The Book of Life (2014 film)

Theatrical release poster

***The Book of Life*** is a 2014 American 3D computer-animated musical fantasy comedy film directed by Jorge R. Gutierrez and written by Gutierrez and Doug Langdale. It was produced by Reel FX Animation Studios, 20th Century Fox Animation, and Chatrone, and distributed by 20th Century Fox. Guillermo del Toro, Brad Booker, Aaron D. Berger, and Carina Schulze produced the film. It features the voices of Diego Luna, Zoe Saldana, and Channing Tatum with supporting roles by Christina Applegate, Ice Cube, Ron Perlman, and Kate del Castillo. Based on an original idea by Gutierrez, the story follows a bullfighter who, on the Day of the Dead, embarks on an afterlife adventure to fulfill the expectations of his family and friends.

*The Book of Life* premiered in Los Angeles on October 12, 2014, and was released theatrically in the United States on October 17, 2014. It received mostly positive reviews from critics and a Golden Globe nomination for Best Animated Feature Film. The film grossed $100 million on a $50 million budget.

## Plot

Mary Beth, a museum tour guide, takes a group of school detention students on a secret museum tour, telling them the story of a Mexican town called San Angel from the *Book of Life*, which holds every story in the world.

On the Day of the Dead, La Muerte, ruler of the Land of the Remembered, and Xibalba, ruler of the Land of the Forgotten, see children Manolo Sánchez and Joaquín Mondragon competing for the love of María Posada. They strike a wager: if María ends up marrying Manolo, Xibalba will no longer interfere in mortal affairs, but if she marries Joaquín, La Muerte and Xibalba will swap realms. However, Xibalba cheats by giving Joaquín his Medal of Everlasting Life, which grants the wearer invincibility.

María is sent to Spain to become a "lady" after freeing pigs destined for slaughter. Years later, when María returns to San Angel, Joaquín has become a military hero with the Medal's aid, and Manolo's father has trained him bullfighter in their family tradition, though his real dream is to be a musician. At Manolo's first bullfight, he defeats the bull but refuses to kill it, angering Carlos and the crowd but impressing María. That night, María is pressured by her father and San Angel's mayor, General Ramiro Posada, to marry Joaquín so he stays in San Angel and therefore protects the town from the Bandit King Chakal——but María is reluctant. She instead professes her mutual love for Manolo before dawn, but they are interrupted when Xibalba sends his dual-headed snake staff, which bites her and sends her into a coma. Devastated by María's apparent death, Manolo allows Xibalba to kill him, believing he will be reunited with María in death.

In the Land of the Remembered, Manolo reunites with his mother and his ancestral family. They travel to La Muerte's castle, discovering Xibalba, now the ruler of the realm, who explains the bet and smugly reveals that María didn't die because she was only bitten once and therefore survived. However, Manolo was bitten twice and died. Furious but determined to return to María, Manolo travels to the Cave of Souls to reach La Muerte. Inside, he meets the Candle Maker, the overseer of mortal lives and the Book of Life's keeper. The Candle Maker sees that Manolo's story in the Book of Life is blank and can be rewritten by himself, so he takes them to the Land of the Forgotten. They find La Muerte at Xibalba's castle and expose his cheating. Furious, La Muerte lectures Xibalba before offering a new wager at Manolo's request: Manolo's life will be returned if he completes a challenge of Xibalba's choosing, but if he fails, he will be forgotten and Xibalba will keep both realms. Xibalba sets Manolo against a giant bull skeleton made from the skeletons of every bull slain by the Sanchez family, believing that to be his greatest fear.

Meanwhile, María awakens from her coma, learns of Manolo's death, and reluctantly accepts Joaquín's proposal. Their wedding is interrupted by Chakal, who leads his army to San Angel to find the Medal, which was previously his. Chakal kills Carlos, who arrives in the Land of the Remembered in time to see Manolo's fight. Manolo, realizing his fear is actually of being himself, refuses to fight and instead sings an apology to the bull, appeasing it and touching the hearts of everyone present (including Xibalba and Carlos). Impressed, the deities resurrect Manolo and send him and his family to San Angel to protect the town. Manolo is knocked unconscious when Chakal destructs himself, but he is protected by the Medal, which Joaquín had slipped him earlier. Joaquín returns it to Xibalba and resolves to be a true hero, while Manolo and María are happily married as Xibalba and La Muerte reconcile.

In the present, Mary Beth finishes the story, and the amazed children leave the museum. Mary Beth and a security guard reveal themselves to be La Muerte and Xibalba in disguise. The Candle Maker appears and encourages the audience to write their own story.

## Voice cast

* Diego Luna as Manolo Sánchez, a torero with a guitar and two swords, and the youngest in a family of skilled bullfighters.
	+ Emil-Bastien Bouffard as a young Manolo.
	+ Joe Matthews as young Manolo's singing voice.
* Zoe Saldana as María Posada, Manolo and Joaquín's best friend and love interest. She is also General Ramiro Posada's daughter.
	+ Genesis Ochoa as a young María.
* Channing Tatum as Joaquín Mondragon Jr., a young man who is Manolo's closest friend and the town hero of San Angel.
	+ Elias Garza as a young Joaquín.
* Ice Cube as the Candle Maker, a being who oversees the lives and stories of the living through candles and the Book of Life, which he also oversees.
* Ron Perlman as Xibalba, the ruler of the Land of the Forgotten and La Muerte's husband.
* Kate del Castillo as La Muerte, the ruler of the Land of the Remembered and Xibalba's wife.
	+ Christina Applegate as Mary Beth, a museum tour guide, the story's narrator and one of La Muerte's disguises.
	+ Tonita Castro as La Muerte disguised as an old woman.
* Héctor Elizondo as Carlos Sánchez, Manolo's well-meaning yet extremely harsh father.
* Ana de la Reguera as Carmen Sánchez, Manolo's deceased mother. She was credited as "Skeleton Carmen".
* Danny Trejo as Luis Sánchez, Manolo's deceased grandfather. He was credited as "Skeleton Luis".
* Grey Griffin as Grandma Anita Sanchez, Manolo's short great-grandmother who later dies due to cholesterol problems.
* Carlos Alazraqui as:
	+ General Ramiro Posada, Maria's father who serves as the mayor of San Angel and the general of its army.
	+ Dali, a member of San Angel's army.
	+ Chuy, María's loyal pig pet who thinks that he is a goat.
* Plácido Domingo as Jorge Sánchez, Manolo's deceased granduncle who wears an eyepatch over his left eye and swords on his right arm and left leg and can sing opera songs. He was credited as "Skeleton Jorge".
* Jorge R. Gutierrez as Carmelo Sánchez, Manolo's deceased tall and burly Aztec ancestor who is often called a savage by Jorge. He was credited as "Skeleton Carmelo".
* Gabriel Iglesias as Pepe Rodríguez, the largest of the three musicians.
* Cheech Marin as Pancho Rodríguez, the medium-sized of the three musicians.
* Ricardo Sánchez as Pablo Rodriguez, the shortest of the three musicians.
* Dan Navarro as Chakal, the Bandit King.
* Eugenio Derbez as Chato, a member and second of Chakal's group of bandits.
* Anjelah Johnson as Adelita, one of Manolo's deceased cousins and Scardelita's twin sister. She perished during the Mexican Revolution while protecting Emiliano Zapata.
* Sandra Equihua as Scardelita, one of Manolo's deceased cousins and Adelita's twin sister who wears an eyepatch. She perished during the Mexican Revolution while protecting Emiliano Zapata.
* Miguel Sandoval as the Land of the Remembered Captain, the guide to the Land of the Remembered and the resident that Manolo meets first.
* Angélica María Hartman Ortiz as Sister Ana, a Catholic sister who works in San Angel's church.
* Sandra Echeverría as Claudia, a beautiful woman at San Angel and one of Joaquín's biggest fans.
* Trey Bumpass as:
	+ Luka Ramirez, a Mexican-American goth boy and one of the detention students in the present world who listens to Manolo's story from Mary Beth. He was credited as "Goth Kid".
	+ An orphan in San Angel
* Kennedy "KK" Peil as Sasha, a little Russian-American girl and one of the detention students in the present world who listens to Manolo's story from Mary Beth.
* Ishan Sharma as Sanjay, an Indian-American boy and one of the detention students in the present world who listens to Manolo's story from Mary Beth.
* Callahan Clark as Jane, a Chinese-American girl and one of the detention students in the present world who listens to Manolo's story from Mary Beth.
* Eric Bauza as
	+ Father Domingo, a priest that works in San Angel's church.
	+ Cave Guardian, the guardian of the Cave of Souls.
* Aron Warner as Thomas, a museum tour guide.
* Troy Evans as Old Man Hemingway, an old man who lived at San Angel.
* Guillermo del Toro as the Land of the Remembered Captain's Wife, the unnamed wife of the Land of Remembered Captain who died of a broken heart.
* Brad Booker as a train conductor