Xico’s Journey Review written by the Hobbit on 2/15/2021 This post contains affiliate links, you can find out more on our policies page or in the disclaimer at the bottom of the blog.
Know Before You Watch
Movie: Xico’s Journey (El Camino de Xico) – Check out the Soundtrack song here)
Rating: Y7
Genre: Fantasy, animation, multicultural
Age suggested : 7+
Release Date: 2/12/2021 (US Netflix release date)
Themes: creation care (environmental), friendship, family, adventures, doing the right thing
Length: 85 minutes
Warnings: Some scary images will probably be too intense for under 7, one instance of cursing
Quick Summary of Xico’s Journey
Reminiscent of Fern Gully, the movie primarily takes place in the small Mexican village of San Jaime de las Jaibas. We soon find out that a greedy corporation is planning to destroy the nearby mountain for profit, and is not concerned about the villager’s fates. Who will save the village? A fun movie that’s safe for kids who can handle a scary scorpion and a couple of explosions. And one with an obvious, but good, message.
Xico’s Journey Review:
**Some Light Spoilers**
Nana Petra (voiced by Lila Downs) is one of the mystical guardians of the mountain. As she consults with the others, her granddaughter, Copi (Verónica Alva), overhears her say that her mother isn’t dead but living inside the mountain. With her dog Xico (Pablo Gama Iturrarán) she quickly heads to the mountain. Her best friend Gus (Luis Angel Jaramillo) realizes that she left and follows her, with a message from Nan to “find the messenger”. He also carries the three sacred stones the guardians were protecting.
The villains are over the top cardboard villains. The movie has two stories. Story one is the journey of Copi, Xico, and Gus into and inside the mountain. Story two is Nana Petra and the other guardians, and the villagers. The first story has a number of Mexican mythological elements as the three travel through a land inside the mountain populated with talking animals and trees. Story two is about adults who had ignored evil realizing their mistake and rising up together. Xico is a unique Mexican dog breed, a Xoloescuincle (Called xolos for short).
–Why Watch Xico’s Journey-
The first 30 minutes go a little slow, but the final hour is fast-paced and will hold most kids in rapt attention. It is a good way to look at Mexican culture and mythology. And there is a nice little twist at the ending. The stories can be engaging, but running these two stories in only 85 minutes does not leave a lot of time for character development. It also means there are going to be some big plot holes. While the movie uses some flashbacks to fill some, there simply is not enough time to get to all of them. It also does not leave any time to be subtle about the intended message, making it a little over the top. But there are a lot of successful cartoons that do the same- Happy Feet and Fern Gully are the first that come to mind.
Continue reading for our Xico’s Journey Discussion Questions
Xico’s Journey Discussion Questions
- Do you have a pet? Do you ever want to talk to your pet? Have you ever wished that your pet had magical powers?
- The mayor lies to the people because he wants more power – he is ambitious. Have you ever known someone who lied to get power?
- Which of the talking animals was your favorite, and why?
- The pieces the guardians held were a fossil – a fossil of a trilobite. If you don’t know what a trilobite is, ask or do some research. What does this fossil tell you about the mountain?
Thanks for checking out our Xico’s Journey Review and Discussion Questions. Before you go, check out these other posts:
-Family Friendly Streaming Suggestions for Netflix
–Over the Moon Review: Fei Fei has always loved the traditional stories she’s been told. Then she gets a chance to live one.
–Coco Review: Dia de Muertes comes to life in this beautiful film
–Abominable Review: Yi is struggling to connect with people when suddenly a yeti appears on her roof
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