You want to see something pretty? You want to see something creepy? You want to see something pretty creepy? Watch I am Frankelda.
This is a prequel to the television series from a couple of years ago that was on HBO in the states. The two main characters are Frankelda/Francisca (voiced by Mireya Mendoza) and Herneval (voiced by Claudis Bridgforth). They grow up separately, their lives crossing here and there. Francisca is an orphan whose grandmother emotionally abuses her and knocks down her dream to to be a writer of scary stories. Herneval is the prince in a land of nightmares where the citizens, called Terrors, are fading away. It’s the job of the head nightmare writer, Procustes (voiced by Luis Leonardo Suarez) to keep people in Frankelda’s world interested their stories so they are saved from oblivion. However, Procutes has writer’s block. Instead of taking responsibility, he blames humans for not liking his stories. Even monsters can’t handle criticism.
Despite her grandmother constantly trouncing on her dreams and telling her that no one will buy horror stories written by a girl, Francisca still believes she can succeed as her mother has always encouraged her before dying of tuberculous (did I mention that this takes place in the 1800s?). Her town is home to an editor who is also the father of a boy she grew up with. The editor cruelly rejects her stories without reading them and Francisca runs to her grandmother’s grave for a good cry. She decides to try again under the pen name Frankelda. Prince Herneval finds her, reminding her that they met as children when he’d cross into the real world. He begs for her help in writing nightmares that will terrify modern humans who are so interested in science and logic. He tells her that he’s her biggest fan. Let’s face it. Most writers would go with him if he said that.
When arriving in Herneval’s world (after a break for a song), Procutes shows up. He starts by flattering Frankelda, then reads her stories. He asks what motivates her and she says, “To escape reality.” She basically says that it’s comforting for her to write when things are bad. Where Herneval only praises her, Frankelda sees Procutes harsh, yet kind sounding judging of her work as truth. She spirals about her writing and Herneval has to bring back her confidence. He does this both because he honestly loves her writing, but also because he’s falling in love with her. Despite her obvious feelings for him, she keeps feeling that he’s lying to her just to use her stories. Meanwhile, Procutes is planning a coup with other Terrors in order to kick Herneval’s parents off their thrones.
I won’t give away the whole story, but the ending is very bittersweet. Mostly, the story is about confidence in being a writer, overcoming self-doubt, understanding the difference between criticism and sabotage, and listening too the people who care about you instead of the haters. Also, so pretty! There were a couple of unfinished plots so I’m keeping my fingers crossed for a sequel.
