Film Review: NAHUEL AND THE MAGIC BOOK: Animated Film Looks Great But Needs Some Stronger Character Development [AIF 2021]

Nahuel and the Magic Book Review

Nahuel and the Magic Book (2020) Film Review from the 4th Annual Animation Is Film Festival, a movie directed by German Acuna and starring Consuelo Pizarro, Marcelo Liapiz, Muriel Benavides, Vanesa Silva, Jorge Lillo, Sebastian Dupont, Sandro Larenas and Sergio Schmied.

Nahuel and the Magic Book is a Chilean animated picture from filmmaker German Acuna with some terrific images, a well-imagined villain and not a lot of substance otherwise. That’s not always a bad thing but here, some of the character development is so run-of-the-mill that audiences have come to expect more from today’s animated pictures. With that being said, there are also some very good intentions here and the scenes between the protagonist Nahuel and the villain Kalku create some real tension which makes the film at least partly successful. It’s the more grounded scenes between Nahuel and his dad that could have used some more fleshing out.

Nahuel (voice of Consuelo Pizarro) is a young boy who lost his mother and, as a result, is terrified of the sea. When curious Nahuel follows a cat, he discovers an old book called the Levisterio which is heavily protected yet still manages to end up in Nahuel’s hands. This book is replete with magic spells and there is an evil sorcerer character called Kalku (voice of Marcelo Liapiz) who is ready to get the book from Nahuel for his own wicked schemes.

There is a lot of focus on the troubled relationship between Nahuel and his fisherman father Antonio (voice of Jorge Lillo). Nahuel can’t get anything right with his dad and even ends up losing the eggs he is asked by his dad to buy in a series of events. Without giving too much away, the movie predictably shows how Nahuel will overcome his fears in order to make his father proud and save the day. Nahuel’s goal is the take the bravery spell from the magic book and change his own characteristics in order to salvage his troubled relationship with his father. But, Kalku’s involvement is a barrier to Nahuel’s goals as Antonio and Nahuel become separated and Nahuel must employ the help of the very knowledgeable Fresia (Muriel Benavides) to find his dad.

One can relate to Nahuel but the film needed more substance in the early scenes between him and his dad. As it is, it seems like Nahuel is simply a screw up and it’s his own fault he can’t get things on track with his dad. Nahuel is obviously mourning the loss of his mother but the movie seems to be fulfilling its own agenda in the beginning rather than letting things happen organically in the plot. One wishes they didn’t make the father/son relationship so sloppy and that the filmmakers balanced out the plot details with some more believable barriers to the father and son forming a real bond.

The portrayal of the evil warlock, Kalku, is very strong and when the bad guy is more properly developed than the hero in an animated movie, there will be problems. I liked the ravens that Kalku had backing him up in his dire plans to unleash some powerful spells. There are a number of scenes where Kalku wickedly goes after fulfilling his evil desires and these sequences are the best part of the movie. Only later in the film when Nahuel grows much stronger, do we really root for Nahuel and want to see him re-establish his bond with his father. It’s to the film’s credit that the character development is eventually salvaged but more was required in the opening scenes for a fully fleshed out character to evolve from Nahuel.

However, the animation is artistically sufficient and there are some good messages here. There are some scenes that meander on too long as well but, eventually, the movie finds its rhythm and gets the audience emotionally invested in Nahuel and his relationship with his father.

Nahuel and the Magic Book is nothing less than a heartfelt story of the powerful bond between a son and his father. Viewers will find rewards throughout and if they stick with the film all the way through, they’re bound to discover some nice messages and a wickedly fine villain as well.

Rating: 6/10

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