La leyenda de los Chaneques

La leyenda de los Chaneques is a 2023 animated horror-adventure film produced by Ánima. It is the seventh installment to the Leyendas series, and is a direct follow-up to La leyenda del Charro Negro. The film's story focuses on the Chaneque folklore.

La leyenda de los Chaneques
Directed by	Marvick Núñez
Written by	David Israel
Based on	Characters by Ricardo Arnaiz
Produced by	José C. García de Letona Fernando De Fuentes
Starring	Benny Emmanuel Emilio Treviño
Edited by	Carlos Dayan Motta
Music by	Leoncio Lara Bon
Production company	Ánima
Distributed by	ViX
Release date	14 July 2023 (2023-07-14)
Running time	89 minutes
Country	Mexico
Language	Spanish
Budget	$1.1 million^[1]

It was released on ViX on July 14, 2023.

Plot

Five years after the events of Charro Negro, Leo and Nando journey to Veracruz where they meet a boy whose father was kidnapped by the Chaneques. To combat them, Leo would have to face them without his powers he once had.

Voice cast

• Benny Emmanuel as Leo San Juan^[2]
• Emilio Treviño as Fernando "Nando" San Juan^[2]
• Paola Ramones as Moribunda^[2]
• Eduardo España as Evaristo^[2]
• Mayté Cordeiro as Teodora^[3]
• Andrés Couturier as Don Andrés^[4]
• Gabriel Basurto as Alebrije^[4]

Development

After the release of La leyenda del Charro Negro, there were speculations and rumors as to whether it would be the series' final film.^[5] Leyendas creator Ricardo Arnaiz has mentioned the possibilities of new entries and potential.^[6] Producer Fernando de Fuentes has confirmed the development of the seventh Leyendas film, adding that it "has been a successful franchise". Arnaiz himself confirmed he's not involved in the film.^[7]

Upon its trailer release in July 2023, the film was officially confirmed, titled La leyenda de los Chaneques.^[8][9] The film is confirmed to be directed by Marvick Núñez.^[9]

In an interview with El Universal, Núñez explained about the chaneque characteristics, and how they were portrayed in the film. "The important thing about Leo is that he is not like Van Helsing[...] he is not a monster hunter, but he can see the tormented side of [the chaneques] and helps them to reach the light" he said. Benny Emmanuel, the voice of Leo San Juan, said that he "grew up with the saga" and has watched the first two films of the Leyendas before being first cast in Momias de Guanajuato. He said, "[...]it was strange when I did the casting because he was a character I knew".^[10] In an interview with Out of Focus, Núñez further stressed about the challenges of materializing the design and personality of the mythical creatures, requiring a lot of research. Comparing to past installments, he said that the "chaneques are another case, because there is no direct visual reference". "Historians do not agree on what is or is not a chaneque," continued Núñez. "If it is the representation of a child, a ghost, the spirit of a tree or what. That's why we bet on creating them from scratch." For personality, the director detailed the creatures as "primitive beings[...] in charge of caring for nature". The film's setting in Veracruz was chosen after the first draft of the script was completed, as the chaneques' believed origin place.^[11]

Animation

The film uses 2D animation, with CG elements. After working on La liga de los 5, Núñez said during an interview that the film incorporated 2D-CG elements into the film beyond backgrounds. "We thought, we have to elevate this mixture of 2D and 3D," said Núñez. "[...]because the idea now went beyond having a moving background, [and] now we wanted the whole environment to feel alive."^[11]

Music

Series composer Leoncio Lara has prodived the film's score.^[12]

Release

As with Las leyendas: el origen, the film premiered on ViX on 14 July 2023 as an original film.^[2]

References

1. "Listado publicacion primer periodo 2021 produccion" (PDF). Estímulo Fiscal a Proyectos de Inversión en la Producción y Distribución Cinematográfica Nacional (in Spanish). gob.mx.
   • MXN budget: MX$19,000,000
2. "ViX's New Animated Original Movie, LA LEYENDA DE LOS CHANEQUES, Premieres July 14". TelevisaUnivision. TelevisaUnivision. 6 July 2023. Retrieved 7 July 2023.
3. "Programming You Can't Miss on ViX this July". TelevisaUnivision. TelevisaUnivision. 30 June 2023. Retrieved 7 July 2023.
4. "La leyenda de los chaneques". IMCINE - AnuarioCineMx (in Spanish). CULTURA Mexico. Retrieved 7 July 2023.
5. "EL CHARRO NEGRO, ¿LA ÚLTIMA LEYENDA?". Videocine Distrbucion Noticas. Televisa, S.A. de C.V. 2018. Retrieved 6 July 2023. In Spanish. (Note: date not shown on website)
6. Miguel Cruz, Luis (24 August 2022). "EXCLUSIVE: Ricardo Arnaiz talks about the future of Las leyendas". Radix (in Spanish). Radix. Retrieved 6 July 2023.
7. Miguel Cruz, Luis (29 September 2022). "The Legend of Chaneques Confirmed!". Radix (in Spanish). Radix. Retrieved 6 July 2023.
8. Ignacio Lofredo, Juan (4 July 2023). "When does "La leyenda de los Chaneques" premiere and where to see it from Mexico?". Spoiler (in Spanish). Bolavip. Retrieved 7 July 2023.
9. "La leyenda de los Chaneques: release date, trailer and everything we know so far". Radix (in Spanish). Radix. 4 July 2023. Retrieved 7 July 2023.
10. Huerta Ortiz, César (12 July 2023). "La historia de Leo San Juan alcanza el nivel de "Leyenda"". El Universal (in Spanish). Grupo de Diarios de América. Retrieved 12 July 2023.
11. Sanchez, Andrea (17 July 2023). "La Leyenda de los Chaneques: ¡La animación crece en México!". Más Latina 96.5 (in Spanish). Más Latina 96.5. Retrieved 22 July 2023.
12. Lara Bon, Leoncio. "Leoncio Lara Bon on Twitter: "El 14 de Julio se estrena La Leyenda de l..." Twitter (in Spanish). @LeoncioLaraBon. Retrieved 12 July 2023.

External links

• La leyenda de los Chaneques at IMDb