A brand-new Guillermo del Toro-esque stop-motion film on Netflix has earned a stunning score on Rotten Tomatoes.
Del Toro is an award-winning filmmaker known for creating dark and fantastical movies like Pan’s Labyrinth and The Shape of Water, both of which won multiple Oscars. He already has some experience with stop-motion animation after directing 2022’s Pinocchio and the upcoming film The Buried Giant, and gave his stamp of approval to a film that uses the same technique.
I Am Frankelda, which is now available to stream on Netflix, has debuted on Rotten Tomatoes with a perfect score of 100%. Critics are calling the Spanish-language movie creative, imaginative, enchanting, and stunning; they’ve also praised that it is the very first stop-motion film produced in Mexico.
I Am Frankelda is a prequel to the HBO Max stop-motion TV show Frankelda’s Book of Spooks (or Los Sustos Ocultos de Frankelda in Spanish). Arturo Ambriz and Roy Ambriz created, wrote, directed, and produced the series, which debuted its five-episode first (and, so far, only) season in Latin America in 2021 and on HBO Max in the United States in 2023.
Frankelda’s Book of Spooks centers on a ghostwriter named Frankelda who recounts supernatural stories involving all sorts of beings and creatures like witches, gnomes, and sirens.
After the TV show was released, development began on a prequel film. The Ambriz brothers returned as directors, screenwriters, and producers for I Am Frankelda, which takes place in Mexico in the 19th century. Frankelda encounters the creatures and people from her stories. When a prince reaches out for help, she begins a daring adventure that takes her deep into the subconscious of her imagination.
Mireya Mendoza, Arturo Mercado Jr., and Luis Leonardo Suárez all reprised the characters of Frankelda, Herneval and Procustes, respectively, from the series. Joining them as part of the voice cast of I Am Frankelda are Carlos Segundo, Beto Castillo, Assira Abbate, Arturo Ambriz, Roy Ambriz, Antonio Badía, Sergio Carranza, Jesse Conde, Idzi Dutkiewicz, Karla Falcón, Magda Giner, and Laura Torres.
I Am Frankelda premiered at the Guadalajara International Film Festival, Annecy International Film Festival and Fantasia International Film Festival (where it won the Silver Audience Award for Best Animated Feature) in mid-2025 before getting a theatrical release in Mexico in the fall of 2025.
Not only does the movie have a very del Toro-esque look and tone, but the acclaimed filmmaker had a major role in shaping I Am Frankela. He gave the Ambriz brothers advice during the production process after seeing an early version of the film. Aside from Pan’s Labyrinth, The Shape of Water, and Pinocchio, del Toro is best known for movies like Blade II, Hellboy, and 2025’s Frankenstein.
On the small screen, his credits include The Strain, Trollhunters: Tales of Arcadia, and Guillermo del Toro’s Cabinet of Curiosities. With all that experience under his belt, del Toro was able to take fellow Mexican filmmakers Arturo and Roy Ambriz under his wing to mentor them as they brought their movie I Am Frankelda to life on the screen.
I Am Frankelda is now available to stream on Netflix.
- Release Date
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June 12, 2026
- Runtime
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104 minutes
- Director
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Arturo Ambriz, Roy Ambriz
Cast
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Arturo Mercado Jr.
Herneval (voice)
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Mireya Mendoza
Frankelda (voice)
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Luis Leonardo Suarez
Procustes (voice)
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Beto Castillo
Rey Ficturo (voice)