American actor Doug Jones was key in realizing del Toro's dream. After starring in crucial roles in many of the director's earlier movies, such as Abe Sapien in the Hellboy franchise, and Pale Man in Pan's Labyrinth, he again wore heavy makeup to play the amphibian creature in The Shape of Water.

In the movie, Jones' character is covered with scales, but still looks sexy.

Speaking about his decadeslong fascination for fantasy movies with creatures, the director says: "It's very natural for me, because the way Mexicans see myths is that they coexist with daily life.

"In Mexico, you believe in the impossible existing every day. When you say you see a ghost, people say: 'OK, tell me about it'. They don't say: 'Are you crazy?' We accept the magical and realistic things at the same time."

The movie has so far won 97 awards, including the Golden Lion at last year's Venice Film Festival.

Most of the reviews have been positive, exemplified by 7.6 points out of 10 on IMDb and a 92 percent critics' liking on Rotten Tomatoes. But the movie has been criticized by some for being superficial in its treatment of a Beauty and the Beast theme.

"Opinions are opinions. I think that it's absolutely impossible to find any other movie in the history of cinema that is a musical thriller comedy (like The Shape of Water)," he says.

Liu Yinglun contributed to the story.