One of the items on the long list of projects Guillermo del Toro is working on (they’ll all get done eventually, really, he swears, he’s just kind of super-busy at the moment), is Book of Life, an animated movie centered around Mexican holiday the Day of the Dead that’s to be produced by del Toro and directed by long-time animation designer/writer Jorge R. Gutierrez. Well now it looks like the film has gone from concept to reality, as Fox Animation Studios has picked it up for distribution and given it a release date: October 10, 2014.
Hey, that’ll be my 30th birthday. I see no better way to celebrate than by seeing a Day of the Dead-themed kid’s movie produced by Guillermo del Toro. Don’t change that release date, Fox.
The film was originally called plain ol’ Day of the Dead, a title that I like better (Book of Life sounds like a Terrence Malick-directed Lifetime movie), but I’m guessing they changed it to avoid confusion with the Day of the Dead-themed movie Pixar’s working on, so that makes sense. Writes The Hollywood Reporter, “Latin-themed projects are in hot demand; Hispanics are the most avid moviegoers in the U.S., while animated family fare can do huge business throughout Latin America.”
Animation Magazine describes Book of Life as “an action-packed, fully CG-animated picture, with a Romeo and Juliet style love story set against a Mexican Day of the Dead backdrop.” Sounds interesting. del Toro has vouched before for the artistic vision of Gutierrez, who co-created Nickeolodeon’s El Tigre: The Adventures of Manny Rivera with wife Sandra Equihua. Said del Toro,
“I have admired Jorge’s work for a long time. He has a unique aesthetic and sense of humor. The movie offers a perfect opportunity for his sensibilities to shine. This is a colorful, vibrant, vital fable that utilizes the animation medium in an incredible way. The object of the tale is not only to talk about life but to dazzle us – jolt us- into living to the fullest.”
Well, that’s enough to get me on board. What do you think. Excited?
(via Animation Magazine)
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