The Book Of Life [Blu-ray]

THE BOOK OF LIFE is produced by Guillermo del Toro, directed by Jorge Gutierrez, and features an outstanding voice cast to tell its story of true love (along with a generous helping of Mexican culture). The basic plot is about two boys, Joaquin (Diego Luna) and Manolo (Channing Tatum), who vie for the affections of a girl, Maria (Zoe Saldana). As people they're fairly opposite, with Manolo being a musician at heart (his family's profession is bullfighter) and Joaquin being a soldier who does great deeds of derring-do. Unbeknownst to them, however, Lady Muerte and Xibalba (Ron Perlman) have entered into a wager about which of them can win the heart of Maria and it sets Manolo on a journey that will take him to both realms of the dead. First, I should say that the character design, animation and overall look of the film was extremely creative and visually unique, befitting a Guillermo del Toro production. The colors popped and everything in the world of the film was brought to vibrant life. The voice cast was equally impressive, although there were a couple of people who took me out of it for a little bit before getting sucked back into the story. The biggest offender was probably Ice Cube, who voices the Candlemaker, although they did stick in a couple of good jokes and references for him. I also got taken a little bit out of the story by realizing that Danny Trejo and Cheech Marin also voiced characters in the film, but again, they still did great work here. Another high point was the music. The score was pretty good, but what really stood out was the use of modern pop songs in what is (mostly) a period piece set at an indeterminate time in the past. Of course, I didn't mind that one bit at all. I also thought that the first half to two-thirds of the story were excellent. It succeeded telling an emotionally moving story with plenty of interesting characters, but at a certain point it resorted to the standard climax and resolution that wrapped up everything with a nice little bow. And despite much of the humor working, at times I felt it was a little too silly for its own good. Still, at the end I was completely won over. Had I seen this last year, I'm fairly certain it would have made my top ten. As it stands, this was an incredibly charming and visually rich film that should appeal to kids and adults alike, and also serves as a valuable cultural lesson.

Movie of all times just amazing

Received it in great shape! Also a beautiful movie. It’s a love story and my kids have loved it since it came out in 2014. They both are now 12 & 16 and still enjoys watching this movie.

Love this movie. It is the cutest. I watch it with or with out my kids hehehe. They colors in the movie are amazing it's funny.

Blu-ray movie was crystal clear visually and good sound qualityGood family and holiday themed movieGreat price and speedy shipping

Prepare to have your visual senses blown up with the explosion of color, music, and action in this film. First of all, there is A LOT of story happening here. A LOT of plot. Be prepared for that. This is not a simple, cute story placed in a box and wrapped with a little bow. This story is serious business. There is life, death, cemeteries, Mexican towns, angels, devils, a frame story, a narrator, a kids story, a love story, music, songs, guitar playing, and bull fighting. Like I said-- there's a lot going on here.The Day of the Dead culture, history, and plot points never really add up for me. In fact, it felt like the story writers were making up the scenes as they went during each day of production. Like, someone woke up one morning and said, "Let's have bull fighting in this film." The overly complicated storyline is a disappointment, feels burdened, and doesn't seem kid-friendly at times.However, The Book of Life is certainly a feast for a senses. The explosion of color, life, and vibrancy in the animation is unparalleled, impressive, and worth seeing. See it for the animation and continuous party on screen throughout the film. The most successful component? The shape, design, and highly stylized look of the film's characters. They don't look like people-- they look like something else. And I'll let you discover that surprise yourself. The character design is incredibly impressive, a true art form, and raises the bar of artistic animation--putting most other character designs in previous animated films to shame.

This is a great movie for so many reasons. First of all, it’s visually stunning in a way that most animated movies rarely attempt. Secondly, it’s just wacky and twisted enough to rise above the typical animated movie, something Pixar knows well, but in this case, the audience is decidedly older (hence the PG rating and the descriptive warning within the rating). Yes, there are adult themes of death, albeit in the fanciful sugar-skull-centric fashion of the glorious holiday Día de los Muertos. Nonetheless, this is not a movie for very young children but, I do think that tweens and up will find it captivating, and it’s good to see that the people who put this surreal dream together were up for making an animated movie that wasn’t so predictable and hackneyed. Lastly, it walks a delicate line between reverence and satire, dark comedy and enchanting romance, Guillermo de Toro and Walt Disney. Not bad for a “cartoon.”Part Rango, part Ren and Stimpy, and part folklore, The Book of Life is a sly, eye-popping, tongue-in-cheek, whimsical tale of love, friendship, and tradition that is a treat for the mind, the heart, and the imagination. While I’d like to see some improvements made in tightening things up, a more involved storyline, and a better sense of music, The Book of Life is still a gorgeous movie that joyfully shatters the Disney/Pixar bubble.