Friday, November 17, 2023

Y tu Luna también: The Book of Life (2014, PG)

I first saw this movie a handful of years back and have revisited it multiple times since then, but I realized I’ve never actually reviewed it. I figured it’s high time I remedied that for Y tu Luna también!

La Muerte and Xibalba, the two gods of the underworld, have decided to place a wager on the fates of three children. Manolo and Joaquin are both in love with their friend Maria and eager to impress her—the gods bet on which will one day marry her. As the three grow up, Joaquin becomes a brave soldier, while Manolo struggles between his father’s desire for him to become a bullfighter and his own wish to be a musician. They both jockey for Maria’s favor, but she’s not interested in being anyone’s prize. The story stretches to the land of the dead and back again as the three young people figure out who they are and what they really want.

I remember that, on my first watch, I liked the movie and its creativity, especially its imaginative puppet-like character designs, but it struck me as a little “unpolished” compared to, say, a major Disney release. But it’s a film that grew on me quite a bit in rewatch, especially after Maya and the Three came out and I started to recognize writer/director Jorge R. Gutiérrez’s sensibilities. The fast-paced, frenetic humor is definitely his thing—as is his animated dedication to the female gaze, hehe!—and it can feel a little overwhelming if you’re not used to it, like the movie is cranked to eleven. But once you get into the swing of it, the film is irreverently funny, with a story that’s straightforward on the outside but has some interesting themes to mine when you dig a little deeper. (Also, fun fact: Gutiérrez is autistic!)

The film is a musical, in a similar vein to Mulan Rouge. In other words, most of the songs are anachronistic pop covers, with a couple original numbers to really punctuate pivotal scenes. This means Manolo sings everything from Mumford and Sons to Radiohead to Elvis, although some of the songs are super short—like, only a couple stanzas’ worth. But even when we’re given just a taste of a song, it adds a lot to its scene. For my money, the best musical sequences in the movie involve its two original songs, “I Love You Too Much” and “The Apology Song,” plus the soaring finale, “No Matter Where You Are” by Us the Duo.

The voice cast is mostly Latino, with a few exceptions. Zoe Saldana brings both honesty and ferocity to Maria, a kind young woman who deeply cares about Manolo and Joaquin but won’t put up with any of their nonsense, or her father’s patriarchal attitudes. Channing Tatum is fun as Joaquin, who’s brave and dashing but also super self-absorbed—it kills me that his battle cry is just shouting, “Joaquin!!!” Kate del Castillo, who also voiced Lady Micte in Maya and the Three, plays La Muerte, while Ron Perlman voices Xibalba. The film also features Hector Elizondo, Gabriel Iglesias, Cheech Marin, Ice Cube, Danny Trejo, and Plácido Domingo (I need to point out the allegations against Domingo.)

Diego Luna plays Manolo. This was his first voice acting gig, and it’s a proper leading man role—in a musical, no less! I’ll get to the singing a bit later, but first, I think Luna does a nice job with this lovely, endearing part. Manolo is quite the romantic. He’s a little artless but sweetly charming in his attempts to woo Maria, and while he actually is quite the talented bullfighter, his macho father considers him a failure because he can’t bring himself to “finish” a bull (i.e. kill it.) Besides, music is his first love, and he chafes against the idea that he has to carry on the family name in the ring instead of following his heart.

Yes, there are a lot of animated protagonists out there like him—animated films love a main character who wants to do what others say they can’t—but Manolo carves out his own space within that archetype. I like that Manolo has two different stories going on here, his love for Maria/fear that he doesn’t measure up compared to Joaquin and his debate over whether to please his father or chase his own passion. There are important points that link the two, but each has its own weight within the film, and for my money, the more personal plot gets the more affecting climax.

I especially like Luna’s performance in the moments where the sheen of the romantic leading man gets disrupted a bit. There are these brief unexpected bits where Manolo gets the wind knocked out of his sails, and Luna always makes them delightfully funny. For example, just as he reaches the pinnacle of a swoonworthy serenade, Maria teasingly asks, “Did you think it was gonna be that easy?” Cue everything crashing down on Manolo, literally, and he winds up staggering to his feet in a daze, admitting, “…I-I kinda did.” Love it!

Now, Luna—and by extension Manolo—isn’t the best singer. But 1) his voice definitely grew on me, especially after I got the soundtrack. And 2) I kind of like that about it. Honestly, aside from his reluctance about killing the bull, he probably has more talent and swagger as a bullfighter than as a musician, but he doesn’t want to sing/play guitar because he’s the Bestest Ever at it. He wants to because music is what’s in his heart. Above anything else, Manolo’s singing is heartfelt, and that’s what’s most appealing about it. He brings a gentle quality to the softer songs, while his runaway passion comes through in the more upbeat numbers.

Recommend?

In General – Yes. It’s funny and charming, and the animation is terrific!

Diego Luna – Yes! It’s interesting, because Luna doesn’t really “do voices”; all of his animated characters basically sound like him. And he’s talked on numerous occasions about how difficult it can be to act in English, so you’d think it might be even harder giving an English language performance that’s purely vocals, without showing the audience any facial expressions or body language. But he really is a great voice actor. I’ve enjoyed all his animated roles, and his first one is definitely worth a watch. Plus, singing!

Warnings

Cartoon violence, scary moments for kids, some gross-out humor, and thematic elements.

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