The Book of Life | |
---|---|
Directed by | Jorge R. Gutierrez |
Screenplay by |
|
Produced by |
|
Starring | |
Edited by | Ahren Shaw [1] |
Music by | Gustavo Santaolalla |
Production companies | |
Distributed by | 20th Century Fox [2] |
Release date |
|
Running time | 95 minutes [3] |
Country | United States [4] [5] |
Language | English |
Budget | $50 million [6] |
Box office | $100 million [6] |
The Book of Life is a 2014 American animated fantasy adventure comedy film [7] [8] [9] directed by Jorge R. Gutierrez in his feature directorial debut and written by Gutierrez and Doug Langdale. It was produced by 20th Century Fox Animation, Reel FX Animation Studios, and Chatrone, and distributed by 20th Century Fox. Guillermo del Toro, Brad Booker, Aaron D. Berger, and Carina Schulze produced the film. [1] It features the voices of Diego Luna, Zoe Saldana, and Channing Tatum, with supporting roles from Ice Cube, Ron Perlman, Kate del Castillo, and Christina Applegate. Based on an original idea by Gutierrez, [10] the film tells the story of a bullfighter who embarks on an afterlife adventure to fulfill the expectations of his family and friends on the Day of the Dead.
The Book of Life premiered in Los Angeles on October 12, 2014, and was released theatrically in the United States on October 17, 2014. It received mostly positive reviews from critics and a Golden Globe nomination for Best Animated Feature Film. The film grossed $100 million on a $50 million budget.
Mary Beth, a museum tour guide, takes a group of school detention students on a secret museum tour, telling them the story of a Mexican town called San Angel from the Book of Life, which holds every story in the world.
On the Day of the Dead, La Muerte, ruler of the Land of the Remembered, and Xibalba, ruler of the Land of the Forgotten, see young boys Manolo Sánchez and Joaquín Mondragon competing for the love of their mutual crush María Posada. The gods strike a wager: if María marries Manolo, Xibalba will no longer interfere in mortal affairs, but if she marries Joaquín, La Muerte and Xibalba will swap realms. However, Xibalba cheats by giving Joaquín his Medal of Everlasting Life, which grants the wearer invincibility and “immeasurable courage”.
María is sent to Spain to become a "lady" after freeing pigs destined for slaughter. Years later, when María returns to San Angel, Joaquín has become a military hero with the Medal's aid, and Manolo's father Carlos has trained him to be a bullfighter in their family tradition, though his real dream is to be a musician. At Manolo's first bullfight, he defeats the bull but refuses to kill it, angering Carlos and the crowd but impressing María. That night, María is pressured by her father and San Angel's mayor, General Ramiro Posada, to marry Joaquín so he stays in San Angel and therefore protects the town from the Bandit King Chakal, but María is reluctant. She instead professes her mutual love for Manolo before dawn, but they are interrupted when Xibalba sends his dual-headed snake staff, which bites her and sends her into a coma. Devastated by María's apparent death, Manolo allows Xibalba to kill him, believing he will be reunited with María in death.
In the Land of the Remembered, Manolo reunites with his mother and his ancestral family. They travel to La Muerte's castle, discovering Xibalba, now the ruler of the realm, who explains the bet and smugly reveals that María did not die because she was only bitten once and therefore survived. However, Manolo was bitten twice and died. Furious but determined to return to María, Manolo travels to the Cave of Souls to reach La Muerte. Inside, he meets the Candle Maker, the overseer of mortal lives and the Book of Life's keeper. The Candle Maker sees that Manolo's story in the Book of Life is blank and can be rewritten by himself, so he takes them to the Land of the Forgotten. They find La Muerte at Xibalba's castle and expose his cheating. Furious, La Muerte lectures Xibalba before offering a new wager at Manolo's request: Manolo's life will be returned if he completes a challenge of Xibalba's choosing, but if he fails, he will be forgotten and Xibalba will keep both realms. Xibalba sets Manolo against a giant bull skeleton made from the skeletons of every bull slain by the Sanchez family, believing that to be his greatest fear.
Meanwhile, María awakens from her coma and is heartbroken after learning of Manolo's death. She reluctantly accepts Joaquín's proposal, but he begins to reconsider after seeing her despair. Their wedding is interrupted by Chakal, who leads his army to San Angel to find the Medal, which was previously his. Carlos sacrifices himself in a fight against Chakal to buy time for San Angel, and he arrives in the Land of the Remembered in time to see Manolo's fight. Manolo, realizing his fear is actually of being himself, refuses to fight and instead sings an apology to the bull, appeasing it and touching the hearts of everyone present (including Xibalba and Carlos). Impressed, the deities resurrect Manolo and send him and his family to San Angel to protect the town. Manolo is knocked unconscious when Chakal destructs himself, but he is protected by the Medal, which Joaquín had slipped him earlier. Joaquín returns it to Xibalba and resolves to be a true hero, while Manolo and María are happily married as Xibalba and La Muerte reconcile.
In the present, Mary Beth finishes the story, and the amazed children leave the museum. Mary Beth and a security guard reveal themselves to be La Muerte and Xibalba in disguise. The Candle Maker appears and encourages the audience to write their own story.
Jorge R. Gutierrez first began developing The Book of Life fourteen years before its release. Several of the film's story ideas originated in Gutierrez's 2000 student film Carmelo. [15] [16] The opportunity to have The Book of Life produced as a feature film arrived after Gutierrez and his wife, Sandra Equihua, created the Nickelodeon animated series El Tigre: The Adventures of Manny Rivera . [15]
The Book of Life was originally optioned by DreamWorks Animation in 2007, but never went beyond development because of "creative differences". [10] From there the film went to 20th Century Fox Animation and Reel FX, [17] with 20th Century Fox handling distribution rights. Guillermo del Toro joined as a producer. The film was initially given a release date of October 10, 2014; [18] however, this was eventually moved back by a week. [19] On October 16, 2013, it was announced that Channing Tatum, Zoe Saldana, Diego Luna and Christina Applegate would star as voice actors in the film. [13]
Gutierrez wanted to make the final animation look like the concept artwork saying: "I saw every single one that comes out and my biggest heartbreak is that I see all this glorious art, and then the movie doesn't look like that! The mandate of this movie was: Our 'Art of' book is going to look exactly like the movie. And every artist poured their heart and soul into that idea." [20] Gutierrez did not permit his animation team to go on any research trips to Mexico, feeling that such trips often only covered very touristy aspects of the culture. Instead he had the team address any questions they had about the region to him. He also stated that research trips would not be necessary to portray the film's "magic version of Mexico". [21] Explaining that the tone of the film as initially conceived was going to be much darker, Gutierrez said, "I always felt, much like the design, I need to push the envelope so that when I pull back, I end up with something I love." [21]
The Book of Life made its world premiere in Los Angeles on October 12, 2014. [22] It was released on October 17, 2014, in North America. [23]
The Book of Life was released on DVD, Blu-ray and Blu-ray 3D on January 27, 2015, by 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment. [24] The special features included a 3-minute [25] short animated film, titled The Adventures of Chuy. [24] The film currently streams on Disney+ as of February 2021.
In April 2013, it was announced Gustavo Santaolalla and Paul Williams would be adapting pop songs for the film. [26] The soundtrack was released on September 26, 2014, [27] [28] while the score was released on October 24, 2014.
The Book of Life grossed $50.2 million in North America and $49.8 million in other countries for a worldwide total of $100 million, against a production budget of $50 million. [6]
The Book of Life was released in the United States and Canada on October 17, 2014. [29] [30] The film earned $300,000 from Thursday late night showings from 2,150 theatres [31] [32] and $4.9 million on its opening day. [33] [34] The film debuted at number three in its opening weekend earning $17 million at an average of $5,537 per theatre behind Fury ($23.5 million) and Gone Girl ($17.8 million). [35] [36] [37] [38] The film played 57% female and 54% under the age of 25 years. It played 59% under 10-years old while 31% of tickets sold were in 3D. [39]
In other territories, The Book of Life earned $8.58 million from 3,654 screens in 19 markets. The highest debuts came from Mexico ($3.84 million) and Brazil ($1.98 million). [37] In Mexico, the film was number two behind the local film Perfect Dictatorship. [40]
On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 83% based on 127 reviews and an average rating of 6.90/10. The site's critical consensus reads: "The Book of Life's gorgeous animation is a treat, but it's a pity that its story lacks the same level of craft and detail that its thrilling visuals provide." [41] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 67 out of 100 based on reviews from 27 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". [42] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A−" on an A+ to F scale. [33]
Geoff Berkshire of Variety wrote, "Repping a major step forward for Dallas-based Reel FX Animation Studios (after their anemic feature bow on last year's Free Birds ), the beautifully rendered CG animation brings an unusually warm and heartfelt quality to the high-tech medium and emerges as the film's true calling card." [43] Frank Scheck of The Hollywood Reporter wrote, "The Book of Life is a visually stunning effort that makes up for its formulaic storyline with an enchanting atmosphere that sweeps you into its fantastical world, or in this case, three worlds." [44] Simon Abrams of The Village Voice wrote that the film's "hackneyed stock plot preaches tolerance while lamely reinforcing the status quo". [45] Marc Snetiker of Entertainment Weekly gave the film an A−, saying "Overflowing with hyperactive charm and a spectacular sea of colors, it showcases some of the most breathtaking animation we've seen this decade." [46] Claudia Puig of USA Today gave the film two and a half stars out of four, saying "The dizzying, intricate imagery is so beautiful, and the Latin-inspired songs catchy enough that the overall effect is often enchanting." [47] Sara Stewart of The New York Post gave the film two out of four stars, saying "Just in time for Mexico's Day of the Dead holiday comes this gloriously colorful animated musical, which almost (but not quite) makes up in visuals what it lacks in snappy dialogue." [48] Katie Rife of The A.V. Club gave the film a B−, saying "Ultimately, what drags The Book Of Life down is its insistence on trying to update an (original) folkloric story for a contemporary audience. In practice, this means adding some pop-cultural touches that only serve to take the viewer out of the fantastic setting." [49]
Michael Ordoña of the San Francisco Chronicle gave the film three out of five stars, saying "The vibrant animated feature The Book of Life is a cheeky celebration of Mexican folklore with a solid cast, an irreverent sensibility and gorgeous visuals." [50] Michael O'Sullivan of The Washington Post gave the film three out of five stars, saying "The Book of Life may use state-of-the-art animation, but it derives its strength from the wisdom of antiquity. It only looks new, but it's as old as life (and death) itself. [51] Bill Goodykoontz of The Arizona Republic gave the film four out of five stars, saying "A visually stunning, funny movie that trusts children to deal with subject matter that many films don't: specifically, death." [52] Frank Lovece of Newsday gave the film three out of four stars, saying "Funny without being frantic, seamlessly switching from dry humor to slapstick, it shows death as a part of life -- and, judging from a preview audience of very young tykes, does so in a gentle, delightful way." [53] Manohla Dargis of The New York Times gave the film a negative review, saying "This often beautiful and too-often moribund, if exhaustingly frenetic, feature tends to be less energetic than the dead people waltzing through it." [7] Conversely, Charles Solomon of the Los Angeles Times wrote, "The Book of Life juxtaposes overwrought visual imagery with an undernourished, familiar story - regrettable flaws in one of the few animated films to focus on Latino characters and the rich heritage of Mexican folk culture." [54] Marjorie Baumgarten of The Austin Chronicle gave the film two and a half stars out of five, saying "Visually arresting but dramatically rote, The Book of Life at least introduces American kids to the Mexican holiday of Día de los Muertos and should score points with families looking for kid-friendly movies that reflect aspects of their Mexican cultural heritage." [55]
Calvin Wilson of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch gave the film two and a half stars out of five, saying "The Book of Life is a flawed but intriguing new chapter in animation." [56] James Berardinelli of ReelViews gave the film three out of four stars, saying "The Book of Life moves breezily from one scene to the next, keeping the pace brisk and rarely skipping a beat." [57] Laura Emerick of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film three out of four stars, saying "Whether en ingles o en espanol, The Book of Life is a delight. In an animated universe cluttered with kung-fu pandas, ice princesses and video-game heroes, Gutierrez and del Toro have conjured up an original vision." [58] Tasha Robinson of The Dissolve gave the film three and a half stars out of five, saying "It's all flawed, and distracted, and conceptually messy, prioritizing color over common sense and energy over consistency. But as an afternoon's diversion for a handful of misbehaving kids—both within the movie, and within the movie theater—it's authentically winning." [59] Michael Ordona of the San Francisco Chronicle wrote, "There are no great surprises, no shocking reveals (except to the characters themselves). But there's so much to appreciate along the way that it's a real page-turner." [50] Kenji Fujishima of Slant Magazine gave the film two out of four stars, saying "Jorge R. Gutierrez subsumes the film's darker themes in a relentlessly busy farrago of predictable kids'-movie tropes and annoying attempts at hipness." [60] Ben Sachs of the Chicago Reader called it "more imaginative than most" but said it is "undone by a surfeit of glib one-liners and pop culture references". [61]
Award | Category | Recipients | Results | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
42nd Annual Annie Awards | Best Animated Feature | The Book of Life | Nominated | [62] |
Animated Effects in an Animated Production | Augusto Schillaci, Erich Turner, Bill Konersman, Chris Rasch, Joseph Burnette | Nominated | ||
Character Design in an Animated Feature Production | Paul Sullivan, Sandra Equihua, Jorge R. Gutierrez | Won | ||
Directing in an Animated Feature Production | Jorge R. Gutierrez | Nominated | ||
Production Design in an Animated Feature Production | Simon Varela & Paul Sullivan | Nominated | ||
4th Behind the Voice Actors Awards | Best Female Lead Vocal Performance in a Feature Film | Zoe Saldana | Nominated | [63] |
Best Male Vocal Performance in a Feature Film in a Supporting Role | Ron Perlman | Nominated | ||
Best Female Vocal Performance in a Feature Film in a Supporting Role | Kate del Castillo | Nominated | ||
15th Black Reel Awards | Outstanding Voice Performance | Zoe Saldana | Nominated | [64] |
30th Casting Society of America Awards | Outstanding Achievement in Casting - Animation Feature | Christian Kaplan | Nominated | [65] |
13th Central Ohio Film Critics Association Awards | Best Animated Film | The Book of Life | Nominated | [66] |
20th Critics' Choice Awards | Best Animated Feature | Nominated | ||
4th Georgia Film Critics Association Awards | Best Animated Film | Nominated | ||
72nd Golden Globe Awards | Best Animated Feature Film | Nominated | [67] | |
14th Golden Schmoes Awards | Best Animated Movie of the Year | Nominated | [68] | |
Hollywood Music in Media Awards | Best Original Score - Animated Film | Gustavo Santaolalla | Nominated | [69] |
Outstanding Music Supervision - Film | John Houlihan | Nominated | ||
8th Houston Film Critics Society Awards | Best Animated Film | The Book of Life | Nominated | [66] |
6th International 3D & Advanced Imaging Society Awards | 3D Feature - Animated | Nominated | [70] | |
62nd MPSE Golden Reel Awards | Best Sound Editing - Animated Feature | Nominated | [71] | |
46th NAACP Image Awards | Outstanding Character Voice-Over Performance | Zoe Saldana | Nominated | [72] |
26th Producers Guild of America Awards | Best Outstanding Producer of Animated Theatrical Motion Pictures | Guillermo del Toro and Brad Booker | Nominated | [73] |
19th Satellite Awards | Satellite Award for Best Animated or Mixed Media Feature | The Book of Life | Nominated | [74] |
11th St. Louis Film Critics Association Awards | Best Animated Film | Nominated | [66] | |
13th Visual Effects Society Awards | Outstanding Created Environment in an Animated Feature Motion Picture | "Magical Land of the Remembered" Glo Minaya, Amy Chen, Sean McEwan, Jeff Masters | Nominated | [75] |
13th Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Awards | Best Animated Feature | The Book of Life | Nominated | [66] |
Director Jorge Gutierrez revealed in an interview that one of the ideas for the next chapter in the story involves Joaquin and his relationship with his father. "I had always imagined the first movie to be about Manolo, the second to be about Joaquín and the third one to be about Maria...I've always conceived it as a trilogy." [76] In June 2017, Gutierrez and Reel FX Animation announced that development on the sequel had begun; however, as of June 2019, Gutierrez clarified on Twitter that there are currently no plans for a sequel. [77] [78]
El Tigre: The Adventures of Manny Rivera is a Mexican-American animated television series created by Jorge R. Gutierrez and Sandra Equihua that premiered on Nickelodeon on March 3, 2007. The series centers on a 13-year-old boy named Manny Rivera who is trying his best to choose between being good or evil while dealing with bizarre enemies, aiming to gain his belt's buckle to become a tiger-themed superhero known as "El Tigre". There are two paths Manny must choose between in the show, either to become the son of a legendary hero known as "White Pantera" and the grandson of an evil super villain known as "Puma Loco". The show is set in Miracle City, a fictional city based on and located at Tijuana, where Jorge grew up. The series was produced by Nickelodeon Animation Studio and was animated using Adobe Flash. A total of 26 episodes were produced before it was cancelled.
Jorge R. Gutierrez is a Mexican-American animator, writer, producer, director, painter, and voice actor. He co-created with Sandra Equihua the Nickelodeon animated series El Tigre: The Adventures of Manny Rivera, co-wrote and directed The Book of Life, Son of Jaguar for Google, and Maya and the Three for Netflix Animation.
Sandra Equihua is a Mexican animator, painter, sculptor, character designer, voice actress, and illustrator.
Ánima Estudios, S.A.P.I. de C.V. is a Mexican animation studio and production company founded in 2002 by Jose C. Garcia De Letona and Federico Unda. The studio is best known for producing Burundis, El Chavo Animado, Top Cat: The Movie, the Leyendas franchise, and Cleo & Cuquín.
Paramount Animation is an American animation studio, serving as the animation division and label of Paramount Pictures, a subsidiary of Paramount Global. The division was founded on July 6, 2011, following the box office success of Paramount's own Rango and the end of their distribution deal with DreamWorks Animation in 2012.
Home is a 2015 American animated science fiction comedy film produced by DreamWorks Animation and distributed by 20th Century Fox. Loosely based on Adam Rex's 2007 children's book The True Meaning of Smekday, the film was directed by Tim Johnson from a screenplay by Tom J. Astle and Matt Ember, and stars the voices of Jim Parsons, Rihanna, Steve Martin, Jennifer Lopez, and Matt Jones. The story follows the shared adventures of a friendly alien who is shunned by the rest of his kind, and a teenage girl searching for her mother after they are separated during an invasion of Earth.
Dick Figures: The Movie is a 2013 independent American adult animated fantasy action-adventure comedy film produced by Remochoso and Six Point Harness and distributed by Mondo Media. It is based on the animated web series Dick Figures. The film was written and directed by Ed Skudder and Zack Keller and produced by Nick Butera and Andy Fiedler. Skudder and Keller star as Red and Blue, two best friends and polar opposites who set out on a journey to find the Great Sword of Destiny for the Raccoon in order to save their friendship, Pink's birthday, and the world from Lord Takagami. It also features the voices of Eric Bauza, Ben Tuller, Shea Carter, Mike Nassar, Chad Quandt, and Lauren K. Sokolov.
El Americano: The Movie is a 2016 3D Mexican-American animated family film produced by Animex Producciones, Olmos Productions, and Phil Roman Entertainment, and is directed by Ricardo Arnaiz and ex-Disney animator, Mike Kunkel. The film features an ensemble voice cast of mostly Hispanic American and Mexican actors led by Rico Rodriguez, Edward James Olmos, Cheech Marin, Kate del Castillo, Paul Rodriguez, Gabriel Iglesias, Erik Estrada, and Lisa Kudrow.
Guardians of Oz is a 2015 animated adventure film, directed by Alberto Mar and executive produced by Jorge Gutierrez. The film was produced by Ánima Estudios, Discreet Arts, and distributed by FilmSharks International. The film is the first English-language and flagship CG production for Ánima Estudios, as well as the studio's biggest production and is described as Mexico's biggest animated production. Mexico's take on the early 20th century Wizard of Oz books by L. Frank Baum, it features an original story and new characters, and was released theatrically on 10 April 2015 in Mexico.
Anabel Gutiérrez Aicua was a Mexican actress and comedian. Her most memorable works included her participation in the film School for Tramps (1955), as well as her appearances on the program Chespirito (1970), playing the character of Doña Espotaverderona in some sketches.
Coco is a 2017 American animated fantasy comedy-drama film produced by Pixar Animation Studios for Walt Disney Pictures. It was directed by Lee Unkrich, co-directed by Adrian Molina, and produced by Darla K. Anderson, from a screenplay written by Molina and Matthew Aldrich, and a story by Unkrich, Molina, Aldrich, and Jason Katz, based on an original idea conceived by Unkrich. The film stars the voices of Anthony Gonzalez, Gael García Bernal, Benjamin Bratt, Alanna Ubach, Renée Victor, Ana Ofelia Murguía, and Edward James Olmos. The story follows a 12-year-old boy named Miguel (Gonzalez) who is accidentally transported to the Land of the Dead, where he seeks the help of his deceased musician great-great-grandfather to return him to his family and reverse their ban on music.
The Lego Movie is an American media franchise and shared universe based on Lego construction toys. It began with the 2014 film The Lego Movie, which was directed and written by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller. The success of the film led to the release of two licensed video games, a 4D film theme park attraction, two spin-off films titled The Lego Batman Movie and The Lego Ninjago Movie, which were released in 2017, Unikitty! an animated television series that also came out in the same year, and the sequel to the original film titled The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part in 2019. Plans for a third spin-off film and a sequel to The Lego Batman Movie were later shelved. Development would end in 2020, with Warner Bros. letting the rights lapse back to The Lego Group after The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part underperformed at the box office and the studio failed to create any new projects within that time frame.
The Mexican animation industry is a part of Mexico's domestic film industry. It utilizes primarily the flash, CG, and traditional animation formats, typically produced on a small budget. There studios included Ánima Estudios, Animex Producciones, Huevocartoon, among others. It began in 1915 with the first animated film of the country, Mi Sueño, and continues decades later.
Fernando Casanova - born Fernando Gutiérrez López; was a Mexican actor who began his career during the Golden Age of Mexican cinema, and in the 1960s reached the height of his success, becoming one of the most popular actors at the time.
Netflix Animation is an American animation studio and a subsidiary of Netflix, Inc. It was founded in March 2018. The studio primarily produces and develops animated programs and feature films hosted on the Netflix streaming service.
Maya and the Three is an animated fantasy television miniseries created by Jorge R. Gutiérrez and produced by Tangent Animation.
The Book of Life is a 2014 animated musical fantasy comedy film directed by Jorge R. Gutierrez, produced by 20th Century Fox Animation and Reel FX Animation Studios, and distributed by 20th Century Fox, featuring the voices of Diego Luna, Zoe Saldana, and Channing Tatum with supporting roles by Christina Applegate, Ice Cube, Ron Perlman, and Kate del Castillo.
Gustavo Santaolalla and I are writing songs for an animated film called 'The Book of Life' for Fox.