ABSTRACT
El Americano: The Movie is typical of the lurching baby steps being taken by the Mexican animation industry. In development and production for at least five years beginning in 2011, it was animated Hollywood-style by Boxel Studio in Tijuana, a company known mainly for video game animation. The Mexican-American actor Edward James Olmos functions as the executive producer as well as providing the voice of a lead character, and newcomer Ricardo Arnaiz is the director. The film’s budget is US$29 million, and it has had a haphazard release pattern, first playing in international festivals in 2013, 2014 and 2015 and then slowly rolling out to various countries, including the United States. The story is weak, having to do with a Mexican parrot that flies to Hollywood to enlist the aid of his favorite superhero, El Americano, in order to help his father and protect his circus family.
