The Book of Life

What day is 31 October?

You may say that it is Halloween. However, it is also the start of a colourful holiday in Mexico. It starts on 31 Oct and ends on 2 Nov - The Day of the Dead (Dia de los Muertos).

The Day of the Dead is when people gather to pray for their dead family and friends. While the rest of the world pray to the dead in black and white, the Mexicans decided to throw in a lot of colours and make it a happy festival (not that I don't approve of).

I've been a fan of the Day of the Dead for a few years now. I just absolutely love the vibrant colours and the carnival-ish atmosphere even though I've never been to one before.





Even the altars are splashed with colours!

Anyway, since that you now know something about the Day of the Dead, let's skip to the movie.



A few students were taken a secret tour in a museum by a tour guide named Mary Beth (Christina Applegate). She tells them about the Book of Life, a book that contains every folklore in the world.



Directed by Jorge Gutierrez and produced by Aaron Berger, Brad Booker, Guillermo del Toro, and Carina Schulze, this particular story revolves around the Day of the Dead in a Mexican town, San Angel (pronounced 'Sahn Ahn-hel').



It all started when the two gods, La Muerte (Kate del Castillo) and Xibalba (Ron Perlman), who reigned over the Land of the Remembered (the one with the festivities and colours) and the Land of the Forgotten (the one with dark and typically what you expect from a place without sunlight and life) respectively, placed a bet on which one of two boys would marry a girl that they both love. If La Muerte wins, Xibalba will not meddle in mortal affairs but if Xibalba wins? They'll both exchange realms.



Manolo (Diego Luna), Joaqin (Channing Tatum, pronounced 'Hua-kin'), and Maria (Zoe Saldana) are best friends since childhood. However, Manolo and Joaqin love the same girl - Maria. Maria got sent away for being a free-spirited girl and did not return until a few years later, when she's grown into a beautiful young lady.



Manolo became a bullfighter and a hopeless romantic whilst Joaqin became a famous hero for being remarkably brave. However, Joaqin was secretly given the Medal of Eternal Life from Xibalba when Xibalba and La Muerte made the bet. Therefore, he couldn't get hurt and was practically immortal.



In order to win the bet, Xibalba tricked Manolo into finding Maria in the afterworld. To do that, Manolo had to die. Manolo found his family in the Land of the Remembered and ventured through the Land of the Forgotten to find La Muerte and to get back to San Angel, to Maria.



It is certainly a journey between life and death. There were quite a few touching scenes and the soundtrack? Lovely. Next to Frozen and Rio, this movie's soundtracks are on the top of my list! The songs really touched my heart and the scenes really hit the spot.



For an animated movie, even though most of the characters look very much like puppets, the movie is filled with colours and Mexican culture. It is also has that warm vibe. Compared to the horror films that are screening this Halloween season, this is more subtle and kids-friendly. Not to say that adults and teens should not watch this. This is suitable for all ages!

I've heard my friends talking about horror movies like Annabelle but I did not hear them talk about The Book of Life, which is in my opinion, more worth the money than Annabelle. Summing it all, The Book of Life is definitely an awesome animated movie.



Appreciation note for La Muerte: She is just so beautiful! Not only kind and loving but totally stunning and gorgeous. I think that my next art project will be of her. <3



And for Chuy. THIS PIGLET IS EXTREMELY ADORABLE! I JUST CAN'T.
Spoiler alert: Chuy turned a little creepy a few years later.


More posts coming up since I've finished my exams and was procrastinating and relaxing for the past week. I mean, a girl deserves some rest after sleeping for 2-5 hours in the exam week and had to finish 11 subjects / 23 papers in 7 days! Accomplishment unlocked!

-pics Googled-