Meet the 'I Am Frankelda' directors mentored by Guillermo del Toro

A VHS portion of 1993’s “The Nightmare Before Christmas” introduced brothers Roy and Arturo Ambriz to the tactile whimsy of stop-motion, an animation method wherever carnal objects are manipulated and photographed framework by framework to execute the illusion of life.

Realizing that the characters connected surface were figures successful existent sets shocked the Mexican filmmakers’ young minds and acceptable them connected an arduous way to trade their ain worlds.

“If there’s thing we’ve loved our full lives it’s toys: collecting them, modifying them, playing with them, creating dioramas for them,” said Roy, 36, from nether his acheronian shades during a caller interrogation astatine Netflix Animation Studios successful Burbank.

“And for us, the astir sublime moments successful beingness are erstwhile we’re doing thing artistic, whether that’s painting, drafting oregon sculpting. And stop-motion animation combines each of that.”

The culmination of years of tireless enactment and fiscal accent for the Ambriz siblings is the breathtaking play phantasy “I Am Frankelda,” Mexico’s first-ever stop-motion feature, which is present streaming connected Netflix.

“Thankfully, nary 1 enactment it into our heads that it was intolerable to bash this,” said Arturo, 38. “That’s wherefore we don’t similar going astir saying that this is highly difficult, due to the fact that possibly if young radical perceive that, they mightiness not privation to bash stop-motion. Don’t archer them!”

A lavish musical, “I Am Frankelda” follows Francisca Imelda (voiced by Mireya Mendoza), a young aspiring writer surviving successful 19th period Mexico and struggling to people her stories. Meanwhile, successful the Realm of Spooks, an alternate world that’s location to each of the fictional characters Francisca has written, Herneval (Juan Pablo Monterrubio), a winged prince, indispensable prevention his parents and his kingdom. The creatures successful this satellite unrecorded disconnected of quality fear, truthful they make our nightmares.

Herneval crosses into the quality satellite to bring Francisca with him to the Realm of Spooks, truthful that she tin constitute caller nightmares that really scare people. Humans person go hard to terrify. By this point, a frustrated Francisca has decided to alteration her sanction to Frankelda (a notation to “Frankenstein” writer Mary Shelley, who inspired the character). Frankelda and Herneval sing of the narration betwixt fabrication and reality. One can’t beryllium without the other.

(Netflix)

Frankelda was archetypal introduced arsenic portion of the 2021 bid “Frankelda’s Book of Spooks,” which HBO Max commissioned. In the show, the heroine shares nightmarish tales alongside Herneval, who appears not arsenic a prince but a sentient book. The movie “I Am Frankelda” is simply a prequel that explains the narration betwixt these characters.

Last month, “I Am Frankelda” screened astatine the Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival, wherever Guillermo del Toro moderated the post-screening Q&A. A longtime mentor of the Ambriz brothers, Del Toro archetypal supported them by donating to a Kickstarter run to concern their ambitious 2016 abbreviated movie inspired by cubist art, “Revoltoso,” astir a one-eyed boar surviving during the Mexican Revolution.

“In that moment, it was incredibly validating to recognize that if Guillermo liked what we were doing, past it made consciousness to support connected doing it,” Roy said.

Two years isolated successful age, Roy and Arturo some studied filmmaking astatine the Centro, a assemblage successful Mexico City. Yet directing unneurotic wasn’t ever the plan.

“I said, ‘We person to co-direct,’ due to the fact that the concern people lent itself for me, being the older one, to instrumentality connected the relation of manager portion Roy would service arsenic accumulation designer. But astatine a definite point, I realized that the hierarchy was wrong, and that if we wanted thing sustainable for the remainder of our lives, it had to beryllium a 50/50 divided betwixt us. And I mean, 50/50, Roy!” said Arturo, playfully chastising his younger brother.

“It’s much similar 60/40, with maine having 60% of the power,” Roy added laughing.

In 2011, not agelong aft graduating, Arturo recovered himself ridden with anxiety. Over the people of his education, he’d focused connected creator excellence but hadn’t overmuch thought astir however to really marque a surviving retired of his and his brother’s shared passion. That’s erstwhile helium decided they should make their ain studio, Cinema Fantasma, truthful arsenic to person power of the projects they took on. Their productions for prosecute see the Adult Swim amusement “Women Wearing Shoulder Pads,” which was produced wholly astatine their institution successful Mexico City.

“It’s been precise hard due to the fact that we are filmmakers by vocation, but we are businesspeople by necessity,” said Arturo. “Developing that broadside of things has been the hardest part, but some are indispensable.”

To wrapper up the “Frankelda” series, HBO Max requested a 30-minute special. Instead of accepting that offer, Roy suggested they usage the projected fund allocated to partially money a full-length diagnostic film. HBO Max agreed with the caveat that the brothers would person to travel up with the remainder of the wealth needed connected their own.

To concern “I Am Frankelda,” Roy and Arturo mortgaged 2 homes. They are losing 1 of them to wage disconnected their debts, truthful it helps that their imagination of animation is simply a household affair. Their parents are enforcement producers connected “Frankelda”; Roy’s wife, Ana Coronilla, worked arsenic accumulation designer; and Arturo’s spouse, Irene Melis, arsenic a manager of photography.

That “I Am Frankelda” is simply a philharmonic is owed successful large portion to Roy’s emotion of philharmonic theater.

“At first, Arturo wasn’t sure, but utilizing my 60% stock of the power, I convinced him that it should beryllium a musical,” Roy said. Yet it’s Arturo who wrote the lyrics to philharmonic numbers. Each way starts arsenic a poem that composer Kevin Smithers transformed into songs.

A fantastical stop-motion philharmonic play piece, “I Am Frankelda” is acold from an casual sell, and that’s what makes its beingness each the much astonishing. The Ambriz brothers’ originative pursuit of the unpopular and the unfeasible has bonded them with Del Toro.

Mexican filmmaker Guillermo del Toro, pictured, interviewed “I Am Frankelda” directors Roy and Arturo Ambriz connected May 30 during the film’s screening astatine the TCL Chinese Theatre arsenic portion of the Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival.

(Jill Connelly / For De Los)

“He is our astir important mentor and the idiosyncratic we respect astir successful the world, and we besides stock galore of the aforesaid interests,” Arturo explained. “That’s wherefore erstwhile we saw ‘Pan’s Labyrinth,’ it was similar erstwhile the solid slipper fits Cinderella. It was precisely what we loved: monsters, war, the cruelty of the quality spirit, fairies and play settings.”

“Did you conscionable telephone yourself Cinderella?” Roy interjected with the mischievous smirk emblematic of a younger member trying to ruffle immoderate feathers.

“Yes!” Arturo said softly but without hesitation.

Every clip they perceive Del Toro talk astir his interests, the Ambriz brothers observe a caller good of references and “cultural protein,” from authors to painters.

“Guillermo is idiosyncratic who actively champions the enactment of others, which I judge is the close mode for an creator to be,” Arturo said.

When they finished “I Am Frankelda,” the brothers sent it to Del Toro, anxious to perceive his thoughts. As soon arsenic helium watched it, Del Toro called them.

“We spoke with him for hours, and helium told america everything helium saw, evidently with large tact, sharing some the bully and the not-so-good,” Roy recalled. “But astir importantly, helium kept telling america that we had created thing unprecedented. He insisted that we would propulsion through, adjacent though we had ended up with a batch of debt.”

The mentation of “I Am Frankelda” that premiered astatine movie festivals successful 2025 is not the aforesaid 1 that volition beryllium disposable connected Netflix. Based connected Del Toro’s thorough feedback, the filmmakers recut the movie and adjacent animated caller scenes. They playfully notation to this caller chopped that audiences volition spot globally arsenic “The Grandfather Cut,” to grant Del Toro’s influence.

That “I Am Frankelda” was picked for organisation by Netflix is besides Del Toro’s doing, the brothers said. It was the seasoned manager who suggested the movie to the streaming company.

“I Am Frankelda” debuted successful Mexico past October to an unthinkable reception, successful portion acknowledgment to the fandom the characters had amassed via the episodic series.

“We person instrumentality creation and instrumentality fabrication each day. People nonstop america photos cosplaying the characters oregon of their ‘Frankelda’-themed quinceañeras. We’ve adjacent bought bootleg merch astatine Mexican markets and connected Temu oregon AliExpress too,” Roy said.

“We’ve bought ‘Frankelda’ socks from determination that are of unspeakable quality, but each the much beauteous due to the fact that of their atrocious quality,” helium added.

“Of course, determination are haters, too, but a ample conception of the assemblage truly identified with Frankelda arsenic idiosyncratic who perseveres, arsenic idiosyncratic who refuses to fto her detractors clasp her back. It’s been truly beauteous watching that fandom grow,” Arturo said.

Another condemnation wherever they align with Del Toro is their disinterest successful engaging with artificial intelligence.

“AI is the antithesis of stop-motion. We’re not adjacent remotely funny successful it, due to the fact that we bash stop-motion to bask the creator processes,” Roy said. “We created the workplace for painting, drawing, sculpting and writing. Whatever happens with AI doesn’t truly substance to us.”

Their 2nd feature, “The Ballad of the Phoenix,” a medieval fantasy, is already successful the works.