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In 2006, Mexican director Guillermo Del Toro released what is arguably his masterpiece: El laberinto del fauno (Pan’s Labyrinth).
The poetic and haunting fairytale set in Francoist Spain was a critical darling, winning three Oscars, the BAFTA for Best Film Not In The English Language, and sweeping the Goyas with a whopping seven wins.
Now, Del Toro has confirmed that a restored version of Pan’s Labyrinth will be heading back to cinemas in October to celebrate the film’s 20th anniversary.
The iconic director confirmed the news during the weekend at San Diego Comic-Con, also stressing that the film’s restoration was done by hand and not with the use of AI.
Del Toro, who previously said all AI was capable of creating was “semi-compelling screensavers”, said he converted the film into 3D by hand.
“Obviously, I said, ‘Absolutely no goddamn AI,’” he said, which was met with cheers from the audience.
“What we’re protecting is the beauty and the redeeming power of art. It’s not about who gets the job. We are protecting a lineage of art. If we cut a generation of people from learning their craft, you’re cutting the rest of the history of that medium away from them for what?”
He added that he chose to take the time to do the conversion, saying: “You have to put in time. You have to do every element by hand. A human made a decision of depth.”
This is far from the first time that Del Toro has spoken out against the contentious technology and its ills.
Last year at the Lumière Film Festival, during which he presented Frankenstein, he decried the use of AI in film, saying: “We live in dangerous times – times when we’re ashamed of our emotions, in which we’re told that art is not important and that we can make art on a fucking App…”
“When they rob us of art and emotion, that leads us towards the aesthetics of fascism,” he added, before saying about Frankenstein: “In this film, all the sets are real, the decor is human-sized, there are painstakingly created miniatures… It’s an opera, made by humans for humans. It’s a film that’s there to remind us that art is not only necessary, it is urgent. And AI can go fuck itself!”
The director previously told us 2023’s Annecy Animation Film Festival: “When people say they’re scared of AI, I say don’t be afraid of any intelligence; be afraid of stupidity. Every intelligence is artificial. Stupidity is natural. Completely, 100 percent natural, organic. Be afraid of stability. That’s the real enemy.”
The 20th anniversary of Pan’s Labyrinth hits theatres in 3D and HDR for the first time on 9 October 2026.
