Dear Mister Fantasy...

The trailer had put me off somewhat, giving the impression of some dark Tolkein/Narnia amalgam, with Sound of Music undertones. Fortunately the fantasy elements were very subtly interposed with the drama, which featured some incredibly brutal scenes from the end of the Spanish civil war. Strange what can be classified as a 15 cert. these days. There was also no uncertaintity that the scenes in the labyrinth were anything other the fevered imaginings of the traumatised girl. It would have been very annoying if Pan had given the cruel step-father his comeuppance rather than the rebels.
The real fantasy here though is the myth that the war had a positive outcome for the rebels. It's hard to believe that Europe had it's own oppressive regime, and genuine fascist dictator until the mid 1970's.