The Book of Life

Not all animated Spooktaculars have to be dark and grim. The latest 3D spooktacular, The Book of Life, is a bright, colorful fiesta directed by Jorge Gutierrez and produced by, among others, Guillermo Del Toro.

Once upon a time, during one Day of the Dead celebration, the Gods La Muerte (Kate del Castillo) and Xibalba (Ron Perlman) had a disagreement. La Muerte ruled the good heaven, the Land of the Remembered and Xibalba ruled the bad version, the Land of the Forgotten. Xibalba wants to trade, so the two Gods wager the fate of the cosmos on two mortal amigos named Manolo and Joaquin. La Muerte wins if Manolo ends up with Maria, daughter of the town general, while Xibalba wins if Joaquin does it instead.

Years later, Manolo (Diego Luna) is an aspiring musician forced to uphold the family bull-fighting tradition and Joaquin (Channing Tatum) is a vain war-hero. Maria (Zoe Saldana) tries to keep the peace between the two. Xibalba decides to win the bet with some cheating. Manolo finds himself in the Land of the Remembered and must reinstate La Muerte to return alive. And there's also an evil desperado on the horizon...

And all of this is related to a bunch of schoolkids by a museum tour guide (Christina Applegate).

This is the most vibrant spooktacular you'll see this year. The main characters' puppet-like designs certainly help them stand out. The environments they inhabit are colorful and exaggerated. Some good songs, including some from composer Gustavo Santaolalla and Paul Williams, grab the viewer's attention. It's fitting as the movie is about a holiday which celebrates life rather than dread death.

There's a lot that happens during the 95 minute runtime. The desperado subplot verges on being an after-thought as the guy is an unremarkable villain. Joaquin flip-flops between good guy and full-of-himself so much I barely kept track. If these elements were better developed, we would've had a better narrative. Meawhile, getting to the good stuff can try the patience of a few viewers (like myself at times).

The Book of Life succeeds because of its visual design. Anyone looking for a good animated film about Mexican culture will find it here. It's a good effort that should make for a nice time at the movies.