#i wont tag this as twst cause its mostly ranting about movies lol

[mochinomnoms]

OH PLEASE TALK ABOUT COCO AND THE BOOK OF LIFE my favorite topic tbh

I prefer the book of life i find the whole "these people that look like wooden dolls are meant to be the ones from the history while real people outside of the history don't have the wood look" amazing and a great detail and LA CATRINAAA??? gorgeous woman (also I should say that idia could be the xibalba in the Catarina and Xibalba dynamic there is just this vibe yk yk)

Book of life came before Coco (plus Disney didn't own the century whatever company that book of life originally was from) and when Disney did make their own Dia de los muertos themed movie they tried to TRADEMARK EL DIA DE LOS MUERTOS TO MAKE MERCH? Insane.

(Making Pastel de choclo and other chilean dishes like pebre but it just isn't the same with regular ingredients instead of your country ingredients yk? LIKE HARVESTED ON YOUR MOTHER COUNTRY it doesn't taste the same I would include that as a step in the recipe that I am giving Azul totally knowing my country doesn't exist in twst and Azul is taking that step seriously lmao)

-Vaquita

Oooh so I didn't have time to answer this yesterday since I was busy at work. But my general thoughts are that while I enjoy both movies and their portrayal of Día de Muertos, the book of life feels (and is) a story made for and by Mexicans for other Mexicans. You can tell from the music styling, the humor, and the artistic style itself! There are for sure some liberties taken (Xibalba is not a god in mythos it's the name of the underworld roughly) but it feels very true and faithful as an experience. Coco, while I enjoy it, feels more like a group of well intending white Americans wanting to make a movie about Día de Muertos, though I'll give credit they did have Latino artists and cultural workers involved. The style of the movie just also feels more American and, as part of a study I did in undergrad, most Mexicans and other Latinos in general feel that it was made with a very general audience in mind rather than Mexicans or Latinos at all.

La Muerte in the book of life is a very interesting version of her and her design is beautiful! Los muertos in general in the first movie have a more fun, varied design to them, while the second movie just looks and feels like another Pixar film. I don't think it's a bad movie, I loved it and the music is wonderful, but it doesn't feel as genuine, especially watching as a Mexican.

If you like the book of life, the creator also has Maya and the Three (set in the same universe) but also created the nickelodeon show Le Tigre and the CN show Victor and Valentino. He's a Mexican animator, so all his shows are set with that background in mind, but it's very enjoyable for anyone to watch! If you're a fan of the music the composer is Gustavo Alfredo Santaolalla, who also did the music for the Last of Us games and show, Brokeback Mountain, and also Maya and the Three.

As for the Disney trademark thing, I know their request was either revoked by Disney themselves or denied due to the backlash. For anyone not super familiar with Latin holidays and stuff, Disney trademarking Día de Muertos is the equivalent of Hallmark trying to trademark Christmas. The only thing they can trademark now is their specific characters and imagery associated with their film, but there's a lot of drama surrounding that and using the likeness of real people and their art in the film without permission.

(I feel you about the food tho, I can't make certain dishes without a very specific brands and items sometimes. I would actually refuse to cause it won't turn out right, and I'm not damning myself or my cooking abilities lmao. Azul would probably get so stressed out with both of us aslkjdalkj)

#mochi asks #i wont tag this as twst cause its mostly ranting about movies lol #but can you tell i have thoughts about this stuff lmao #vaquita anon