Brothers Arturo and Roy Ambriz take the art of stop motion and their love of fantasy-horror into new realms with “I am Frankelda,” debuting on Netflix June 12.
Set in Mexico in the late 1800s, the story centers on Francisca, a gifted writer of dark tales and fantastical characters. But after her mother dies, she must live with her rigid grandmother, who forces her to live by her rules. But as she grows into a young woman, it’s clear that her imagination and need to write stories has never been suppressed. And the monsters she has created are real — guided by Herneval, a prince trapped between dreams and nightmares, Francisca finds her voice – Frankelda – and reclaims her power as a storyteller as she helps Herneval defeat the evil forces intending to take down his world.
“I am Frankelda” uses the most intricate and visually stunning stop motion in a tale of empathy, determination and female empowerment. While the core of stop-motion animation is its hand-wrought look, more is more with the look of “I am Frankelda” — more texture, more ornamentation, more to see in every frame.
“My brother Roy and I have always loved physical objects,” says Arturo on a Zoom call from their base in Mexico City — indeed, they are sitting on a couch with models of Frankelda and Herneval on a table in front of them, gloriously tactile sculptures in their design and execution. “When we were kids, we were obsessed with playing with toys and going to the theater and doing handcrafts. We were never that much drawn into video games or digital experiences. We really enjoy working with our hands, feeling textures.”
