Salma e o Grande Sonho

If you are looking for an outstanding Disney/Pixar animated movie that resonates through generations... skip this one.

Día de Muertos is a simple weekend movie aimed to kids and just that. There is not a complex plot, a message that needs to be analized, nor a compelling screenplay that will be praised.

The animation is good considering the budget, and the plot, like I said, simple.

The cast did what they could with the material they were offered. Memo Aponte, Alan Estrada and Fernanda Castillo are very talented voice actors, and that's Día de Muerto's wisest choice.

Its biggest sin was to be released right after Academy Award winner Coco, and the comparison is unfair since it never aspired to be that.

Turn off your brain and enjoy it.

Making an animated movie requieres a lot of things. Some of these things are a budget, of course; a good script; and creativity. Día de Muertos doesn't have any of those things.

I know there's a lot of people here in Mexico trying to grow the animation industry, but animated movies should be made only when they're worth of trying. Día de muertos took over 5 years to complete it's production, why would you spend so much time and money in something that doesn't have a good script? And I really mean it: the story is unbelievable boring and forced, each single situation and decision through the film feels unnatural and even cringy; characters are unidimensional and inconsistent with they're own develop; jokes are just repetitive and annoying to the point I wanted to leave the theatre (and I NEVERE do this). So, if you don't have a good script why are you trying to make an animated movie? And it is obvious that the producers didn't have the budget neither.

The lack of creativity is fundamental for this cinematographic failure. It's like if they just made the most "off the shelf" characters, designs and EVERYTHING in order to bring us something without soul.

The only reason I would recommend this is if you want to learn what NOT TO DO if you want to make an full length animated feature. Any other reason you're wasting your time.

When it comes to movies for kids I have my faves; when it comes to kids movies, my kids have THEIR OWN, and as you'd guess it, we coincide occasionally and some times we just can't agree at all. Día de muertos is a movie I do not think has the best quality in several production aspects. Reviewers mostly complain about a bad script, to me it wasn't horrible, just not top quality. Kids on the other hand can careless about a 'top quality' script, as long as they feel entertained and drawn into the story, and so it is that in this aspect, the movie succeeded. My kids were rooting for the main characters, cared for them and had good laughs, sometimes sadness. And you can really gauge how much they like a movie by how many times they ask to rewatch it. This movie is not The Book of Life or Coco when it comes to budget (though similar subjects) or production value but it has enough originality to stand on its own. Comedy in it does seem forced but again, my kids actually laugh through the funny moments and even days later would comment or reenact some funny parts of the movie. There are so many reviews I've seen here on on movies by less prominent studios, independent films or foreign kids movies that get absolutely trashed! When, some of them my kids and I have actually enjoyed quite a bit, many times I've liked those films better that those of the big studios that are so formulaic and extremely predictable. Is like they punish a good story's originality if the production value is not up to par. Día de muertos is one of those cases. It is said they 'spent a lot of many' making it but I doubt it would be significant enough to be compared to that of Coco's budget. In summary, let your kids watch it and let them decide, in this case, I recommend to skip the reviews and make your own mind. Sure, a lot of times when kids watch we watch with them and have our own expectations and disappointments. But if we're going to review we should take their opinion into account. So this movie deserves a combined rating of 8 stars!

I enjoyed the film and was impressed with the animation with such a limited budget.

Me: mom, can we get "Coco" on DVD.

Mom: we have "Coco" at home.

"Coco" at home: