The Dia de Los Muertos is a natural subject for a creepy-lite kiddie flick (alas, Tim Burton...). Sure, there are skulls, but they're made of sugar. Yes, there are graves, but they're covered with marigolds. Even the skeletons are dressed to blend in with the (still-fleshy) crowd. And it's all in the name of honoring your beloved dead relatives. Director Jorge Gutierrez is hip to the visual possibilities, setting the bulk of the action in a world of animated wooden dolls (think LEGO Movie, only less polished) and riotous phantasmagoria. But the story feels something like propping a Christian cross on a pagan altar: tensions inevitably arise. (It's tough to honor your ancestors when you're busy writing your own story and rejecting all of their dumb traditions.) Perhaps sensing this, The Book of Life goes hard to the distractions: celebrity voices, modern pop hits, multiple plotlines, and gags, gags, gags. For some, it may be enough. (2014) — Matthew Lickona
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