Pan’s Labyrinth: Film VS. Book

So usually the book comes first, film or tv adapts it, and then we have general chaos of people hating or loving it. However, in today’s case, the movie came first! It’s one of my top 5 favorite movies, so, hearing there was a book coming out, it made my summer last year, but of course, I put off reading it. What are TBRs for after all? Anyway, let’s get this Film VS. Book post started!

The Film

There’s something about having a movie made in Spanish and become popular in the U.S. that kinda just warms my heart. Okay, not kinda. My heritage is really important to me, I may not be Spanish, Mexican instead, but the movie made me so happy.

It doesn’t hurt that this movie was absolute dark perfection. The music, the cinematography style, and the level of lore and creepy just made this pretty much one of the most perfect movies ever made.

Ofelia is a heartbreakingly beautiful character, and her story though dark, is still amazing and worth every minute of watching the film.

Idk if I can really give you all a coherent ‘review’ of the movie, it’s amazing, if it sounds like you’d like it and you haven’t watched it, I recommend you do so!

GoodReads:

Fans of dark fairy-tales like The Hazel Wood and The Cruel Prince will relish this atmospheric and absorbing book based on Guillermo del Toro’s critically acclaimed movie.

Oscar winning writer-director Guillermo del Toro and New York Times bestselling author Cornelia Funke have come together to transform del Toro’s hit movie Pan’s Labyrinth into an epic and dark fantasy novel for readers of all ages, complete with haunting illustrations and enchanting short stories that flesh out the folklore of this fascinating world.

This spellbinding tale takes readers to a sinister, magical, and war-torn world filled with richly drawn characters like trickster fauns, murderous soldiers, child-eating monsters, courageous rebels, and a long-lost princess hoping to be reunited with her family.

A brilliant collaboration between masterful storytellers that’s not to be missed.

My Review

I was sure I was going to love this, though I did wonder how in the world they would make it at all different from the book.

How did they do it?

Backstories! We get more backstories of the Kingdom, the lore of it, and even El Capitán.

The darkness from the movie went straight into the book, and the collaboration was seamless, Funke and Del Toro were in unison as one voice and it made my heart sing as Funke is a fave author of mine.

Aside from these bits and pieces of lore and backstory it is the same as the movie and I enjoyed the experience of reading it versus watching it, so, 5/5 for keeping true to the creepy and dark fairytale, the illustrations were gorgeous, and I enjoyed the new bits to it.

The differences:
-Backstory and lore are more prevalent in the book
-Items in the movie are explained more in the book
-More information on El Capitán