History WesternAnimation / TheBookOfLife

** General Posada shows little respect for his daughter and views her as a bargaining chip for most of the story. Most apparent when [[spoiler:he coerces her into accepting Joaquin's proposal just after she learns of Manolo's death, despite Joaquin's attempt to stop him.]] However, he seems to understand that his daughter did love Manolo, he just wants Joaquin to be there when Chakal arrives.

** Manolo Sanchez. When it comes to bullfighting, Carlos states that Manolo is destined to become the "greatest Sanchez bullfighter ever", and he probably ''would'' be the greatest if it weren't for his unwillingness to deliver the finishing blow on a bull. He also has a talent for thinking up song lyrics on the spot.
** Maria Posada is easily the best fighter of the series, and is able to give an epic encouraging speech to all of San Angel to fight Chakal and his bandits.
** Joaquin Mondragon, or so it seems, but he is actually using The Medal of Everlasting life, making it impossible to kill or even hurt him. [[spoiler:Though by the end he decides to earn his reputation honestly]].

** The Sanchez Twins. Both of them due to having fought in the revolution as ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soldaderas soldaderas]]''.

** Xibalba calls La Muerte "mi amor" and (according to WordOfGod) "Meurtita". In return, La Muerte calls him "Balby".

** Manolo. All he wants to do is sing from his heart and be with his loved ones. He has the true bullfighter talent, but can't bring himself to deliver the finishing blow.

** Chato’s name isn't stated at all in the actual movie, rather, it's by the credits and novelization.

** La Muerte is called "mi amor", which is Spanish for "my love", by her husband.
** Xibalba is nicknamed "Balby" by his wife.

The film is described as the journey of Manolo (voiced by Creator/DiegoLuna), a young man who is torn between fulfilling the expectations of his family and following his heart. Before choosing which path to follow, he embarks on an incredible adventure that spans three fantastical worlds, where he must face his greatest fears.

* BillyElliotPlot: Manolo Sanchez wants to become a musician, while his father Carlos wants him to become a bullfighter. Even though Manolo does have the skills of a bullfighter, he refuses to kill a bull, [[spoiler:even in the Land Of The Unremembered, where he had to fight a hundred bulls that all morphed into one gigantic bull. Eventually, Carlos sees for himself that his son does much better as a singer when the song of apology that Manolo sings for the bulls that were slaughtered by the Sanchez family is so moving that it just turns the gigantic bull into a pile of flower petals.]]

* FeetFirst: Mary Beth is introduced this way.

** Goth Kid responds to the image of La Muerte with "she's so pretty!" and has the identical reaction when he sees the image of Xibalba. Doubles as GettingCrapPastTheRadar.

* CrotchGlanceSexCheck: Averted. Chuy is not revealed to be male until he lifts his leg and urinates on Manolo's leg, which is something a pig cannot do.

''The Book of Life'' is a 2014 computer-animated film directed by Jorge R. Gutierrez of ''WesternAnimation/ElTigre'' fame, written by himself and Doug Langdale of ''WesternAnimation/TheWeekenders'' and ''WesternAnimation/DaveTheBarbarian'' fame (also serving as story editor for El Tigre), and produced by Creator/GuillermoDelToro, with animation by Reel FX Animation Studios. It is a ''[[Myth/ClassicalMythology Orpheus and Eurydice]]''-style love story set during the Day of the Dead in a fantasy version of 1920. The film was released on October 17th, just in time for the Day of the Dead.

* {{Adorkable}}:
** Manolo and Joaquin both display elements of this. Both whenever their love for Maria is involved. Joaquin gets more when he talks about his awesome moustache.
** Whenever he's around his wife, Xibalba acts quite dorky, melting in her hands, almost literally.

** Especially one made of [[Discworld/{{Pyramids}} dead ancestors...]]

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[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/the_book_of_life_poster.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350: ''[[ArcWords "Always play from the heart."]]'' ]]

''The Book of Life'' is a 2014 computer-animated film directed by Jorge R. Gutierrez of ''WesternAnimation/ElTigre'' fame, written by himself and Doug Langdale of ''WesternAnimation/TheWeekenders'' and ''WesternAnimation/DaveTheBarbarian'' fame (also serving as story editor for El Tigre), and produced by Creator/GuillermoDelToro, with animation by Reel FX Animation Studios. It is a ''[[Myth/ClassicalMythology Orpheus and Eurydice]]''-style love story set during the Day of the Dead in a fantasy version of 1920. The film was released on October 17th, just in time for the Day of the Dead.

The film is described as the journey of Manolo (voiced by Creator/DiegoLuna), a young man who is torn between fulfilling the expectations of his family and following his heart. Before choosing which path to follow, he embarks on an incredible adventure that spans three fantastical worlds, where he must face his greatest fears.

The film also features the voices of Creator/ZoeSaldana, Creator/ChanningTatum, and Creator/RonPerlman.

In June of 2017, [[https://www.google.com/amp/s/variety.com/2017/film/festivals/annecy-reelfx-jorge-gutierrez-the-book-of-life-2-1202466961/amp/ Jorge R. Gutierrez announced that a sequel was finally in development]]. A release date has yet to be confirmed.
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!!''The Book of Life'' provides examples of:

[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder:A-F]]
* AbusiveParents:
** General Posada shows little respect for his daughter and views her as a bargaining chip for most of the story. Most apparent when [[spoiler:he coerces her into accepting Joaquin's proposal just after she learns of Manolo's death, despite Joaquin's attempt to stop him.]] However, he seems to understand that his daughter did love Manolo, he just wants Joaquin to be there when Chakal arrives.
** Implied with Luis Sanchez, but it's PlayedForLaughs. An early conversation between Manolo and Carlos reveals that Luis began teaching Carlos how to bullfight when he was nine... and apparently did so by putting nine year old Carlos in the ring with an actual bull, which ended with Carlos in a coma. A coma that lasted ''three years'', according to WordOfGod.
* TheAce:
** Manolo Sanchez. When it comes to bullfighting, Carlos states that Manolo is destined to become the "greatest Sanchez bullfighter ever", and he probably ''would'' be the greatest if it weren't for his unwillingness to deliver the finishing blow on a bull. He also has a talent for thinking up song lyrics on the spot.
** Maria Posada is easily the best fighter of the series, and is able to give an epic encouraging speech to all of San Angel to fight Chakal and his bandits.
** Joaquin Mondragon, or so it seems, but he is actually using The Medal of Everlasting life, making it impossible to kill or even hurt him. [[spoiler:Though by the end he decides to earn his reputation honestly]].
* ActionGirl:
** Maria Posada. When Manolo and Joaquin start a swordfight over her, she picks up a sword and disarms them both in a single move. And that's before the bandits show up. During her travels, Maria has learned fencing and kung-fu.
** The Sanchez Twins. Both of them due to having fought in the revolution as ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soldaderas soldaderas]]''.
* ActorAllusion: [[Music/IceCube The Candle Maker]] says "Today was a good day".
* {{Adorkable}}:
** Manolo and Joaquin both display elements of this. Both whenever their love for Maria is involved. Joaquin gets more when he talks about his awesome moustache.
** Whenever he's around his wife, Xibalba acts quite dorky, melting in her hands, almost literally.
* AdultFear:
** Your child goes missing and then [[spoiler:turns up dead due to an unforeseen accident.]]
** Regarding Joaquin, having one parent die (father) and the other just up and leave you (mother).
* AffectionateNickname:
** La Muerte is called "mi amor", which is Spanish for "my love", by her husband.
** Xibalba is nicknamed "Balby" by his wife.
* AllLovingHero:
** Manolo. All he wants to do is sing from his heart and be with his loved ones. He has the true bullfighter talent, but can't bring himself to deliver the finishing blow.
** La Muerte. She believes that the heart of man is essentially pure. Plus, [[FriendToAllLivingThings all creatures love her]] and [[FriendToAllChildren she has a deep fondness towards children]].
* AllThereInTheManual:
** We learn Manolo's grandmother's name, Anita, from one of Jorge Gutierrez's tweets.
** General Posada's full name is Jeronimo Guadalupe Posada.
** Chato’s name isn't stated at all in the actual movie, rather, it's by the credits and novelization.
** The Detention Kids’ names and ethnicities.
** The fact that Xibalba and La Muerte are married is stated on the website and in other supplemental materials, but nowhere in the film itself.
** [[spoiler:The security guard that Xibalba disguises as is named [[http://theflyingredpig.tumblr.com/post/102917466230/artofshane-book-of-life-post-guicho-is-an-old Guicho]].]]
* AllThereInTheScript: The female tour guide, Mary Beth, was not named in the movie itself, only the credits.
* AlmostKiss: After Manolo serenades Maria, they both start to lean in for a kiss before she decides it would be more fun to tease him instead.
* AltarTheSpeed: General Posada coerces Maria and Joaquin into getting married less than a day after the latter's proposal so [[spoiler:he'll stay in San Angel to defend it from Chakal.]]
* AmazingTechnicolorWorld: The Land of the Remembered.
* AnachronismStew: The film features versions of "[[Music/{{Radiohead}} Creep]]". "I Will Wait" "Just a Friend" and "[[Music/{{ElvisPresley}} Can't Help Falling in Love]]". All of which were most certainly written after the 20s.
* AnAesop: Several lessons are learned by characters in this film.
** Manolo: Follow your heart.
** Maria: Live life by your own rules.
** Joaquin: You do not have to be exactly what someone else expects of you to be great.
** [[spoiler:Xibalba: Cheaters never prosper.]]
** Carlos and General Posada: Let your children follow their dreams even if they differ from yours.
** La Muerte: Anyone can die. It takes courage to live.
* AnimalMotifs:
** Manolo with bulls. He comes from a family of bullfighters, but can't bring himself to deliver the final blow.
** Joaquin with eagles, given the small, but generous amount [[http://mexopolis.tumblr.com/post/111915120844/bookoflifedetails-joaquins-eyepatch-has-an of them]] surrounding him throughout the movie.
** Xibalba with snakes, given his magical staff is a two headed snake. The snake staff is actually a part of Xibalba himself.
* AnimatedMusical
* ArcWords:
** "Always play from the heart."
** "No retreat, no surrender!"
* ArrangedMarriage: Although there's no official agreement, General Posada is clearly planning to have Maria marry Joaquin. [[spoiler:Joaquin genuinely did want to marry Maria, but not if she had to be forced; and they end up not marrying after all.]]
* ArtisticLicenseMartialArts: Maria learning sword fighting in Spain during the early twentieth century might be somewhat plausible. Also learning kung-fu there in that time period? Not so much.
* ArtisticLicenseSports: Bullfighting is really toned down here. In real life, the bull is weakened by picadors who jab spears into his neck to weaken him so that the matador can further weaken him with the capote, with the goal of tiring him so much that he's forced to expose his lungs for the killing blow; here, the bull and the matador enter together.
* ArtShift:
** The prologue and all flashbacks are animated traditionally in a style resembling ''WesternAnimation/ElTigre''.
** The designs in the FramingDevice and the story proper are also distinctly different, with the characters in the latter resembling puppets or dolls with jointed limbs and wooden textures. This is [[JustifiedTrope justified]], since Mary Beth is using a set of miniature wooden dolls on a table to tell Manolo's story to the Detention Kids.
* AwardBaitSong: "I Love You Too Much" and "The Apology Song".
* AwesomeMcCoolname:
** Manolo Sanchez. His first name means "God is with us".
** Joaquin Mondragon. "Joaquin" is the abbreviation of the Hebrew name "Jehoichin" meaning 'Jehovah has established'. And of course ''Mondragon''.
* {{Bandito}}: A group of them serve as secondary antagonists.
* BadassAdorable:
** Even as a child, Manolo was able to effortlessly perform amazing feats of bullfighting.
** Since she was a child, Maria has always been upbeat and adorable. Ten years later, and she became a certified badass.
* BadassBeard:
** Xibalba has a ''very'' cool and suave-y looking beard.
** One of Chato’s defining features that sets him apart is a round, un-kept beard.
* BadassFamily: Generations upon generations of Sanchez bullfighters (and would-be musicians) right on down to Carlos, Carmen, Manolo [[spoiler: and Maria]].
* BadassMoustache: Multiple examples since this is a Gutierrez production and it takes place in Mexico. It's kind of a CreatorThumbprint.
** Skeleton Luis, Manolo's grandfather. His is so badass it literally ''beat up'' Chakal's footmen.
** Chakal's got a handlebar moustache that is quite impressive. But everything about the man is extra large.
%% ** Joaquin's father, the heroic Captain Mondragon.
%% ** General Posada.
%% ** Skeleton Jorge, Manolo's great-grandfather.
%% ** Adult Joaquin himself.
%% ** Even Xibalba and Mexico itself.
* BadassPreacher: One of these is seen among the San Angel townsfolk. [[spoiler:He's also a luchador.]]
* BanisterSlide: Maria does it a couple of times, most notably when she meets Manolo after his serenade.
%% * BattleCouple: Manolo and Maria during the climax, against Chakal.
* BeastlyBloodsports: Manolo objects to killing bulls at the climax of bullfights, which infuriates his father and many of the late Sanchez relatives.
* BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor: Joaquin, a potential suitor for Maria, says YouShouldHaveDiedInstead [[spoiler: to Manolo after it seems Maria is dead]]. He gets what he wished for, [[spoiler: with Manolo dead]] and Maria willing to marry him. Given the look on his face when Maria finds out, [[PartingWordsRegret he clearly]] [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone regrets it]].
* BerserkButton:
** Maria doesn't like any form of sexism.
** If you enter into a bet with La Muerte, do '''NOT''' cheat. [[spoiler:And '''especially''' do not cheat and then trick her into thinking she's lost, though admittedly she's more angered on the behalf of the mortals who were hurt by the results of the bet]].
* BeYourself: The ultimate lesson Manolo learns while in the world of the dead.
* TheBet: La Muerte and Xibalba have one concerning who Maria will marry. The former backs Manolo, while the latter backs Joaquin. The winner will take over the Land of the Remembered. The film suggests that they do this sort of thing fairly often, and La Muerte is still angry at Xibalba for attempting to cheat during a previous wager.
* BettyAndVeronica: Maria is the Archie, while kind-hearted musician Manolo is the Betty and GlorySeeker soldier Joaquin is the Veronica. Both are childhood friends, a role usually reserved for the Betty.
* BewareTheNiceOnes:
** Do ''not'' assume that pissing Manolo off won't end badly for you.
** Maria is a great girl to befriend... but she's not one to take lightly.
** La Muerte is a kind and loving ruler. Do '''not''' push her BerserkButton[[note]] If you enter into a bet with her, do '''NOT''' cheat[[/note]].
* BigBadEnsemble: Xibalba is the primary villain, while Chakal and his bandits pose a threat to the characters in the Land of the Living. [[spoiler:Xibalba ultimately [[GracefulLoser admits defeat once it's clear he's out of angles to work]], leaving Chakal as the final boss of the story.]]
* TheBigDamnKiss:
** Manolo and Maria just after [[spoiler:the former comes back to life.]]
** [[spoiler: Even La Muerte and Xibalba have one after they reconcile in form of a KissingDiscretionShot.]]
%% * BigFancyHouse: The castle of La Muerte.
* BigFun:
** The Rodriguez Brothers are all jolly and love to play.
** The Candlemaker is a rather big jovial ball of wax.
* BigGood: Tied between La Muerte, ruler over the Land of the Remembered who represents the positive side of the afterlife, and the Candlemaker.
* BigWhat:
** One of Chakal's bandits reacts like this to [[OhCrap Chuy's pig army]].
** La Muerte quips, "He did ''what''?" when [[spoiler:Manolo reveals that Xibalba cheated on her wager]].
* BillyElliotPlot: Manolo Sanchez wants to become a musician, while his father Carlos wants him to become a bullfighter. Even though Manolo does have the skills of a bullfighter, he refuses to kill a bull, [[spoiler:even in the Land Of The Unremembered, where he had to fight a hundred bulls that all morphed into one gigantic bull. Eventually, Carlos sees for himself that his son does much better as a singer when the song of apology that Manolo sings for the bulls that were slaughtered by the Sanchez family is so moving that it just turns the gigantic bull into a pile of flower petals.]]
* BirdPoopGag: At one point, a vendor is trying to sell churros but a bird poops on them.

* WasItReallyWorthIt: Joaquin silently starts to ask himself this, when he ends up winning Maria's hand [[spoiler: after Manolo dies]], and Maria is only marrying Joaquin for honor, not love. Right as he's about to call it off, realizing that he doesn't want to marry Maria if she doesn't love him and he's not a true hero given the Medallion and [[YouShouldHaveDiedInstead the last thing]] [[PartingWordsRegret he said to Manolo]], [[spoiler: Chakal and the bandits interfere]].
* WellDoneSonGuy:
** Manolo worries deeply about disappointing his father by not being a great bullfighter like the rest of the men in his family.
** Joaquin aspires to live up to the reputation of his late father.
* WhatDoYouMeanItsForKids: Stated InUniverse by one of the kids in the FramingDevice when characters of the story apparently start getting killed.
* WhatTheHellHero: Played with. In the timeframe of the movie, Bullfighting was the biggest sport, and the great matadors were roughly equivalent to modern day sports heroes. Manolo [[spoiler: refusing outright to kill the bull]] not only had the spectators react with dismay, the entire town turned on him, such that General Posada invited the whole town, including people he hates, to Maria's welcome back party -- except Manolo.
* WhiteAndGreyMorality: The main conflict is between Manolo and Xibalba. While the former is unambiguously good, the latter is not truly evil, just lonely. Chakal is the only true villain in the movie, and he gets little screen time.
* WhyWasteAWedding: Maria and Joaquin's wedding is [[spoiler:interrupted by the bandits. After the FinalBattle, it resumes with Manolo as the groom instead.]]
* WimpFight: Although both Manolo and Joaquin are established to be fairly skilled fighters, their argument over who will marry Maria quickly devolves into ineffectually flailing at each other. While PlayedForLaughs, it also showed that while the two considered each other rivals for Maria's affection [[HiddenDepths they won't seriously come to blows.]]
* WithThisRing: Joaquin produces one heck of a big shiny diamond ring to propose to [[spoiler: Maria.]] It does not turn out to be important to the plot.
* WomenAreWiser: Manolo's mother was one of few members of the family who knew that the family's bullfighting methods fell into TooDumbToLive territory and thus ''didn't'' want her son participating in the sport and Maria is repeatedly exasperated by her suitors' attempts to show off and impress her. Subverted by Manolo's grandmother, who really does not seem to be better than the other male relations.

* LightningReveal: Manolo's [[spoiler:skeleton form]] is first revealed this way, just before he [[spoiler: asks Xibalba to kill him.]]

** Every time Xibalba and La Muerte kiss, notice how his ''[[SomethingElseAlsoRises black wings seem to rise as well]]''. Worth mentioning that La Muerte's candles shot off fireworks during the BigDamnKiss.

* PostKissCatatonia: [[spoiler:Maria appears briefly disoriented after her BigDamnKiss with Manolo. Considering the context, it's probably justified.]]

* ActorAllusion:
** [[Music/IceCube The Candle Maker]] says "Today was a good day".
** [[Creator/RonPerlman Xibalba]] is in charge of the Land Of The Forgotten, the closest thing to Hell in this universe. You could say he's a [[Film/{{Hellboy}} hell boy]].

* SceneryGorn: The Land of the Forgotten, which is a very grey place filled with the forgotten dead, who are likely crumble to sand at any given moment.

[[caption-width-right:350: ''[[ArcWords "Always play from your heart."]]'' ]]

** "Always play from your heart."

[[caption-width-right:350: ''[[ArcWords "Always play from the heart."]]'' ]]

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/bookoflife_2477.jpg]]

''The Book of Life'' is a 2014 computer-animated film directed by Jorge R. Gutierrez of ''WesternAnimation/ElTigre'' fame, written by himself and Doug Langdale of ''WesternAnimation/TheWeekenders'' and ''WesternAnimation/DaveTheBarbarian'' fame (also serving as story editor for El Tigre), and produced by Creator/GuillermoDelToro, with animation by Reel FX Animation Studios. It is a ''[[Myth/ClassicalMythology Orpheus and Eurydice]]''-style love story set during the Day of the Dead in a fantasy version of 1920. The film was released on October 17th, just in time for Halloween (and the Day of the Dead).