The Book of Life

Sorry this post is very late and I have been very busy.  So the book of life is about two young boys Joaquin and Manolo who are fighting to win the heart of their childhood friend Maria.  Two gods see them and place a bet on them.  Xibalba picks Joaquin because he is less caring and sympathetic to other people.   La Muerte the goddess picks Manolo because he is more generous and selfless.  The bet is on who rules the land of the remembered which is currently ruled by La Muerte.  Due to a prank gone wrong Maria is sent away and the boys are sent down there own paths.  Manolo is forced into being a bullfighter but does not want to kill the bull but would rather play music.  Joaquin is now the village defender and has to hide a metal that makes him invincible in fear of being attacked by the previous owner.  When Maria comes back she appears to be what this generation needs for strong female characters but unfortunately falls a little flat as she is more of a plot convenience and caricature.  So when she arrives both Manolo and Joaquin fight to win her heart with Manolo getting somewhere on that front.  When Manolo and Maria are together Xibalba sends a snake to bite Maria to make Manolo think she is dead so he will die to be with her.  Later he finds out that he pulled a Romeo to soon for she was not dead by simply knocked out.  She he traverses the world of the dead to come back to life and be with Maria.  There is also a plot were he must come back to life to help the town be saved from the bandits that want the metal from Joaquin.  Also if everyone dies from the town everyone from there will go to the land of the forgotten which is sort of like a purgatory.
The animation in this film is amazing!! I can not stress this enough.  The aesthetic choice of making everything in the style of the day of the dead was a great one.  The colors are bright and fun and how I like it.
The complaint I have are with this film is that when Maria "dies" they keep pulling you out of that scene for the kids to comment and be goofy.  Let us feel the emotions of the scene.  Also the story was a little week with some cliches but it is redeemed for doing it in a unique way.  Another complaint is Maria.  I wish she was a stronger character.  She is so close to being something great and a strong female character but never truly lives it.  In the end you know she is just going to run off with Manolo.  Though overall the film is great and I hope to see things like it and improve it.  This film as of now in terms of box office has almost made back its budget of $50 million.   So that means studios might see we want these kinds of films and will make it.  So to the future of cool kid's films.