‘I Am Frankelda’ Trailer: Netflix’s Latest Animated Film Is a Stop Motion Mexican Horror Musical

The film from directors Arturo and Roy Ambriz arrives on Netflix June 12.

Netflix has released the official trailer for “I Am Frankelda,” a new stop-motion animated film coming to the streamer next month.

Directed by brother animation team Arturo and Roy Ambriz — whose Cinema Fantasia studio is best known in the states for producing the Adult Swim series “Women Wearing Shoulder Pads” — “I Am Frankelda” is based on the duo’s five-episode show “Frankelda’s Book of Spooks,” which aired on Cartoon Network Latin America in 2021. The series was an anthology hosted by the titular Frankelda, the ghost of an aspiring horror writer, who told stories about children encountering the paranormal. The feature film acts as a prequel, exploring the origin story behind the Frankelda seen in the original show.

The logline for the film reads: “In 19th-century Mexico, Frankelda is a gifted writer whose dark tales are ignored and dismissed. Forced to suppress her voice, she refuses to give up, even as many try to silence her. But when she is thrust into her subconscious, the very monsters she created come to life. Guided by Herneval, a tormented prince trapped between dreams and nightmares, she must restore balance between fiction and reality before both realms collapse. Meanwhile, the sinister writer Procustes and his conspirators plot to seize control. As Frankelda and Herneval grow closer, their bond becomes both a strength and a curse. To rewrite their fate, she must confront a love that defies existence and reclaim her power as a storyteller—before dark forces consume her imagination and reveal horrors beyond her creation.”

“I Am Frankelda” is the first independent stop-motion animated film produced in Mexico. The Ambriz brothers wrote, directed, and produced the film, with Ana Coronilla and Bruce Zick serving as production designers, Beto Petiches serving as animation director, and Irene Melis and Fernanda G. Manzur serving as directors of photography. The original score of the film was composed by Kevin Smithers. The voice casts includes Mireya Mendoza, Arturo Mercado Jr., and Luis Leonardo Suarez.

“I Am Frankelda” debuts on Netflix June 12. Netflix will release the movie in both the original Spanish version with subtitles and in an English-language dub. Watch the trailer for the film below.