La leyenda del Chupacabras


Legend Quest: The Legend of the Chupacabra is a 2016 Mexican animated horror comedy film, directed by Alberto Rodriguez. Produced by Ánima Estudios, the film is the fourth installment to the Leyenda film series and its story is inspired by the chupacabras legend.
The film was released theatrically in the United States on October 14, 2016 in limited release, distributed by Pantelion Films and Lionsgate, and in Mexico on October 21, 2016, opening to negative critical reception.
The film is a major box-office success, grossing a total of $100.7 million pesos during its theatrical run in Mexico.

Plot

Taking place right after the events of La Leyenda de las Momias, Leo San Juan has a nightmare of a man wearing a black charro uniform. Before the man could do any harm, Leo is awakened by a man named Mandujano and a group of travelers, telling old war stories in a wagon heading to Leo's hometown, Puebla. When they reach a random checkpoint guarded by Spanish royalists, one of the men, Galeana, is forced to flee. It turns out that he is a high-ranking member of the opposing insurgency, and so are the men who are undercover cadets. Mandujano, the active lieutenant, explains that they are part of a great war for the sake of their freedom from the oppressive forces of the Spanish Empire. Leo agrees to keep their secret as they approach the soldiers. A Royalist Sergeant, Zubieta, inspects Leo and the other men, and approves their innocence. However, one of the soldiers spots Galeana fleeing in the distance. This causes the insurgents to engage in a standoff. One of the soldiers, Licona, takes Leo and holds him at gunpoint, forcing Mandujano and his comrades to surrender.
They are taken into custody along with a decrepit and pale-faced ringmaster named Dr. Merolick, to be brought forth in front of the ruthless General Torreblanca. He offers Leo in exchange of information for freedom. Leo remains silent, enraging the general. Thus, Leo is taken in with the insurgents to an abandoned monastery in the mountains and is sentenced to be executed in the morning. On the route to their cells, Leo discovers that his older brother, Fernando, is a member of the Royalist army. Leo and the other men are taken to their cells and plot their route to freedom.
Meanwhile, back in Guanajuato, Alibrije and Evaristo are having their own antics about getting a girlfriend for Alibrije, but it all backfires on them because of Teodora.
Back at the monastery, two soldiers stand guard at the chapel, converted into a supply room, including a wagon owned by Merolick. However, they are both attacked by a winged creature and are killed, due to the creature sucking the blood from their body. After escaping their cell, with the help of Nando, they find the corpses of the guards. Merolick reveals that the creatures are chupacabras, winged beings that suck the blood from all living things to satisfy their hunger. Now they must escape the monastery without being caught by the surviving guards and chupacabras.
Leo is separated briefly by the group, in which Teodora appears to him. She agrees to help but only if Teodora gives him a haircut. He reluctantly does so and from the top of a mountain a mysterious man dressed as a charro watches over them, while riding his horse.

Cast

Role Actor English Language Dubbing
Leo San JuanBenny EmmanuelAntonio Amadeo
El Alebrije de la BibliotecaHerman LópezAlex Teixeira
Teodora VillavicencioMayté CordeiroPaula Andrea Barros
EvaristoEduardo "Lalo" EspañaHernan Andrio Chavarro
JuanitaLaura "G" GonzálezLissa Grossman Comess
Nando San JuanEmilio TreviñoEric Anderson
Soldado ZubietaAndrés CouturierPaul Louis Muller
Mary la PagadoraDiana AlonsoCrystal Lopez
MerolickEduardo "Lalo" España????
MandujanoOscar Flores????
TorreblancaOscar Flores????
CacomixtleCarlo VázquezJames Keller
GarciaFernando HinojosaPhilip Dubois
JosePedro D'Aguillón Jr.Christopher Jesus Diaz
Soldado AguilarGermán FabregatScott Genn
Soldado CamposMauricio PérezMichael Gallock
Soldado CosioGustavo Adrian Casio HerreraAlexander Michael Jaramillo
Soldado HurtadoAndres Campos????
Soldado LiconaAndres Campos????
Soldado SanchezAndres Campos????
Soldado LariosRicardo Mendoza????
Soldado MartinezJosé Antonio ToledanoChristopher Leigh Jahn
Soldado NietoSalvador Chantrés????
Soldado RamosIsmael Castro????
TorresMoisés Iván Mora????
General GaleanaMario Arvizu????
FinadoDaniel del RobleDoug Turkel
MoribundaGaby GuzmánLindsey Corey
Charro NegroHumberto Solórzano????
PumaCésar GarduzaRomulo Bernal

Production

Animation

Unlike its 2 previous installments, which were all animated in the flash animation format, this film is animated in style of traditional animation. The animation is done by Ánima Estudios in Mexico while additional animation were provided by Toon City in the Philippines, Mighty in Mexico, and TeamApp.
Director Alberto Rodríguez stated that the animation process was one of the challenges in the film. "We started with the task of generating a more traditional type of animation that needs more energy, people, and knowledge," said Rodríguez. Producer Fernando de Fuentes said that the America public is not "used to watching 2D productions."

Release

The film has been first teased on Ánima Estudios' social media on 4 March 2016, naming it the "next installment", tentatively titled "La Leyenda de".
The film was announced for release in Mexico on 21 October 2016. The film's teaser trailer premiered on 26 May 2016. The film's official trailer has been released on 9 September 2016.
The film has been presented at the 2016 Pixelatl Festival in Cuernavaca, Mexico which ran from September 6 to 11, 2016.
A Bugsted short was accompanied with the Mexican release of the film.
At the 2nd Anima Latina Festival in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Chupacabras has won the "Feature Film" prize.

U.S. Release

The film received a limited theatrical release in the United States, which was released on October 14, 2016, one week prior to its Mexican release, distributed by Pantelion Films and Lionsgate. It was shown in the original Spanish language format with English subtitles.
The film was later released on DVD and Digital HD formats with an English language version on March 7, 2017.
According to producer Jose C. Garcia de Letona, he stated that Chupacabras is the biggest release in the Leyendas franchise as it is the first, not only in the franchise, but also the first film from production company Ánima Estudios to receive a theatrical release in the "major" U.S. market, as well the challenges for the release. "It is a first effort that we are very happy about. The market there is brutal. t is 10 times bigger than ours and today we have 40 million Spanish speakers." Co-producer Fernando de Fuentes also stated that he was satisfied with the reception of the news. "This is the first time we debut a film in the U.S. and we're excited with how well the Latino community has received the news of the film," he said.
Director Alberto Rodriguez, who previously directed Llorona and Momias, said that the success of the past installments were "unexpected" and "sensational", and said that, " made us think that maybe we could repeat that success in the United States." He said that the film's story included the "chupacabras" since the legendary creature has been widely recognized among the Hispanic culture in the United States.

Reception

Box office

To date, there is currently no U.S. box-office data released for the film.
In Mexico, the film debuted at #2 on its opening weekend, grossing $40,909,034 pesos, with an audience of 1 million.
The film grossed a total of $100.7 million pesos.

Critical response

The film has received negative reviews from critics upon its release, with criticism focused on the film's writing, bland humor, and story. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a rating of 25%, based on 8 reviews.

Accolades

; Awards and nominations
YearAwardCategoryNomineesResult
2017Premios Luminus 2017Mejor Película de AnimaciónAlberto Rodríguez
20174th Platino AwardsBest Animated FilmAlberto Rodríguez

Sequel

A fifth installment titled, La Leyenda del Charro Negro was released on 19 January 2018.