Wow, this was not as good as I was hoping. While the animation is beautiful in spots, the characters are paper thin and the plot drags. I found my attention wandering, despite the fact that this film includes dozens of those LOUD animation moments meant to keep the children's attention. Every character is OVER THE TOP excited about everything and hopping up and down and loud and exhausting. There are so many bad jokes and "witty" moments in this film, I don't know where to begin, but I assure you, your eyes will be rolling before the finale.

The plot revolves around three people: Manolo, Joaquin and Maria. The two boys both are in love with Maria. Joaquin is the jock and constantly looking for things to push over, while Manolo, the sensitive one, just wants to play music. Maria's character exists only for the two boys to have something to fight over--we learn nearly nothing about her as a person. Maria's sent away to grow up in Spain, and Joaquin and Manolo resolve to win her heart when she returns. Oh, and there's another plot on top of that--two gods who run different parts of the underworld/Day of the Dead have a bet going as to which boy will win Maria as a prize. Oh, and there's ANOTHER plot on top of that--this whole story is being told by a museum curator to a bunch of delinquent kids. Got it? Come on, keep up! I won't get into the ending or spoilers, but you'll be let down, believe me. Pointless plot turns, dumb characters, and flashy manic fights.

Comparisons to the far superior "Coco" abound, but this is a pale shadow of that film. And I need to address the rumors that this was done first and Coco was a copy: as far as my research shows, this film was announced in 2013 and released in 2014. "Coco" was officially kicked off in 2007 and revamped in 2012 after running into some controversy over Disney's attempts to copyright the concept of "Day of the Dead." And while there are many similarities between the plots, settings and characters, it's difficult to determine who "borrowed" from whom.

The animation style is both interesting and chaotic. Many of the main characters are designed to look like they've been carved out of wood (it ties back to the museum storyline), adding an interesting angle. But it all moves so quickly, it's very difficult to appreciate the amount of time and effort (and computing cycles) that went into creating these characters. If only they'd spent a fraction of that effort on improving the plot and characters.

The music is the largest disappointment: while espousing the Mexican culture, and championing the main character AS A MUSICIAN, there is almost no Mexican or latin-themed music in this film. The only orginal song was a very sappy number called "I Love You Too Much." Many of the other music choices were WAY too obvious, pop standards that will be recognized by the audience: the big montage in the middle, while the two boys grow up and wait for Maria to return, plays over a very weak version of Mumford & Sons "I Will Wait For You." As in "they will wait for her." Got it. Very subtle. The rest of the music is as cringeworthy, with latin-tinged versions of pop songs like Radiohead's "Creep," Elvis' "I Can't Help Falling in Love with You," Rod Stewart's "Do You Think I'm Sexy?" and Biz Markie's "You Got What I Need." They are so out of place in this children's latin-themed film, you'll actually laugh out loud. And these would be near the bottom of the list of songs I'd put in a kid's movie about Mexico and the Day of the Dead.

The big eyes and the slightly cardboard-box style of animation is really quite engaging as we follow the tale of "Manolo". He's an excitable young man who finds himself torn between staying home and living the life his family want him to, and setting off and having some adventures of his own. It's the latter draw that prevails and after a trip to the museum with his friends, he is soon dealing with demons from within and without that challenge his very essence, his being - his soul, even. The story is steeped in history, in myth and in imagination and is colourfully and vividly delivered using a clever mix of dialogue, music and quite often just the richness of the imagery itself. Can this young man play games with those more experienced, malevolent, cunning and find the happiness he is looking for? Of course - there is jeopardy too - if he gets it wrong, then all humankind is going to suffer! There's even a gentle hint of a childish love triangle as the story builds to quite an entertaining - if predictable - denouement. It's a classy bit of cinema this, with plenty of strong characterisation, action, some darkness and just enough to keep the brain ticking over too. Cinema is best - it brings out the vivacity of the whole thing so much better.