True love doesn’t come easy and you shouldn’t blame yourself for that. Perhaps it is because the spirits from the world of dead are meddling with the world of the living, causing a bit of chaos and even death.
Thus, “The Book of Life” is born.
Manolo & Maria / Image via USA Today
Inspired by the Mexican Day of Dead holiday, “The Book of Dead” centres on Manolo, a young man who is in love with the beautiful Maria and his romantic journey in the Land of Living, the Land of Remembered, and the Land of Forgotten.
But of course, his journey in the world of dead only begins after he dies unexpectedly. At that time, he was caught in a love triangle as his childhood friend Joaquin is trying to fight for Maria’s love too. Through the journey, he will meet all kind of spirits including his own great-grandfather and he must overcome his greatest fears to return to the human world for Maria.
With a unique visual style, the animated film is a romantic-comedy film directed by Jorge Gutierrez and produced by Guillermo del Toro. The film puts a fresh twist on the Day of Dead and encourages people to learn more about the celebration which is intended to be positive.
Manolo will be voiced by Diego Luna while Maria and Joaquin will be voiced by “Guardians of the Galaxy” star Zoe Saldana and Channing Tatum respectively. The film also stars Ice Cube, Ron Perlman, Christina Applegate, Danny Trejo, Cheech Marin, Kate del Castillo, and Eugenio Derbez.
“The Book of Life” is set to be released on October 9th this year, just in time for Halloween.