7/10

Give 20th Century Fox credit for finding a holiday that has never been presented on film. The Book of Life tells the legend of Manolo (Diego Luna), a conflicted hero and dreamer who sets off on an epic quest through magical, mythical and wondrous worlds in order to rescue his one true love and defend his village. The film’s first act is dedicated to a love triangle between Manolo, his best friend Joaquin (Channing Tatum), and Maria (Zoe Saldana). It plays for laughs, but is quite predictable within minutes of the film who Maria will choose. Luckily, this isn’t all the film is about. I found myself not only charmed by the laughter, but by the romance and family values that the film represents. The most impressive aspect is that the film manages to pack so much in 85 minutes, which only adds to how impressive it is. With the exception of How To Train Your Dragon 2, i think The Book of Life makes an argument for best animated film of 2014. The animation is breathtakingly beautiful. I compared it to an early Tim Burton animation with lots of skeletons and curses/hex traditions. I didn’t see this film in 3D, but i can imagine that it will make the beautiful multi colored landscape and buildings in the background pop out even that much more. The voice work is average, but it’s never terrible. My grading scale for voicework has always been based on an actor sounding like anyone but themselves. Everyone is pretty noticable in this film, but that’s not a problem. Tatum plays the cocky character, Luna plays the romantic swooner, and Saldana plays the babe. Far stretching these roles are not. One of the most impressive aspects of the film to me was the soundtrack. There are many pop/rock songs played in the film to Mariachi music in the background. The songs are played to a romantic ballad kind of feel, and each one works every time. One song in particular was “Creep” by Radiohead which was magically reworked so beautifully that it took me a minute to figure out what song it was. I would mention more, but i honestly don’t want to spoil it for you the audience. If the DVD of this film came with the soundtrack, you better believe that is a pack definitely worth the extra cash. This film is also unapologetic about the non stop energy that it promotes within it’s magical characters. The film always feels like it’s running in full speed (A good thing), and you have to keep your eyes peeled not to miss anything in the beautiful worlds presented. I think a feature like this definitely warrants future watches because animated films are always known for their hidden Easter eggs. Overall, i would definitely recommend The Book of Life for the whole family. The kids will love the comedy, and the parents will enjoy it for a wonderful date night.