Monday, October 20, 2014

Review of THE BOOK OF LIFE: Vibrant Mexican Halloween

October 20, 2014




Romantic Manolo, scrappy Joaquin and smart Maria were three close childhood pals. Maria got sent to Europe to study. Joaquin trained as a military officer. Manolo was discouraged by his father from his musical aspirations, forcing him instead to take up bullfighting, which is the traditional Sanchez family occupation. When Maria returns to town after several years, Joaquin and Manolo vie for her heart. 

Meanwhile, the two lords of the underworld, La Muerta (Mistress of the Land of the Remembered) and Xibalba (Master of the Land of the Forgotten) take a bet as to whom Maria will marry. On the Day of the Dead, one of these deities unfairly intervenes. This leads to an adventure which will bring the characters from the land of the living to the land of the dead and back again.

The most striking feature of this film is the animation style. The human characters are made to look like wooden puppets. This artworks were so ingeniously crafted such that each character is distinct from each other. The three main human characters all look very good and noble. The supporting characters are rather on the atypical distorted side in their rendition, and these may need getting used to. 

The background artwork is no less spectacular. The highlight of the whole film are those scenes in the Land of the Remembered, showing it as a happy bustling and festive place. The colors were so vibrant and rich. The multi-layered designs were so intricate and meticulous in their endemically Mexican-inspired details. 

Another wonderful feature of this film is the musical score written by Argentine composer Gustavo Santaolalla. This musician has been awarded the Oscar two times before for "Babel" and "Brokeback Mountain."  The soundtrack also employs the most unexpected pop songs, sung Mexican style of course. Hearing a familiar song being sung makes me smile and even sing along. The sensitive singing voice of Diego Luna (as Manolo) makes songs as diverse as Radiohead's "Creep" to Elvis' "Can't Help Falling in Love" sound so good.

I believe this film had a lot of educational value in it for the young audience it targets. There are a lot of Latino values being tackled here about friendship and family, the status of women, the respect for the dead, etc., which are likewise universal as well, more often than not. It also introduces us, both kids and adults alike, to the vibrant Mexican culture, especially about their Day of the Dead.

The pace of the film was slow at first, but once you get into its groove, you will surely enjoy the eventful ride. My two sons with me, as well as the much younger kids in the theater with us, all seemed to enjoy the film very much as you hear a lot of gleeful laughter at the some of the shallower jokes. This was despite the rather macabre subject matter involving death and several grotesque-looking (albeit in a comical way) characters. It also had humorous moments that the adults would knowingly chuckle at. 

Aside from Diego Luna, the line-up of voice actors surprisingly included Zoe Saldana (as Maria) and Channing Tatum (as Joaquin). I would not have guessed it by only listening because of their Latino accents of their characters. Ron Perlman and Christina Applegate are also familiar names on board. Some well-known Latino actors like Hector Elizondo, Danny Trejo and Placido Domingo lend their voices for Manolo's dad and ancestors. The most unexpected name I saw on the list though was that of Ice Cube as the sunshiny fluffy character called the Candlemaker. You would definitely not think of gritty rapper Ice Cube when you see and hear the very cute Candlemaker.

Writer and Director Jorge R. Gutierrez successfully expanded on his experience on Nickelodeon's frenetic Daytime Emmy award-winning animated series "El Tigre:The Adventures of Manny Rivera", which he also created. Here in "Book", he was able to proudly showcase his beloved Mexican roots on a much bigger platform. The name of acclaimed Mexican director Guillermo del Toro as one of the producers of this film also gives an additional assurance of excellence. 

Overall, "The Book of Life" is a very unique animated feature film. The basic story is based on Mexican folklore and traditions, so the flamboyant animation style had the vivid colors and ethnic designs of Mexico. The different look and unfamiliar references may turn off some less adventurous viewers, but really they should not. This is one very educational and very entertaining film for all ages to learn from and enjoy. 8/10.


20 comments:

  1. I like animations like this as I enjoy the story and thinking about how the characters are done. I'm excited to see what adventure awaits.

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  2. Thanks for the recommendation! Is this a musical or..?

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    1. Yes it is a musical. Unusually, despite the heavily Mexican theme, the music is American pop! Maybe that is to better connect the audience?

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  3. I was driving along EDSA and saw the poster for this movie and immediately I was curious if it was any good... being a person who is a bit stingy with spending money to watch a movie in the cinema. From your description of the film, I would definitely spend money to watch it! :)

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    1. I believe 2D is good enough. Not worth it anymore to spend for 3D.

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  4. I'm not really fond of cartoon like movies but I would definitely take my younger cousins to watch this because just like what Hazel said, you've described the movie pretty well it made me want to see it myself.

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  5. The puppet-like animation looks really good. It gives a distinct feature of each character. The movie looks really educational too.

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  6. I'm not into animations. But this one looks like a good one. Perhaps now's the time to try, eh?

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  7. I am bad at rating and reviewing animations as I'm never a fan of it. I prefer real life acting to animation (despite knowing the amount effort put into animation). The Book of Life has been heavily advertised in Singapore and I don't think I will catch it anytime soon~

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  8. I watched this with my daughter just recently and we really enjoyed it. Love how the story goes. The rendering was amazing!

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  9. Always on the lookout for movies, such as this, that both kids and adults will enjoy. So this seems like a decent choice then! The kids are having exams so maybe, we shall head to the cinema next weekend! Thanks for sharing the review Fred :)

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  10. My kids really want to see this movie! They have talked about it ever since we heard about it. I love the vibrant colours, it looks well done.

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  11. I saw my friends with kids watch this movie. I'll wait for it to be shown on HBO instead. Unless... somebody's going to treat me to a movie. :D

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  12. Thank you sharing this to us! I'm not a fan of animation movie but once I watched a movie like that, I never regret it! I think my little sister will surely love this movie! :)

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  13. This sounds like a cute animated film that my nephew will definitely enjoy. I don't think it has released in India yet. Will have to buy it online :)

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  14. When was the last time I went to movie houses??? Ohhh... that was last year. I think I'll treat myself for a movie this week. I'll definitely consider this....

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  15. I watched this too.. It is a great film!

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  16. If I remembered correctly, this animation comes from the makers of Coraline. The style of animation is very similar.
    And musical has been the trend lately for animation storytelling. I guess the shock waves of Frozen can still be felt.

    Cheers~
    Pingerrain*Priscilla
    www.pingerrain.com

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  17. I would really love to watch this. I haven't been to a movie house since 2-3 years ago i think. i'm gonna add this on my watch list. thanks for reminding me. my daughter would surely love this.

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  18. I was fond of these kind of movies when I was small. Thing to show it to my sister.

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