The Book of Life is a 2014 American 3D computer-animated adventure musical comedy film produced by Reel FX Creative
Studios and distributed by 20th Century Fox. Co-written and directed by Jorge Gutierrez, the film stars the voices of
Diego Luna, Zoe Saldana, and Channing Tatum with supporting roles by Christina Applegate, Ice Cube, Ron Perlman, and Kate
del Castillo. The film was theatrically released on October 17, 2014.
A bus full of children arrives at a museum, where they are taken on a secret tour by a tour guide named Mary Beth
(Christina Applegate), who tells them about the famous legends and myths of Mexican folklore. She leads them to a hidden
room, containing the Book of Life, which holds the story of how the ways of their world were shaped.
She shows them a story that focuses on the Mexican town of San Angel and on two gods, La Muerte: Ruler of the Land of the
Remembered (Kate del Castillo) where the spirits live on with their memories kept by their loved ones and Xibalba: Ruler
of the Land of the Forgotten (Ron Perlman) where the forgotten souls decay into oblivion. During the Day of the Dead
festival, the two spot three young children playing - Manolo and Joaquín, who are both in love with the same, free-
spirited girl, María. Manolo comes from a family of bullfighters, but his real passion lies in music. Joaquín is more
adventurous, hoping to avenge his father, a soldier who was killed by the sinister bandit Chakal (Dan Navarro).
Disguised as peasants, the two go down into the celebration. La Muerte, as an old woman, comes to Manolo (Diego Luna) and
his father Carlos (Héctor Elizondo) who are at the grave of Manolo's mother Carmen and is given a loaf of bread by
Manolo. Xibalba, as an old man trades the bread for a mystical medal that will make Joaquín (Channing Tatum) invulnerable
to harm. Xibalba then bets La Muerte that María (Zoe Saldana) will end up marrying Joaquín while La Muerte bets on
Manolo. The winner will be allowed to rule over the Land of the Remembered.
María later sets free a group of animals into the town after seeing a cute baby pig (Carlos Alazraqui) much to the
chagrin of her father General Posada (Carlos Alazraqui). A wild boar comes into town and nearly gets Posada, but Manolo
manages to lure the boar like a bullfighter and cause it to crash, but Posada believes it was Joaquín that saved him
ignoring Manolo in favor of him. As punishment for her actions, Posada orders María to be sent to a private boarding
school in Spain. Manolo gives her the baby pig that she wanted to save which Manolo names Chuy. María gives him a guitar
after his old one is broken. On it is an engraving that says "Always play from your heart."
Over the years, Manolo is trained by his father into becoming a skilled bullfighter while Joaquín, with the help of the
magic medal manages to become the town hero ("I Will Wait"). On the day of María's return, a celebration is held in town.
Manolo and Joaquín see her and are captivated by her beauty. Manolo is set to fight a bull, but he has qualms over
killing it. Although he is able to make it crash into the wall, he refuses to kill it, causing the audience to jeer him,
but María applauds him for his compassion ("Creep").
During a party for María, Joaquín suggests that María ought to be with him so that he can make her happy, causing María
to be angry and leave. Then, Manolo serenades her with a song from his heart ("I Love You Too Much"). Joaquín later
proposes to María, saying that their marriage would keep Joaquín in San Angel, and make it safe from Chakal and his
bandits. Manolo arrives and fights with Joaquín over María, then later tells María to meet him at dawn.
Fearing he will lose the wager, Xibalba turns his staff into a snake and sends it after Manolo. María follows a trail of
candles to a tree outside town where Manolo professes his love to her, which she reciprocates ("Can't Help Falling in
Love with You"). Then, the snake slithers into the area. María pushes Manolo out of the way, getting bitten by the snake.
Manolo carries María's body back to San Angel, where both Joaquín and General Posada blame him for María's death. While
mourning María, Xibalba appears before him and Manolo states that he will do anything to be with María again. Xibalba
uses his staff to form a two-headed snake, which bites Manolo and kills him.
Manolo's spirit goes down to the Land of the Remembered where he meets his ancestors including his mother Carmen (Ana de
la Reguera). With the help of his family, Manolo goes to La Muerte's castle which is now run by Xibalba due to Manolo
dying. He explains that the snake bite only put María in trance and Joaquín revived her with the pin. Manolo vows to
expose Xibalba's treachery and return to the human realm.
Manolo, along with Carmen and his grandfather Luis (Danny Trejo) are told to travel to the Cave of Souls to make it to
the Land of the Forgotten and meet with La Muerte. There, Manolo is thrown into a labyrinth which he manages to get
through. The Cave Guardian (Eric Bauza) takes a gigantic form and swings down a huge sword onto Manolo, which shatters
upon hitting him, due to his pure heart, causing the guardian to allow them entry.
In the cave, they meet the Candle Maker (Ice Cube) who oversees the lives of everybody in the living world. Manolo
convinces him to take him through to the Land of the Forgotten to meet La Muerte. The Candle Maker agrees after seeing
that Manolo's story in the Book of Life has yet to be written because he is writing it himself. Making it to La Muerte in
the Land of the Forgotten, Manolo's explanation about Xibalba's cheating infuriates her. She summons him, angrily
chastising him for betraying her again. Manolo then offers a wager himself. If he wins, Xibalba must let him return to
the human world and La Muerte adds that he may never interfere with the affairs of the living ever again. Otherwise,
Xibalba may rule over both realms.
In the living world, the bandit Chakal and his army are making their way to San Angel after hearing that Joaquín has the
mystic medal which formerly belonged to Chakal. As they approach the town, Carlos tries to hold them off only to be
killed. His spirit joins the family as they watch Manolo's challenge where he must face off against every bull that his
family has ever fought, forming into one giant bull. Instead of killing it, Manolo sings it a song, apologizing for all
the wrongs his family has brought to the bulls, causing it to dissolve away, now at peace ("The Apology Song"). Impressed
by Manolo, La Muerte, the Candle Maker, and Xibalba grant him his life back and send him to the living world just in time
to fight back.
María manages to rally the town to fight back and the three gods also decide to aid Manolo by summoning his family's
spirits to fight back against Chakal's forces. Manolo and Joaquín make amends and decide to fight against Chakal
together. During the fight, Chakal grabs María and climbs the top of a tower. With the help of his family including a now
proud Carlos, Manolo is sent up to the tower to face off Chakal. They fight the bandit and knock him off the tower.
Chakal then lights up the bombs on his belt to take the whole town down with him. Manolo and Joaquín push Chakal beneath
a bell and tie him up. However, Manolo pushes Joaquín out of the way as he knocks over a column, causing the bell to fall
on him and Chakal, seemingly killing them both. However, Manolo emerges safely, as Joaquín had secretly given him the
magic medal. General Posada gives Manolo his blessing to marry María. The two celebrate their wedding happily with
Xibalba and La Muerte reconciling.
Back at the museum, Mary Beth ends the story. The children leave excited after hearing the story. As the bus is set to
depart, the kids wave goodbye to Mary Beth who reveals herself to be La Muerte to the joy of the kids. The security guard
reveals himself to be Xibalba. They kiss as the story ends and the Candle Maker closes the Book of Life reminding us all
to write our own stories.
Studios and distributed by 20th Century Fox. Co-written and directed by Jorge Gutierrez, the film stars the voices of
Diego Luna, Zoe Saldana, and Channing Tatum with supporting roles by Christina Applegate, Ice Cube, Ron Perlman, and Kate
del Castillo. The film was theatrically released on October 17, 2014.
A bus full of children arrives at a museum, where they are taken on a secret tour by a tour guide named Mary Beth
(Christina Applegate), who tells them about the famous legends and myths of Mexican folklore. She leads them to a hidden
room, containing the Book of Life, which holds the story of how the ways of their world were shaped.
She shows them a story that focuses on the Mexican town of San Angel and on two gods, La Muerte: Ruler of the Land of the
Remembered (Kate del Castillo) where the spirits live on with their memories kept by their loved ones and Xibalba: Ruler
of the Land of the Forgotten (Ron Perlman) where the forgotten souls decay into oblivion. During the Day of the Dead
festival, the two spot three young children playing - Manolo and Joaquín, who are both in love with the same, free-
spirited girl, María. Manolo comes from a family of bullfighters, but his real passion lies in music. Joaquín is more
adventurous, hoping to avenge his father, a soldier who was killed by the sinister bandit Chakal (Dan Navarro).
Disguised as peasants, the two go down into the celebration. La Muerte, as an old woman, comes to Manolo (Diego Luna) and
his father Carlos (Héctor Elizondo) who are at the grave of Manolo's mother Carmen and is given a loaf of bread by
Manolo. Xibalba, as an old man trades the bread for a mystical medal that will make Joaquín (Channing Tatum) invulnerable
to harm. Xibalba then bets La Muerte that María (Zoe Saldana) will end up marrying Joaquín while La Muerte bets on
Manolo. The winner will be allowed to rule over the Land of the Remembered.
María later sets free a group of animals into the town after seeing a cute baby pig (Carlos Alazraqui) much to the
chagrin of her father General Posada (Carlos Alazraqui). A wild boar comes into town and nearly gets Posada, but Manolo
manages to lure the boar like a bullfighter and cause it to crash, but Posada believes it was Joaquín that saved him
ignoring Manolo in favor of him. As punishment for her actions, Posada orders María to be sent to a private boarding
school in Spain. Manolo gives her the baby pig that she wanted to save which Manolo names Chuy. María gives him a guitar
after his old one is broken. On it is an engraving that says "Always play from your heart."
Over the years, Manolo is trained by his father into becoming a skilled bullfighter while Joaquín, with the help of the
magic medal manages to become the town hero ("I Will Wait"). On the day of María's return, a celebration is held in town.
Manolo and Joaquín see her and are captivated by her beauty. Manolo is set to fight a bull, but he has qualms over
killing it. Although he is able to make it crash into the wall, he refuses to kill it, causing the audience to jeer him,
but María applauds him for his compassion ("Creep").
During a party for María, Joaquín suggests that María ought to be with him so that he can make her happy, causing María
to be angry and leave. Then, Manolo serenades her with a song from his heart ("I Love You Too Much"). Joaquín later
proposes to María, saying that their marriage would keep Joaquín in San Angel, and make it safe from Chakal and his
bandits. Manolo arrives and fights with Joaquín over María, then later tells María to meet him at dawn.
Fearing he will lose the wager, Xibalba turns his staff into a snake and sends it after Manolo. María follows a trail of
candles to a tree outside town where Manolo professes his love to her, which she reciprocates ("Can't Help Falling in
Love with You"). Then, the snake slithers into the area. María pushes Manolo out of the way, getting bitten by the snake.
Manolo carries María's body back to San Angel, where both Joaquín and General Posada blame him for María's death. While
mourning María, Xibalba appears before him and Manolo states that he will do anything to be with María again. Xibalba
uses his staff to form a two-headed snake, which bites Manolo and kills him.
Manolo's spirit goes down to the Land of the Remembered where he meets his ancestors including his mother Carmen (Ana de
la Reguera). With the help of his family, Manolo goes to La Muerte's castle which is now run by Xibalba due to Manolo
dying. He explains that the snake bite only put María in trance and Joaquín revived her with the pin. Manolo vows to
expose Xibalba's treachery and return to the human realm.
Manolo, along with Carmen and his grandfather Luis (Danny Trejo) are told to travel to the Cave of Souls to make it to
the Land of the Forgotten and meet with La Muerte. There, Manolo is thrown into a labyrinth which he manages to get
through. The Cave Guardian (Eric Bauza) takes a gigantic form and swings down a huge sword onto Manolo, which shatters
upon hitting him, due to his pure heart, causing the guardian to allow them entry.
In the cave, they meet the Candle Maker (Ice Cube) who oversees the lives of everybody in the living world. Manolo
convinces him to take him through to the Land of the Forgotten to meet La Muerte. The Candle Maker agrees after seeing
that Manolo's story in the Book of Life has yet to be written because he is writing it himself. Making it to La Muerte in
the Land of the Forgotten, Manolo's explanation about Xibalba's cheating infuriates her. She summons him, angrily
chastising him for betraying her again. Manolo then offers a wager himself. If he wins, Xibalba must let him return to
the human world and La Muerte adds that he may never interfere with the affairs of the living ever again. Otherwise,
Xibalba may rule over both realms.
In the living world, the bandit Chakal and his army are making their way to San Angel after hearing that Joaquín has the
mystic medal which formerly belonged to Chakal. As they approach the town, Carlos tries to hold them off only to be
killed. His spirit joins the family as they watch Manolo's challenge where he must face off against every bull that his
family has ever fought, forming into one giant bull. Instead of killing it, Manolo sings it a song, apologizing for all
the wrongs his family has brought to the bulls, causing it to dissolve away, now at peace ("The Apology Song"). Impressed
by Manolo, La Muerte, the Candle Maker, and Xibalba grant him his life back and send him to the living world just in time
to fight back.
María manages to rally the town to fight back and the three gods also decide to aid Manolo by summoning his family's
spirits to fight back against Chakal's forces. Manolo and Joaquín make amends and decide to fight against Chakal
together. During the fight, Chakal grabs María and climbs the top of a tower. With the help of his family including a now
proud Carlos, Manolo is sent up to the tower to face off Chakal. They fight the bandit and knock him off the tower.
Chakal then lights up the bombs on his belt to take the whole town down with him. Manolo and Joaquín push Chakal beneath
a bell and tie him up. However, Manolo pushes Joaquín out of the way as he knocks over a column, causing the bell to fall
on him and Chakal, seemingly killing them both. However, Manolo emerges safely, as Joaquín had secretly given him the
magic medal. General Posada gives Manolo his blessing to marry María. The two celebrate their wedding happily with
Xibalba and La Muerte reconciling.
Back at the museum, Mary Beth ends the story. The children leave excited after hearing the story. As the bus is set to
depart, the kids wave goodbye to Mary Beth who reveals herself to be La Muerte to the joy of the kids. The security guard
reveals himself to be Xibalba. They kiss as the story ends and the Candle Maker closes the Book of Life reminding us all
to write our own stories.