Dir. Guillermo del Toro · 2006 · 118 min · new 4K restoration in cinemas
Spain, summer 1944. The civil war is over and Franco's men are hunting the last guerrillas in the hills. Ofelia, a girl who lives in books, travels with her pregnant mother to a mill that serves as the outpost of her new stepfather, Captain Vidal, a fascist officer played by Sergi López. Nearby is a ruined labyrinth, and in it a creature, the Faun (Doug Jones), who has something to tell her. That is as far as this piece goes.
What is new is the print. A 4K restoration, supervised by del Toro and made from the original 35mm negative according to coverage of its Cannes Classics premiere in May 2026, is now going into cinemas. It reached US screens on 9 October, and UK coverage points to Studiocanal releasing it from 30 October. Reports also mention 3D and HDR presentations that the film has not had in cinemas before. The lab behind the work has not been named in anything we found.
one of the cinema’s great fantasies, rich with darkness and wonder.
Jim Emerson, RogerEbert.com
Critics came to the same place in 2006 and mostly still do: del Toro weaves a fairy tale and a war film together so that each makes the other worse and better. Ray Bennett at The Hollywood Reporter called that weaving the film's "great accomplishment". Total Film reached for "Grimm for grown-ups" and named the captain "the true monster of this tale, a fascist ogre".
The creature work earns the loudest praise, Doug Jones above all in his two roles. Jim Emerson argues the structure carries the argument: a child's tasks teach her to trust her own conscience, which is, in his words, a powerful anti-fascist weapon. The film won three Oscars, for art direction, cinematography and make-up, which is a fair summary of what people remember: how it looks. A cleaner 4K image is a good reason to see it on a big screen.
Not every critic was swept up. Total Film felt the effects and comic-book fantasy sit uncomfortably with the politics at times, and TechRadar's roundup notes that the Guardian gave three stars, admiring the ambition and craft while finding the political story less effective than the fantasy scenes. It is also, as Bennett and Emerson both stress, not a film for children, whatever the fairy-tale surface suggests.
A restoration cannot fix a story that some find uneven. It can only show you the work more clearly. Expect a film that is cruel in its realist half; the R rating is earned.
If you have never seen it, this is the best way in. If you have, the new image and the chance to see it with an audience are the reason to go back. If you want a gentle fantasy, look elsewhere.
In cinemas: reported US release from 9 October and UK release from 30 October. Studiocanal has also announced a 4K disc edition for 2027, according to UK coverage, with some listings including 3D and 35mm screenings. Availability varies by country, and the formats on offer differ by venue, so check your local cinema's listings.