NetflixThe longer you look at I Am Frankelda, the more there is to see. Every frame of this Mexican stop-motion marvel is packed with detail — sometimes overwhelmingly so. At first, your eyes don’t quite know where to land. But then you get absorbed in the story, and piece by meticulously crafted piece, the elements come together to create a fantastical Gothic realm of jewel-toned nightmares. This is handmade filmmaking at its most dedicated — and its most colorful.I Am Frankelda is the creation of Arturo and Roy Ambriz, a brother duo from Mexico City who co-founded the stop-motion studio Cinema Fantasma in 2011 with a group of friends and creative collaborators. Most of the company’s previous projects have been for television: In fact, I Am Frankelda is a spin-off, serving as a prequel for the brothers’ 2021 TV series Frankelda’s Book of Spooks. That show was a hit in Latin America, which led to partial funding from Warner Bros. for a feature-length prequel. Arturo and Roy mortgaged their family home for the rest. The passion the Ambriz brothers have for their work is evident from that fact alone. But it’s visible in the work, too. 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. The film’s creative use of mixed media is especially striking: In one scene, a lizard creature literally liquefies before our eyes, melting into a puddle of paint and sliding into a river made of wispy cotton. Illuminated manuscripts and hand-painted watercolors are also used as storytelling devices, and the overall effect is one of limitless creativity. Evil Spider (and AI metaphor) Procustes. | NetflixAppropriately enough, the story is also a tribute to the power of creativity, following young Francisca (voiced by Mireya Mendoza in both the Spanish and English versions), an aspiring writer in 1870s Mexico whose passion for horror is met by condescension and scorn by those around her. But in the fictional realm of Topus Terrenos, she’s a god. There, all of Francesca’s creations come to life, sustained by the power of her storytelling. Herneval (Arturo Mercado Jr.), the realm’s owl-like prince, invites Francisca — now going by the pen name Frankelda — to Topus Terrenos to spin some new tales. This puts her at odds with the villainous Proscutes (Luis Leonardo Suárez), the corrupt royal “nightmare maker” who can only come up with stories by stealing them from others. Latin American horror culture is unique, both in how colorful it is — throughout I Am Frankelda, the directors accentuate the already-ornate characters with bright gel lighting, to stunning effect — and in the comfort fans take in the dark. This cozy affection is present in the late, great HBO series Los Espookys, and it’s a cornerstone of Guillermo del Toro’s romantic approach to the genre. It’s also essential to I Am Frankelda, whose lead character only feels truly understood and appreciated when she’s immersed in her own nightmares. So perhaps it’s no surprise that del Toro has been a huge supporter of the Ambritzes’ work, helping to fund their early work and serving as an advisor on later projects. (“We learned a lot from him about the rhythm of a film, the differences between doing a short film to feature film, [and] how the emotion has to be the most important element,” Roy told IndieWire in a recent interview.) Del Toro has also spoken put in support of the movie on social media, calling it “humanware” and praising it as “made by humans for humans.” I Am Frankelda is Mexico’s first feature-length stop-motion film, yet another reason to celebrate a project that took two years of painstaking effort from dozens of artisans to complete. It’s ironic (but not unwelcome) to see it streaming on Netflix, a service that’s never seemed sure if it’s in the business of making art or just plain content. Score one for art. I Am Frankelda is currently streaming on Netflix.