The Book of Life

Musical Manolo, scrappy Joaquin and smart Maria are three close childhood pals. Maria gets sent to Europe to study. Joaquin gets seriously into training as a military officer. Manolo is 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 who Maria will end up with. On the Day of the Dead, the deities interfere with the outcome, leading to an adventure which will bring the characters from the land of the living to the land of the dead and back.

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 ugly, 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 films "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 and several grotesque-looking (albeit in a comical way) characters. It also had humorous moments that only adults would 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. Other familiar names such as Ron Perlman and Christina Applegate are also on board. The most unexpected name I saw on the list though was that of Ice Cube as the sunshiny fluffy underworld character named Candlemaker. Some well-known Latino actors like Hector Elizondo, Danny Trejo and Placido Domingo voice the more mature characters, like Manolo's dad and ancestors.

Overall, "The Book of Life" is a very unique animated feature film. The basic story is based on Mexican folklore and traditions, so the animation style had the colors, designs and style of Mexico. The different look and unfamiliar references may turn off some less adventurous viewers, but really it should not. This is one very educational and very entertaining film for all ages. Writer and Director Jorge R. Gutierrez was able to successfully expand on his experience on Nickelodeon's frenetic award-winning animated series "El Tigre:The Adventures of Manny Rivera" (which he also created) and here proudly showcased his beloved Mexican roots on a much bigger platform. 8/10.

Book of life is one of the most colorful and original set designs I have every seen in an animated movie, especially in that is CGI animation.

This movie toke a real surrealistic style to the character design in order to pay homage to Mexican culture.

It's a classic fairy tale being told in a story within a story manner, with a museum tour guide telling a group of kids a fairy tale of three children who lives will effect the center of the universe, aka Mexico, when Gods gamble on what type of people they would be as adults.

Although as a semi-musical, the Glee approach in mixing in original content with contemporary hits kind of lessened the originality of the flick, but as a whole the movie was quite entertaining.

First lets; clarify; I am not Mexican nor any in my family and friend group; however it has been a long long time since we catch kids movie able to captivate 5,6,7 or 8 year old girls and boy and the parents that took them. Just the quality, colors and artistry of the images; makes the movie worth; but the subject matter is even more impressive. How many times you were able to really laugh on a subject matter like death and make children (and adults) happy with an adventure that is pure entertainment but also gives a quite poetic look at life and dead. In brief; take your children to see it as an excuse; you probably will enjoy it even more. Forget PIXAR formula products; this is just a masterpiece

One of the best animated films of 2014 along with The Lego Movie and How to Train Your Dragon 2 and much better than the trailer suggested it to be. It's not perfect but it is very good not only as an animated film but as a film in general and it is great for children and adults alike. The best thing about The Book of Life is the animation, which is never less than outstanding and even spellbinding at its best, consisting of vivid warm colours, smooth imaginatively done background art and beautifully drawn character designs that look real. The brilliantly colourful and psychedelic imagery of Land of the Forgotten and the character designs of the two supernatural lead characters are particularly well done, the whole film is a stunner to look at and has so much depth and rich detail. The music is good and fits well, the score is robust and authentically orchestrated and the songs are a lot of fun- in the cinema you have difficulty resisting the temptation to sing along and tap your feet-, are catchy and of many moods. If there was any complaint about the soundtrack, it's that I wish there was more of a Mexican vibe to it. The script was sharp and funny, even managing to liven the darker elements a little without jarring or being over-reliant on postmodern gags, it has a good flow and is always easy to understand. The story isn't perfect but is a winner overall. does it have clichés? Of course it does. Does it handle them well? Yes. It does have its overstuffed and contrived spots but it's warm-hearted, entertaining from the get go right up to the last second and you always feel like you're being immersed in all these different worlds in the film, which aside from the animation was what was the most remarkable thing about The Book of Life. There's also some good, relevant messaging that makes its point but in a subtle way rather than preachy. The characters are engaging and most of the voice acting is great, especially from Christina Applegate, Zoe Saldana(both playing with endearing sass and spunk), Kate del Castillo and Ron Perlman. The only exceptions for me were Channing Tatum whose line delivery was awkward at times and Ice Cube who felt and sounded out of place, sounding like he was playing himself rather than the character he was voicing. All in all, hugely entertaining and visually wondrous, a very good film animated and otherwise and definitely recommended. 8/10 Bethany Cox

THE BOOK OF LIFE is produced by Guillermo del Toro, directed by Jorge Gutierrez, and features an outstanding voice cast to tell its story of true love (along with a generous helping of Mexican culture). The basic plot is about two boys, Joaquin (Diego Luna) and Manolo (Channing Tatum), who vie for the affections of a girl, Maria (Zoe Saldana). As people they're fairly opposite, with Manolo being a musician at heart (his family's profession is bullfighter) and Joaquin being a soldier who does great deeds of derring-do. Unbeknownst to them, however, Lady Muerte and Xibalba (Ron Perlman) have entered into a wager about which of them can win the heart of Maria and it sets Manolo on a journey that will take him to both realms of the dead. First, I should say that the character design, animation and overall look of the film was extremely creative and visually unique, befitting a Guillermo del Toro production. The colors popped and everything in the world of the film was brought to vibrant life. The voice cast was equally impressive, although there were a couple of people who took me out of it for a little bit before getting sucked back into the story. The biggest offender was probably Ice Cube, who voices the Candlemaker, although they did stick in a couple of good jokes and references for him. I also got taken a little bit out of the story by realizing that Danny Trejo and Cheech Marin also voiced characters in the film, but again, they still did great work here. Another high point was the music. The score was pretty good, but what really stood out was the use of modern pop songs in what is (mostly) a period piece set at an indeterminate time in the past. Of course, I didn't mind that one bit at all. I also thought that the first half to two-thirds of the story were excellent. It succeeded telling an emotionally moving story with plenty of interesting characters, but at a certain point it resorted to the standard climax and resolution that wrapped up everything with a nice little bow. And despite much of the humor working, at times I felt it was a little too silly for its own good. Still, at the end I was completely won over. Had I seen this last year, I'm fairly certain it would have made my top ten. As it stands, this was an incredibly charming and visually rich film that should appeal to kids and adults alike, and also serves as a valuable cultural lesson.