Legend Quest / Leyendas
Created byRicardo Arnaiz[1]
Original workLa leyenda de la Nahuala (2007)
Owner
Films and television
Film(s)
Television series
Games
Video game(s)
  • Las Leyendas: El Pergamino Mágico

Legend Quest (known as Leyendas in Latin America) is an animated horror-comedy film franchise created by Ricardo Arnaiz and produced by Mexican animation studio Ánima Estudios. It is loosely based on The Reluctant Dragon by Kenneth Grahame. It consists of seven films, a digital television series, and a mobile game.[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 silent calavera children.[2] Set in the early nineteenth century, each of the films is based upon a different Mexican legend.[1][3]

The franchise began in 2007 with the release of The Legend of La Nahuala, directed by creator Ricardo Arnaiz and produced by Soco Aguilar and Ricardo Arnaiz, Nahuala Producciones Cinematograficas S.de R.L. de C.V., and Puebla-based Animex Producciones. The film was later followed by The Legend of La Llorona in 2011, which was instead produced by Ánima Estudios due to the box office failure of the film Nikté. The Legend of the Guanajuato Mummies in 2014, The Legend of the Chupacabra in 2016, The Legend of the Black Charro in 2018, and Legend Quest: The Origin in 2022, with a seventh film, La leyenda de los Chaneques, releasing in 2023.[1] The franchise has also been adted into a Netflix original series, simply titled Legend Quest.[2]

It is one of the few film franchises 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 Black Charro currently being the highest-grossing film.[4]

Films

The Legend of La Nahuala (2007)

The first film, The Legend of La Nahuala, was released on 1 November 2007 in Mexico with 350 copies, directed by Ricardo Arnaiz and produced by Soco Aguilar and Ricardo Arnaiz, Nahuala Producciones Cinematograficas S.de R.L. de C.V., and Animex Producciones.[3][5] The film 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 Nagual legend mythology and receiving the support of the state of Puebla, the film was written by Omar Mustre and Antonio Garci, and featured 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 in the city of Puebla de Los Angeles, the film centers on Leo San Juan, a cowardly 9-year-old boy. He summons the courage to rescue his older brother, Nando, from an abandoned house possessed by an evil witch known as the 'Nahuala', with the aid of his new ghost friends.[8] The success of the film launched a franchise, the license to which Arnaiz gave to Ánima Estudios.[1]

The Legend of La Llorona (2011)

A sequel, The Legend of La Llorona, based on the La Llorona ("The Weeping Woman") legend, 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, who, along with the studio, took over the production of further films.[9][1] The film also uses flash animation, as well as its successors (excluding Chupacabra; see below). The film was written by Ricardo Arnaiz, the predecessor's director, Jesús Guzmán, and Omar Mustre, who also wrote the preceding film.[9] Some of the previous film's voice cast reprised their roles, while some actors, such as Andrés Bustamante, were replaced by new voice actors. The film picks up where Nahuala ended and follows the new adventures of Leo San Juan and his gang, Don Andrés, Alebrije, Teodora, Finado and Moribunda. Taking place in ancient Xochimilco, Leo falls out of the crew's ship and meets a young village girl, named Kika, who is on her journey to find her lost brother, Beto. Leo and Kika encounter the 'Llorona', while the rest of his gang end up in the La Isla de las Muñecas ('The island of the dolls').[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 $55.4 million pesos (US$2.9 million), performing better than its predecessor.[11][10][12]

The Legend of the Guanajuato Mummies (2014)

The third film, The Legend of the Guanajuato Mummies, or simply The Legend of the Mummies, 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 in the city of Guanajuato, trying to find Xóchitl, who was kidnapped by Rosseau, an old wizard with the ability to awaken 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, along with a screenplay by Jesús Guzmán, Ricardo Arnaiz, and Dulce María Guerrero. Mummies 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, Mummies was a major box-office success, and the first film in the series to surpass $50 million pesos; grossing a total of $92.25 million pesos (US$4.9 million).[11][12] As the voice cast from Llorona reunited for the third film, among the newcomers was Benny Emmanuel, known for La CQ. He provided the voice of Leo San Juan, and has remained the character's voice actor since Mummies. Eduardo "Lalo" España, a Mexican actor and comedian, joined the cast as a new character, Evaristo, an alebrije with a smooth personality, while Alejandra Müller, a teen actress who is also an alumnus of La CQ, voiced Valentina, a girl who Leo helps find Rosseau.[13]

The Legend of the Chupacabra (2016)

The Legend of the Chupacabra, 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, and they get locked up in Peñamiller. When the 'chupacabra' attacks the prison, Leo calls for the help of his friend, Teodora, to discover the origin 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.[14] Despite receiving negative reviews, the film is another major box-office success, grossing a total of $100.7 million pesos (US$5.4 million), and is the series' first to surpass the $100 million peso-mark as well as the second-highest grossing film within.[12][15] While the Mummies voice cast return for the fourth film, Rafael Inclán did not return to voice Alebrije, as he was replaced by dubbing actor Herman López. Ricardo Arnaiz, creator of the franchise, was not involved in the production of this film.

The Legend of the Black Charro (2018)

The Legend of the Black Charro, the fifth entry, was released on 19 January 2018, as opposed to previous films which were normally released in October.[12] It picks up from Chupacabras where Leo San Juan and his brother Nando head home to Puebla. Along the way, Leo encounters the 'Black Charro' who mistakes 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 'Black Charro' once and for all.[12] Black Charro 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 from the entire franchise.[16][17] Along with the returning voice cast of the Mummies and Chupacabra, Mexican actor Erick Elías voices the 'Black Charro'.[18] It proved to be another commercial success, earning a total of $100.8 million pesos; the highest-grossing Legend Quest film to date.[11]

Legend Quest: The Origin (2022)

A spin-off prequel film, titled Legend Quest: The Origin, focuses on the Calavera duo, Finado and Moribunda, who must look after a human baby when he crosses the Espejo Eternal ("eternal mirror") through a portal that separates the Realm of the Living and the Dead.[19] The film, first teased on Twitter, was originally scheduled for a 2020 theatrical release, but was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[20]

La leyenda de los Chaneques (2023)

Set five years after the events of Charro Negro, Chaneques follows Leo San Juan and Nando going to Veracruz, where an ancient curse has striken. When separated, Leo must endure a dangerous journey without his ghost friends, and take on the Chaneques.

Franchise future

While Black Charro has been 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.[21] 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."[21] Rodríguez stated that Black Charro 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 [Legend Quest]. I already want to do other things, but we are still involved in the development of other things that come for the Legend Quest," he said.[16]

On the Day of the Innocents, a "prank" teaser for a "live action" installment was released on December 28, 2020, which was said to be released in 2022.[22]

Television series

A Netflix original series based on the characters, named Legend Quest (Las Leyendas), premiered in 2017 in 30 languages, making it the platform's first original animated series produced in Latin America.[2]

The 2019 TV series Legend Quest: Masters of Myth is a Netflix original production with Ánima Studios. The series is direct continuation from Legend Quest, featuring characters from the Legends Mexican movie franchise and Legend Quest, the only difference being that both Leo and Teodora are teenagers in the show.

Voice cast (Spanish)

Characters Films Television series
The Legend of
La Nahuala		 The Legend of
La Llorona		 The Legend of the
Guanajuato Mummies		 The Legend of the
Chupacabra		 The Legend of the
Black Charro		 Las Leyendas
El Origen		 Legend Quest Legend Quest:
Masters of Myth
2007 2011 2014 2016 2018 2022 2017 2019
Leo San Juan Fabrizio Santini Yair Prado Benny Emmanuel Liliana Barba (baby) Benny Emmanuel
Teodora Villavicencio Mayte Cordeiro
Don Andrés Artasánchez Andrés Bustamante Andrés Couturier Picture only Andrés Couturier Andrés Couturier
El Alebrije de la Biblioteca Rafael Inclán Herman López Ricardo O'Farrill
Xochitl Ahuactzin Martha Higareda Annie Rojas Picture only Annie Rojas
Evaristo Eduardo "Lalo" España
Fernando "Nando" San Juan Bruno Coronel Emilio Treviño Yerary Rodríguez
(child)
Finado Silent role Jesús Guzmán Daniel del Roble Bruno Coronel Emiliano Ugarte Silent role
Moribunda Romina Marroquín Payró Gaby Guzmán Norma Iturbe Paola Ramones
La Nahuala Ofelia Medina Opening cameo Flashback Opening cameo
Fray Godofredo Germán Robles Miguel Couturier Andrés Couturier Alejandro Villeli
Toñita San Juan María Santander Ángela Villanueva Ángela Villanueva
Santos Machorro Jesús Ochoa
Mauricio Roldán (young)		 César Terranova
Nana Dionisia Luna Arjona Luna Arjona
Sr. López Carlos Segundo Mario Castañeda
Sr. Lorenzo Villavicencio Manuel "El Loco" Valdés
Sra. Villavicencio Ginny Hoffman
Chichi Animal sounds only Humberto Solórzano
La Llorona / Yoltzin Mentioned Rocío Lara
Mercedes Hernández (Yoltzin)		 Flashback Opening cameo
Tiro and Pujo Humberto Solórzano
Andrés Couturier (Pujo)		 Humberto Solórzano
Pecas Jesús Guzmán Roberto Gutiérrez
Kika Mónica del Carmen
Rosa Rosario Zúñiga
Willy Miguel Couturier
Beto Erick Cañete
El Charro Negro Blas García Humberto Solórzano Erick Elías
Valentina "Luis" Alejandra Müller Picture only
Rousseau Andrés Couturier Andrés Couturier
Rosendo Miguel Ángel Ghigliazza Miguel Ángel Ghigliazza
Gloria Diana Alonso Alondra Hidalgo
Denise
Don Gaspar José Luis Orozco
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
Beatriz Andrea Arruti
Rupertino Oscar Flores
Gitana Karen Vallejo
Marcella Alondra Hidalgo
Aniceto Bruno Bichir
Chimo Alex Casas
Moira Priscila "Cajafresca"
Eva Daniela Ibañez
Deveriux Germán Fabregat
Tommy Rojas Pascual
Chuletl Eduardo Ramírez Pablo

Crew

Role Films
The Legend of
La Nahuala		 The Legend of
La Llorona		 The Legend of the
Guanajuato Mummies		 The Legend of the
Chupacabra		 The Legend of the
Black Charro		 Las Leyendas
El Origen
2007 2011 2014 2016 2018 2022
Director Ricardo Arnaiz Alberto Rodríguez Ricardo Arnaiz
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 Mariana Suárez Molnar
Alberto Rodríguez
Alex Garcia		 Alberto Rodríguez
Mariana Suárez Molnar
Line producer(s) — Gabriela Salazar
Francisco Hirata		 Nihurka Zequera Guiza Michelle Chisikovsky Nihurka Zequera Guiza Francisco de Negri
Writer(s) Omar Mustre
Antonio Garci		 Omar Mustre
Ricardo Arnaiz
Jesús Guzmán
Story/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		 Angel Pulido
Original Idea/Based on Characters Created by:
Ricardo Arnaiz
Composer(s) Gabriel Villar Leoncio Lara
Editor — Roberto Bolado Alberto Rodríguez

Box-office results

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][23]
La Leyenda de la Llorona 21 October 2011 $55.4 million $2.9 million $1.3 million [11][12][24]
La Leyenda de las Momias de Guanajuato 30 October 2014 $92.25 million $6.3 million $1.3 million [11][25][26][12]
La Leyenda del Chupacabras 21 October 2016 $100.7 million $5.4 million $1.6 million [27][12][15]
La Leyenda del Charro Negro 19 January 2018 $100.8 million $5.3 million [11][28][29]
Total $391.55 million $23.93 million $4.2 million

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Gutiérrez, Vicente (18 October 2016). "Ánima Estudios construye franquicia cinematográfica". El Economista. El Economista. Retrieved 20 February 2018. In Spanish.
  2. 1 2 3 Wolfe, Jennifer (20 February 2017). "Anima Estudios' 'Legend Quest' Debuts on Netflix This Friday!". Animation World Network. Animation World Network. Retrieved 19 February 2018.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Gutiérrez, Vicente (29 October 2014). "La leyenda de las momias..., animación a la mexicana". El Economista. El Economista. Retrieved 19 February 2018. (in Spanish)
  4. ↑ Valle Vargas, Montserrat (20 February 2018). "'LAS LEYENDAS': PRIMERA SERIE ANIMADA MEXICANA EN LLEGAR A NETFLIX". Expansión. Time, Inc. Retrieved 2 March 2017.
  5. ↑ Estrada, Frank (29 October 2011). "La Leyenda de la Nahuala". Zócalo. Grupo Zócalo. Retrieved 20 February 2018.
  6. 1 2 "Mexico Box Office April 25–27, 2008 (check "Gross-to-Date")". Box Office Mojo. Amazon.com. Retrieved 7 February 2018.
  7. ↑ "Scary legends Mexican style". TuVez. Retrieved 20 February 2018.
  8. ↑ "The Legend of the Nahuala". Recorri2. Recorri2. 25 February 2014. Retrieved 20 February 2018.
  9. 1 2 3 "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.
  10. 1 2 "La Leyenda de la Llorona recauda mas de 8 mdp". El Universal. El Universal. 25 October 2011. Retrieved 20 February 2018. In Spanish.
  11. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Películas Animadas 2000 – 2018". Canacine. 7 December 2018. Retrieved 15 December 2018.
  12. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 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.
  13. ↑ "Ánima Estudios estrenará 'La leyenda de las momias de Guanajuato'". MVS Noticas. MVS Radio. 27 October 2014. Retrieved 20 February 2018.
  14. ↑ "La leyenda de 'El Chupacabras'". Univision. Univision Communications Inc. 8 September 2016. Retrieved 9 September 2016.
  15. 1 2 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.
  16. 1 2 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.
  17. ↑ Ortiz, Cesar Huerta (6 August 2017). "Alistan "La Leyenda del Charro Negro"". El Universal. El Universal. Retrieved 20 February 2018. In Spanish.
  18. ↑ 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.
  19. ↑ "Las Leyendas: EL ORIGEN (TEASER OFICIAL)". YouTube. Retrieved 2 November 2019. Upload date: 1 November 2019. In Spanish
  20. ↑ "Cinepolis on Twitter: "¡Algo nuevo de @helloanima se está cocinando! Sigue al pendiente para descubrir nuevas noticias...."". Twitter. Cinepolis. Retrieved 12 November 2018. In Spanish. Date published: 12 November 2018. 10:36am.
  21. 1 2 "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)
  22. ↑ Las Leyendas - Teaser Tráiler (Live action) Upload date: 28 December 2020. User: Videocine. Language: Spanish.
  23. ↑ "La Leyenda de la Nahuala (2007)". Box Office Mojo. Amazon.com. Retrieved 20 February 2014.
  24. ↑ "La leyenda de la llorona (2011)". Box Office Mojo. Amazon.com. Retrieved 31 May 2013.
  25. ↑ "ANIMA ESTUDIOS prepara sorpresas en cine de animación (in Spanish)". 1 May 2014. Retrieved 20 February 2018.
  26. ↑ "La leyenda de las momias de Guanajuato". Box Office Mojo. Amazon.com. Retrieved 20 February 2018.
  27. ↑ "Cine de animación la apuesta de Fernando de Fuentes". Plano Informativo. Grupo Plano Informativo. 16 October 2016. Retrieved 20 February 2018. In Spanish.
  28. ↑ "La Leyenda del Charro Negro". Box Office Mojo. Amazon.com. Retrieved 20 February 2018.
  29. ↑ "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.
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