Saturday night Marilyn and I spontaneously decided to take Sean and Tashena to a late movie. They chose The Book of Life which I thought was appropriate for the Day of the Dead! I am glad they picked this movie because I wan't planning on seeing it and I absolutely loved it! On the Day of the Dead we meet La Muerte, who rules the Land of the Remembered, and Xibalba, who rules the Land of the Forgotten. Xibalba is unhappy in the Land of the Forgotten and proposes a wager: if La Meurte wins Xibalba will stop meddling in the lives of mortals and if Xibalba wins they will change lands. They see two boys, Manolo and Juaquin, competing for the attention of a girl named Maria. La Meurte bets that Manolo will marry Maria and Xibalba bets that Juaquin will. Years later, Manolo has been trained by his father to follow the family tradition of becoming a bull fighter but he just wants to play his guitar. Juaquin has become a military hero like his famous father, but only because of the Medal of Eternal Life given to him by Xibalba. Who will the feisty Maria choose? I thought it was hilarious! Like many animated films for children, there were lots of pop cultural references which kept the adults in the theater laughing. When Manolo sang "Creep" by Radiohead, Marilyn and I couldn't stop laughing! Sean looked over at us wondering what was so funny! I loved the wise-cracking Grandma Sanchez and the trio of singing nuns who functioned as a Greek chorus. So clever! All of the characters look like the wooden puppets that are traditionally used in Day of the Dead celebrations. The animation is visually stunning: dynamic, vibrant, and colorful. I couldn't take my eyes off the screen! The message of this movie is that as long as you remember the loved ones who have passed on, they will always be with you. We had quite the conversation about this with Sean on the drive home! Definitely go see this movie!
Note: I always have so much fun when I am totally spontaneous! I need to be spontaneous more often!
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