By Bel Hernandez
Guillermo del Toro said it himself, he already has too many project to take on another (24 listed on IMDB). So when filmmaker Jorge Gutierrez approached him with yet another project – well as del Toro put it, it had to be unique, with an authentic voice and not another perfectly drawn animated character. That is what Gutierrez’s Book of Life is and that is why del Toro is executive producing. The film is co-written and directed by Jorge Gutierrez, and stars the voices of Channing Tatum, Zoe Saldana, Diego Luna, Kate del Castillo, Christina Applegate, Cheech Marin, Hector Elizondo, Danny Trejo and Gabriel Iglesias. It is scheduled to be released on October 17, 2014.
As a recent advance screening of clips of the work in progress, the invited press were treated to a visual adventure that vacillates between the living world, the Land of the Remembered and the Land of the Forgotten. The Book of Life is a computer-animated adventure feature film with a Romeo and Juliet style love story set against a Mexican Day of the Dead backdrop.
However, as Gutierrez explains much of his personal life is reflected in the story, “It’s a cookbook of my family’s recipes, and they’re all in this movie,” Gutierrez explained. “Every single one, from my grandparents to my parents to what I want to see with my son. This is all based on the real things that have happened in my family — obviously, some of them are a little more embellished than others.”
Gutierrez was born in Mexico City and raised in Tijuana, and he has always had a love affair with Mexican pop and folk culture. He attended Cal Arts where he received his BFA & MFA in Experimental Animation where is where he created his 3D short Carmelo. The idea for The Book of Life began there at Cal Arts and it has taken him this long to see his film realized. For that he thanks Del Toro, who when he originally pitched the story to him, was not impressed with the pitch but saw the uniqueness of the concept.
The Book of Life was originally optioned by DreamWorks Animation back in 2007, but because “creative differences” that deal came to a halt. In 2012, Reel FX announced Guillermo del Toro would produce the film and that 20th Century Fox would distribute.
Del Toro’s enthusiasm for this project was quite evident as he explained why he came on board and what makes this animated film unique to others.
“We wanted to create an adventure that is not only an action-adventure, but Jorge and I agreed that the new punk is emotion,” said del Toro. “What we wanted was to make it not only a journey to a world of fantasy, but to a world of family and love and emotion. It is extremely Mexican in that sense. It’s a movie that is very emotional and celebrates family and celebrates the idea of a family — getting in touch with who you are and what you are without any shame. I think these are journeys that are worth it because they’re not just following the three-act structure of an action-adventure that is kinetic but ultimately can be sterile. It’s really an emotional journey for families and kids to experience.”
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