Reel FX's "The Book of Life"

[Warm Regards]

This thread is for the discussion of the upcoming "The Book of Life" animated movie. It is being produced by Reel FX Creative Studios, who also produced "Free Birds" in 2013.

Official website:
http://www.bookoflifemovie.com/

First trailer:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uCdhAr3VBBc[/youtube]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uCdhAr3VBBc

Synopsis:

An animated comedy with a unique visual style, "The Book of Life" is the journey of Manolo, a young man who is torn between fulfilling the expectations of his family and following his heart. Before choosing which path to follow, he embarks on an incredible adventure that spans three fantastical worlds where he must face his greatest fears. Rich with a fresh take on pop music favorites, "The Book of Life" encourages us to celebrate the past while looking forward to the future.

(From the Frozen thread):

I'm getting a Nightmare Before Christmas vibe, lots of very detailed busy backgrounds, props & characters, but the designs are very mixed. The human girls in the museum in the beginning looked terrible! I liked the land of the dead(or whatever they call it there) but I think it would have been a far more effective transformation for the main character if he had been human to begin with & not some wooden made being. Its different though so Ill see it, but it will probably be a rental for me.

It's funny you mention TNBC; I my self was getting a "Corpse Bride" feeling. You know, the whole "the main guy dies and finds out that the dead are more colorful (literally and figuratively) than the living, and his true love is still alive, and there's a jerk ass third guy who wants said girl."

As for the humans looking like wood cuts, I think that's the style of the movie. A "hand crafted" vibe, if that makes sense.

[Musical Master]

I like the style of the CG and the backgrounds looks nice. I might see this one.

[Disneyphile]

I hope this doesn't cause another Rio/Newt situation with Pixar's Dia de los Muertos movie.

[ajmrowland]

I hope this doesn't cause another Rio/Newt situation with Pixar's Dia de los Muertos movie.

I guess I've been out of the loop. Was that recently announced?

[Disneyphile]

I hope this doesn't cause another Rio/Newt situation with Pixar's Dia de los Muertos movie.

I guess I've been out of the loop. Was that recently announced?

It was announced in 2012.

[ajmrowland]

Okay, just as I was leaving the loop then.

[ce1ticmoon]

After seeing those atrocious trailers for Free Birds last year, I never thought I'd be interested in a Reel FX film, but this looks great. Can't say much as to the story from the trailer, but the visuals here are great. Very impressed with their less conventional approach.

[Warm Regards]

Second trailer:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIjLLwf88cE[/youtube]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIjLLwf88cE

[Walter]

It looks interesting, but have to wait and see how it scores on Rotten Tomatoes, for me to decide whether to see it in theaters or not.

[magired1]

SCREW what Rotten Tomatoes says-THEY always give weird or bad reviews or decent to make a film look bad. Watch sneak peek clips, commercials, the music, art of book AND see the movie and judge for yourself-I know I am gonna do that. Never judge a book like book of life by its cover-read or experience the story to see if you hate or love it.

[Warm Regards]

SCREW what Rotten Tomatoes says-THEY always give weird or bad reviews or decent to make a film look bad. Watch sneak peek clips, commercials, the music, art of book AND see the movie and judge for yourself-I know I am gonna do that. Never judge a book like book of life by its cover-read or experience the story to see if you hate or love it.

Curious to know your thoughts on the trailer haha.

Me, I like the idea of it. But two problems exist that are murkifying the optimism:

A) I feel this will go too close the route of Corpse Bride. Though most people seem to forget about that movie, I feel it's distinctive enough to make The Book of Life seem like a rehash.

B) Maria. Her voice doesn't match, like at all. And I don't like the "woman who is one of the guys" trope. I really don't, not unless it gets pulled off by giving her some endearing back story. But as the movie seems to be more focused on the men, and their attempts to win her over, Maria just seems like a "not damsel" damsel. You know, a girl who can sass but is ultimately more prize than protagonist.

[magired1]

I DON'T CARE about voice acting or how its like corpse bride-IT strikes me as interesting and fascinating. It has this uniqueness to it-ONCE I see the movie and heard the music and songs-I will give a review to show rotten tomatoes who who.

ALSO we never heard of some of those VAS before-their new SO give em a chance.

[Walter]

SCREW what Rotten Tomatoes says-THEY always give weird or bad reviews or decent to make a film look bad. Watch sneak peek clips, commercials, the music, art of book AND see the movie and judge for yourself-I know I am gonna do that. Never judge a book like book of life by its cover-read or experience the story to see if you hate or love it.

Oh I plan to see the movie. Just a matter of whether it is worth the time, money, and gas to go see it in theaters, or simply wait for the DVD in my local library. So yeah, I do care what critics have to say about it, as well as word of mouth from people on multiple message boards.

[ajmrowland]

SCREW what Rotten Tomatoes says-THEY always give weird or bad reviews or decent to make a film look bad. Watch sneak peek clips, commercials, the music, art of book AND see the movie and judge for yourself-I know I am gonna do that. Never judge a book like book of life by its cover-read or experience the story to see if you hate or love it.

You know you're not really supposed to agree with reviews, right? They're mostly there for a self-aware reader to predetermine whether they themselves will enjoy a movie.

And Rotten Tomatoes doesn't give the reviews; just gathers existing ones. And the highest scores tend to be well-liked by people with or without RT anyway.

[Warm Regards]

Has anyone seen this movie as of yet?

[magired1]

I have! AND IT WAS AWESOME! ;3 It was the most gorgeous, funniest, romantic, loveliest, wickedest, splendid movie ever! IT WAS THE BOMB!

Xibalba and La Muerte are my fav characters and every scene with them was marvelous and funny!

Go and see it! You will not regret it! It would be nominated for an oscar and win awards!

[blackcauldron85]

I saw it- it's visually stunning. I liked the story and cared about the characters. The music was wonderful, too. (I'm more enthusiastic than this mini-review sounds!)

[Elladorine]

A friend of mine said, "This is a Karen movie. It has skulls in it."

Hope I get the chance to see it in the theater, but not counting on it. Maybe I can talk the hubby into the drive-in?

[blackcauldron85]

DVD and Blu coming Jan. 27:
http://latinobeatz.com/2014/12/09/booko ... n-january/

Possible trilogy?
http://www.rotoscopers.com/2014/12/07/j ... ife-films/

[Gabrielkat]

Blu-ray.com reviews for The Book of Life:

2D: http://www.blu-ray.com/movies/The-Book- ... 63/#Review
3D: http://www.blu-ray.com/movies/The-Book- ... 98/#Review