Review of The Legend of the Nahuala (2007) by Alberto M — 12 Sep 2009

Nothing really improved technically since Mexico's last serious animated feature effort, 2003's Magos y gigantes (obviously excluding 2006's blockbuster, Una película de huevos, which didn't really relied on technique rather than a nicely-paced screenplay and hilarious situations), but this is a completely honest, cute as a button example of the possibilities of the genre within the nation's context. The stiff animation distracted me a couple of times and the screenplay could've been a lot better considering the material they were working with, but the voice acting is so fantastic, you truly forgive every single flaw (and there are plenty) when you pay close attention to the magic performed by the extraordinary cast. I was thankful for the un-Shreked screenplay (almost no pop culture gags at all!) which let the plot speak for itself (the 18th century context helped a lot) and the characters actually develop rather than just being "funny".

Some jokes are kind of lame (or maybe I'm just a bitter old man) but if commercial products like these are released successfully in this country, I'm happy with that. I rather see kids quoting this one than Madagascar, seriously.