Alex (Evan Whitten) begrudgingly goes on a trip to Mexico to visit his grandfather, Chava (Demián Bichir), though he would rather stay in his room and play on his GameBoy.  After his father died months earlier from cancer, Alex began to reject his Mexican heritage despite his mother’s (Adriana Paz) pressing.  When he arrives at his grandfather’s ranch, however, he begins to find a new connection to his family and his roots as he and his cousins, Luna (Ashley Ciarra) and Memo (Nickolas Verdugo), begin to show him around the country introducing him to the food, music, and coaxing him to speak more Spanish in his everyday life.  One morning, Alex is woken up by a strange creature, a young Chupacabra, but the secret puts the family in danger as a research group led by Dr. Quinn (Christian Slater) is seeking the specimen to study its healing properties and will stop at nothing to get his hands on “Chupa.” 

Distributed worldwide by Netflix, the family-friendly adventure, Chupa, is directed by Jonás Cuarón working from a script by the writing team of Sean Kennedy Moore, Joe Barnathan, and Marcus Rinehart.  Running a clean 95 minutes, the film strikes up a nice balance of excitement and sentiment, while being sure to stop and let audiences enjoy the vistas of the beautiful countryside.  Nico Aguilar’s camera captures the dusty heat while still instilling the magic of a great adventure into the scene, paired perfectly with Carlos Rafael Rivera’s vibrantly inspired score that really helps to set the tone and place of the film. We see a vibrant country, and while the film does not slow down for the sake of its target audience’s quick-to-expire attention span, it is hard not to selfishly wish that Cuarón allowed Aguilar to explore even just the slightest of Malick-ian urges so that he could paint us a wider picture of the beautiful locations. 

Alex is our entry point into this film, and he helps lead the ensemble through the adventure. Whitten has a hard ask from the script as he is pushed and prodded along for much of the first half of the film having all but shut down from the bullying at school and is determined to sulk in his time in Mexico. He slowly begins to open up as he learns that his grandfather was a notable luchador and immerses himself in the different local flavors. By the time he meets Chupa, Alex – and Whitten – has hit his stride in the narrative and it is really sweet to see his confidence grow over time.  

The namesake of the film, Chupa, is as cute as he is wild. The creature is reminiscent of something from an old-school Disney Channel Original in all the best ways. It coos and howls its way into Alex’s heart, and the audience’s, which is exactly what these creatures need to do. With the added element of healing properties in his blood, Chupa becomes a sought-after secret which brings much of the tension to the second half of the film. Dr. Quinn is never far from Chupa, and the children seem to be no match for the crazed doctor so it is up to Relampago Azul – Chava’s retired lucha personality – to stand up to the evil man. When Chupa is finally captured by Dr. Quinn, the beast’s family is quick to swoop in and bring their support. This desert brawl is incredibly exciting, and it all starts off in a very frightening sequence with Alex cornered on a pipeline over a canyon that even the most cynical of viewers will have a hard time not stiffening their breath as it boils to a climax. While the graphics at times do leave something to be desired, they are all very serviceable and the heart of the story truly shines through, as well as the excitement of the young cast. 

What is most impressive about Chupa is the confidence in the storytelling and the writing. From the onset of its announcement, jokes were made that the title is also a crude slang word in some Spanish-speaking countries. The writing team addresses this head-on in the film, teasing Alex that in his rejection of his Spanish heritage, he named his new mythical pet “sucker,” and while the moment is played for laughs, it is always great to see a creative team unify around, commit to, and execute an idea. This same confidence permeates through to the end of the film where the writing team trusts the audience to know that Alex is returning home with a new appreciation of his heritage and a new confidence in himself. There is no scene when he greets his mother in Spanish at the airport, or standing up to the bullies in the cafeteria while he enjoys some carne asada, or – if he is feeling exceptionally bold – sessels. We do not see these scenes, but we do not need them to know that it would happen because the writing team placed their trust in themselves and the audience to connect and engage with the story at a higher level, even if it was targeted to a young audience. The respect they show allows Chupa to be an exciting and whimsical adventure for the youngest of audiences while still speaking to older viewers about embracing the unique aspects of their own person. 

Receiving a quiet drop on Netflix, Chupa is a surprisingly well-executed film that is fun for the whole family and done in a style that is not often seen in today’s youth-targeted output. It balances an incredible range of tones from goofy and lighthearted to thrilling and dangerous, but it never feels too far in one direction that bogs down or otherwise derails the film. With an excited young ensemble and a committed older cast of supporting characters, it is impossible not to fall into the charm of the story and find elements that speak to us all individually. It is all too easy to sit back and laugh at the movie with its made-for-tv budget and wild concept, but sure enough, those that go in with an open mind to what the film is trying to say will soon find themselves laughing along with it instead. At its core it is a film about love, family, and understanding, of others and ourselves, all wrapped up in the mythos of the chupacabra; an unlikely hero from Mexican folklore that forms an indelible bond with a young boy who wants nothing to do with his family heritage, but grows to appreciate and embrace it in the end.