Okay I'll just go out and say it" This is currently the best example of how to make an animated film specifically directed at kids". All people who want to pursue a career in entertaining kids with films should take notes from The Book of Life. I definitely wouldn't call this a masterpiece of animation by any stretch, but for what it is; this film has earned a substantial amount of my respect.
The Commendations
It is best start off the review with what makes the film really good. When I first saw the trailer the only thing that hooked me to this film was the animation. I am a humongous fan of art style in animation. My mouth drools at the sight of unusual animation that is outside its genre box. The film is not just beautiful and lovingly well crafted, but it also utilizes a genre of animation that is barely seen around the world. The book of life is made up of what I like to call craftsmanship animation. This type of animation takes something from the real world and applies onto the cast of main characters, and the world the plot will take place in, no matter the genre of animation the film uses. It is rarely done because of how hard it is to do. Another thing that this film does well at is how demanding it is. Most films that are directed at kids normally don't know what they want to be from beginning to end. The story itself is just a means to an end. The book of Life is an animated film that just wants you to have fun with it. The film right off the bat is telling the audience that it wants us to watch it in a specific way so that we can get the maximum entertainment out of it and enjoy the film. It's not trying to teach any cliché morals and it really keeps up with the theme of Day of the dead, speaking of clichés. I love how the film uses pop culture references. It just makes fun of them, and it's clear that they chose specific references to make fun off, so thankfully they didn't choose any ones that are meant to be downright annoying. Dare I say the Harlem shake? The jokes they tell in the film work 7 out of 10 times. The story itself is nothing truly new, but the themes of Death, Life, and family feel new because most kid films are afraid to show children what reality has in store for them, even at their young ages. I'm happy the film wants to break out of the norm, and they thankfully don't make it too obvious. The cast of characters are also great.
The Criticisms
While I enjoy praising this, it unfortunately is flawed in many places. The best place to begin would have to be the intro, which is the most criticized scene in the whole film. A bus holding a small group of detention kids takes them to a museum. The moment the kids get off the bus you have more than enough reason to be worried that the film might turn out bad. For the most part anytime the kids appear on screen they are pretty annoying. I understand that they are in the film to allow the fantasy elements to go wild when needed, but it doesn't mean they have to be the type of kids that nobody likes, nor do they have to be perfect role models. Earlier I praised the book of life's animation immensely, but I can't give it a perfect 10 score for two reasons. The film rarely does anything remarkable with it until the near end, that and they applied the wooden puppet style to the humans which just feels unfitting. The humans are interesting to look at, but to a certain degree. Another problem that I found in the film was that there was WAY too much contrivance. Because of this it makes the film come off as too demanding, which it is not if you pay close enough attention. It also hampers the replay value. Many viewers love to have the option of going back and looking into a film as deeply or as shallow as they want to. Because of the large amount contrivance, that doesn't happen. The next thing to talk about is the story's pacing and execution. Specific scenes feel too short and don't allow the audience to get the full experience. A perfect example would be when we're shown the land of the remembered. I forgot to mention this but another problem with the animation is that the book of life doesn't allow you to explore the worlds they have created to the fullest. Once again the example would be the land of the remembered. I like the characters for the most part, but the film doesn't do justice to certain characters, especially those integral to the plot. Not all of the pop culture references work. The final criticism goes to the movie's songs. Only two of them fit well with the story they are trying to tell.
My opinions
I thought the film was pretty good, and I consider it one of the greatest animated films of all time for what an example it is. As I said before this film isn't a masterpiece, but not all greatest animated films have to be masterpieces. They just have fit a certain criteria. They must be able to stand the test of time, have something that makes their film stand out above the rest, and lastly they must define what an animated film is. Definition- Make an entertaining film and use said animation to your advantage.
This review will be continued in part 2
The Commendations
It is best start off the review with what makes the film really good. When I first saw the trailer the only thing that hooked me to this film was the animation. I am a humongous fan of art style in animation. My mouth drools at the sight of unusual animation that is outside its genre box. The film is not just beautiful and lovingly well crafted, but it also utilizes a genre of animation that is barely seen around the world. The book of life is made up of what I like to call craftsmanship animation. This type of animation takes something from the real world and applies onto the cast of main characters, and the world the plot will take place in, no matter the genre of animation the film uses. It is rarely done because of how hard it is to do. Another thing that this film does well at is how demanding it is. Most films that are directed at kids normally don't know what they want to be from beginning to end. The story itself is just a means to an end. The book of Life is an animated film that just wants you to have fun with it. The film right off the bat is telling the audience that it wants us to watch it in a specific way so that we can get the maximum entertainment out of it and enjoy the film. It's not trying to teach any cliché morals and it really keeps up with the theme of Day of the dead, speaking of clichés. I love how the film uses pop culture references. It just makes fun of them, and it's clear that they chose specific references to make fun off, so thankfully they didn't choose any ones that are meant to be downright annoying. Dare I say the Harlem shake? The jokes they tell in the film work 7 out of 10 times. The story itself is nothing truly new, but the themes of Death, Life, and family feel new because most kid films are afraid to show children what reality has in store for them, even at their young ages. I'm happy the film wants to break out of the norm, and they thankfully don't make it too obvious. The cast of characters are also great.
The Criticisms
While I enjoy praising this, it unfortunately is flawed in many places. The best place to begin would have to be the intro, which is the most criticized scene in the whole film. A bus holding a small group of detention kids takes them to a museum. The moment the kids get off the bus you have more than enough reason to be worried that the film might turn out bad. For the most part anytime the kids appear on screen they are pretty annoying. I understand that they are in the film to allow the fantasy elements to go wild when needed, but it doesn't mean they have to be the type of kids that nobody likes, nor do they have to be perfect role models. Earlier I praised the book of life's animation immensely, but I can't give it a perfect 10 score for two reasons. The film rarely does anything remarkable with it until the near end, that and they applied the wooden puppet style to the humans which just feels unfitting. The humans are interesting to look at, but to a certain degree. Another problem that I found in the film was that there was WAY too much contrivance. Because of this it makes the film come off as too demanding, which it is not if you pay close enough attention. It also hampers the replay value. Many viewers love to have the option of going back and looking into a film as deeply or as shallow as they want to. Because of the large amount contrivance, that doesn't happen. The next thing to talk about is the story's pacing and execution. Specific scenes feel too short and don't allow the audience to get the full experience. A perfect example would be when we're shown the land of the remembered. I forgot to mention this but another problem with the animation is that the book of life doesn't allow you to explore the worlds they have created to the fullest. Once again the example would be the land of the remembered. I like the characters for the most part, but the film doesn't do justice to certain characters, especially those integral to the plot. Not all of the pop culture references work. The final criticism goes to the movie's songs. Only two of them fit well with the story they are trying to tell.
My opinions
I thought the film was pretty good, and I consider it one of the greatest animated films of all time for what an example it is. As I said before this film isn't a masterpiece, but not all greatest animated films have to be masterpieces. They just have fit a certain criteria. They must be able to stand the test of time, have something that makes their film stand out above the rest, and lastly they must define what an animated film is. Definition- Make an entertaining film and use said animation to your advantage.
This review will be continued in part 2