The Mythical World of El Laberinto del Fauno

It all begins in the forest. It is legend that the forest was a labyrinth before the mill that has turned into an old pile of rocks and trees. Story has it that this specific labyrinth was the last portal for Princess Moanna, an immortal young girl who was lost in the mortal world and her parents wanted her back with the help of a faun. The princess had to pass three tests to help her get to her real parents. During these tests, she encounters a giant toad, the Pale Man, fairies, secret doors, and a mandrake root. All of these creatures are a part of a mythological element.

When Ofelia was tested to retrieve the key from the giant toad, she had to feed it three stones. In Egyptian, Greek and Roman mythology toads represent fertility and life, which is opposite to the film because the toad was keeping the fig tree from growing and maintaining life. However, according to blogs and DVD commentary about the movie, the toad and the three possibly mirrors her mother’s physical state. The Pale Man is a creature that lives in an underworld where is he eats live children. He is not a mythological creature but many believe that he symbolizes Captain Vidal based on how they both have extreme anger and the desire to eliminate anything and everything around them (notice the picture below).

Fairies are common in mythological studies. They are seen as a hidden species, spirits of the dead, or demoted angels. In Greek mythology, fairies are female nature spirits called Nymphs, while Germanic mythology call them Elves. In the film, they guide Ofelia to her tasks, which is a similar characteristic that other fairies have in other films and mythological stories. The mandrake root is famous for its representation of a human-like figure. In the film, Ofelia helps her unborn brother by placing a mandrake, soaked in milk and fed three drops of blood daily, under her mother’s bed. Surprisingly, the trick begins to work until Captain Vidal (the harsh reality of Ofelia’s world) kills the mandrake. Many cultures find the mandrake to represent fertility, prosperity, and good fortune. So it makes sense for the film to place the mandrake as a symbol for the unborn child.

The most important mythical creature is the faun, a creature that is half human and half goat. There are two different types of fauns: the Roman mythological faun that represents an enchanted woods and the Greek deity Pan, a faun of the pasture. The film represents the Roman faun because of his physical characteristics of earth-like elements. He guides Ofelia to the fantasy world that is the labyrinth.