San Diego Movie Review: The Book of Life

The animated movie “The Book of Life” begins when a school bus arrives at a history museum, full of rowdy, mischievous children.  An experienced female tour guide leads the students on a secret tour, and tells them about the most famous Mexican legend of all time, written within the magical book of life.  The main characters of the folktale are Joaquin, Manolo, and Maria. Manolo’s passion is music, despite his father’s pressure for him to become a bullfighter. Joaquin hopes to become a soldier and avenge the death of his father.  Both boys are in love with Maria, and would do anything to win her love.

On the Day of the Dead, an argument arises between the two Gods of the Dead.  Xibalba is the ruler of the Land of the Forgotten, a bleak and dismal realm where forgotten souls are erased from existence. He is tired of living in his shadowy realm.  He covets the Land of the Remembered, a joyous realm of endless festivity where souls of the deceased live on the memories of their loved ones.  However, the Land of the Remembered is ruled by the Goddess La Muerte, who won’t give up her dominion so easily.  Spying the three children, Xibalba makes a wager on which boy Maria would marry, the winner gets full control of the underworld.  He bets on Joaquin, while La Muerte bets on Manolo. Most of the story focuses on Manolo and tells things from his point of view, about 20 years later.

The Book of Life is a colorful, lighthearted, and festive movie, full of comedy and nonstop excitement.  The movie is fast-paced, with constant music, action, and drama happening every second.  The character designs are uniquely stylized, and are largely made up of geometric shapes. Each character’s joints are connected with screws, and the texture of wood is slightly visible on the skin, always reminding the viewer that they are only puppets.  Every bit of the visuals, from the patterns on garments to the shapes in the architecture, has deep Hispanic influence.

Although The Book of Life has many great qualities, there are still things I don’t like.  Firstly, to me the concept of two guys fighting over one girl feels so bland and unoriginal, seeing as countless movies have done it beforehand.  At times, the nonstop action sequences could be a bit overwhelming.  Most of all, I feel that the film didn’t portray its message of love very well.  It seemed that, in the movie, Maria is some sort of prize to be won, acquired by performing various tasks for her, especially on the part of Joaquin.  Not enough time is spent on actually showing how love profoundly affected each of the male characters, other than one or two examples on the part of Manolo.

At the very end of the movie, one of the boys did, indeed, marry Maria.  The thing that made me question the supposed “depth” of the love that the losing man felt for Maria was because, once he realized Maria was already taken, he happily flirted with all the other girls.  He didn’t even seem to care that the supposed “love of his life” was gone forever; it was as if Maria never mattered at all. Last thing I’ll point out: I didn’t really expect anyone else to win the hand of Maria either (it’s pretty easy to guess).

I recommend this film to ages 9 and up.  The Book of Life is a rollicking, exciting comedy that is a pretty well-rounded film overall.  If you are looking for an exciting and entertaining film, then I would definitely recommend The Book of Life.  I give this movie 3.5 starfish.

Moral: Stay true to yourself no matter what.

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Perry Chen is the youngest award-winning film/ entertainment critic & animator, artist, speaker, and entertainment personality. He started writing movie reviews at 8 using a kid-friendly starfish rating system, under the guidance of his mom Dr. Zhu Shen and his 3rd grade teacher Ms. Harris. Perry’s debut on the CBS Evening News in 2009 made him a national sensation. He has been featured extensively on local, national, and international media, including NPR, Fox, CNN, NBC, The Guardian, The China Press, and many more. He has interviewed prominent filmmakers at film festivals, red carpet premieres, and press junkets. He won a prestigious “Excellence in Journalism Award” at the San Diego Press Club in 2010 as its youngest member. Perry currently writes movie reviews for the Animation World Network, San Diego Union Tribune, Amazing Kids! Magazine, and his own Perry’s Previews website with a combined readership of over 2 million worldwide.  Perry and his family live in the community of Carmel Valley San Diego.

Dr. Zhu Shen’s love for the movies started when she was a young girl, growing up in China during the Cultural Revolution where watching movies was the only entertainment available to the masses. Her journey to become a filmmaker took a convoluted path. She studied medicine at Peking Union Medical College before coming to the US and earning a Ph.D. in biochemistry from University of Colorado, and then an MBA from Cornell University’s Johnson School. She is a producer of the upcoming documentary feature “Average Joe on the Raw,” about journey into raw food and health. Dr. Shen is also an award-winning biotech executive, author, speaker, China business expert featured on national and trade media including CBS, Fox, Business Week, Pharmaceutical Executive, and more. She has worked at IBM, Bayer, Chiron, Immusol, and is the CEO of BioForesight, consulting on cross-Pacific life science business. *Photos of Perry Chen by Zhu Shen.