I Am Frankelda (2025)
There is no way to create a feature made of stop-motion animation and not have a real passion. Painstakingly slow and tedious to make, stop-motion animation has led to some of the most creative and inspired animated features, with I Am Frankelda being the first stop-motion animated feature to come from Mexico. A spinoff of the stop-motion animated television show Frankelda's Book of Spooks, I Am Frankelda serves as an introduction to the show's main character, a young writer named Frankelda (Mireya Mendoza), who is brought as a ghost to the damaged Realm of Imagination, which she has the power to save through her creativity and storytelling. Not only is I Am Frankelda a beautifully animated film, but it is also a charming experience that finds substance by looking at the heart of an artist and the relationship between artist, art, and audience.
For those on social media, it is likely that clips or pictures of I Am Frankelda have made it onto their timeline as multiple teases for the film have gone viral, even attracting the attention and praise of Guillermo del Toro. It is easy to see why, as the visual presentation of the film is stunning. Even with a lower budget and production size than many other recent stop-motion features, I Am Frankelda stands just as tall with a wonderful eye for color and great creativity in its designs. Everything moves with a perfect craft, and the film feels truly inspired in how it works in pieces of iconography and crafts a visual language. The film pulls from nature, giving the world and its characters a tangible texture, even as it shows something fantastical. Simple choices like putting Procustes (Luis Leonardo Suarez), the Royal Nightmare Writer of the Spooks responsible for horrifying stories, on the body of a tarantula ground the fantasy in a way that elevates how much the audience is able to connect with the film's world, creating a deeper sense of engagement and wonder.
The actual world itself is also simply fun to explore and be in. The Realm of Imagination is divided into different groups representing the different sides of imagination. This can most easily be compared to 1993's The Nightmare Before Christmas with how Henry Selick's feature divides its world between the different holidays. For those who have never seen the original show, the film is completely accessible and does a strong job guiding the audience through these concepts and setting up the dynamics of this fantastical realm.
One immediate concern with films that spend so much effort and imagination on visuals is that they will forget to spend similar time on creating an engaging story and narrative. Many films look beautiful, but have nothing underneath the surface. Luckily, I Am Frankelda is not such a film. Not only does the film play nicely as an imaginative fairy tale, but it also finds a worthy conversation on creating art. For many, including Frankelda, art is an outlet for emotional release and processing. Not all art, especially art that draws from personal feeling, can be made at just anytime. For a successful artist who has pressure from their audience to create more, this can create an unhealthy dynamic, which is rarely discussed. I Am Frankelda perfectly works its way into this conversation among a handful of others that feels like one of the strongest examinations of what it truly means to be an artist on a level that is completely approachable and digestible for younger audiences while maintaining a complexity that will appeal to older audiences. Setting the film in the stakes of a collapsing Realm of Imagination allows the feature to immediately and naturally raise the stakes to create the right pressure for this drama to become heightened and characters to go to extremes without feeling rushed or forced.
While the visuals and writing for the feature are impressive, praise also must be given to the cast, who all excel in their roles, which most reprise from the original show. This pre-built chemistry and understanding of character dynamics lead to an immediate grasp of these characters, both in writing and performance. Mendoza is charming and innocent in her struggles of finding herself as a writer, while the dynamic between Arturo Mercado Jr. (Herneval) and Suarez, as they desperately try to find a way to save their world with their unique ideals, also shines as notably strong.
While there is plenty to point to within I Am Frankelda as being historic or technically impressive, the film rises far beyond these celebrations to become one of the most enchanting features of the year. The writing shows a wonderful understanding of how to build a feature that will be appealing to both fans of the show and those across the world who are being introduced to these characters for the first time. The film clearly understands its characters and world and uses them to build a narrative that is compelling and moving. This is one of the best animated films of the year and deserves the attention it has received.
For those on social media, it is likely that clips or pictures of I Am Frankelda have made it onto their timeline as multiple teases for the film have gone viral, even attracting the attention and praise of Guillermo del Toro. It is easy to see why, as the visual presentation of the film is stunning. Even with a lower budget and production size than many other recent stop-motion features, I Am Frankelda stands just as tall with a wonderful eye for color and great creativity in its designs. Everything moves with a perfect craft, and the film feels truly inspired in how it works in pieces of iconography and crafts a visual language. The film pulls from nature, giving the world and its characters a tangible texture, even as it shows something fantastical. Simple choices like putting Procustes (Luis Leonardo Suarez), the Royal Nightmare Writer of the Spooks responsible for horrifying stories, on the body of a tarantula ground the fantasy in a way that elevates how much the audience is able to connect with the film's world, creating a deeper sense of engagement and wonder.
The actual world itself is also simply fun to explore and be in. The Realm of Imagination is divided into different groups representing the different sides of imagination. This can most easily be compared to 1993's The Nightmare Before Christmas with how Henry Selick's feature divides its world between the different holidays. For those who have never seen the original show, the film is completely accessible and does a strong job guiding the audience through these concepts and setting up the dynamics of this fantastical realm.
One immediate concern with films that spend so much effort and imagination on visuals is that they will forget to spend similar time on creating an engaging story and narrative. Many films look beautiful, but have nothing underneath the surface. Luckily, I Am Frankelda is not such a film. Not only does the film play nicely as an imaginative fairy tale, but it also finds a worthy conversation on creating art. For many, including Frankelda, art is an outlet for emotional release and processing. Not all art, especially art that draws from personal feeling, can be made at just anytime. For a successful artist who has pressure from their audience to create more, this can create an unhealthy dynamic, which is rarely discussed. I Am Frankelda perfectly works its way into this conversation among a handful of others that feels like one of the strongest examinations of what it truly means to be an artist on a level that is completely approachable and digestible for younger audiences while maintaining a complexity that will appeal to older audiences. Setting the film in the stakes of a collapsing Realm of Imagination allows the feature to immediately and naturally raise the stakes to create the right pressure for this drama to become heightened and characters to go to extremes without feeling rushed or forced.
While the visuals and writing for the feature are impressive, praise also must be given to the cast, who all excel in their roles, which most reprise from the original show. This pre-built chemistry and understanding of character dynamics lead to an immediate grasp of these characters, both in writing and performance. Mendoza is charming and innocent in her struggles of finding herself as a writer, while the dynamic between Arturo Mercado Jr. (Herneval) and Suarez, as they desperately try to find a way to save their world with their unique ideals, also shines as notably strong.
While there is plenty to point to within I Am Frankelda as being historic or technically impressive, the film rises far beyond these celebrations to become one of the most enchanting features of the year. The writing shows a wonderful understanding of how to build a feature that will be appealing to both fans of the show and those across the world who are being introduced to these characters for the first time. The film clearly understands its characters and world and uses them to build a narrative that is compelling and moving. This is one of the best animated films of the year and deserves the attention it has received.