Pedro galletto coraggioso

It's not usual to see a Mexican film being highlighted in Portugal, and even less being entirely dubbed into our language. However, I have just seen it on TV, on a Sunday morning, the regular time at which children's animated films are usually shown. And after researching a little about it, I was truly surprised by the number of films about roosters and eggs that Mexican animation cinema has already made.

Overall, I liked what I saw. It's not an original film, we've already seen a lot of similar things, but it was a consistent, solid effort and denotes some ambition and also technical and artistic capacity, which is commendable for a country that makes a lot of cinema for regional consumption, but has some difficulty in export films to the Old Continent. It's not a movie that makes me laugh a lot, and I bet most kids will enjoy it, but without feeling excited about what they're seeing and quickly forgetting everything they've seen.

The script revolves around Toto, a young chicken who has to save his family's farm, preventing it from being taken over by a malicious landowner. To do so, he needs to defeat a big fighting cock in a stakes fight. Of course, the other animals, chickens and talking eggs will try their best to help you tip the odds in your favour. Therefore, it is a retelling of the old story of David against Goliath, of the struggle of the oppressed and weak against the powerful. It's effective, has a good, uplifting moral message, and entertains the audience well.

On a technical level, the film deserves attention for its impeccable graphics and visuals. The CGI used in the animations is not exactly state of the art, it is not pristine and ultra-realistic. None of that. However, it's elegant enough, pretty enough, doesn't make gross mistakes, and has very good color and stroke. The mood isn't perfect, but it seems okay, it's within what I expected to find. I cannot evaluate the original dialogues and jokes since I saw the dubbed version for my language and not the original, but I am satisfied with the dub done by the Portuguese, it is a job that seems to be well done.

Everything is wrong with this movie.

The story is boring, meaningless, practically half of the film does not say anything that can solve the main conflict, there are many conveniences and extra characters, even the eggs do not add anything to the plot. The references to some famous movies that are used to tell the story are too many, leading the plot to be a copy of all those movies in one. It is another film without a good story, not very original, that is not funny and that does not have a soul.

A lighthearted animated film about a rooster and his dreams, set in a Mexican ranch full of funny characters, this Mexican movie is very different from a Pixar classic, but the animation is quite good, the storyline is simple and full of references to other classic movies like Rocky, The Godfather, The Karate Kid, I found some parts real funny and there are a couple of musicals, we have seen the same story many other times but I guess the Mexican approach is what makes it different, the voices of the characters are made by very recognizable Mexican actors for the Spanish version, its good for both young and their parents, just don't expect a "Finding Nemo" level.

Obviously is intended for Spanish speaking markets (and specially Mexican, since it has a lot of double meaning expressions). I thoroughly enjoyed it, and once the DVD/BlueRay is out, I'll get it. It is hard to translate since 'eggs' (which is pretty much the title of the movie: a rooster with many eggs, the correct translation would be a rooster with many balls - where balls stand for testicles) is just a double meaning word... Many of the situations and expressions are very well used, but as I mentioned above, it is for the Mexican audience, I doubt the rest of Spanish speaking countries will understand the secret expressions. Even without understanding them, the story is OK and the animation is excellent. It is a pity that studio shut down after the termination of the movie.

In the description you will see this movie has strong sexual context and that is true. Although I thought this was a funny and very entertaining movie, I would have enjoyed it more had my 13yr old not been with me, why? Because there are a lot of strong sexual references. This movie reminds me of the one family member we all don't want around because of how verbally sexual he/she is. Anyway, just be aware when taking your children, I would say do not take children 6 to 15, as it can be rather embarrassing for you if you are not open to this type of communication with your child. A child 5 yr old and under will most likely not understand but the 16 and above have probably heard worst. Enjoy!!!