If Guillermo del Toro decided to get into stop motion, he would make “I Am Frankelda” (2025), a musical stop motion animation feature set in nineteenth century Mexico and is a prequel to the anthology television series, “Frankelda’s Book of Spooks” (2021), that his proteges, brothers Arturo and Roy Ambriz, created. Except for her mother, everyone thinks that Francisca Imelda (Mireya Mendoza) is crazy for wanting to be a writer, but her creation Prince of Terrors Herneval (Arturo Mercado Jr. for dialogue and Luis Leonardo Suárez for singing) is counting on her to save his kingdom, which is in danger of disappearing because they feed off of human fears and the current Royal Nightmare Maker, Procustes (also Suárez), has not written anything fresh and frightening in years. Procustes has a plan, and being replaced is not a part of it, but exploiting Francisca’s fears about not being a good writer may be his best work to date. Will Francisca believe his lies and her fears or will she become defiant and become Frankelda, a fearless, indomitable force of creativity with complete dominion over her creation. The Ambriz brothers made a masterpiece, but for audiences unfamiliar with the best magical realism in the world, they may find it challenging to follow and too frightening for children to follow. If you have a creative daughter, it is required viewing.
Remember when the villagers gossiped about Belle from “Beauty and the Beast” (1991) for reading so much. Now add family and friends openly ridiculing Francisca for writing, take away any semblance of a support system except for the publisher’s son, who has a crush on her, then dash her one chance at a career. When Herneval invites her into his world, only her spirit can travel to the Realm of Terrors, which means her body is just lying somewhere in a coma. “I Am Frankelda” is a valuable tale about the dangers that creatives, especially girls and women, face when they embark on their career.
In the Realm of Existence, i.e. the real world, editor Damastes (Jesse Conde) is an obvious minor villain who is a gatekeeper trying to keep the barbarians, aka women, from storming the fortress and refuses to even entertain the idea that women written stories could be good. Herneval, who looks quite dashing like a hawk man (think pretty boy versions of the Arrowverse or “Buck Rogers in the 25th Century”), is a good guy, but symbolizes the danger of a man in love, but more focused on how he can benefit from his love’s gifts than his love’s well-being, his stated values or the health of the relationship. Procustes is obvious in “I Am Frankelda.” Procustes is a spider with a lot of legs and eyes but dressed in the finery of a member of the inner sanctum of the court. Spiders weave tales, and with all his legs, he can stick a metaphorical finger in everyone’s business with his eyes constantly vigilant and spying on everyone. He is cartoonishly manipulative, but in real life is harder to spot. It is the person who offers to mentor you and provide opportunities like a platform but is a vampire who is using another’s vitality to stay relevant and in power with the victim oblivious to the fact that she has the power to supplant him.
Procustes is also the one that has been trying to foment rebellion forever, and if any aspect of the story is underdeveloped after it was introduced and perhaps should have been left on the cutting room floor, it is the past realized threat of a Realm of Terror creature terrorizing human beings in the waking world. Seeing the prince navigating both worlds was sufficient to present the possible threat, but if there is a sequel, that story could be the focal point. While the Realm of Terror is a monarchy, Procustes is more interested in the power that they wield in the real world, not holding power over his fellow subjects, who could easily occupy their own individual movies, which proves how individuated a mass can be even when they get a sliver of spotlight.
Francisca’s challenge is to figure out who she is without any of them defining her while not necessarily throwing them all out but finding a way to incorporate them and see them accurately. “I Am Frankelda” perfectly depicts how she transmutes her real-life pain into beauty, but because they are terrors, there is still the innate danger of getting so lost in that world, that she is no longer functioning in the real world and becomes imprisoned in her gift. Francisca’s transformation into Frankelda carries the danger of separating her from life experiences because why not stay in a world that she created as opposed to staying in the world that mostly inflicts trauma. It seems like a no brainer until the Realm of Terrors turns on her. The implicit lesson is that there needs to be a balance between living in the waking world and in her imagination. Also let’s hear it for a film that portrays women’s justified anger as a positive trait while still being fearsome.
“I Am Frankelda” is an undeniable feast for the eyes. Every shot is ornate, baroque and lyrical. While there is a lot of dialogue, there is a sumptuous visual language complementing it. Is the average American going to be sophisticated enough to understand what is being conveyed in the imagery that is not spelled out in the dialogue? They will get the rough jist. For instance, the denouement toggles between realms and numerous characters. It is hard to discern where every character is in relation to each other and what is happening to them without having that rewind button. Occasionally it feels as if some connective tissue is missing between scenes so if you get confused, do not feel too bad about it.
Think of “I Am Frankelda” or Guillermo del Toro influenced work as the equivalent of an even better Tim Burton meets Edward Gorey visual style. Just because the Ambriz brothers are trucking in nightmare imagery, it does not mean that they are promoting nefarious values though expect people to steer clear of the film because of its delight in such imagery. The film feels as if it takes the flat, two-dimensional aesthetic of a golden book, transforms it into a three dimensional, weighty and textured storybook that is as big as a person’s torso before breathing into life. It is going to be easy for viewers to forget that they are not watching real people even though the appearance is fantastical.
“I Am Frankelda” is an instant children’s fantasy classic that sadly will not be on the big screen but fortunately will be available for home viewing to a wide audience. The music is good within the context of the story, but it is unlikely that the music will make it viral and create a demand for the big screen like “KPop Demon Hunters” (2025). I would love people to prove me wrong because it is a strong contender as the best movie of the weekend.
