Guillermo del Toro’s Political Fairy Tales

Elizabeth Abele

doi:10.37536/reden.2021.3.1408

Abstract

While critical attention has largely focused on Del Toro’s overt fairy tale Pan’s Labyrinth (2006), Del Toro’s Hollywood films similarly incorporate the mythic, moral and gothic qualities of classic fairy tales. His new fairy tales present vital contemporary lessons embedded in these archetypal journeys – and their audience’s memories. His free borrowings from fairy tales and popular culture deliberately connect the familiar to his uncanny worlds. This construction is most evident in his films Hellboy II: The Golden Army (2008) and The Shape of Water (2017). The contemporary politics of race, sexuality, gender and environmentalism are embedded within these original Hollywood fairy tales. This essay focuses on the intersecting political messages woven into Hellboy II: The Golden Army and The Shape of Water, messages amplified not obscured by their fairy tale delivery. Through rich textual references, intersections, and hidden subtexts, Del Toro creates new gothic fairy tales, with original protagonists, emerging from the margins. By resisting previous patriarchal and racial boundaries, these films challenge their audiences to embrace new paradigms.

Highlights

While critical attention has largely focused on Del Toro’s overt fairy tale Pan’s Labyrinth (2006), Del Toro’s Hollywood films incorporate the mythic, moral, and gothic qualities of classic fairy tales
The contemporary politics of race, sexuality, gender, and environmentalism are embedded within these original Hollywood fairy tales
This essay will focus on the intersecting political messages woven into Hellboy II: The Golden Army and The Shape of Water, messages amplified not obscured by their fairy tale delivery

Summary

A DEVISHLY ROMANTIC SUPERHERO

Before discussing Hellboy II: The Golden Army, it is important to note how Del Toro shaped a superhero protagonist whose gothic and liminal position allowed him to bridge the fantastical and political tensions fully explored in the sequel. The prologue presents Red as a young boy, watching Howdy Doody and awaiting Santa Claus—both of whom Red assumes are real For his bedtime story, his father Professor Broom reads the tale of the Golden Army, an indestructible force commissioned by the elven King Balor. Prince Nuada’s taunt that humanity hates him, that Red has more in common with Nuada and his magical people, is continually confirmed, both by Red’s interactions with people and as reported on his televisions. He does not realize that he and his companions exhibit humanity that exceeds those with only human DNA. The ecoGothic asserts its power throughout this film, moving from “unease” to threat as it fights for its survival

THE PRINCESS BREAKS THE SPELL

DEL TORO’S SAVIOR PRINCESS

THE LOVE THAT CANNOT SPEAK

CONCLUSIONS