THE BOOK OF LIFE (2014)

Genre: Animated
Running Length: 1:35
Cast (Voice): Diego Luna, Zoe Saldana, Channing Tatum, Ron Perlman, Christina Applegate, Ice Cube, Kate del Castillo, Hector Elizondo
Director: Jorge R. Gutierrez

Ahhh..."death", one of my favourite subjects. To be specific, it's actually the concept of mortality explored in films that has always fascinated me. So it was with great expectations I went into THE BOOK OF LIFE, an animated film (targeted at young audiences) which used Mexico's Day of the Dead celebration as the canvas to paint its story. Although it's heavily sugar coated, I must say this movie is surprisingly effective in exploring the serious subject of death. Although the narrative has many layers; the main story is actually told by a museum tour guide to a group of kids and the story narrated has 3 worlds with many characters crossing over from one world to another, it was actually quite easy to follow. However, the plot could have benefited with a "less is more" treatment as towards the second half, it was trying very hard to jam packed the remaining minutes with almost everything from the Pixar playbook; being true to yourself, sacrifice, friendship, forgiveness etc. If the writers could have just focused on the romantic triangle plot and perhaps dive deeper into the subject of mortality, it would have been a much better viewing experience. And speaking of that, this is indeed an experiential movie. The landscape is bright and colorful even though it's filled with skeletons and skulls. The characters (especially the supporting cast) are strangely shaped and odd-sized but compelling nevertheless. And the song choices are inspired and creative, especially the recognizable pop songs which are sung with a dash of Mexican flair and passion.

(The desire to experience Mexico's Day of the Dead celebrations has just gone up a few notch in my bucket list!)

Rating: 7/10