''La liga de los 5'' () is a 2020 Mexican
animated
Animation is a method by which still figures are manipulated to appear as moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Today, most anim ...
superhero
A superhero or superheroine is a stock character that typically possesses ''superpowers'', abilities beyond those of ordinary people, and fits the role of the hero, typically using his or her powers to help the world become a better place, ...
comedy film
A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...
, produced by
Ãnima and directed by Marvick Núñez in his directorial debut.
The film stars the Spanish voices of
Regina Blandón
Regina Blandón (born July 25, 1990) is a Mexican actress. She is known for her role as Bibi P. Luche in the sitcom, '' La familia P. Luche''. Blandón is the daughter of actor Roberto Blandón.
Biography
Blandón was born on July 25, 1990, a ...
and
Mariana Treviño
Mariana Treviño Ortiz (born 21 November 1977) is a Mexican stage and screen actress from Monterrey. She became known to a wider domestic audience through her role as Lupita in the popular jukebox musical ''Mentiras el musical, Mentiras'', which ...
.
The film is Mexico's first take on the'superhero' genre, in style of that of ''
The Avengers
Avenger, Avengers, The Avenger, or The Avengers may refer to:
Arts and entertainment In the Marvel Comics universe
* Avengers (comics), a team of superheroes
** Avengers (Marvel Cinematic Universe), a central team of protagonist superheroes o ...
'', combined with traditional Latin American elements and legends.
The film was released in theaters in
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
on January 10, 2020.
Plot
Years ago, a team of superheroes knwon as the Liga de los 5 are on a mission to rescue Chema and Dolores, the team leaders' children, from Tin MarÃn. Chema and Dolores' mother decides to give in to complete a ritual Tin MarÃn was conducting, in exchange for her children. As their father and the rest of the team attempt to stop Tin MarÃn, the place collapses and kills Chema and Dolores' parents in the process.
In the present day, Chema, who has the ability to emanate
capsaicin
Capsaicin (8-methyl-''N''-vanillyl-6-nonenamide) ( or ) is an active component of chili peppers, which are plants belonging to the genus ''Capsicum''. It is a chemical irritant for mammals, including humans, and produces a sensation of burning ...
and turn his surroundings
pungent
Pungency () refers to the taste of food commonly referred to as spiciness, hotness or heat, found in foods such as chili peppers. Highly pungent tastes may be experienced as unpleasant. The term piquancy () is sometimes applied to foods with a l ...
, and Dolores, who can turn into a ghost —similarly as how her mother did— now live a civilian life with the team's gadgetman Tuerkas. After an inccident in which Dolores uses her powers gets uploaded to the internet, Tin MarÃn locates their house and kidnaps her. Tuerkas introduces Chema to the remaining Liga de los 5 team members: Catrina, a living skeleton who can
manipulate
Manipulation may refer to:
*Manipulation (psychology) - the action of manipulating someone in a clever or unscrupulous way
*Crowd manipulation - use of crowd psychology to direct the behavior of a crowd toward a specific action
::*Internet manipu ...
bones and use them under her will; Tetlepanquetzal (or Tetle for short), an
Aztec
The Aztecs () were a Mesoamerican culture that flourished in central Mexico in the post-classic period from 1300 to 1521. The Aztec people included different Indigenous peoples of Mexico, ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those g ...
warrior who can turn into any animal he touches; and Tuna Guzmán, a
lucha libre
Lucha libre (, meaning "freestyle wrestling" or literally translated as "free fight") is the term used in Latin America for professional wrestling. Since its introduction to Mexico in the early 20th century, it has developed into a unique form ...
wrestler whose body can produce spines and cactus
sap
Sap is a fluid transported in xylem cells (vessel elements or tracheids) or phloem sieve tube elements of a plant. These cells transport water and nutrients throughout the plant.
Sap is distinct from latex, resin, or cell sap; it is a separa ...
. Chema, Catrina, and Tetle go to recruit Tuna; as he gets into and argument with his employer, Tuerkas informs the team that Tin MarÃn is at the
Museum of Anthropology
This is a list of museums with major collections in ethnography and anthropology. It is sorted by descending number of objects listed.
# Canadian Museum of History, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
#: 3.75 million artifacts
# Musée du quai Branly, P ...
getting his hands on a dagger needed for a ritual. Tin MarÃn steals it, but Tuna reveals he had replaced the original dagger with a decoy and kept the original one, although it got stolen from him before.
The team head to the
Lagunilla market in hopes to find the dagger. Unbeknownst to them, Tin MarÃn tracks them down and retrieves the authentic dagger. Meanwhile, at Tin MarÃn's hideout, Dolores learns that Tin MarÃn wants to summon a supernatural entity known as Dr. Vampiro who could resurrect his daughter. The next day, Chema and Tuna find Tin MarÃn's hideout after Chema realizes he was given a flyer about a local fair earlier. After their sneak-in goes awry, Catrina and Tetle arrive in a modified bus and save both of them but the bus gets stuck in the underground. Tin MarÃn summons Dr. Vampiro but he is deceived by Dr. Vampiro as he does not resurrect his daughter as he had promised. The team escapes from the bus and Chema frees Dolores with the help of a redeemed Tin MarÃn, who sacrifices himself to liberate Dolores.
Dr. Vampiro gives sentinence to various landmarks of Mexico City; including Tláloc's fountain, the
Angel of Independence
The Angel of Independence, most commonly known by the shortened name ''El Ãngel'' and officially known as ''Monumento a la Independencia'' ("Monument to Independence"), is a victory column on a roundabout on the major thoroughfare of Paseo de l ...
, the Cabeza de Juárez monument, and the
Monument to the Revolution, to cause havoc in the city. Catrina, Tetle, and Tuna successfully stop them as Chema and Dolores join powers to defeat Dr. Vamprio, he is defeated and crushed by the
Estela de Luz
The Estela de Luz (Stele of Light) is a monument in Mexico City built in 2011 to commemorate the bicentenary of Mexico's independence from Spanish rule. Its design was the winning entry in an invited competition to seek the best combination of Me ...
. The reunited Liga the los 5 are recognized as saviors of the city.
Voice cast
*José Ãngel Torres as Chema
*
Regina Blandón
Regina Blandón (born July 25, 1990) is a Mexican actress. She is known for her role as Bibi P. Luche in the sitcom, '' La familia P. Luche''. Blandón is the daughter of actor Roberto Blandón.
Biography
Blandón was born on July 25, 1990, a ...
as Dolores
*
Mariana Treviño
Mariana Treviño Ortiz (born 21 November 1977) is a Mexican stage and screen actress from Monterrey. She became known to a wider domestic audience through her role as Lupita in the popular jukebox musical ''Mentiras el musical, Mentiras'', which ...
as La Catrina
*
Mario Iván MartÃnez
Mario Iván MartÃnez (born Mario Iván MartÃnez Morales on February 17, 1962, in Mexico City, Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered ...
as Dr. Vampiro
*César Filio as La Tuna Guzmán
Production
The film has been in development at
Mexico City
Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...
-based
Ãnima, which worked on such animated content as ''
El Chavo Animado
''El Chavo Animado'' (''El Chavo: The Animated Series'' in English) is a Mexican animated series based on the live action television series ''El Chavo del Ocho'', created by Roberto Gómez Bolaños, produced by Televisa and Ãnima Estudios. It a ...
'' and the ''
Leyendas'' franchise. Producer and company president, Fernando de Fuentes, stated that one of the film's goals was for it to push beyond the beliefs of the national limits of the superhero film category. He said that the film has been planned for a prolonged time.
"What we want is to break the myth that there are only superheroes in other countries and show that you can have your own, very Mexican, everywhere and types," the producer said. "It is a project that we have been polishing for a long time to do it."
Marvick Núñez, the film's director, has faced the challenge of making the film's superhero effort, similar to the
Marvel Cinematic Universe
The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is an American media franchise and shared universe centered on a series of superhero films produced by Marvel Studios. The films are based on characters that appear in American comic books published by ...
films, due to the fact that the genre has not been implemented in
Mexico's film industry.
Núñez wanted to introduce a "different world" based on life in
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
, but also focus more on the characters' superpowers rather than the stereotypes.
“There was a boom with
Marvel
Marvel may refer to:
Business
* Marvel Entertainment, an American entertainment company
** Marvel Comics, the primary imprint of Marvel Entertainment
** Marvel Universe, a fictional shared universe
** Marvel Music, an imprint of Marvel Comics
...
and for years we have seen what happens with them
.." said the director. "The instruction by the executive production was to make these Mexican characters
but also have comedy
..Te fun thing about doing this was that we did it as a team and we were all on the same channel.".
This is the first feature project Núñez has worked on, and with Ãnima Estudios. Prior to the film, he worked traditional animation projects in 1996 before studying at
Escuela Nacional de Artes Plásticas (now Faculty of Arts and Design).
He later founded the TerrÃcola Studio in 2004 where he worked as an art and animation director, as well as taking part in 2D and CG animation.
During an interview with
Proceso, he explains the goal to make the first superhero film of Mexico and said that "
..e thought about our opportunity to include ourselves in this train, and from there the story and the characters took shapeâ€.
Núñez added that, "
e criterion was: what would the superheroes be like if they really existed here? What would be a Mexican power and give rise to comedy? That's why Chema has the power to enchilar, but he enchila himself, so it seems more than carrying a curse."
Regina Blandón
Regina Blandón (born July 25, 1990) is a Mexican actress. She is known for her role as Bibi P. Luche in the sitcom, '' La familia P. Luche''. Blandón is the daughter of actor Roberto Blandón.
Biography
Blandón was born on July 25, 1990, a ...
, who voices Dolores, has explained the film's focused value of directing its superhero effort beyond Mexico's traditions.
“It seems to me that much of the value of the film is precisely in that, that not only do the ''Avengers'' exist, but we see our culture reflected in superheroes where one of them has the power to "spice"
..omeone else. There is a
catrina, an
Aztec
The Aztecs () were a Mesoamerican culture that flourished in central Mexico in the post-classic period from 1300 to 1521. The Aztec people included different Indigenous peoples of Mexico, ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those g ...
warrior and more. The intention is to rescue our traditions and make a film that goes beyond what we are used to," said Blandón.
Animation
The film uses the 2D tween ("flash") animation format with computer-generated backgrounds for certain sequences, making it the first original 2D feature production from
Ãnima outside of their ''
Leyendas'' franchise since 2012.
Casting
Regina Blandón
Regina Blandón (born July 25, 1990) is a Mexican actress. She is known for her role as Bibi P. Luche in the sitcom, '' La familia P. Luche''. Blandón is the daughter of actor Roberto Blandón.
Biography
Blandón was born on July 25, 1990, a ...
, voice of Dolores has expressed during an interview with
El Sol de Mexico the complexity of her voice role, saying that "
..t's a challenge, it's too complex
..This particular project caught my attention for the opportunity to do dubbing.â€
As a fan of animation, Blandón said that she also faced the challenge of recording her character's lines as she must have a tone similar to a 15-year-old, which her character is aged.
“I am almost 30 and I speak like José José,†Blandón said. “
e director asked me to do it more and
re
cute
Cuteness is a subjective term describing a type of attractiveness commonly associated with youth and appearance, as well as a scientific concept and analytical model in ethology, first introduced by Konrad Lorenz. Lorenz proposed the concept ...
It was about channeling my "chavita" voice and I think it was achieved;
was a new experience and a great acting challenge.â€
Music
Pablo Borghi has composed music for the film with an orchestral performance in Bratislava, Slovakia.
Release
The film was released in theaters in Mexico on January 10, 2020.
The film opened in 10th on its first weekend, grossing $4.6 million
peso
The peso is the monetary unit of several countries in the Americas, and the Philippines. Originating in the Spanish Empire, the word translates to "weight". In most countries the peso uses the Dollar sign, same sign, "$", as many currencies na ...
s (US$0.2 million).
The film was available for streaming in the United States through
Pantaya
Pantaya is an American OTT streaming service targeted for Hispanic and Spanish-language viewers. Content includes programs and films released in Latin America and original programming, as well as Spanish dubs from Lionsgate's select catalogue.
...
.
Critical reception
The film received mostly favorable reviews. On
Tomatazos
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...
, it has a "Fresh" score of 90% of positive critic reviews.
Awards and nominations
References
External links
Official Website*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Liga De Los 5, La
2020 films
2020 animated films
2020s Spanish-language films
Mexican animated films
Mexican children's films
Ãnima Estudios films
2020s children's comedy films
2020s children's fantasy films
Films set in Mexico
2020 action comedy films
2020s animated superhero films
Flash animated films
Animated feature films