The Book of Life came out in 2014. It is a gem.
It only gross 99 million and in a world of Pixar and Disney movies that can gross that in an opening weekend, The Book of Life maybe considered a missed gem.
Directed by Jorge R Gutierrez and produced most notably by Guillermo del Toro.
The movie begins with a bus of students from the “detention” center come visiting on field trip to a museum. Because the date is November 2, the tour guide tells the students the story of The Day of the Dead. One level is The Land of the Remembered, where those that passed away, below that is The Land of the Forgotten, those that have passed but no one remembers them. Here people truly disappear forever. The Land of the Remember is ruled over by La Muerte, and Xibalba rules The Land of the Forgotten, and apparently La Muerte and Xibalba are married.
The tour guide tells the story of Manolo, Joaquin, and Maria are childhood best friends in Mexico. Until one day while playing, Maria causes problems and is sent away to a boarding school in Spain. Manolo and Joaquin are devastated. Xibalba makes a bet with La Muerte about which boy will win Maria’s heart, and if Xibalba wins the bet, he no longer has to rule the Land of the Forgotten, he would rule the Land of the Remembered. Xibalba bets that Joaquin will win, and La Muerte bets that Manolo will win Maria’s heart.
Manolo wants to be a musician, but his family the Sanchez are famous bull fighters, and Manolo doesn’t believe that the bulls should be killed. Joaquin is the son of a famous sheriff who dies while defending the town, and now the town expects Joaquin to protect them from the evil Chakal and his gang.
Xibalba cheats on the bet by giving Joaquin the Medal of Everlasting Life. Which become useful the Joaquin when he goes away and joins the military, and then comes home as a hero.
Xibalba continues his cheating by having Maria being bit by a snake, and Manolo, believing that Maria is dead, is so distraught that he agrees that would he do anything to see Maria again. So Xibalba tricks him and actually kills him sending him to the Land of the Remembered. The story continues as Manolo meets his bull fighting ancestors. Eventually Manolo is offered challenges to get back to the world of the living. He earns his way back to the world of the living just in time to help defend the town from Chakal.
The movie is told in visual layers. During the field trip with the tour guide, the characters are made of flesh. When the story is told of Manolo, Joaquin, and Maria, the characters are designed as wooden puppets. When Manolo, goes to The Land of the Remembered, the Manolo is a decorated skeleton. A creative way to remind the audience of where we are in the story.
Director Jorge R. Gutierrez also adds a fun touch by adding famous pop songs that are updated for the Mexican style. Songs, include “I Will Wait” by Mumford and Sons and , “Creep”from Radiohead and “You Got What I Need” by Biz Marke.
The movie is beautiful to look at, and fun to listen to. It’s a different sort of animated movie. I recommend it for children five and up. The element of death, would be something to consider when showing it to a child. You can get it on Blu-Ray from Netflix.
