Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		4.0

The Book of Life Blu-ray Movie Review

Wish book.

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman January 23, 2015

If anyone needs further proof that we’re living in a new Golden Age of animation, look no further than The Book of Life. This deliriously designed film provides a viewing experience that is like walking into a quasi-hallucinatory pop up picture book that is taking place within a kind of carnival like atmosphere where Gods and humans coexist together, albeit not always all that peacefully. In any other year, The Book of Life would probably have been the “must see” animated adventure sure to delight kids and adults alike, but 2014 was awash in other fantastic animated adventures, and with a slew of properties like Big Hero 6, The LEGO Movie, How to Train Your Dragon 2 , The Boxtrolls 3D and Mr. Peabody & Sherman, The Book of Life, while more or less unanimously praised by critics, only did so so at the box office and now looks to its home video release to really find an appreciative audience. Though its tale of a wager of sorts between two competing divinities isn’t especially innovative, and the film’s use of a hero journeying to the underworld to reclaim his lost love of course harkens back to Greek myth and films like Black Orpheus, the film’s design aesthetic is a riot of invention, with crazy quilt characters exploding onto (and in its 3D iteration, out of) the screen in an often dazzling array of ingenuity. Filtered through a decidedly (if pretty cheeky) South of the Border ambience that may or may not have anything to do with real Mexican folklore, The Book of Life actually centers both in its “meta story” (more about that in a moment) as well as its actual main plotline around The Day of the Dead, Mexico’s dia de Muertos which is crafted (now, anyway) around the Catholic holidays of All Hallow’s Eve, Hallowmas and All Souls’ Day. The Day of the Dead is a sacred moment to remember loved ones who have passed, and in fact the film makes a point out of detailing two different afterworlds, a happy, festive society where the deceased are remembered, and a forlorn, sullen affair that houses those time (and descendants) have forgotten. The "meta story" involves a bunch of bratty schoolkids who are shown a secret room in a museum devoted to Mexican folklore and history by a perky tourguide (Christina Applegate). The "main story" involves La Muerte (Kate de Castillo), ruler of the Land of the Remembered and saucy wife of Xibalba (Ron Perlman), the scheming ruler of The Land of the Forgotten who wants to trade domains with his spouse, if only for a day (in a plot point that is somewhat reminiscent of The Nightmare Before Christmas.) These two divine beings enter into a bet which, if Xibalba prevails, would allow him to lord it over the Land of the Remembered.

That bet involves three initially young humans, a little girl named Maria Posada (eventually voiced by Zoe Saldana as an adult), who is sought after by two competing little boys, musician Manolo Sanchez (Diego Luna as an adult) and would be hero soldier Joaquin Mondragon (Channing Tatum as an adult). The three kids hang around and joke with each other, and Maria seems to be innocently unaware of just how ardent her suitors actually are. A mishap leads to a misunderstanding with her father, General Posada (Carlos Alazraqui), and Maria is sent away to boarding school. In the meantime, Manolo is dealing with his family’s legacy of producing prize bullfighters. Manolo’s father, Carlos (Hector Elizondo), will literally hear nothing of his son’s desire to sing and play guitar, insisting instead that Manolo follow the family tradition, something the now young man is perfectly capable of doing were it not for his refusal to kill the bull. In the meantime, a now much decorated Joaquin has returned to town at exactly the same moment Maria gets back from school.

The showdown between Manolo and Joaquin actually doesn’t exactly follow an expected trajectory, for soon enough the scheming Xibalba, who has already provided Joaquin with a little trinket to help him be an invincible hero, first tricks Maria and then Manolo himself in a kind of sinister take on Romeo and Juliet. The upshot is that Manolo ends up dead in the Land of the Remembered, reunited with his family but assuming that Maria, whom he thought had also died (due to Xibalba’s trickery), is around somewhere. That sets this particular angle of the plot out on a sort of epic quest element, as Manolo and some of his family members try to track her down in the forbidden Land of the Forgotten.

Meanwhile “up top” (as it were), Maria, who in fact survived, is devastated by Manolo’s death but has to face facts, ultimately accepting Joaquin’s longstanding proposal. That in turn gives Xibalba the prize he’s been seeking for so long, but once Manolo and his crew show up in the Land of the Forgotten and alert the already suspicious La Muerte to what’s been going on, all bets are off (literally) and Manolo has a chance to rewrite his own destiny.

There are obviously a lot of elements in The Book of Life, and in fact the overstuffed quality of the film, which is only exacerbated by a completely overwhelming design aesthetic, is probably the film’s biggest drawback. And there’s no denying that individual plot points like a kid struggling to find his own form of expression despite the strictures of his family and society can seem hackneyed (Happy Feet, anyone?). But the film has real heart and (no pun intended) spirit, with an uplifting moral that doesn’t just make the trite point that true love will prevail, but that any individual is able to overcome even seemingly daunting odds if they believe in themselves. But it’s ultimately the cartwheeling imagery that is The Book of Life’s chief allure, and this is one film that virtually demands to be viewed more than once in order to savor the panoply of fantastic colors, shapes and textures that fill the screen.

The Book of Life Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The Book of Life is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.39:1. It's virtually impossible to adequately describe the inventive animation in this film, and so at least a cursory glance at the screenshots accompanying this review is highly recommended. As mentioned above in the main body of the review, the basic design aesthetic, once the film moves into its main story anyway, is like a pop up book, albeit one that has many of its pop up elements carved out of wood. Close-ups of human characters can therefore show "rings" or other aspects of being wooden, with textures looking great throughout the presentation. That wooden aspect is contrasted with a more fluid, almost fluorescent, approach toward the two main gods, La Muerte and Xibalba, both of whom feature various flaming elements that pop very evocatively. The backgrounds are simply an incredible mixture of vivid hues suffusing a wonderland of weirdly squat or misshapen creatures, especially once Manolo gets to the Land of the Remembered. The animation is itself very fluid, with a couple of brief exceptions (one early scene with the young Manolo and his Dad by a gate has a slight stuttering quality). Colors throughout this film are just over the top beautiful, with an emphasis on deep teals and purples that is at once very distinctive and memorable. Contrast is excellent and black levels, which assume paramount importance in several key sequences, are also solid and deep. Clarity and sharpness are top notch, and aside from just one or two very minor instances of banding (oddly tending to afflict less colorful moments), this is an artifact free presentation.

The Book of Life Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Book of Life may not be quite as aurally stuffed as it is visually, but it often comes close, and the lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 track provides ample support for a soundtrack that is often stuffed to overflowing with music, dialogue and sound effects unfolding simultaneously. Accents can occasionally be a bit on the heavy side (optional subtitles can help in that regard), but dialogue is presented cleanly and clearly and is generally very well prioritized. The film's charming score, which includes several songs, also fills the surrounds in a very supple manner. Fidelity is top notch and dynamic range is extremely wide on this problem free track.

The Book of Life Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• The Adventures of Chuy (1080p; 3:17) is a sweet little short featuring the film's lovable pig.


• Closer Look at The Book of Life (1080p; 10:16) serves as this disc's requisite EPK, and includes interviews with the voice cast and Guillermo del Toro.


• The Music of Life (1080p; 8:44) is a nice piece focusing on the score by Gustavo Santaolalla and the ubiquitous source cues which are also utilized.


• Digital Carpenters: Behind The Book of Life at Reel FX (1080p; 11:03) is an interesting look at the animation process.


• Music Machine (1080p; 24:50) excises all of the film's musical moments which can be played either sequentially or individually (the timing is for the 'Play All' option).


• "No Matter Where You Are" Music Video by Us the Duo (1080p; 3:28)


• Audio Commentary by Director Jorge R. Gutierrez


• Gallery includes:

  Meet the Cast (1080p; 1:03)

  Visual Development - Production Art (1080p; 2:38)

  Visual Development - Color Keys (1080p; 3:28)

  Background Poster Paintings (1080p; 1:23)

  The Final Look (1080p; 2:13)

  Note: Timings are for the Auto Advance option.


• Theatrical Trailer (1080p; 2:24)

The Book of Life Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The Book of Life might be just slightly too ambitious for its own good, and there are a few hackneyed elements in its story of fate and love, but any niggling qualms are simply brushed aside by this film's overwhelming artistry. The visual delights here are so splendid that even occasional narrative hiccups are easily forgiven, though given the trials of Xibalba, maybe it's best not to completely forget them. Voice work is top notch, the film's music is inventive and very enjoyable, and The Book of Life comes Highly recommended.