Review by Svetlana Fedotov
Just in time for Halloween, Book of Life has charged into theaters this past couple of weeks to the delight of kids and animation geeks everywhere. Beautifully designed to embrace that ever-so-festive Mexican Day of the Dead vibe, this little bit of kiddie-sedation has received praise across the board for being one of the most original holiday films since Nightmare Before Christmas. While definitely stylish in its efforts, it does fall prey to some tired plot clichés, yet it doesn’t feel like you’re forced to sit through it as much as you get to. Also, Guillermo del Toro is plastered all over this thing – though only as producer – so you know it’s going to be good (Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark notwithstanding.)
The movie focuses on your standard love-triangle of two boys and a girl. Our heroes, Manolo and Joaquin, are both in love with sassy-yet-sensitive Maria and despite their friendly rivalry, the three are the best of friends. Unbeknownst to them, during a celebration of the dead, La Muerta, the goddess of the Land of the Remembered and Xibalba, the god of the Land of the Forgotten, have placed a bet on which boy would win Maria’s heart, with the winning god ruling both the lands. As the three living humans grow up, they each are forced into roles decided by their parents with Manolo a bullfighter, Joaquin a soldier, and Maria, a proper lady (though it doesn’t quite stick.) As Manolo, with his soulful guitar and sexy accent, gains a foothold in Maria’s heart, Xibalba takes matters into his own hands and forces Manolo to traverse the land of the dead to earn her love.
As stated, the animation is incredible. Opting for a traditional, marionette look, the 3D characters were designed to reflect a hand cut, puppet style that works wonders with the Mexican story. In fact, there were a lot of nods to Hispanic culture, including a wonderful appreciation of the flat-face paintings of Pablo Picasso in the form of background characters (though he’s technically from Spain.)The color palate was beautifully chosen with subtle yet cheery tones for the living and wild-in-out party bonanza for the land of the dead. Let’s just say, when they do big, they do BIG! Personally, I dig the little nuances added to each character, like the mini, hand painted-looking skulls on Manolo’s clothes or La Muerta’s ridiculously wide brimmed head. This is one of the most visually engrossing films I’ve seen in a while.
Unfortunately, if you hoping for a story that matches the originality of the art, you might be a bit disappointed. You can pretty much predict the whole plot within the first five minutes and know exactly who Maria is going to marry in the first ten. Also, the majority of the songs are covers of pop songs that were probably popular around the time production started, so it’s oddly jarring and kind of confusing why they couldn’t write a more original musical score. That being said, the plot is not THAT big of a deal. It’s not so strictly by the books that you can mouth the words as the characters speak them; it’s just, well, obvious. But there are some good points of the story, such as treating the gods as neither good nor evil despite Xibalba shady appearance, something that is reinforced in all mythology. Also, while you might suspect that Joaquin might be a formidable foe given his arrogance, he manages to skid the expectation and is surprisingly a good guy. Don’t worry, there will be a villain (there pretty much has to be or what’s the point), but it’s pretty cool how they handle it.
Marking the directorial debut of Jorge R. Gutiérrez and featuring voices of Diego Luna, Zoe Saldana, Ron Perlman, and Channing Tatum (with Danny Trejo and Cheech Marin for authenticity), the Book of Life is what you would expect but in a very unexpected way. Safe for even the easiest-to-scare kids, you’ll be happy for the hour and a half break while finding yourself lost in the wondrously inventive world yourself.
The Book of Life is in cinemas everywhere now.