The Book of Life

For a film that deals with mortality, there's a surprising amount of vibrancy and colour in this sweetened family friendly Mexican fairytale about love and death. Written and directed by award-winning animator Jorge Gutierrez, The Book of Life may not be the stuff of legends in the story department, but is certainly an explosive piñata of stunning animation and unique visuals.

After more exposition than is usually required for a U certificate film, detailing the Mexican tradition of the Dia de los Muertos, the film introduces three childhood friends, caught up in a love triangle. Hopeless romantic Manolo (Diego Luna) and courageous braggart Joaquin (Channing Tatum) are the two suitors competing for the affections of the beautiful and intelligent Maria (Zoe Saldana), while simultaneously trying to live up to the legacy of their family names.
What they don't realize however is that two squabbling demi-gods have placed a bet on the situation, with the winner taking complete control over the forever fiesta-ing afterlife realm that is the Land of the Remembered. Not willing to leave things up to chance, La Muerta (Kate del Castillo) and Xibalba (Ron Perlman) take matters into their own hands in an attempt to outwit and outsmart one another, without worrying about the consequences their actions will have on our mortal heroes.

For the most part, The Book of Life's narrative and cast of characters will be all too familiar. Shy underdog heroes, cute hiccuping animals, and the occasional wink to pop culture have all been cut and pasted straight from the Pixar rule book. At times the film juggles too much in the way of storyline. The many dangling plot threads to fall flat , resorting to a musical interlude in order to re-captivate the audience. Some may cringe at the Latino-infused covers of Mumford and Sons "I Will Wait" or Radiohead's "Creep," and they do feel a little out of place amidst the ‘Once Upon a Time' narrative.

But it's a formula that works and any young cinema goer will still be captivated by the film's spectacular art direction. With Guillermo Del Toro serving as producer, it's hard not to see his unique creative mark stamped all over the place. While there's no escaping the obvious computer generated visuals, each character looks like they have been whittled out of wood, with a fastidious attention to detail. The older these marionettes get, the more cracks and blemishes appear until the day they die, at which point they're treated to a celebratory hollow-eyed, glossy sugar skull makeover.

"What is it with Mexicans and death?" asks one of the characters during the film's opening storybook framing device. Surprisingly, this film doesn't shy away from the difficult subject of mortality. In fact, it takes the plot to delve deep into the Mexican afterlife for the sense of adventure to really begin. Death springs to life in a similar gothic fashion to the stop-motion catalogue of director Henry Selick, famous for heading up The Nightmare Before Christmas and Coraline.

A folky fiesta for the eyes, The Book of Life has an enchanting atmosphere that's so full of heart that you can forgive the script for trying to cram so much into just over ninety minutes. Gorgeous designs and a pleasant, if not flawed, storyline make it a perfectly warm family film for those cold autumn evenings.

Leigh Forgie