The Book of Life - Blu-ray Review

Details: By Loron Hays; 30 January 2015

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From producer Guillermo del Toro and director Jorge Gutierrez comes The Book of Life, an animated comedy with a unique visual style. The film was (mostly) ignored upon its release last October. It is, in fact, one of the must enchanting and exciting visual surprises of the year as far as I am concerned. Super sleek and filled with effervescent energy and style, Gutierrez’s film encourages the young and the old to live life on their own terms – even if the narrative isn’t quite up to snuff.

The film opens with a framing device à la Rob Reiner’s The Princess Bride. A mysterious museum tour guide, Mary Beth (voiced by Christina Applegate) shows a group of unruly young visitors that there might be much more to a museum than meets the eye. She tells them the story of Manolo (voiced by Diego Luna) and his best friend Joaquin (voiced by Channing Tatum) as they compete for the love of Maria (voiced by Zoe Saldana).

Written by Gutierrez and his co-screenwriter Douglas Langdale, things begin to get complicated when their competition for Maria’s love becomes a wager in the afterlife – yes, the afterlife – between the gods La Muerte (voiced by Kate del Castillo) who rules over The Land of the Remembered and Xibalba (voiced by del Toro’s go to guy, Ron Perlman) who rules over The Land of the Forgotten. Occurring during San Angel's Day of the Dead festival and featuring an illustrious cast of deceased family members, the 3D computer-animated adventure musical comedy film is as demented and engaging as it sounds.

If you haven’t already guessed, the idea of death factors heavily into the film’s themes and art. Don’t be scared, parents. This is safe material; maybe too safe for some audiences (like me). While the film does go dark, The Book of Life is, ultimately, a reminder to everyone (regardless of age) that we should always cherish the memories of the people we have loved and lost, while also making sure to continue to live life. Inspired by the famous legends and myths of Mexican folklore, the film presents a major step forward for Dallas-based Reel FX Animation Studios who disappointed many with last year’s Free Birds. There is a warm feeling throughout much of the film and the visual pieces flex so much muscled art that it can’t help but dazzle in high definition.

As far as the narrative goes, my big complaint is that the one-liners and pop culture references often undue the charm of the film’s better half: its slinky look. For every bit of flash and style in its Mexican folk art and Dia De Los Muertos imagery, there’s a slap-of-the-head moment as the antics and Mariachi-style versions of some pop music classics such as Radiohead’s Creep collapse on screen. Interestingly enough, the writers give two male leads and one female lead their own distinct personalities and, largely, stay away from some of the cliché’s we so often see in animated films. Yet, the story suffers from too many “cling ons” in the animated formula as the pop culture-related humor and use of contemporary songs (imagine Cheech Marin as a drunken mariachi singing Biz Markie’s “Just A Friend”) become a distraction to the beauty of the environments.

Regardless of its narrative, The Book of Life is a serious win as far as its animation goes. Everything from the weave of fabric in a dress to the sugar-coated arms of La Muerte is meticulously rendered. This is a film to showcase your blu-ray player and fancy high-def widescreen television if ever there was one.

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MPAA Rating: PG for mild action, rude humor, some thematic elements and brief scary images.
Runtime: 95 mins
Director: Jorge R. Gutiérrez
Writer: Jorge R. Gutiérrez, Douglas Langdale
Cast: Diego Luna, Zoe Saldana, Channing Tatum
Genre: Animation | Family | Adventure
Tagline: The Book of Life
Memorable Movie Quote: "Kids these days, with their long hair and not killing stuff."
Distributor: Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation
Official Site: http://www.bookoflifemovie.com/
Release Date: October 17, 2014
DVD/Blu-ray Release Date: January 27, 2015
Synopsis: The Book of Life, a vibrant fantasy-adventure, tells the legend of Manolo, a conflicted hero and dreamer who sets off on an epic quest through magical, mythical and wondrous worlds in order to rescue his one true love and defend his village.

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The Book of Life - Blu-ray Review

Blu-ray Details:

Available on Blu-ray - January 27, 2015
Screen Formats: 2.40:1
Subtitles: English SDH, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Arabic, Bulgarian, Croatian, Czech, Greek, Hindi, Romanian, Serbian, Slovak, Slovenian
Audio: English: DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1; Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1; French: Dolby Digital 5.1; French: DTS 5.1; Portuguese: Dolby Digital 5.1
Discs: 50GB Blu-ray Disc; Two-disc set (1 BD, 1 DVD); UV digital copy; Digital copy (as download); DVD copy
Region Encoding: A

I will preface this review with the fact that NO WORDS can do the picture on this release justice. It’s that solid. Presented on Blu-ray courtesy of 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer, The Book of Life looks so vividly rich that it mirrors a child’s pop-up book. Textures look great throughout the presentation. Colors are fluid and beautiful and absolutely knock this transfer out of the park. Contrast is excellent and black levels are unyieldingly deep. The clarity is breathtaking. The lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 track provides good support for a soundtrack that has more than one thing happening simultaneously.

Supplements:

Commentary:

One listen to director Jorge Gutierrez’s commentary for The Book of Life makes it very clear that this film is his baby and is something he’d dreamed about since he was a child. This is a very good commentary that should inspire a lot of young dreamers out there.

Special Features:

The Book of Life Blu-ray brings culture and comedy into your home with unforgettable special features for parents and kids alike. Continue the fun with an all-new bonus short “The Adventures of Chuy”, highlighting the film’s lovable scene-stealing pet pig. Additionally, relive the musical hits from the film with the “Music Machine” featuring Latin-inspired versions of popular songs by Mumford & Sons, Radiohead, Elvis Presley, Rod Stewart and others. The rest is pretty typical for animation releases: there’s an EPK making of, a look at the animation, a music video, and a 10-minute gallery.