The Book of Life (2014)

This film is almost exactly the same as Aladdin but Mexican themed. Beautiful- or supposedly, she was actually really ugly in my opinion- woman, loved by everyone, father trying to control her life, she wants one man though her father wants her to marry a different man. The characters are boring and stereotypical, and so is the plotline. The only reason I gave this film 3/10 instead of 1/10 is because some of the characters are so stupid and cringe that they are actually kind of funny. It's not a film worth enduring just to laugh at the characters, though.

As a large movie lover, owning over 1000 on DVD, I found The Book of Life to be an excellent movie. This movie is an excellent choice for families. I would give the movie a nine out of ten. I believe that this movie earns this because of its story, ability to relate to characters, overall message, and influences from Mexican culture. These factors make it a great teaching moment for families with small children. They get to learn about other cultures while getting some amazing entertainment from relatable characters. The Book of Life is about three kids, Manolo, Joaquin, and Maria, who are the best of friends. These friends learn to overcome obstacles such as distance, and jealousy to keep their friendship alive, and healthy. In the beginning the three mischievously release pigs destroying parts of the town. At this point we find out that Marias dad is the mayor of the town. Maria gets sent away for many years, and both the boys end up falling in love with her. They overcome these things realizing that their friendship, and their connection to one another is more important than the love for Maria. The three ultimately defeat the villain, and save their town. They may relate to some of the characters opinions on how their children are acting. For instance, there are times when we see Manolo and Maria arguing with their parents, and not doing want they want them to. In these times we see their parents getting mad and raise their voices. Parents can relate to the feeling of children not wanting to follow their rules, or not doing what they ask of them. Children are able to relate to the main character, and they can feel like they are not the only ones that feel some way. As in their not the only children who don't always want to do what their parents want them to. The overall message in The Book of Life is to follow your heart. This message is good for all young and slightly less young. It is good for parents to hear that they can follow still follow their dream, and that their children can also follow their dreams. The main character did not want to follow the life that his father, and grandmother laid out for him. Instead he wanted to follow his heart by play an instrument. Some parents may see this as disobedience which may cause them to be upset, but I believe that the overall message is stronger that the fact that Manolo went against his father's wishes. As I've stated the movie depicts many Mexican cultural influences. The movie is set in Mexico showing many of the things that happen in the culture such as bull fighting, multiple generations living in the same home, and names of people. The movie also shows the strong sense of family. In Mexican cultures family is the most important thing. We can see this in the way that they have large families in the in the land of the remembered (part of the afterlife). The afterlife also incorporates pieces of Mexican culture such as sugar skulls and Mexican food items. The cultural influences are sprinkled into the entire move making it partially educational. If you're looking for a good movie for your family to watch over the weekend The Book of Life will entertain all family members no matter what the age. The movie is great for giving an insight to Mexican culture bringing families closer. Especially because it shows that family is the most important thing.

Produced by Guillermo del Toro and directed by Jorge R. Gutierrez, THE BOOK OF LIFE is a flashy animated tale that blends a Romeo-and-Juliet style story, but actually a romance triangle using Mexican customs surrounding the Day of the Dead as a backdrop. The color is splashy and the story line is simple and serves as a charming homage to Mexican culture.The story involves three childhood friends; Manolo(Diego Luna), Maria(Zoe Saldana) and Joaquin(Channing Tatum); whose romantic twisted triangle becomes the subject of a wager between two Mexican deities...La Muerte(Kate del Castillo), the overseer of the Land of the Remembered and Xibalba(Ron Perlman), the lord of the Land of the Forgotten. Manolo comes from a heritage of bullfighters and is disappointing his father by wanting to be a singer, and declines to ever slay a bull in the ring. Joaquin is a pompous protector of the town trying to live in the shadow of his father, a fallen military hero. Maria is a beautiful young woman that desires a husband, but is sent off to a convent for grooming.The Book of Life is narrated by a lovely tour guide(Christina Applegate)as she relates the story to a bus load of students visiting a museum. The color is visually stunning and the characters are actually handcrafted wooden-like. There is a nice mix of peppy and romantic music holding the action together. The better of the songs are sung by the Manolo character voiced by Luna: "The Creep", "I Love You Too Much", "The Apology Song" and the Elvis classic, "I Can't Help Falling In Love".Other voices in this family feature: Cheech Marin, Ice Cube, Hector Elizonda, Danny Trejo, Placido Domingo, Eugenio Derbez and Dan Navarro.

This movie animation is quite good,but the characters are wooden and does not fit the movie that well, it's a colorful the story line and the ending is one of the best I've seen so far, although it's a bit heart breaking when the main character "Manolo Sanchez" died just to see the love of his life "Maria Posada" , but it turns out she's alive.He had to go through many obstacles that was caused by the evil god "Xibalba". They were childhood friends, but the main character Manolo is in love with maria from the beginning but there was another boy which is also in love with maria, he is known as "Walkine" the son of the hero of the town. All in all, i really liked it. I hope there will be The Book of Life 2 coming soon, because I'm looking forward to it.