Stumbling upon information no one else knows yet always makes you feel like a much cooler version of 007. At least, that’s how I felt when I accidentally found out about El Americano: The Movie when I decided to dig into Gabriel Iglesias’ IMDB page after watching his Arsenio Hall performance. Now, I never found out what Disney or Nickelodeon projects Gabriel Iglesias was talking about in the video, but I did find out that he is working on an animated feature produced by Edward James Olmos, directed by Ricardo Arnaiz due out this year!
Alright, now that it’s sort of sunk in, let’s talk details! According to the Animex Studio website, the film stars Rico Rodriguez (Modern Family), Edward James Olmos, Cheech Marin, Kate del Castillo, Paul Rodriguez, Erik Estrada, and Lisa Kudrow among many more.
Cuco is a Mexican boy parrot that would rather imitate the crazy stunts of his TV super-parrot hero, El Americano, than help with his chores at the family bird circus.
Yet a gang of bully birds threatens his ringmaster father and takes over the circus, Cuco sets off on a hilarious and perilous journey to Hollywood to enlist his hero in his fight, only to discover the true hero within himself.
Some may immediately draw lines to Rio, but mostly because of the bird thing, right? While there isn’t too much promotional material out there, what there is shows a family friendly film with political subtext whether it’s commentary on border life/border crossings, or family life and doing the right thing.
Now, the film was screened last October in Morelia, Mexico and this past March in Rochester, NY, but these screenings were mostly test screenings and they have since re-edited the film for the best possible outcome once it is released. As far as we know, there may be a late summer release for this film.
Though the trailer won’t be announced until late May/early June, there is this teaser to keep us occupied in the meantime:
Now keep in mind, Animex is a young production company with 3 major Mexican projects under their belt. This being the first Mexican/American animation co-production, there is much to be learned, and much to be gained from this project. More on this in the near future!
What do you think of the basis for the film so far? Is this something you would like to watch in theaters? Sound off below!!
