La leyenda de las Momias

La leyenda de las Momias, also known as The Legend of the Mummies of Guanajuato, is a 2014 Mexican animated horror adventure comedy film produced by Ánima Estudios and distributed by Videocine.

La leyenda de las Momias
Film poster
Directed byAlberto Rodríguez
Produced byFernando de Fuentes
José C. García de Letona
Written byAlberto Rodríguez
Ricardo Arnaiz
Dulce María Guerrero
Jesús Guzmán
Based onCharacters
by Ricardo Arnaiz
StarringBenny Emmanuel
Andrés Couturier
Mayté Cordero
Rafael Inclán
Eduardo España
Ale Müller
Music byLeoncio Lara
Edited byRoberto Bolado
Production
company
Distributed byVideocine
Release date
  • October 30, 2014 (2014-10-30)
Running time
83 minutes
CountryMexico
LanguageSpanish
Budget$1.3 million[1]
Box officeMX$92.25 million[2]
(US$6.3 million)[3][4]

Third installment of the Leyendas film saga, following Nahuala and Llorona, the story is a fictional take on the origin of the mummies, mainly those of the Guanajuato origin.[5] The film features the voices of Benny Emmanuel, Eduardo "Lalo" España, Mayté Cordero, Rafael Inclán, Andrés Cuturier, and Ale Müller.

It was released in theaters and in 4DX on October 30, 2014 in Mexico, becoming the first Mexican film to be released in the format.[6][7]

The film was released on digital platforms in the United States through Pantaya, a Latin-focused digital film distributor.

Plot

In the town of Guanajuato in the year 1810, two years after the events of Nauhula, The film follows the adventures of Leo San Juan, Don Andrés, Teodora and El Alebrije, where they travel to Guanajuato to rescue their friend, Xochitl, and to try to stop the mummies, awaken inexplicably by Rosseau.

Cast
  • Benny Emmanuel as Leo San Juan
  • Andrés Couturier as Don Andrés and Rosseau
  • Mayté Cordero as Teodora
  • Rafael Inclán as Alebrije
  • Eduardo España as Evaristo
  • Ale Müller as Valentina-Luis

Development

The development of the film took place for three years with the work of 200 people.[8] The film was produced without the support of the Mexican government, due to not being approved, and the filmmakers had to rely on the support of the state government of Guanajuato, according to producer and Ánima CEO Fernando de Fuentes.[9] "We were not approved at the time..., but we have the support of Guanajuato, who gave us something. Ánima Estudios had to invest in this much more than in other films, but undoubtedly the stimuli were important to reach [with] what we do today."[9]

Director Alberto Rodríguez detailed the challenges of the development course of the film, mainly focused on recapturing the spirit of the saga's characters and shaping up the franchise. "There were many challenges, a lot of effort and we believe that we are a benchmark in animation and we were forced to break our own standards, as it is difficult to maintain the characters and give them an arc of action for three installments, but we did it," said Rodríguez.[8] "The movies and characters are already owned by Ánima Estudios and it has been very difficult, because creating a franchise in a country used to receiving them and not creating them is complicated, but we knew we had to do it," said Fernando de Fuentes.[9]

The film's production was doubted since it took place during the time of the Mexican cinema's decline. "[...]it was a time when everyone was fleeing from the national cinema. But everything has changed and today people see Mexican cinema, because it makes very good products and that is what we want to continue doing," said Fernando de Fuentes.[9] Benny Emmanuel, who plays the protagonist Leo San Juan, also shared his experience, saying that it is his first, not only being in the franchise, but also his first animation role. "[It was...] the first time I participated in this saga[,] and actually this is [my] first thing in dubbing[,] and playing 'Leo' was very nice and the director helped me a lot but it was very funny," said Emmanuel.

Casting

The film features the voices of famous Mexican talents, such as Benny Emmanuel (known for his role in La CQ), Alejandra Muller (also from La CQ), and Eduardo España. While the development course was very challenging to the filmmakers, Rodríguez stated that he was very happy working with the actors involved. Eduardo España, who plays Evaristo, shared his story of working in the film. "I always believe in the actor-director communication and there has to be willingness and openness, but we did very good chemistry with 'El Chino' (director Alberto's nickname) because it gives you a very fatherly negotiation in addition to taking into account [of] good taste and fun[,] and let[s] you flow," he said.[8]

Animation

The film was produced with flash animation.[5]

Release

The film was released theatrically in theaters and the motion-enhanced 4DX format on 30 October 2014 in Mexico at around 1,000 locations nationwide.[9]

It later had its United States premiere at The 22nd Annual San Diego Latino Film Festival on 15 March 2015.[10][11] It was also shown at the Regal Cinemas L.A. Live Stadium 14 theater on 9 May 2015, as part of the 2015 Hola Mexico Film Festival.[12]

The film later had its official U.S. premiere only on digital platforms, through Pantaya. It was released in its original Spanish-language format with no English subtitles.

Box office

The film opened at #2 at the domestic box-office, behind Annabelle, earning $35.6 million pesos ($2.6 million USD) on its opening weekend.[13][14] On its second weekend, it remained on the #2 spot, behind Interstellar, earning an additional $23.7 million pesos ($1.75 million USD).[15] It grossed a total of $92.25 million pesos.[2]

Reception

This film received some mixed reviews.[16] Eric Ortiz Garcia, of Twitch Film, said that the film was an "OK production", but criticized the animation, saying that "it's not the best, sure."[16] However, he heavily criticized the film's writing.[16]

Sequel

The fourth installment of the Leyendas franchise, titled La Leyenda del Chupacabras, was released in the United States on October 14, 2016, followed by a Mexico release on October 21, 2016.[17][18]

It was later followed by La leyenda del Charro Negro, released on 19 January 2018.

See also

References
  1. "ANIMA ESTUDIOS prepara sorpresas en cine de animación (in Spanish)". 1 May 2014. Retrieved 8 May 2014.
  2. "Películas Animadas 2000 – 2018". Canacine. Canacine. Retrieved 15 December 2018.
  3. Gutiérrez, Vicente (6 February 2018). "La Leyenda del Charro Negro triunfa en la taquilla". El Economista. Periódico El Economista S.A. de C.V. Retrieved 31 January 2018. In Spanish.
  4. Resultados Preliminares 2014 | Canacine
  5. Hopewell, John (12 June 2013). "Anima Puts 'Momias' into Pre-prod (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety (magazine). Penske Business Media, LLC. Retrieved 17 January 2018.
  6. "'La Leyenda de Las Momias de Guanajuato' llegará en 4DX". Terra. Terra. 15 October 2014. Retrieved 16 October 2014.
  7. "La primer película mexicana en 4DX será animada". Chilango. Grupo Expansión, S.A. de C.V. 15 October 2014. Retrieved 16 October 2014.
  8. "Ánima Estudios estrenará 'La leyenda de las momias de Guanajuato'". MVS Noticas. MVS Radio. 27 October 2014. Retrieved 17 January 2018.
  9. Gutiérrez, Vicente (29 October 2014). "La leyenda de las momias..., animación a la mexicana". El Economista. El Economista. Retrieved 17 January 2018. (in Spanish)
  10. "La Leyenda de Las Momias de Guanajuato". San Diego Latino Film Festival. Gala Festival Engine. Retrieved 10 March 2015.
  11. "AMC Theaters: La Leyenda de Las Momias de Guanajuato (SDLFF)". AMC Theaters. AMC Theaters. Retrieved 10 March 2015.
  12. Hola Mexico on Instagram: Showing May 9th. Come and enjoy this film with your children! #LaLeyendaDeLasMomiasDeGuanajuato #hoLA2015 #holamexicofilmfeast Instagram.
  13. Mexico Box Office, October 31–November 2, 2014 - Box Office Mojo
  14. "La leyenda de las momias tiene dos segundos lugares (in Spanish only)". El Economista. Periódico El Economista SA de CV. 4 November 2014. Retrieved 7 November 2014.
  15. Mexico Box Office, November 7–9, 2014 - Box Office Mojo
  16. Ortiz Garcia, Eric (5 November 2014). "Review: LA LEYENDA DE LAS MOMIAS, An Animation Ruined By Its Poor Writing". Twitch Film. Retrieved 6 November 2014.
  17. ""La leyenda del Chupacabras" atrapará cines de México el 21 de octubre". unomásuno. Grupo unomásuno. 8 September 2016. Retrieved 10 September 2016.
  18. "La leyenda de 'El Chupacabras'". Univision. Univision Communications Inc. 8 September 2016. Retrieved 9 September 2016.
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