Leyendas (franchise)
| Leyendas | |
|---|---|
| File:Leyendas.png Spanish logo for the Legend Quest series | |
| Created by | Ricardo Arnaiz[1] |
| Owner | Ánima Estudios |
| Films and television | |
| Film(s) |
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| Television series |
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| Games | |
| Video game(s) |
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Leyendas is an animated horror-comedy film franchise created by Ricardo Arnaiz and produced by Mexican animation studio, Ánima Estudios. It consists of five films, a television series, and a gaming application.[1] It centers on Leo San Juan, a heroic preteen boy who can communicate with ghosts and monsters, Teodora, a sassy preteen ghost girl with a know-it-all personality, Don Andrés, an amicable but loony old knight, Alebrije, a mild-mannered mythological creature, and Finado and Moribunda, two charming calavera children.[2] Each film is based on a Mexican legend, and are set during the 1800s timeline.[1][3]
The franchise began in 2007 with the release of La Leyenda de la Nahuala, directed by creator Ricardo Arnaiz and produced by Puebla-based Animex Producciones. The film was later followed by La Leyenda de la Llorona in 2011, La Leyenda de las Momias de Guanajuato in 2014, La Leyenda del Chupacabras in 2016, and La Leyenda del Charro Negro in 2018, all of which are produced by Ánima Estudios and directed and co-written by Alberto Rodríguez.[1] The franchise has also been spawned into a Netflix original series, titled Legend Quest.[2]
It is the only film franchise in Mexico, which is a rare instance within the country's domestic film industry.[1] As such, the franchise has become widely popular within the country and often achieves successful box-office numbers, with Chupacabras currently being the highest-grossing film.[4]
Films
La Leyenda de la Nahuala (2007)
The first film, La Leyenda de la Nahuala was released on 1 November 2007 in Mexico with 350 copies, directed by Ricardo Arnaiz and produced by Animex Producciones.[3][5] The film has performed well at the Mexican box-office, grossing a total of $42.2 million pesos (US$4.03 million), which was one of the highest-grossing Mexican films at the time.[6] Based on the 'Nahuala' legend and receiving the support of the state of Puebla, the film is written by Omar Mustre and Antonio Garci, and features the voices of famous Mexican actors, including Andrés Bustamante, Jesús Ochoa, Rafael Inclán, Martha Higareda, Manuel 'Loco' Valdés, and Pierre Angelo.[3][7] Set in 1807 at the city of Puebla de Los Angeles, the film centers on Leo San Juan, a cowardly 9-year-old boy, summons the courage to rescue his older brother, Nando, from an abandoned house possessed by an evil witch, known as the 'Nahuala', with the aide of his new ghost friends.[8] The success of the film has launched a franchise, to which Arnaiz have given the license and characters to Ánima Estudios.[1]
La Leyenda de la Llorona (2011)
A sequel, La Leyenda de la Llorona, based on the La Llorona ("The Weeping Woman") legend figure, was released on 21 October 2011 with 225 to 300 copies.[9] Unlike its predecessor, it was produced by Ánima Estudios and directed and co-written by Alberto Rodríguez, which he and the company have taken over the production of further films.[9][1] Additionally, the film also uses flash animation for the film and its successors (excluding Chupacabras; see below). The film is written by Ricardo Arnaiz, the predecessor's director, Jesús Guzmán, and Omar Mustre, who also written the preceding film.[9] Some of the previous film's voice cast reprise their roles, while some actors, such as Andrés Bustamante, were replaced by new voice actors. The film picks up from Nahuala and follows the new adventures of Leo San Juan with his gang, Don Andrés, Alebrije, Teodora, Finado and Moribunda. Taking place in ancient Xochimilco, Leo falls out of the crew's ship where he meets a young village girl, named Kika, who is on her journey to find her lost brother, Beto, where they encounter the 'Llorona', while the rest of his gang end up in the La Isla de las Munecas ('Puppets' Island').[10] The film did not receive support from any Mexican state.[3] It was another box-office success, earning $8 million pesos on its opening weekend, and grossing a total of $55.3 million pesos (US$2.9 million), performing better than its predecessor.[10][11]
La Leyenda de las Momias de Guanajuato (2014)
The third film, La Leyenda de las Momias de Guanajuato, was released on 30 October 2014 with 700 copies in regular and 4DX formats, a first for a Mexican film.[3] The film is a fictionalization of the origin of the mummies, notably from the Guanajuato region. It follows Leo San Juan and his gang now trying to find Xóchitl in Guanajuato who was kidnapped by Rosseau, an old wizard who has the ability to awaken the mummies from the dead. Along the way, Leo teams up with Valentina, disguised as her alter-ego Luis, who is on her own journey to find her father. Director Alberto Rodríguez returns to direct for the second time, and makes his writing debut, alongside with the screenplay by Jesús Guzmán, Ricardo Arnaiz, and Dulce María Guerrero. Momias was not produced with the support of the Mexican federal government, due to disapproval; however, it did receive support from the state government of Guanajuato.[3] Despite the lack of national support, Momias is a major box-office success, and the first in the series to surpass $50 million pesos; grossing a total of $92.2 million pesos (US$4.9 million).[11] As the voice cast from Llorona reunites for the third film, among the newcomers is Benny Emmanuel, known for La CQ, as the voice of Leo San Juan, who has been the present voice actor for the character since Momias. Alongside, Eduardo "Lalo" España, a Mexican actor and comedian, joins the franchise cast as the new character, Evaristo, an alebrije with a smooth personality, while Alejandra Müller, a teen actress who is also an alumnus of La CQ, voices Valentina, a girl who Leo helps find Rosseau.[12]
La Leyenda del Chupacabras (2016)
La Leyenda del Chupacabras, the fourth film, was released on 21 October 2016.[1] The story is based on the chupacabra creature. In the film, while on his way home to Puebla, Leo and his fellow rebel mates get caught up in a civil war where they get locked up in Irapuato. When the 'chupacabra' invades the prison, Leo calls the help of his friend, Teodora, to discover the origin and arrival of the creature as he escapes with his inmates. The films' past characters, including Don Andrés and Xochitl, were left absent, while Fernando "Nando" San Juan, Leo's older brother from Nahuala, makes a return to the franchise. The film also uses traditional animation, which is the first time since Nahuala and the first during the Ánima Estudios era. In another series first, the film was released in the United States on 14 October 2016, one week prior to its release in Mexico. Distributed by Pantelion Films, a major American film distributor for Latin American-themed films, the film was shown in the original Spanish-language format with English subtitles.[13] Despite receiving negative reviews, the film is another major box-office success, grossing a total of $100.7 million pesos (US$5.4 million), making it the highest-grossing film in the franchise and currently the only one to surpass the $100 million peso-mark.[11][14] While the Momias voice cast return for the fourth film, Rafael Inclán did not return to voice Alebrije, where he was replaced by dubbing actor Herman López.
La Leyenda del Charro Negro (2018)
La Leyenda del Charro Negro, the fifth entry, was released on 19 January 2018, as opposed to previous films which were normally released on an October.[11] It picks up from Chupacabras where Leo San Juan and his brother Nando head home to Puebla. Along the way, Leo encounters the 'Charro Negro' ("Black Charro") who confuses him and causes a girl to be cast into the underworld. He enlists the help of his friends to correct his mistakes and take on the 'Charro Negro' once and for all.[11] Charro Negro marks the return of some of the past films' characters, such as Don Andrés and Xochitl, while also featuring cameos of other returning characters and references the entire franchise elements.[15][16] Along with the returning voice cast of the Momias and Chupacabras, Mexican actor Erick Elías voices the 'Charro Negro'.[17]
Possible sequels and future of franchise
While Charro Negro is rumored to be the last film in the franchise, director Alberto Rodríguez has stated the possibility of a new film, due to the amount of potential and "many more doors to explore", but would require the creation of new characters.[18] Andrés Couturier, the voice of Don Andrés and manager at Ánima Estudios, said that he wouldn't be "surprised to see crossovers or spin-offs of Las Leyendas."[18] Rodríguez stated that Charro Negro would be his last film, as he has expressed interest in making new projects outside of the franchise. "I feel that my cycle is already finished in terms of [Leyendas]. I already want to do other things, but we are still involved in the development of other things that come for the Leyendas," he said.[15]
Television series
A Netflix original series based on the characters, named Legend Quest (a.k.a Las Leyendas), premiered in 2017 in 30 languages, making it the platform's first original animated series produced in Latin America.[2]
Voice cast (Spanish)
| Characters | Films | Television series | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| La Leyenda de la Nahuala | La Leyenda de la Llorona | La Leyenda de las Momias de Guanajuato | La Leyenda del Chupacabras | La Leyenda del Charro Negro | Legend Quest | |
| 2007 | 2011 | 2014 | 2016 | 2018 | 2017 — Present | |
| Leo San Juan | Fabrizio Santini | Yair Prado | Benny Emmanuel | |||
| Teodora Villavicencio | Mayte Cordeiro | |||||
| Don Andrés Artasánchez | Andrés Bustamante | Andrés Couturier | Picture only | Andrés Couturier | ||
| El Alebrije de la Biblioteca | Rafael Inclán | Herman López | Ricardo O'Farrill | |||
| Xochitl Ahuactzin | Martha Higareda | Annie Rojas | Annie Rojas | |||
| Evaristo | Eduardo "Lalo" España | |||||
| Fernando "Nando" San Juan | Bruno Coronel | Emilio Treviño | ||||
| Finado | Silent role | Jesús Guzmán | Daniel del Roble | Bruno Coronel | Silent role | |
| Moribunda | Silent role | Romina Marroquín Payró | Gaby Guzmán | Norma Iturbe | Silent role | |
| La Nahuala | Ofelia Medina | Opening cameo | Flashback | Opening cameo | ||
| Fray Godofredo | Germán Robles | Miguel Couturier | Andrés Couturier | Alejandro Villeli | ||
| Santos Machorro | Jesús Ochoa Mauricio Roldán (young) |
César Terranova | ||||
| Toñita San Juan | María Santander | Ángela Villanueva | ||||
| Nana Dionisia | Luna Arjona | Luna Arjona | ||||
| Sr. Lorenzo Villavicencio | Manuel "El Loco" Valdés | |||||
| Sra. Villavicencio | Ginny Hoffman | |||||
| Sr. López | Carlos Segundo | Mario Castañeda | ||||
| Chichi | Animal sounds only | Humberto Solórzano | ||||
| La Llorona / Yoltzin | Mentioned | Rocío Lara Mercedes Hernández (Yoltzin) |
Flashback | Opening cameo | Opening cameo | |
| Kika | Mónica del Carmen | |||||
| Rosa | Rosario Zúñiga | |||||
| Willy | Miguel Couturier | |||||
| Beto | Erick Cañete | |||||
| Tiro and Pujo | Humberto Solórzano Andrés Couturier (Pujo) |
Humberto Solórzano | ||||
| Pecas | Jesús Guzmán | Roberto Gutiérrez | ||||
| Rousseau | Andrés Couturier | Andrés Couturier | ||||
| Valentina/Luis | Alejandra Müller | |||||
| Don Gaspar | José Luis Orozco | |||||
| Rosendo | Miguel Ángel Ghigliazza | Miguel Ángel Ghigliazza | ||||
| Gloria | Diana Alonso | |||||
| Denise | Alondra Hidalgo | |||||
| Suegro Tzulik | Gerardo Reyero | |||||
| Doctor Merolick | Eduardo "Lalo" España | |||||
| Juanita | Laura G | |||||
| Capitán Mandujano | Oscar Flores | |||||
| General Torreblanca | ||||||
| General Galeana | Mario Arvizu | |||||
| Cacomixtle | Carlo Vázquez | |||||
| Chupacabra / Puma | César Garduza | |||||
| El Charro Negro | Blas García | Humberto Solórzano | Erick Elías | |||
| Beatriz | Andrea Arruti | |||||
| Rupertino | Oscar Flores | |||||
| Gitana | Karen Vallejo | |||||
| Marcella | Alondra Hidalgo | |||||
Crew
| Role | Films | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| La Leyenda de la Nahuala (2007) |
La Leyenda de la Llorona (2011) |
La Leyenda de las Momias de Guanajuato (2014) |
La Leyenda del Chupacabras (2016) |
La Leyenda del Charro Negro (2018) | |
| Director | Ricardo Arnaiz | Alberto Rodríguez | |||
| Producer(s) | Jean Pierre Leleu Ricardo Arnaiz |
Fernando de Fuentes José C. García de Letona | |||
| Associate producer(s) | — | Ricardo Arnaiz | Rogelio Prior | — | |
| Executive producer(s) | Socorro Aguilar Eduardo Jiménez Ahuactzin Paul Rodoreda Núñez |
Alex Garcia | Mariana Suárez Molnar Ricardo Arnaiz |
Mariana Suárez Molnar | — |
| Line producer(s) | — | Gabriela Salazar Francisco Hirata |
Nihurka Zequera Guiza | Michelle Chisikovsky | Nihurka Zequera Guiza |
| Writer(s) | Omar Mustre Antonio Garci |
Omar Mustre Ricardo Arnaiz Jesús Guzmán Based on Characters Created by: Ricardo Arnaiz |
Alberto Rodríguez Dulce María Guerrero Ricardo Arnaiz Jesús Guzmán Based on Characters Created by: Ricardo Arnaiz |
Alberto Rodríguez Acán Cohen Based on Characters Created by: Ricardo Arnaiz |
Alberto Rodríguez David Israel Based on Characters Created by: Ricardo Arnaiz |
| Composer(s) | Gabriel Villar | Leoncio Lara | |||
| Editor | — | Roberto Bolado | Alberto Rodríguez | ||
Box-office results
- † indicates films playing in theaters in the week commencing 1 November 2024.
| Film | Release date | Box office gross (MXN) (est.) | Box office gross (USD) (est.) | Budget | Reference(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| La Leyenda de la Nahuala | 1 November 2007 | $42.2 million | $4.03 million | — | [6][19] |
| La Leyenda de la Llorona | 21 October 2011 | $55.3 million | $2.9 million | $1.3 million | [11][20] |
| La Leyenda de las Momias de Guanajuato | 30 October 2014 | $92.2 million | $6.3 million | $1.3 million | [21][22][11] |
| La Leyenda del Chupacabras | 21 October 2016 | $100.7 million | $5.4 million | $1.6 million | [23][11][14] |
| La Leyenda del Charro Negro † | 19 January 2018 | $100 million | $5.3 million | [to be determined] | [24][25] |
| Total | $389.54 million | $23.93 | $4.2 million | ||
See also
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h Gutiérrez, Vicente (18 October 2016). "Ánima Estudios construye franquicia cinematográfica". El Economista. El Economista. Retrieved 20 February 2018. In Spanish.
- ^ a b c Wolfe, Jennifer (20 February 2017). "Anima Estudios' 'Legend Quest' Debuts on Netflix This Friday!". Animation World Network. Animation World Network. Retrieved 19 February 2018.
- ^ a b c d e f Gutiérrez, Vicente (29 October 2014). "La leyenda de las momias..., animación a la mexicana". El Economista. El Economista. Retrieved 19 February 2018. (in Spanish)
- ^ Valle Vargas, Montserrat (20 February 2018). "'LAS LEYENDAS': PRIMERA SERIE ANIMADA MEXICANA EN LLEGAR A NETFLIX". Expansión. Time, Inc. Retrieved 2 March 2017.
- ^ Estrada, Frank (29 October 2011). "La Leyenda de la Nahuala". Zócalo. Grupo Zócalo. Retrieved 20 February 2018.
- ^ a b "Mexico Box Office April 25–27, 2008 (check "Gross-to-Date")". Box Office Mojo. Amazon.com. Retrieved 7 February 2018.
- ^ "Scary legends Mexican style". TuVez. TuVez. Retrieved 20 February 2018.
- ^ "The Legend of the Nahuala". Recorri2. Recorri2. 25 February 2014. Retrieved 20 February 2018.
- ^ a b c "Leyenda de la Llorona haunts theaters – the movie will be released on October 21st 2011". Anima Estudios News. Anima Estudios, S.A. de C.V. 1 October 2011. Retrieved 20 February 2018.
- ^ a b "La Leyenda de la Llorona recauda mas de 8 mdp". El Universal. El Universal. 25 October 2011. Retrieved 20 February 2018. In Spanish.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Gutiérrez, Vicente (19 February 2018). "La Leyenda del Charro Negro triunfa en la taquilla". El Economista. Periódico El Economista S.A. de C.V. Retrieved 31 January 2018. In Spanish.
- ^ "Ánima Estudios estrenará 'La leyenda de las momias de Guanajuato'". MVS Noticas. MVS Radio. 27 October 2014. Retrieved 20 February 2018.
- ^ "La leyenda de 'El Chupacabras'". Univision. Univision Communications Inc. 8 September 2016. Retrieved 9 September 2016.
- ^ a b Hopewell, John (16 March 2017). "Fewer Juggernauts Push Mexico to All-Time Box Office Record (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety (magazine). Penske Business Media, LLC. Retrieved 20 February 2018.
- ^ a b VÉRTIZ DE LA FUENTE, COLUMBA (24 January 2018). ""La leyenda del Charro Negro" en cines". Proceso (magazine). Proceso Comunicación e Información S.A. de C.V. Retrieved 27 January 2018. In Spanish.
- ^ Ortiz, Cesar Huerta (6 August 2017). "Alistan "La Leyenda del Charro Negro"". El Universal. El Universal. Retrieved 20 February 2018. In Spanish.
- ^ Rosa Camacho, Alma; Lopez, Adolfo (16 January 2018). "Se estrena la cinta La leyenda del Charro Negro". Diario de Queretaro. Editorial Organization Mexicana. Retrieved 28 January 2018. In Spanish.
- ^ a b "EL CHARRO NEGRO, ¿LA ÚLTIMA LEYENDA?". Videocine Distrbucion Noticas. Televisa, S.A. de C.V. 2018. Retrieved 20 February 2018. In Spanish. (Note: date not shown on website)
- ^ "La Leyenda de la Nahuala (2007)". Box Office Mojo. Amazon.com. Retrieved 20 February 2014.
- ^ "La leyenda de la llorona (2011)". Box Office Mojo. Amazon.com. Retrieved 31 May 2013.
- ^ "ANIMA ESTUDIOS prepara sorpresas en cine de animación (in Spanish)". 1 May 2014. Retrieved 20 February 2018.
- ^ "La leyenda de las momias de Guanajuato". Box Office Mojo. Amazon.com. Retrieved 20 February 2018.
- ^ "Cine de animación la apuesta de Fernando de Fuentes". Plano Informativo. Grupo Plano Informativo. 16 October 2016. Retrieved 20 February 2018. In Spanish.
- ^ "La Leyenda del Charro Negro". Box Office Mojo. Amazon.com. Retrieved 20 February 2018.
- ^ "Videocine on Twitter: "#LaLeyendaDelCharroNegro se convierte en un éxito más de la saga de Las Leyendas. ¡Felicidades @helloanima!..."". Twitter. Twitter. 26 February 2018. Retrieved 28 February 2018.