Review of The Book of Life (2014) by Sue J — 08 Dec 2014

The 2014 computer animated film The Book of Life is a musical, adventure comedy that was written and directed by Jorge Gutierrez and produced by Guillermo del Toro, Carina Schulz, Aaron Berger, and Brad Booker. Diego Luna, Zoe Saldana and Channing Tatum are the voices of Manolo Sanchez, Maria Posado, and Joaquin respectively. Christina Applegate, Ice Cube, Kate del Castillo and Ron Perlman play part of the supporting cast. (Ron Perlman is a constant used by del Toro in many of his films, particularly the Hellboy movies so it is not a surprise that his voice is used in this film as well.).

This film begins with Mary Beth (voiced by Christina Applegate), a museum guide, and a group of children on a tour and who is telling them about some of the legends and myths of Mexican folk stories. She decides to tell them about San Angel, a Mexican town, from the Book of Life. The ruler of the Land of the Remembered, La Muerte (Kate del Castillo's voice), and the head of the Land of the Forgotten, Xibalba (played by Ron Perlman), show up at the town's feast for the Day of the Dead and start a bet after seeing two of the young men, Manolo and Joaquin, fighting over a girl named Maria. Xibalba wagers that Joaquin will marry Maria, while La Muerte says that Manolo will and if La Muerte wins, Xibalba will no longer interfere in the affairs of mortals, but if Xibalba should win, he and La Muerte will switch the domains they each rule over. Maria is then sent to a private boarding school, to learn better behavior, in Spain by her father General Posada. Manolo gives her a baby pig that she names Chuy and she gives him a new guitar with the engraving "Always play from the heart.".

Some years later, Manolo is trained by his father Carlos to become a bullfighter, while Joaquin has become the town's hero with the help of Xibabla's Medal of Eternal Life. On Maria's first day back, a bullfight is part of the celebration where Manolo fights the bull, but refuses to kill it, disappointing not only his father, but the crowd, except Maria, who is happy that he did not do it. Conflicted with her feelings for Manolo and learning that her father has arranged her marriage to Joaquin to protect the town from Chakal (bandit). Secretly meeting, Maria and Manolo profess their love for one another, but she is bitten by a snake sent by Xibalba which appears to have killed her, while Xibalba arrives and has the snake bite and kill Manolo as well.

Reuniting with his mother Carmen in the Land of the Remembered, along with other deceased members of his family, they all go to La Muerte's castle, but find Xibalba in her place, while he explains the bet and how Maria was only in a coma and not dead like Manolo. She learns of Manolo's death and accepts Joaquin's proposal to save the town from the bandits. It is here that Manolo and his deceased family travel to the Cave of Souls to reach the Land of the Forgotten. Meeting the Candle Maker (Ice Cube), who oversees the lives of everyone in the land of the living, the Maker takes the group to the Land of the Forgotten. Finding La Muerte, Manolo exposes Xibalba's disception and is given his life back if he can face his greatest fear, which is every bull his family has ever fought.

Joaquin is also exposed as in possession of the Medal of Eternal Life by the bandit Chakal, who with his army marches on the town. Manolo apologizes to Xibalba and asks forgiveness for his family. Manola and his family are returned to the Land of the Living to defeat Chakal. Joaquin returns the medal to Xibalba. Maria and Manolo get married and Xibalba and La Muerte reconcile as we find out at the end of the film, back in the museum, that Mary Beth and the security guard are really La Muerte and Xibalba. The Candle Maker then tells us all to write our own stories.

I am a devotee of anything that Guillermo del Toro is involved in and he has produced this stunning visual story about three very fantastic worlds. I admire and respect all the Mexican directors from Alfonso Cuaron, del Toro and Jorge Gutierrez, who directed this animated adventure of a difficult subject matter (death) that children could learn to deal with in an enchanting and less frightening format. The music and songs which highlighted the film were composed by both Gustavo Santaolalla and Paul Williams and served the movie's overall theme very well. The folktale spun by this film was very insistence with including some pop-culture references which unfortunately did not really work all that well. Sticking to a much better "fairytale" story and less predictable and weak dialog, although the voices of the characters were superb, would have served this film and made it a much more enjoyable movie. Reel FX, located in Dallas, Texas did a wonderful job with the animation, color, and CGI. I would not be surprised if this was the first film of a trilogy with emphasis on some of the other characters referenced in this first movie. It's a film for everyone as anyone can and will enjoy it. GRADE: 3 of 5 crowns.