I really liked the art style of the movie, both in the slightly more realistic town of San Angel and especially in the Land of the Remembered, where everything is a spectacular Day of the Dead float. I also appreciated the art style of the movie, and it's slightly different focus. When a museum tour guide introduces the story she says it takes place in the "center of the universe: Mexico" which made me raise an eyebrow. Still, it's a interesting change from kid's movies that take place in generic parts of the United States and Olde Timey Europe.
I didn't find a lot to be really bad about the movie, but there were some parts that were kind of off. For example while Channing Tatum seems to be really having fun as the swashbuckling Joaquin, he stands out in a movie where almost everyone else speaks with an accent, and it stands out. I also thought the song selections were kind of odd. The Book of Life isn't quite a musical, but there are musical interludes, and they're generally of older pop songs done fairly straight. I mean, I imagine it would be weird if they dude a super Mariachi version of Radiohead's Creep, but just having the main character play an acoustic version of it is out of place also. It seems to me that if you're going to make a movie about Mexican culture and folklore, why not go the whole hog? Anyhow, it's a fine kids movie, but there probably isn't enough here for grownups, so take that into advisement as well.
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