Susan Granger’s review of “Book of Life” (20th Century-Fox)
Animation veteran Jorge R. Guiterrez makes his feature-length writing/directing debut with this colorful, cross-cultural story of love, death and duty.
When a group of mischievous children are touring a museum, their guide (voiced by Christina Applegate) tells them a legend about Mexico’s fabled Day of the Dead, which occurs on November 2. That’s when two skeletal spirits -La Muerta (voiced by Kate del Castillo), the gentle Queen of the Land of the Remembered and her grim husband, Xibalba (voiced by Ron Perlman), the manipulative ruler of the Land of the Forgotten – made a wager. In the fantastical town of San Angel, if the strutting, self-absorbed warrior Joaquin (voiced by Channing Tatum) can win the hand of the lovely Maria (voiced by Zoe Saldana), Xibalba can usurp La Muerta’s kingdom, but if his sensitive friend Manolo (voiced by Diego Luna), who was born into a family of matadors but yearns to be a musician, claims her heart, the wager is won by La Muerta, meaning Xibalba must stop meddling in the lives of humans.
Guided by producer Guillermo del Toro and working with co-writer Doug Langdale, Jorge R. Guiterrez has created an overly-ambitious adventure about the afterlife. While the visuals dazzle, the familiar, formulaic story disappoints, particularly since it’s crowded with far too many disparate characters, including the Candle Maker (voiced by Ice Cube) in the Cave of Souls, the metallic monster Chakal (voiced by Dan Navarro), and caustic Grandma (voiced by Grey Griffin).
Inspired by Mexican folk art, the computer-generated, mythological characters resemble handcrafted wooden dolls or carved marionettes, often moving to traditional mariachi songs which composers Gustavo Santaolalla and Paul Williams, along with music supervisor John Houlihan combine with modern, pop-culture numbers like Radiohead’s “Creep,” Biz Markie’s “Just a Friend,” and Rod Stewart’s “Do You Think I’m Sexy?,” among others.
On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “Book of Life” is a gloriously vibrant, splashy 6. It’s ghoulishly fanciful fun.
