rewrite this title I Am Frankelda Review: Netflix’s stop-motion animated Mexican musical is a raw and powerful tale of perseverance

PLOT: Frankelda, a determined 19th-century Mexican writer, journeys into her subconscious to face the monsters she’s written about. Guided by a tormented prince, she must restore the balance between fiction and reality before it’s too late.

REVIEW: When I first heard about Arturo and Roy Ambriz’s I Am Frankelda, I was enchanted. Stop-motion is an animation method I admire, and I’ll take any opportunity to watch it bring characters to life on screen. My father, who loved movies, raised me to respect the hard work that goes into filmmaking, considering the painstaking, methodical effort required to capture a stop-motion animation frame by frame. It is a prequel to the television series Frankelda’s Book of Spooks, the first Mexican film entirely made in stop-motion animation, and features the voices of Mireya Mendoza, Arturo Mercado Jr., and Luis Leonardo Suárez. What the Ambritz brothers and their team have created with I Am Frankelda, a dark fantasy Mexican musical, is nothing short of mesmerizing.

I experienced a storm of nostalgia while watching I Am Frankelda, which reminded me of the late-70s to mid-80s television specials of my youth. The film’s presentation is unlike most stop-motion animated movies made in North America. In its way, I Am Frankelda tells a powerful story about a young writer named Francisca who, in her waking life, is mentally abused since childhood while being surrounded by people (even her own family members) who stifle her gift of storytelling and actively try to prevent her from becoming something more than they could only dream of for themselves. It’s not lost on me that Francisca writes horror stories. She uses the abusive people in her life as inspiration for nightmarish characters in her stories, transmuting their cruelty and channeling the hate into something creative and meaningful.

The bulk of the story takes place in Topus Terrentus, a realm of nightmares on the brink of extinction as the veil between their world and ours begins to fade. As Topus Terrentus falls to ruin, so do its citizens, represented by nightmares given form, and ruled by an ailing king and queen. Meanwhile, their son, an owl-like creature named Prince Herneval, deals with the realm’s own storyteller, Procustes, a deceiver who plans to plagiarize Francisca’s writing to reinvigorate his reputation and seize power.

Narratively, I Am Frankela has a lot going on beneath the surface, with Francisca’s inability to believe in her gift as a storyteller (or to recognize when someone genuinely admires her work) making for the most compelling aspects of the plot. Francisca’s struggle adds a lot of drama and inner turmoil to the tale, while the slow deconstruction of Topus Terrentus and its people feels like a commentary on broken leadership and the idiocy of those in power. Sound familiar? Anyone who calls Procustes’ obvious lies into question is quickly “dealt with,” while those who choose to embrace his lunacy are nothing more than pawns in his deceitful chess game. Francisca’s stories can save Topus Terrentus, but under Procustes’ quill, they’re a tool of destruction.

Visually, I Am Frankela is fascinating. The animation is crude, with the film’s framerate oscillating between a standard 24 frames per second and, seemingly, a much faster rate, even though that’s not the case. Characters and their actions often move too fast, without the action feeling deliberate. Still, the character models are unique in that they look like something you’d find at a craft fair (positive), with expressive, distinct features that are a little off-putting. I loved watching the individual hairs and frayed pieces sway throughout the film, as if someone left a fan on next to the set. This effect gives the film an intriguing sense of motion that I could not look away from.

There’s much to be said about the environments as well. The waking world and the nightmare realm burst with color, haunting architecture, and characters that give both territories tons of personality. I adore the lake of grasping hands in Topus Terrentus, while the scenes featuring Francisca’s family are strikingly beautiful. If the story doesn’t move you, the film’s overall look is worth the price of admission. I love experiencing animation from another culture, and seeing that culture reflected in the art, characters, and worldbuilding feels like a rare treat. We need more diversity in animation, and I Am Frankela serves as a reminder that creativity exists all over the world and should be encouraged, never stifled.

In addition to telling Francisca’s harrowing story of identity and creativity, I Am Frankela is also a musical. While the lyrics enrich the plot, the songs are too operatic for my taste. Music is subjective, of course, so your mileage may vary. I wondered who the songs were for, though. They feel too grandiose to be earworms for children and hinder any sense of urgency, distracting from the need for Francisca to share her gift of the written word and help heal Topus Terrentus.

I Am Frankela is something special that could spark a lot of conversation among animation enthusiasts. I adore the film’s tactile feel, with imperfections in the animation and character models proudly on display. The film feels raw in a way that helps me appreciate its seams, and the Harryhausen-esque stop-motion approach feels nostalgic and refreshingly abnormal. I Am Frankela shines brightest when it tells Francisca’s story of overcoming adversity and of sharing your creativity despite those who attempt to silence you. It’s important to keep in mind that the film is largely self-funded, making its mere existence a unicorn of filmmaking. Knowing this, I Am Frankelda is a rare example of unrelenting passion set in motion. I applaud the Ambriz brothers and their team for creating something powerful, and I look forward to what they do next.

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