Everything -- from the characters’ expressions to their costumes to the large, elaborate sets -- is thoughtfully crafted from glass, resin, fabric, and clay, some of it literally bearing the fingerprints of its creators.

An everything-and-the-talavera-sink stop-motion delight that synthesises magic, music and the macabre into a mostly exhilarating, occasionally exhausting cinematic experience, Mexico’s first stop-motion feature was more than worth the wait.

It makes heavy weather of its convoluted storyline and may stretch the attention spans of younger viewers.

... the sort of thing that can only have been made by people—people who have dreamed, and laughed, and been afraid, and gazed at the universe with wonder.