La leyenda del Chupacabras

La Leyenda del Chupacabras
Spanish La Leyenda del Chupacabras
Literally The Legend of Chupacabras
Directed by Alberto Rodríguez
Produced by Fernando de Fuentes
José C. García de Letona
Written by Acán Cohen
Alberto Rodriguez
Based on Characters
by Ricardo Arnaiz
Starring
  • Benny Emmanuel
  • Mayte Cordeiro
  • Eduardo "Lalo" España
  • Laura G
  • Herman López
  • Emilio Treviño
  • Oscar Flores
  • Andrés Couturier
  • Carlo Vázquez
  • Mario Arvizu
Music by Leoncio Lara
Edited by Alberto Rodríguez
Production
company
Distributed by Videocine
Release date
  • October 21, 2016 (2016-10-21)
Running time
 81 minutes
Country Mexico
Language Spanish
Budget $1.6 million[1]
Box office MX$100.7 million
(US$5.4 million)[2][3]

La Leyenda del Chupacabras (in English: The Legend of Chupacabras) is a 2016 Mexican animated horror comedy film, directed by Alberto Rodriguez.[4] Produced by Ánima Estudios, the film is the fourth installment to the Leyenda film series and its story is inspired by the chupacabras legend.[4]

The film was released theatrically in the United States on October 14, 2016 in limited release, distributed by Pantelion Films and Lionsgate,[5] and in Mexico on October 21, 2016,[6][7] opening to negative critical reception.[8][9]

The film is a major box-office success, grossing a total of $100.7 million pesos during its theatrical run in Mexico.[2][10] It is the highest-grossing film in the Leyendas saga, and the second produced by Ánima Estudios behind Top Cat: The Movie.

Plot

Leo San Juan has a nightmare of a man wearing a black charro uniform, claiming that he is “The Boy”. Before the man could do any harm, Leo is awoken by Mandujano and a group of travelers, telling old war stories in a wagon heading to Leo’s hometown, Puebla. When they reach a random checkpoint guarded by Spanish royalists, one of the men, Galeana, is forced to flee. It turns out that he is a high-ranking member of the opposing insurgency, and so are the men who are undercover cadets. Mandujano, the active lieutenant, explains that they are part of a great war for the sake of their freedom from the oppressive forces of the Spanish Empire. Leo agrees to keep their secret as they approach the soldiers. They succeed in the check, until one of the soldiers spots Galeana fleeing in the distance. This causes the insurgents to engage in a standoff. One of the soldiers, Licona, takes Leo and holds him at gunpoint, forcing the insurgents to surrender.

They are taken into custody along with a decrepit and pale-faced ringmaster named Dr. Merolick, to be brought forth in front of the ruthless Royalist General Torreblanca. He offers Leo in exchange of information for freedom. Leo remains silent, enraging the general. Thus, Leo is taken in with the insurgents to an abandoned monastery in the mountains and is sentenced to be executed in the morning. On the route to their cells, Leo discovers that his older brother is a member of the Royalist army. Leo and the other men are taken to their cells and plot their route to freedom.

Meanwhile, back in Guanajuato, Alibrije and Evaristo are having their own antics about having a girlfriend, but it all backfires on them because of a huge misunderstanding.

Back at the monastery, two soldiers stand guard at the chapel, converted into a supply room, including a wagon owned by Merolick. However, they are both attacked by a winged creature and are killed, due to the creature sucking the blood from their body. After escaping their cell, with the help of Nando, they find the corpses of the guards. Merolick reveals that the creatures are chupacabras, winged beings that suck the blood from all living things to satisfy their hunger. Now they must escape the monastery without being caught by the surviving guards and chupacabras.

Cast

RoleMexico Actor (Original)English Language Dubbing
Leo San JuanBenny EmmanuelAntonio Amadeo
El Alebrije de la BibliotecaHerman LópezAlex Teixeira
Teodora VillavicencioMayté CordeiroPaula Andrea Barros
EvaristoEduardo "Lalo" EspañaHernan Andrio Chavarro
JuanitaLaura "G" GonzálezLissa Grossman Comess
Nando San JuanEmilio TreviñoEric Anderson
Soldado ZubietaAndrés CouturierPaul Louis Muller
Mary la PagadoraDiana AlonsoCrystal Lopez
MerolickEduardo "Lalo" España????
MandujanoOscar Flores????
Torreblanca????
CacomixtleCarlo VázquezJames Keller
GarciaFernando HinojosaPhilip Dubois
JosePedro D'Aguillón Jr.Christopher Jesus Diaz
Soldado AguilarGermán FabregatScott Genn
Soldado CamposMauricio PérezMichael Gallock
Soldado CosioGustavo Adrian Casio HerreraAlexander Michael Jaramillo
Soldado HurtadoAndres Campos????
Soldado Licona????
Soldado Sanchez????
Soldado LariosRicardo Mendoza????
Soldado MartinezJosé Antonio ToledanoChristopher Leigh Jahn
Soldado NietoSalvador Chantrés????
Soldado RamosIsmael Castro????
TorresMoisés Iván Mora????
General GaleanaMario Arvizu????
FinadoDaniel del RobleDoug Turkel
MoribundaGaby GuzmánLindsey Corey
Charro NegroHumberto Solórzano????
PumaCésar GarduzaRomulo Bernal

Production

Animation

Unlike its 2 previous installments, which were all animated in the flash animation format, this film is animated in style of traditional animation.[11] The animation is done by Ánima Estudios in Mexico while additional animation were provided by Toon City in the Philippines, Mighty in Mexico, and TeamApp.[12]

Director Alberto Rodríguez stated that the animation process was one of the challenges in the film.[11] "We started with the task of generating a more traditional type of animation that needs more energy, people, and knowledge," said Rodríguez.[11] Producer Fernando de Fuentes said that the America public "is not used to watching 2D [animated] productions."[13]

Release

The film has been first teased on Ánima Estudios' social media on 4 March 2016, naming it the "next installment", tentatively titled "La Leyenda de".[14]

The film was announced for release in Mexico on 21 October 2016. The film's teaser trailer premiered on 26 May 2016.[15] The film's official trailer has been released on 9 September 2016.[16]

The film has been presented at the 2016 Pixelatl Festival in Cuernavaca, Mexico.[17]

A Bugsted short was accompanied with the Mexican release of the film.[18]

U.S. Release

The film received a limited theatrical release in the United States, which was released on October 14, 2016, one week prior to its Mexican release, distributed by Pantelion Films and Lionsgate.[5] It was shown in the original Spanish language format with English subtitles.

The film was later released on DVD and Digital HD formats with an English language version on March 7, 2017.[19]

According to producer Jose C. Garcia de Letona, he stated that Chupacabras is the biggest release in the Leyendas franchise as it is the first, not only in the franchise, but also the first film from production company Ánima Estudios to receive a theatrical release in the "major" U.S. market, as well the challenges for the release.[13] "It is a first effort that we are very happy about. The market there is brutal. [I]t is 10 times bigger than ours and today we have 40 million Spanish speakers."[13] Co-producer Fernando de Fuentes also stated that he was satisfied with the reception of the news.[20] "This is the first time we debut a film in the U.S. and we're excited with how well the Latino community has received the news of the film," he said.[20]

Director Alberto Rodriguez, who previously directed Llorona and Momias, said that the success of the past installments were "unexpected" and "sensational", and said that, "[It] made us think that maybe we could repeat that success in the United States."[21] He said that the film's story included the "chupacabras" since the legendary creature has been widely recognized among the Hispanic culture in the United States.[21]

Reception

Box office

To date, there is currently no U.S. box-office data released for the film.[22]

In Mexico, the film debuted at #2 on its opening weekend, grossing $40,909,034 pesos (approx. USD $2.2 million), with an audience of 1 million.[23][24]

The film grossed a total of $100.7 million pesos.[2]

Critical response

The film has received negative reviews from critics upon its release, with criticism focused on the film's writing, bland humor, and story.[8][9] On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a rating of 17%, based on 6 reviews, with an average rating of 4.6/10.[25]

Accolades

Awards and nominations

Year Award Category Nominees Result
2017 Premios Luminus 2017 Mejor Película de Animación[26][27] Alberto Rodríguez Won
4th Platino Awards Best Animated Film[28] Alberto Rodríguez Nominated

Sequel

A fifth installment titled, La Leyenda del Charro Negro was released on 19 January 2018.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Notimex (16 October 2016). "Cine de animación la apuesta de Fernando de Fuentes". Plano Informativo (in Spanish). Grupo Plano Informativo. Retrieved 20 February 2018.
  2. 1 2 3 Gutiérrez, Vicente (6 February 2018). "La Leyenda del Charro Negro triunfa en la taquilla". El Economista (in Spanish). Periódico El Economista. Retrieved 31 January 2018.
  3. ↑ "La Leyenda del Chupacabras: Foreign". Box Office Mojo. IMDb. Retrieved 27 November 2016. Note: Outdated calculation for the film's Mexican gross.
  4. 1 2 Roastbrief (31 March 2016). "Ánima Estudios anuncia "La Leyenda del Chupacabras", la nueva película de la saga de "Las Leyendas"". Roastbrief (in Spanish). Retrieved 9 September 2016.
  5. 1 2 Univision (8 September 2016). "La leyenda de 'El Chupacabras'". Univision 23 (in Spanish). Univision Communications. Retrieved 9 September 2016.
  6. ↑ webuno (8 September 2016). ""La leyenda del Chupacabras" atrapará cines de México el 21 de octubre". Unomásuno (in Spanish). Grupo Unomásuno. Archived from the original on 17 September 2016. Retrieved 10 September 2016.
  7. ↑ Notimex (9 September 2016). "'La leyenda del chupacabras' tendrá película". Siete24 (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 10 May 2017. Retrieved 10 September 2016.
  8. 1 2 Condes, Yvonne. "La Leyenda del Chupacabras Movie Review". Common Sense Media. Retrieved 26 October 2016.
  9. 1 2 Baumgarten, Marjorie (20 October 2016). "La Leyenda del Chupacabras - Film Calendar". The Austin Chronicle. Retrieved 26 October 2016.
  10. ↑ Hopewell, John (16 March 2017). "Fewer Juggernauts Push Mexico to All-Time Box Office Record (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Penske Business Media. Retrieved 20 February 2018.
  11. 1 2 3 "La leyenda del chupacabras al cine". La Prensa (in Spanish). 21 October 2016. Retrieved 18 January 2017.
  12. ↑ Credited in the "Additional Animation Services" section of the end credits.
  13. 1 2 3 Santiago, Fabiola (13 October 2016). "Llevarán a EU La Leyenda del Chupacabras". Reforma (in Spanish). Retrieved 18 January 2017.
  14. ↑ Ánima Estudios [@AnimaEstudios] (4 March 2016). "¡La próxima película de la saga de Las Leyendas está en camino! Esperen más noticias a través de nuestras redes/" (Tweet) (in Spanish). Retrieved 20 July 2016 – via Twitter.
  15. ↑ Ánima (26 May 2016). La Leyenda del Chupacabras - Trailer TEASER OFICIAL -¡AHORA EN CINES! (in Spanish). YouTube. Retrieved 20 July 2018.
  16. ↑ Ánima (9 September 2016). La Leyenda del Chupacabras TRAILER OFICIAL (2016) (in Spanish). YouTube. Retrieved 20 July 2018.
  17. ↑ Pixelatl [@pixelatl] (19 August 2016). "La Leyenda del Chupacabras, nueva entrega de la saga de "Las Leyendas", de Ánima Estudios elfestival.mx/es-MX/contenidos/72/562/LA_LEYENDA_DEL_CHUPACABRAS.html" (Tweet) (in Spanish). Retrieved 20 July 2018 – via Twitter.
  18. ↑ Ánima (28 October 2016). ¡No te pierdas el corto de BUGSTED! En cines acompañando el estreno de "La Leyenda del Chupacabras" (in Spanish). YouTube. Retrieved 20 July 2018.
  19. ↑ Lionsgate Unlocked (10 January 2017). THE LEGEND OF CHUPACABRAS - Find It on DVD, Digital HD and On Demand 3/7!. YouTube. Retrieved 18 January 2017.
  20. 1 2 Huerta, Cesar (12 October 2016). "El Chupacabras animated film makes U.S. debut this weekend". El Universal. Compañía Periodística Nacional. Retrieved 18 January 2017.
  21. 1 2 Infante, Victoria (14 October 2016). "'La Leyenda del Chupacabras' 'espantará' en EEUU". Ser Mama Latina (in Spanish). Retrieved 18 January 2017.
  22. ↑ Gallagher, Brian (16 October 2016). "Ben Affleck's The Accountant Wins Weekend Box Office with $24.7M". MovieWeb. Watchr Media. Retrieved 23 October 2016.
  23. ↑ Castro, Víctor I. (24 October 2016). "Taquilla MX - Las mexicanas se apoderan de la taquilla". El Tijuanense (in Spanish). Retrieved 26 October 2016.
  24. ↑ Flores, Yesica (25 October 2016). "LA LEYENDA DEL CHUPACABRAS PRIMER LUGAR DE TAQUILLA EN SU PRIMER FIN DE SEMANA". Style by ShockVisual (in Spanish). Retrieved 26 October 2016.
  25. ↑ "La Leyenda del Chupacabras (2016)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved 20 July 2018.
  26. ↑ "Ganadores de los Premios Luminus 2017" (in Spanish). Morelia International Film Festival. 28 April 2017. Retrieved 14 July 2017.
  27. ↑ "La Leyenda del Chupacabras" ganadora en los Premios Luminus a Mejor Película Animada" (in Spanish). Ánima Estudios. 2 May 2017. Retrieved 17 July 2017.
  28. ↑ de la Fuente, Anna Marie (1 June 2017). "'A Monster Calls' Snags Seven Platino Awards Nominations". Variety. Penske Business Media. Retrieved 14 July 2017.
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