Pan's Labyrinth: The Morality of Sacrifice

  The day before class on Wednesday the 11th I watched a video by Wisecrack discussing Disney’s effect on culture. Within that video, a topic heavily discussed was how Disney has altered the definition of a fairytale. In terms of the classic tales we have from authors like the brothers Grimm, they are very dark in comparison to the Disney adaptations. For example the adaptation of Pinnochio has a drastically different ending to it’s Disney counterpart. Within the original story Pinocchio is eventually hung to die after succumbing to many vices within his pursuit of becoming a real boy. This ending reflects the story’s moral lesson about morality and making choices to not give into vices and lie with the “OR ELSE!” motif. However Disney goes for making the ending a more sanitized version that the truth will set you free. 

With taking these changes into account, we are then given a return to form to the fairytale genre with Pan’s Labyrinth. Compared to the cleaned up and toned down Disney dilutions, this tale proves that embracing the darker realities has a greater impact. This is most evident from just the opening of the film, in which Del Toro shows the death of our protagonist in the first frames. With the reversal of Ofelia’s death we are witness to the inevitable, however the impact only comes at the end. Once Ofelia dies we truly understand that a true fairy tale involves death and sacrifice. Just as Pinnochio dies for his disobedience, so does Ofelia for hers. However the lesson here is subverted in that her death ends as a reward. Her disobedience informs the story’s true lesson in that to disobey an oppressive authority in pursuit of freedom is the real moral act. And only through her sacrifice, could that true freedom be achieved. By taking this path, Ofelia has created a better world for her younger brother instead of taking it away from him during the Faun’s bargain. With this Del Toro informs the audience of a common trope in Disney films that is also subverted here. Instead of the “love conquers all” trope that leads to the death of the Captain by Ofelia’s hand, we instead see her love serve as a grander sacrifice. This subversion in which the protagonist suffers shows that not all moral success comes without sacrifice. And that sometimes one must endure hardships to protect the ones they love, and die in pursuit of a better world.