What we have here is a imaginative, visually stunning feast for the eyes overlayed upon a rather boiler-plate story. The Mexican imagery is lush, detailed, colorful and while that is enough for a time, it does fatigue when there is nothing compelling behind it. The music is, strangely and sadly, American pop tunes spiced up with a little accordian or guitar to remind us this is supposed to be Mexico. Why not have the characters sing some really beautiful Mexican ballads? As for that story, it's a weak re-hash of pretty much every animated and super-hero film you've seen in the last few years. Good guy must triumph against all odds and achieve the goal, in this case, winning the girl, and is thwarted along the way by the super-evil character. You could actually watch this with the sound off and just enjoy the visuals and still understand the story.
Review of The Book of Life
