The Book of Life (2014)

Nothing great, but nothing horrible. I might be in the minority on this one, but whereas Coco (2017) was so unbelievably breathtaking in its use of the Mexican holiday, this film, despite debuting before, merely uses Day of the Dead as more of a backdrop than anything.

Fmovies: Many things could have gone wrong with The Book Of Life. This boisterous, big-hearted animated film is bursting with ideas and colour, stuffed to the brim with - one suspects - pretty much every idea that struck writer-director Jorge Gutierrez's fancy. Indeed, the final film plays very much like the charming but unpolished debut of a filmmaker who can't quite believe he was lucky enough to get the attention of producer Guillermo del Toro, and has no intention of wasting the opportunity in case it never comes around again. As a result, The Book Of Life practically trembles with too many ideas and influences, but remains so earnest and inventive that it's easy to forgive its predictable, overstuffed plot.

In a small Mexican town on the Day Of The Dead, we meet the protagonists of the story: steadfast, earnest Manolo (voiced by Diego Luna), who would rather strum a guitar than fight a bull in the tradition of his forefathers; brash, adventurous Joaquin (Channing Tatum), who becomes the town hero in trying to avenge the murder of his father by bandits; and spunky, intelligent Maria (Zoe Saldana), daughter of the mayor who inevitably wins the hearts of both young men. The stakes, however, are higher than they could ever imagine: the two godly rulers of the underworld, La Muerte (Kate del Castillo) and Xibalba (Ron Perlman), have gambled dominion over each other's lands on the outcome of the love triangle.

It would be an understatement to say that there's a lot going on in The Book Of Life. The film covers everything from a mystical medal that lends invulnerability to anyone who wears it, to a tantalising love-hate relationship between the two gods, while spiced up with musical interludes galore. (It's not often that the film's hero will pause to belt out a soul-searching rendition of Radiohead's Creep, but that kind of thing happens all the time in The Book Of Life.) Mix it all up with retellings of Mexican folklore, including visits to the joyously colourful Land of the Remembered and the ghostly grey Land of the Forgotten, and the film can be a somewhat frenetic viewing experience, to say the least.

But, for all that Gutierrez packs his film full of ideas and details, he also manages to make most of it work very well. The love triangle may be trite, but there's nevertheless enough heart and humour holding Manolo, Maria and Joaquin together. Manolo's relationships with his dad Carlos (Hector Elizondo) and his departed mom Carmen (Ana de la Reguera) are coloured in with surprising depth as well. It's also wonderful to see a love triangle centred around a girl who knows her own mind - and rest assured that Maria speaks it often enough to make a real impact.

The Book Of Life also doubles as a very welcome riot of imagination and tradition. Every frame of the film is beautifully and thoughtfully designed, down to the fact that Manolo seems to have been intricately crafted out of wood. Moreover, instead of shying away from its Mexican roots to increase its global marketability, the film firmly embraces them. This gives Gutierrez room to craft some delicately dark moments in a graveyard or two, reminding everyone that those who have died can still live as long as they're remembered by the ones who loved them. And yet, the film never descends into darkness, instead tapping into the giddying energy of a fiesta - most memorably in a journey through the Land of the Remembered - complete with heady bursts of colour and music.

There's no denying that Guti

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.

The Book of Life fmovies. 24 October 2014 Film of Choice at The Plaza Dorchester This Morning - The Book of Life. An unusual animation from the stable of Jorge R Gutierrez. Joaquin, Maria and Manolo are best friends who are torn apart when Maria is sent to Europe to calm her wild ways. The two boys are both in love with her and when she returns, they compete for her affections unaware their lives are being controlled by the two Lords of the Underworlds, who have set a wager on the outcome of their love triangle. La Muerta is the mistress of the beautiful and vibrant Land of The Remembered, whilst Xibalba is the discontented ruler of the Land of The Forgotten. The characters were portrayed as wooden puppet style people, yet when they entered the Land of The Remembered they became exquisitely carved skeletons. The animation was amazing. Apart from all the characters in in three lands I found myself avidly watching the backgrounds. The colours were so vibrant and the details were so beautifully worked. This film was set around the Mexican Day of The Dead and the whole feel of it came across as one glorious fiesta. Another animation triumph and a spectacular musical score to match.

This movie was absolutely stunning and for many reasons - from the characters, to the designs in their clothing, the different lands, the gods, everything was just so pleasing to look at.

I felt that the character development was immaculate. As I was watching, I had become very attached to each character and it was so easy to be fully immersed in the story. You went through all the emotions and feelings with the cast, and the voice acting was just so very believable.

Diego Luna's singing was captivating as you didn't have to question if his emotion was real. The music itself was gorgeous and deserves so much recognition, I especially enjoyed the mariachi renditions, I found them fun and catchy, some even better than the originals. There is a modern mix of songs but I have to say it was complimentary to the plot and was what I would consider a little something for the adults in the audience.

The story was something you would think Walt Disney himself would have given a thumbs up for. The plot and overall story telling was phenomenal. There was something for everyone - romance, comedy, heart warming moments, and action as well as adventure all nestled into a positive message you can take away from it.

In summation, this movie deserves many awards as it embodies the whole package. It was outstandingly well made and thought out, and the casting was wonderful. I hope that it receives all the recognition it deserves. I recommend this film to everyone and I will most definitely be picking up my copy when it is released. I feel as though this movie far surpasses any of the most recent Disney films, with Beauty and the Beast being the only contender. I rate this movie 10/10

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.