History WesternAnimation / TheBookOfLife

* AnAesop: Several lessons are learned by characters in this film.
** Manolo: Follow your heart, even if it means facing disapproval from family.
** Joaquin: To be a true hero, you have to be selfless.
** [[spoiler:Xibalba: Cheaters never prosper.]]
** Carlos and General Posada: Let your children follow their dreams even if they differ from yours.

* POVCam: There is a shot shown from Maria's viewpoint when[[spoiler: she gets bitten by Xibalba's snake. She sees a devastated Manolo reaching out to catch her as Maria falls to the ground.]]

* BirdPoopGag: At one point, a vendor is trying to sell churros, but a bird poops on them.

* BringIt: Manolo is challenged by Xibalba to defeat every bull the Sanchez family ever slew in the afterlife. Which, as his grandfather points out, would be thousands. [[PunctuatedForEmphasis All. At. Once]]. Manolo's response? "''Vamos, toro, venga!''"[[note]] "let's go, bull, come![[/note]]

* AlmostKiss: After Manolo serenades Maria, they both start to lean in for a kiss before she decides to tease him instead.

* 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 written after the film's setting of the 1920s.

* DiedInIgnorance: For a time. Manolo is bitten and killed by a snake that was going to kill Maria; unbeknowst to him, the snake was set on him deliberately by Xibalba so he could win his bet on who would marry Maria. Since this movie has an afterlife, Manolo finds Xibalba and is essentially told the snake was set on him, [[AfterlifeAngst which he obviously doesn't take well]], thus making it his mission to find La Muerte and essentially tattle on Xibalba to her. Needless to say, when La Muerte finds out, [[SkywardScream she makes her anger at her husband clear.]]

* MenAreChildish: Maria criticizes Manolo and Joaquin for their immature behavior fighting over her affections at the dinner party. Both of them even engage in a WimpFight.

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.

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.

* BadassFamily: Generations upon generations of Sanchez bullfighters (and would-be musicians) right on down to Carlos, Carmen, Manolo [[spoiler: and Maria]].

* BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor: Joaquin, a potential suitor for Maria, [[spoiler: tells Manolo YouShouldHaveDiedInstead after it seems Maria has died]]. He gets what he wished for [[spoiler: not moments later]]. Given the look on his face when Maria finds out, [[PartingWordsRegret he clearly]] [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone regrets it]].

** [[spoiler: La Muerte and Xibalba have one after they reconcile in form of a KissingDiscretionShot.]]

* TheCavalry: Near the climax of the film, [[spoiler: the Sanchez ancestors]] arrive thanks to some bending of the rules.

** Joaquin with the Medal of Everlasting Life ends up getting what he wants: glory, constant victory, and eventually Maria's hand in marriage. Just as he realizes that their wedding will be a sham since she's doing it out of duty, [[spoiler: Chakal shows up, manages to steal the Medal, and kicks Joaquin's butt]].

** [[spoiler: Joaquin himself seems pretty close to one after Manolo dies; his best friend is dead and the woman he loves is only marrying him because her father pushed her into it and the man she really loves is dead.]]

* FantasticAesop: (Learned by Joaquin) [[spoiler: If you are immortal and invincible, a willingness to fight isn't really courage.]]

** When La Muerte and Xibalba take the forms of mortals to interact with Joaquin and Manolo during the AMinorKidroduction part, [[spoiler: they rather resemble Mary Beth and the security guard at the start, giving the hint as to who's ''really'' telling the story to the school children.]]

** La Muerte, Xibalba and the Candlemaker are the only characters in the story that are not depicted as wooden carved dolls. [[spoiler: This is because that's what they really look like, as shown when La Muerte and Xibalba reveal themselves in the end.]]

** [[spoiler: At the very end of the movie, when Xibalba and La Muerte kiss, They form the Sacred Heart.]]

* FromTheMouthsOfBabes: The Detention Kids point out it was stupid for two death gods to bet on the lives of children. Mary Beth agrees, which makes [[spoiler: the revelation that she's La Muerte all the more significant]].

** [[spoiler: Carlos']] candle is blown out on screen to avoid a FamilyUnfriendlyDeath when [[spoiler: he takes on Chakal and his banditos by himself.]]

** General Posada is a bit of a jerk, being very strict with Maria and trying to make her decisions on who she'll marry for her, but he was sincerely saddened when [[spoiler: when it seems Maria has died. He also accepts Manolo into his family with open arms when he realizes all Manolo has done for his daughter and San Angel.]]

* MonsterShapedMountain: The Cave of Souls, which is not so much just a mountain. spoiler: It's shaped like the Coatlicue stone idol, Precolumbian goddess of life and dead, and when approached, it comes to life as a judgement entity.

* MusicSoothesTheSavageBeast: [[spoiler: Xibalba lets Manolo challenge him to a wager at which he is allowed to pick the task. The dirty cheater chooses bullfighting -- which he knows Manolo hates. As if that weren't bad enough, the task is that Manolo must defeat ''every single bull'' every Sanchez before him has ever faced ''all at once''. And when Manolo succeeds at ''that'', Xibalba combines them into one mega-bull]] and still the hero does not flinch, instead playing an apology song.

** Carlos after [[spoiler: Manolo's death, is mourning by his son's grave, [[PartingWordsRegret clearly beside himself that his last conversation with his son was an argument about how their ancestors would be ashamed of him.]]]].
** Joaquin has a similar expression when he has to tell Maria that [[spoiler: Manolo is dead]], for similar reasons. It's what makes him doubt going through with [[spoiler: the wedding, along with Maria wanting to marry him for honor and duty rather than for true love]].

** In the trailer, Maria sees a snake coming near her and Manolo, shouts his name, he gets bitten and dies. In the movie, [[spoiler: Maria sees the snake, shouts Manolo's name, shoves him out of the way, and is bitten instead.]]
** In general, the advertising for the film focused heavily on the Land of the Remembered and made it seem as though the film was largely about [[spoiler: Manolo's journey through the afterlife.]] Most of the movie actually takes place in the Land of the Living, and the story doesn't move into the afterlife until about halfway through.

** When [[spoiler: Manolo returns to life to fight Chakal, Xibalba, The Candlemaker and La Muerte decide to exercise their leeway, and briefly restore the Sanchez ancestors to life to help Manolo fight]].
* OurHeroIsDead: Manolo is killed by [[spoiler: two bites from Xibalba's snake/staff]], kicking off the second half of the plot.

** Carlos and Manolo [[spoiler: before the latter's death]] have an argument about Manolo refusing to kill a bull. By the time we cut back to the real world, Carlos is [[spoiler: mourning beside his son's grave]] and only mellows [[spoiler: when he also dies and witnesses his son taming the demonic bull with music]].
** The last thing Jaoquin says to Manolo before [[spoiler: the latter dies was that [[YouShouldHaveDiedInstead he should have died instead of Maria.]]]] It certainly starts his CharacterDevelopment in asking himself if a marriage to Maria was worth it, since she only will marry him so he will stay to protect San Angel.

* ResurrectedRomance: What Manolo is hoping to accomplish after Xibalba tricks him [[spoiler: into requesting his own death to be with Maria in the Land of the Dead. Maria isn't there because she's not actually dead.]]

** When [[spoiler: she finds out Xibalba cheated to win the wager]], La Muerte shouts out Xibalba's name (see SkywardScream below).

** Maria's father, General Posada, prefers that Maria marry Joaquin. His preference is because of Joaquin's reputation as a fighter, thus ensuring the town is safe, but doesn't really take into account Maria's feelings. [[spoiler: Although he accepts her marrying Manolo at the end]].

** As Manolo holds [[spoiler: Maria's seemingly-dead body, he gives off a terrifically anguished "HELP!"]]
** La Muerte lets loose a truly epic one when she finds out [[spoiler: that Xibalba cheated to win their bet]]. Just before she screams, Candlemaker warns the Sanchezes, [[LampshadeHanging "You might wanna cover your ears."]]

* SweetAndSourGrapes: The ending of the fight with Chakal: [[spoiler: as he's about to blow up himself and the whole town, Joaquin and Manolo see that they can trap him under a giant bell, saving the town, but they'd be trapped there and die as well. They both attempt a HeroicSacrifice to let the other live, Joaquin by giving the Medal of Everlasting Life to Manolo, and Manolo kicking out Joaquin at the last second, trapping only himself and Chakal. As a result, they both get to show they were to die to save the other ''and'' live. Joaquin loses an eye, though.]]

* TrailersAlwaysSpoil: Near the end of the second trailer, it happens in a brief second but one can see [[spoiler: The Sanchez ancestors near the climax.]]

* TrueLovesKiss: Zig-zagged. [[spoiler: Maria "dies" after being bitten by Xibalba's snake staff. She wakes after Joaquin kisses her, while wearing the Medal of Everlasting Life, which gleams magically when he does so. It turns out, though, that ''one'' bite from the snake staff is only enough to induce a trancelike coma. It takes ''two'' bites to kill... but Xibalba is a notorious cheater, so it is never clear whether she really died or the medal had anything to do with her waking.]]

* 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 out of duty, 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]].

* YouAndWhatArmy: Said by Chakal. [[spoiler: Cue the Sanchez ancestors.]]

* YouShouldHaveDiedInstead: [[spoiler:When Maria has (seemingly) been killed by a snake that was about to bite Manolo, Manolo thinks it should have been him, and Joaquin says yes, it ''should'' have.]] This comes back to haunt Joaquin when [[spoiler: it turns out Maria is alive and Manolo is dead]].