Gutierrez (co-creator of Nickelodeon’s “El Tigre: The Adventures of Manny Rivera”) smartly tames his somewhat unwieldy story by cleverly having a modern-day museum guide ( Christina Applegate) transfix a group of rowdy school kids by relating the tale we are watching as if it were a fable of old. But first-time feature director and co-writer Jorge R. Meanwhile, San Angel is being threatened by the fearsome bandit Chakal (whose metallic monster form feels like a del Toro invention) and his gang of nasty thieves.Ī three-way romance, multiple worlds, numerous feats, combative gods, a monstrous foe – all these layers make for a rather dense confection. In order to return to The Land of the Living himself, Manolo must undergo a series of challenges involving his colorful ancestors. Xiabalba fools Manolo into entering The Land of the Remembered to seek Maria, when it turns out she has only fallen into a “Sleeping Beauty”-style slumber. Xiabalba ( Ron Perlman, a pet actor of the film’s producer, Guillermo del Toro), a devious sort who rules the dour Land of the Forgotten, backs the vain Joaquin. La Muerte (well-known telenovela star Kate del Castillo), who oversees the cheery Land of the Remembered and believes in the decency of mortals, bets that sensitive soul Manolo will win Maria’s hand.

The Book of Life’s multi-tiered plot also involves dueling married deities who reign over separate domains in the afterlife and decide to make a wager. She has all the usual attributes of the typical empowered animated female lead – a bookworm with martial-arts fighting skills and all that - but is lucky enough to be blessed with the vivacious vocal spark of Avatar’s Zoe Saladana. They both pursue Maria, the smart and headstrong daughter of the general who runs their village of San Angel. The boastful Joaquin ( Channing Tatum, who taps into his abundant reserve of amusing swagger) is a man of action, a mucho-macho mustachioed bandit-rustler with a broad chest crammed with medals. But his true calling is that of a guitar-strumming troubadour. Our main hero, the tender-hearted Manola ( Diego Luna, whose boyish vocals are a constant source of plaintive pleasure), comes from a long line of legendary bullfighters and is skilled in the ring himself.

There is the ever-popular love triangle in the form of three childhood amigos. That said, the basics of this fantastical fable, whose ingenious puppet-like character designs draw upon the familiar wooden folk-art figures associated with the annual celebration of The Day of the Dead, are somewhat overly familiar despite all the rich cultural references that spice up the proceedings.

The book of life movie