Film Preview: The Book of Life (2014)

Poster

Poster #1

Additional posters can be found below.

Trailer Link

Release Date:

Oct. 17, 2014

Synopsis:

From IMDb: “THE BOOK OF LIFE is the journey of Manolo, 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. Rich with a fresh take on pop music favorites, THE BOOK OF LIFE encourages us to celebrate the past while looking forward to the future.”

Poster: C+ / B- / B / B (5) / C / C (6)

Review: A busy, festive poster design that showcases the film’s animation style and overburdens the mind with details.

(#2-#3) Two more explosive final release poster designs that give the audience a firm understanding that these movies are designed for children, not for adult. The second design is less crowded, but doesn’t feel as organic as the third.

(#4-#8) The first set of character posters employ overly busy background elements and don’t seem to have met any necessity. (#9) Unlike the overly detailed standard posters, this one focuses on a sole character and minimizes the clutter. It would be a better way to go if it didn’t feel so otherwise lifeless.

(#10-#16) This set of character posters almost entirely eliminates background distractions, increasing the size of the characters displayed quite a bit. That lack of detail and the in-your-face design is distracting and ultimately unappealing.

Trailer: D / B-

Review: Fox is easily one of the weakest animation studios today and this trailer encapsulates everything that makes their output boring. The animation looks amateurish, the voice acting sounds terrible, the plot seems a bit lazy and all this is exacerbated by the overly detailed, chaotic characters, animations and settings. While it’s great to have rich details, too many details are distracting.

(#2) The premise still isn’t something that strikes me as necessary, but this trailer does a better job trying to sell the audience on checking the film out. There’s quite a bit of unnecessary, corny humor that will have to rely on adult audiences finding it amusing since much of it will go right over the heads of young children.

Oscar Prospects:

An Animated Feature nomination is likely, though an Oscar win is out of the question unless this turns out to be one of the best animated films ever made.