A few weeks ago we posted the trailer for ‘Metegol’ (Foosball), Juan José Campanella‘s latest 3D animated feature. With a budget of over $20 million, the film opened yesterday in local Argentine cinemas and let me tell you…it was worth the wait.
Based on ‘Memorias de un wing derecho’ (Memoirs of a Right Winger), a short story by Argentine writer Roberto Fontanarrosa, METEGOL tells the story of Amadeo, a shy boy who is a very passionate foosball player that must save the town and the girl of his dreams from an old rival, all this with the help of a team of ‘little Foosball steel men’.
The first 30-40 seconds of the film give you a little insight of what ‘football’ (soccer) is all about, then…the story begins. Even though the plot is somewhat simple, what makes this film special are the characters that help the tale come alive. From Amadeo, Laura (Amadeo’s dream girl), Grosso (Amadeo’s old rival) and the rest of the townsfolk, the ones who really ‘steel’ the show are the foosball players. Since this is an Argentine film, you can be rest assured that these little men will have a personality of their own. For me, ‘Capi‘, ‘Beto‘ and ‘Loco‘ are the ones that make the film shine and give it that true ‘Argentine flavor’.
Other thing that really impressed me was the design and animation of the entire thing. Considering that $21 million is a low budget for an animated film in 3D (‘Despicable Me 2’ had an estimated $76 million budget), don’t let those numbers fool you. The graphics are truly amazing and, I am willing to say right now that, it has the same high standard quality as a Pixar or Dreamworks film. Sure, there could be a few small things the film can improve, but from a general perspective, ‘Metegol’ stands out on its own.
Opening in a winter-break holiday in Argentina, ‘Metegol’ had a great start on Thursday (July 18th) and it looks like it will keep on increasing those numbers. “It’s the first film of this size to be made without a U.S. studio investment, so it’s going to be interesting to see what happens with it”, said Campanella at the film’s press conference this week. Campanella won in 2009 an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film for ‘El secreto de sus ojos‘ (The Secret in Their Eyes) and is also known for directing a few episodes of ‘House M.D.’, ‘Law & Order’ and ’30 Rock’.
Overall, the film is great not only for the story, characters and animation, but also for the message behind it that strengthen the bonds of friendship, love, passion and team work. The voices of the main characters include Argentine talents such as Pablo Rago, Miguel Angel Rodriguez, Fabian Gianola, Horacio Fontova and David Masajnik.
So? Who is up for a little game of Foosball? Anyone? ‘Metegol’ doesn’t have an international release date yet, but we will keep you posted once it does! Are you looking forward in seeing it? In the meantime, watch the trailer (time to practice your Spanish again!) below:
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