devil’s Backbone (2001).

Ofelia (Ivana Baquero), a dreamy girl who loves to read fairy tales, finds herself moved to a forest military outpost with her pregnant mother, Carmen (Ariadna Gil), at the behest of her stepfather, Captain Vidal (Sergí López). Ofelia feels powerless and lonely, and except for her mother, makes one new friend, the outpost’s housekeeper, Mercedes (Maribel Verdú).

While exploring the forest, Ofelia stumbles upon a decaying garden labyrinth guarded by a mysterious faun, Pan (Doug Jones). Teasing and enigmatic, he tells Ofelia that she is really the lost Princess Moanna, who rightfully belongs in another world. Pan offers Ofelia a chance to prove herself – three tasks that will prove that her time in the mortal world has not washed away all of her immortality. As difficult as the tasks are, Ofelia must not only face the monsters of magical world, but also the ones in her daily life, especially Vidal and his brutal campaign against a band of anti-Franco rebels who hide in the forest.

Although many directors are called visionary, Guillermo del Toro certainly deserves the label, and I like to think of him as a Latin parallel to director Tim Burton (Beetlejuice, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory). His devotion to gothic horror has resulted in dark, dark fantasy films that are both colorful and moody, as well as being filled with daring and innovative imagery.

Pan’s Labyrinth weighs against blind obedience to ideology, and favors devotion to friends and loved ones. It advocates sacrifice in place of unyielding selfishness and cruelty. Del Toro works these themes through the film using two narratives about two worlds. There is Ofelia’s harsh real world where her mother suffers a difficult pregnancy and her stepfather is a monster. The other world is one of the fantasy quest, which one can see as either literal or simply a figment of Ofelia’s vivid imagination. While both narratives may seem unconnected, they come together. One portrays the danger of belief that one’s ideology makes one superior to others and therefore has the power of life and death over them. The other deals with doing something that feels wrong out of desperation for reward – the end justifies the means.

The lovely performances and ingenious production add beauty to this ambitious and successfully executed story. In the end, Pan’s Labyrinth’s ideas do outweigh its grand imagination, and considering the visuals, that’s quite a feat.

9 of 10
A+

NOTES:
2007 Academy Awards: 3 wins for “Best Achievement in Art Direction” (Eugenio Caballero and Pilar Revuelta), “Best Achievement in Cinematographer” (Guillermo Navarro), and “Best Achievement in Makeup” (David Martí and Montse Ribé); 3 nominations for “Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Score” (Javier Navarrete), “Best Foreign Language Film of the Year” (Mexico), and “Best Writing, Original Screenplay” (Guillermo del Toro)

2007 BAFTA Awards: 3 wins: “Best Costume Design” (Lala Huete), “Best Film not in the English Language” (Alfonso Cuarón, Bertha Navarro, Frida Torresblanco, and Guillermo del Toro), “Best Make Up & Hair” (José Quetglás and Blanca Sánchez); 5 nominations: “Best Achievement in Special Visual Effects” (Edward Irastorza, Everett Burrell, David Martí, and Montse Ribé), “Best Cinematography” (Guillermo Navarro), “Best Production Design” (Eugenio Caballero and Pilar Revuelta), “Best Screenplay – Original” (Guillermo del Toro), “Best Sound” (Martín Hernández, Jaime Baksht, and Miguel Ángel Polo)

2007 Golden Globes: 1 nomination: “Best Foreign Language Film”

Wednesday, June 20, 2007

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