CREDIT: 20TH CENTURY FOX FILM CORPORATION AND REEL FX PRODUCTIONS II, LLC.
Immerse yourself into a new world and join Manolo as he attempts to charm the love of his life and save his town in The Book of Life.

There’s a conflict we all experience at some point in our lives. The pull between who those we love want us to be and who we dream of becoming. It can tear us apart, as brutally as Lisa, as we try to balance pleasing our families and our hearts.

In The Book of Life, Manolo (voiced by Diego Luna) struggles in this well-known battleground, while trying to charm the love of his life and save his town at the same time.

The story – especially the first half of the film – has a certain lack of originality.

There are a large number of parallels to Beauty and the Beast, including the background bimbos making fun of the girl who reads, and Joaquin (Channing Tatum’s character) coming across very much as a Gaston with slightly more soul.

Some of the more climatic scenes also suffered from this lack, with portions looking almost like an exact play-by-play of Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children. While it’s important to remember that the movie was made for children, it can leave an adult viewer being reminded of a movie that he/she used to know.

The Book of Life did have a beautiful and original animation style, with worlds that were vibrant and thematically appropriate. The character designs, especially for the gods Xibalba and La Muerte (who were excellently voiced by Ron Perlman and Kate del Castillo), were incredibly detailed and unique.

Even secondary characters that were seen only for moments had an obvious level of care and artistry that one could only wonder at.

The characters also benefitted greatly from genuinely amazing voice acting, especially by Tatum. Despite the problems with his character, the nuance of emotion and slight hesitation on certain lines betrayed a depth that the writing alone failed to convey.

Joaquin was brushed off early, made out almost as just another obstacle at times, and this was really a disappointment as he was so easy to sympathize with, being the one character who was flawed enough to seem real.

There were also some very nice touches done with the music. While many of the songs used were wellknown pop, Gustavo Santaolalla managed to give each a Mexican reinterpretation, some of which were almost better than the originals. The score made for the film specifically was touching and added something intangible that was missing from the rest of the much-rewritten script.

The worlds created in The Book of Life were truly amazing with an amount of detail and dedication that one wished had gone into the writing. The Mexican Day of the Dead is a celebration of life and an honouring of the dead, going back thousands of years, and the holiday was shown in all its glory in the movie.

Getting past the odd juxtaposition of an unoriginal story in a wholly original animation style may be difficult, but the world and characters make the effort worthwhile.