During one portion of the footage I recognized a familiar tune that I couldn’t quite peg that eventually revealed itself to be a south-of-the-border take on Mumford and Sons “I Will Wait.” I’m not really a fan of that song, but I liked how the film recontextualized something so inherently anglo and made it its own. Perhaps the biggest surprise was the use of music. There’s also The Land of the Forgotten which is downright gothic in foggy atmosphere. For instance, the vibrant, almost neon, image you see on the film’s poster is from The Land of the Remembered. It also appears that, structurally speaking, the film cycles though several unique worlds and aesthetics throughout its three acts.

Even though both Manolo and Joaquin are very much vying for her affections, it’s clear that she doesn’t “need” a man to achieve her sense of self. I especially liked how capable and independent Saldana’s Maria seemed. The central love triangle is, by all appearances, handled deftly and with a great deal of warmth (with the vocal talents of Diego Luna, Zoe Saldana and Channing Tatum helping thing pop just a little more). The Book of Life opens in 3D on October 17th. If you haven't seen the trailer you can fix that here. The film also features the voices of Hector Elizondo, Christina Applegate, Ron Perlman, Danny Trejo, Ice Cube, and Placido Domingo.

Hit the jump to for more on The Book of Life footage presentation.

Over the course of the fantastical story, audiences are taken to The Land of the Living, the Land of the Remembered, and the Land of the Forgotten as Manolo seeks to live a complete and fulfilling life that is remembered by the living. Manolo is the central character of the story, as he dreams of breaking his family tradition of bullfighting to become a guitar player.

The Book Of Life revolves around three childhood friends-Manolo ( Diego Luna), Maria ( Zoe Saldana), and Joaquin ( Channing Tatum)-who find themselves in a love triangle as the gods wager on who will win Maria’s heart. It was also largely fantastic, priming me for the full experience in October. Normally I’m not into footage presentations but this one was far enough ahead of release to get behind. This movie is now on my radar in a major way. That won’t be a problem now since I just got back from a footage presentation (along with a Q&A with del Toro and director Jorge Gutierrez) on the Fox Lot. And, as I was listing them off, I totally forgot to include The Book of Life. Just yesterday I was doing a news update on Guillermo del Toro’s potentially upcoming Haunted Mansion and found myself marveling at the amount of projects he has in the pipeline, either as a director or producer.

The book of life movie