And there it is! Here I am, looking for any new thing on a streamer to give some time to. Most of the films are middling affairs, quickly consumed and forgotten. I Am Frankelda shows up on the new arrivals, so I give it a whirl. 30 minutes in, my half watching persona has been completely consumed by something else: euphoria, at the magic unfolding on the screen in front of me, coursing through my body, rising me out of my lying stance into an upright, laser focused position that even a phone couldn’t take me away form. I Am Frankelda is phone repellent, beautiful, sweet phone repellent for the creative soul.
I never watched the series this prequel is based on, so maybe you shouldn’t either to have my otherworldly experience. The story starts in 1860s Monte Video Mexico with a girl, Francisca Imelda (Mireya Mendoza), joyfully writing stories in her book while her mother paints beside her. But being a stop motion animated Guillermo Del Toro inspired story, poor mom is not long for this world. This sends poor Francisca deep into the worlds she writes, which, as it turns out, are a real altered dimensional place called Topus Terrenus, feeding off of human fear. Key people in that world are the King Ficturo (Beto Castillo), Queen Veritena (Gaby Cardenas), and their son Prince Herneval (Arturo Mercado Jr.). Oh, and of course Proscutes (Luis Leonardo Suarez), the nightmare storyteller helping scare Francisca into writing more.
I could write more, but frankly I want everyone to know as little as possible to go into I Am Frankelda with an open heart and mind. The stop motion animation in this movie (independently financed!) is as stunning as any previous movie like it, and honestly, as good as the best of Pixar or Disney. Each minute in either Monte Video or Topus Terrenus, the Ambriz brothers (Arturo and Roy) give us something Tim Burton, Travis Knight or Guillermo Del Toro would be praised for as a highlight of their films. EACH MINUTE. I couldn’t believe how deep and expansive the world gets, journeying all over the place from gorgeous serene hillsides to hand clouds traversed by literal dogships, to Proscutes’s underground lairs filled with a new stop motion gothic creature every time the camera flings somewhere else. I think I saw my first battle sequence in stop motion, expertly produced. And that’s not even counting the incredible musical sequences, all editing magnificently across various art styles. The Ambriz Brothers make I Am Frankelda feel like pure creativity is directing the movie, uninhibited by any rules, reveling in the joy of what we all get to experience together.
On top of this beauty is an incredible tale to match. I Am Frankelda is must watch material for any parents and their artistic kids, especially girls, between 8 and 12 years old. Francisca is a wonderful heroine for them. The world does not understand her tales of horrors that seemingly break the “rules” society expects from girls like her. And yet, Francisca knows in her heart her writing is not just her respite from the world, but her salvation against the sadness life can bring, in spite of what people like her abuela (Magda Giner) or Proscutes might feel about her work, awakening powers strong enough to fight against even the most powerful. Topus Terrenus’s residents are wonderfully drawn/assembled too. Herneval comes across with his heart in the right place, trapped by the gears of fear and power in his society, trying to figure out how to trail blaze through them. Proscutes in another story would have been a silly two dimensional spider nightmare, but he rises above his shortcomings to actually become a truly worthy adversary, motivated by not just self interest, and cunning enough to use the societal mechanics for his own benefit. Even small characters like royal guard Ceimut (Carlos Segundo) or the other clan leaders in Topus Terranus aren’t one dimensional, earning the already intricate complex creature designs added shading simply through wonderfully conceived writing and storytelling.
I let out a whimper when I Am Frankelda ended, not wanting it to be over. For just under 2 hours I wasn’t on my couch watching the latest Netflix release. I was in Topus Terrenus, with Herneval and Francisca on their journey to try to save the world through the Ambriz brothers unholy gorgeous combination of The Neverending Story and The Chronicles of Narnia. And for the beautiful misunderstood artists children who find this review, the world might not understand you, but always remember that your art gives you power, a power that no one else has but you, and by using your power you will inevitably make the world a better place.