Conglomerate Blog: Business, Law, Economics & Society

One thing I love about living in Utah County is that there are two "dollar" theaters where movies play at the end of their run at movie theaters. Saturday, the two boys and I saw The Book of Life for $3.50, even though it was still playing at full-priced venues. The seven year-old had wanted to see if after seeing the preview, but the almost thirteen year-old was skeptical. However, the movie won us all over.

This animated movie is a little different than normal Disney/Dreamworks fare. The characters are not drawn as beautiful, round Pixar characters. Instead, the characters are shaped like wooden puppets, and move like very graceful, magical jointed dolls. (Although the heroine has big doe eyes, like a Bratz doll, that seem out of place.) The setting is Mexico, and the decor and landscape is multi-colored and bold, like Mexican tile. The plot also revolves around The Day of the Dead and the two afterlife realms: The Land of the Remembered and The Land of the Forgotten. Death and hell aren't normal kiddie fare, but the result is magical and lovely.

The rulers of the two realms (La Muerte and Xibalba) make a wager regarding three childhood friends, Maria, Manolo and Joaquin over which boy will grow up to marry the girl. Though the story gives both boys lovable characteristics and positive qualities, it is clear that Manolo, who is sensitive and thoughtful, is the man for Maria, a forward-thinking woman who is educated in Europe. Joaquin is not the bad guy, though, which makes it hard to root against him. Eventually, Xibalba interferes when it looks like he is going to lose the bet, and Manolo ends up in the Land of the Remembered, an amazing realm pulsing with music, artistry and life. But that is not the end of the story, just the beginning.

The movie doesn't have the laugh out loud humor of a lot of animated movies, and the plot is fairly simple. However, the great soundtrack and beautiful artistry makes it a must-see. And, as much as we love to see fairy tales of Western and Northern Europe, it's good for a change to see a movie celebrating a different part of the globe.

Film | Bookmark

TrackBack URL for this entry:
https://www.typepad.com/services/trackback/6a00d8345157d569e201bb07a933a0970d

Links to weblogs that reference Family Film Blogging: The Book of Life:

One thing I love about living in Utah County is that there are two "dollar" theaters where movies play at the end of their run at movie theaters. Saturday, the two boys and I saw The Book of Life for $3.50, even though it was still playing at full-priced venues. The seven year-old had wanted to see if after seeing the preview, but the almost thirteen year-old was skeptical. However, the movie won us all over.

This animated movie is a little different than normal Disney/Dreamworks fare. The characters are not drawn as beautiful, round Pixar characters. Instead, the characters are shaped like wooden puppets, and move like very graceful, magical jointed dolls. (Although the heroine has big doe eyes, like a Bratz doll, that seem out of place.) The setting is Mexico, and the decor and landscape is multi-colored and bold, like Mexican tile. The plot also revolves around The Day of the Dead and the two afterlife realms: The Land of the Remembered and The Land of the Forgotten. Death and hell aren't normal kiddie fare, but the result is magical and lovely.

The rulers of the two realms (La Muerte and Xibalba) make a wager regarding three childhood friends, Maria, Manolo and Joaquin over which boy will grow up to marry the girl. Though the story gives both boys lovable characteristics and positive qualities, it is clear that Manolo, who is sensitive and thoughtful, is the man for Maria, a forward-thinking woman who is educated in Europe. Joaquin is not the bad guy, though, which makes it hard to root against him. Eventually, Xibalba interferes when it looks like he is going to lose the bet, and Manolo ends up in the Land of the Remembered, an amazing realm pulsing with music, artistry and life. But that is not the end of the story, just the beginning.

The movie doesn't have the laugh out loud humor of a lot of animated movies, and the plot is fairly simple. However, the great soundtrack and beautiful artistry makes it a must-see. And, as much as we love to see fairy tales of Western and Northern Europe, it's good for a change to see a movie celebrating a different part of the globe.

Sun	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri	Sat
		1	2	3	4	5
6	7	8	9	10	11	12
13	14	15	16	17	18	19
20	21	22	23	24	25	26
27	28	29	30	31