‘I Am Frankelda’: A Handcrafted Nightmare of Pure Magic
I Am Frankelda is a brand new dark fantasy musical, and Mexico’s very first stopmotion feature film. Directed and written by brothers Arturo & Roy Ambriz, the movie is the ideal introduction to their growing Frankelda universe of dark fantasy stories.
The project originally began as a YouTube pilot in 2019. That short grew into Frankelda’s Book of Spooks (2021), a critically acclaimed five-episode miniseries on HBO Max and Cartoon Network. I Am Frankelda is a gorgeous high-production standalone film that serves as both prequel and sequel, filling in Frankelda’s rich backstory while setting up future adventures in their haunting universe.
The story of I Am Frankelda
Produced by the independent Mexican studio Cinema Fantasma, the movie features exceptional voice acting by Mireya Mendoza as Frankelda, along with Arturo Mercado Jr. and Luis Leonardo Suárez. Frankelda’s story starts with loose inspiration from the biography of Mary Shelley, author of Frankenstein.
Set against the backdrop of 19th-century Mexico, Francisca Imelda is a gifted young writer whose eerie tales are dismissed by a rigid society. When she is pulled into a nightmare world where her own fictional monsters come to life, she reinvents herself as the phantom writer Frankelda to help the tormented prince Herneval save his kingdom from total collapse.
As both a child and a woman, Frankelda is constantly dismissed or taken advantage of until she is able to fully reclaim her own narrative. More than a simple horror story, I Am Frankelda is an empowering lesson in believing in yourself and staying true to your identity.
The film also presents an interesting evolution from the shorts that came before it. The original four-minute YouTube pilot introduces Frankelda as a ghostly storyteller reading from her book. The pilot was expanded into the first episode of the TV series Frankelda’s Book of Spooks (2021), which elaborates on that story. It then tells a new short story every episode, in the vein of horror anthologies like Goosebumps and Jim Henson’s The Storyteller. The stories all have tragic endings and would be a thrilling binge for Halloween season. The five-episode series has Frankelda framing the beginning and end of each cautionary tale, and her story is eventually told in the finale.
The new film expands on Frankelda’s story, initially retelling what was shown in the TV series before continuing in an exciting new narrative focused entirely on Frankelda and the lore of the nightmare world.
An animated world of nightmares
Visually, I Am Frankelda is an absolute feast of meticulous craftsmanship. In an era dominated by smooth, computerized effects, this film is refreshingly handmade, preserving the charming smudges and fingerprints that make stop-motion animation so tactile and intimate.
The design choices across the sets and puppets are breathtaking, boasting an incredible range of colors that turn the dark nightmare universe into a kaleidoscopic wonderland of fear, joy, and whimsy. Every character is injected with astonishing personality through micro-expressions and highly individualized physical mannerisms.
One of the standout examples of character design is Procrustes, the film’s magnificent spider villain. The terrifying character is playfully designed with eight legs, eight eyes, eight fingers, and eight chins. The film also pushes its boundaries by incorporating a stunning variety of secondary animation styles during the musical sections. My favorite was a series of breathtaking impressionist movements in the style of Loving Vincent, with shifting textures that reflect the chaos of Frankelda’s subconscious mind in the midst of her nightmarish confusion.
In addition, I Am Frankelda proudly honors its forefathers as well. There is inspiration from the gothic romanticism of Guillermo del Toro and the whimsical gloom of Tim Burton & Henry Selick, while the human expressions of Wallace & Gromit mix fluidly with the creatures of Monsters, Inc. Yet the Ambriz brothers maintain an entirely original vision of magical realism rooted in Mexican folklore and reinterpreted through their unique production aesthetic.
Frankelda deserves rewatches and award recognition
The biggest drawback to Frankelda’s reality-hopping insanity is that the film is simply overwhelming for a single viewing. Watching the minute details of the stop-motion puppets and sets, keeping pace with the ambitious, fast-moving story, and absorbing the emotional depth of Kevin Smithers’ music while trying to read English subtitles is a lot at once.
The film is packed with so much love, lore, and dense imagery that it truly demands a second watch to appreciate it fully. Once familiar with the emotional beats of the story, I might even recommend rewatching the film without subtitles. Stripping away the text would allow the viewer to immerse themselves fully in the emotional language of the visual and musical storytelling.
While buzz has been relatively silent among casual audiences, I Am Frankelda has already earned prestigious accolades across the animation community. This includes the Satoshi Kon Award for Excellence in Animation and a Special Jury Mention at the Fantasia International Film Festival. The film secured a coveted nomination for Best Independent Feature Film at the 53rd Annie Awards, alongside a Platino Award nomination for Best Animation Film. With its recent global distribution rollout through Netflix on June 12, the movie stands as a formidable prospect for upcoming international streaming awards.
Final thoughts on I Am Frankelda
I Am Frankelda is a monumental milestone for Mexican cinema and a glowing love letter to the art of physical animation. Arturo & Roy Ambriz have crafted a feature that balances genuine Gothic chills with a deeply moving story about independence, creative survival, and self-acceptance. It stands as a testament to the potential of stopmotion as one of the most emotionally resonant mediums in filmmaking today and a celebration of the power of international storytelling.
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