It only took 13 years to get Pan’s Labyrinth toys, but the end result was worth the wait. As part of a larger overall deal with Guillermo del Toro, NECA’s new collection spotlights the various creature designs that del Toro holds the right to. Santi from The Devil’s Backbone is already available. So are the Faun’s costars Pale Man and Ofelia. The Shape of Water‘s Amphibian Man is coming. But you can’t have a Pan’s Labyrinth without the Pan figure himself. (Technically the Faun is not the actual god Pan, but he is the most Pan-like character onscreen.)
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The figure comes in a box with opening velcro’ed front flap, and cover artwork that looks like a comic book, or Mondo-style poster. It’s a useful image, as it lets us know the opening (empty) cylinder accessory the Faun comes with can be used to carry the tiny fairies packed in with Ofelia.
The detailed body sculpt really emphasizes the Faun’s plant-hybrid nature. One foot is a hoof, for instance, while the other looks like a tree trunk putting down roots. The face sculpt is softer and simpler, as it was in the movie. I suspect an alternate “mouth open” head might have mitigated this a touch, but the simplicity does give it the look of a carved icon. Regardless, the sculpt and paint job are much improved since the original prototype shown to retailers.
The Faun is loaded with articulation, so while I’m not necessarily saying you’d want to put him in bullet-dodging Matrix-style poses, I am saying I totally did. The Faun is ball-jointed in the chest, waist, neck, shoulders, hips, elbows, wrists, and upper knees. His lower knees are hinged, while his ankles are hinge-and-rocker. You’ll probably want to invest in NECA’s figure stands, or any that clip to the waist, as all the extra leg articulation makes him a challenge to balance for long. In case you were wondering, Ofelia is only available separately.
Yes, the shoulder bag’s flap opens. But there is no bag interior; it’s for show. The cylinder does have an inside, and tiny hinges.
Like the other two Pan’s Labyrinth figures (but not Santi, who’s $10 cheaper), the Faun runs about $34. That’s more expensive than most NECA figures, because many of their other lines can reuse body parts to cut costs. This is both 100% original and super-poseable. And it’s also highly unlikely they’ll do variants in the future. Though I said that about Pennywise the clown, and they made four.
You might say there’s plenty to fawn over here.
I’ll show myself out. In the meantime, let us know what you think in the comment section below!
