''Nacho Libre'' is a 2006

sports Sport is a physical activity or game, often competitive and organized, that maintains or improves physical ability and skills. Sport may provide enjoyment to participants and entertainment to spectators. The number of participants in ...

comedy Comedy is a genre of dramatic works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. Origins Comedy originated in ancient Greec ...

family film A children's film, or family film, is a film genre that generally relates to children in the context of home and family. Children's films are made specifically for children and not necessarily for a general audience, while family films are made ...

written by Jared Hess, Jerusha Hess, and Mike White, and directed by Jared Hess. It stars

Jack Black Thomas Jacob "Jack" Black (born August 28, 1969) is an American actor, comedian, and musician. He is known for roles in family and comedy films, in addition to his voice work in animated films. His awards include a Children's and Family Emmy ...

as Ignacio, a

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

friar A friar is a member of one of the mendicant orders in the Catholic Church. There are also friars outside of the Catholic Church, such as within the Anglican Communion. The term, first used in the 12th or 13th century, distinguishes the mendi ...

and secret

lucha libre ''Lucha libre'' (, meaning "freestyle wrestling" or literally translated as "free fight") is the term for the style of professional wrestling originating in Mexico. Since its introduction to Mexico in the early 20th century, it has develope ...

fan who moonlights as a luchador to earn money for the orphanage where he works. The film is loosely based on the story of Fray Tormenta ("Friar Storm", a.k.a. Rev. Sergio Gutiérrez Benítez), a real-life Mexican Catholic priest who had a 23-year career as a masked luchador to support the orphanage he directed. The film was produced by

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation, commonly known as Paramount Pictures or simply Paramount, is an American film production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the flagship namesake subsidiary of Paramount ...

, Nickelodeon Movies, and Black & White Productions. ''Nacho Libre'' was released on June 16, 2006, by Paramount Pictures. It received mixed reviews from critics and grossed $99 million at the worldwide box office against its $35 million production budget.

Plot

Ignacio's parents, a

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

missionary from

Scandinavia Scandinavia is a subregion#Europe, subregion of northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. It can sometimes also ...

and a Mexican

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian denominations, such as the Cathol ...

, both died while he was still a baby. Now a cook for the

Oaxaca Oaxaca, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Oaxaca, is one of the 32 states that compose the political divisions of Mexico, Federative Entities of the Mexico, United Mexican States. It is divided into municipalities of Oaxaca, 570 munici ...

monastery

orphanage An orphanage is a residential institution, total institution or group home, devoted to the care of orphans and children who, for various reasons, cannot be cared by their biological families. The parents may be deceased, absent, or abusi ...

where he was raised, Ignacio dreams of becoming a '' luchador'', but wrestling is strictly forbidden by the monastery as it is considered a

sin In religious context, sin is a transgression against divine law or a law of the deities. Each culture has its own interpretation of what it means to commit a sin. While sins are generally considered actions, any thought, word, or act considered ...

vanity Vanity is the excessive belief in one's own abilities or attractiveness compared to others. Prior to the 14th century, it did not have such narcissistic undertones, and merely meant ''futility''. The related term vainglory is now often seen as ...

. Though Ignacio cares deeply for the orphans, he is unable to provide decent meals for them due to a lack of funds. He is treated with contempt and indifference by the other monks. He also struggles with his feelings for Sister Encarnación, a

nun A nun is a woman who vows to dedicate her life to religious service and contemplation, typically living under vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience in the enclosure of a monastery or convent.''The Oxford English Dictionary'', vol. X, page 5 ...

who has just arrived to teach at the orphanage. One night, while collecting a bag of tortilla chips for the orphans, Ignacio gets mugged by a street thief named Steven. Having had enough, Ignacio decides to disregard the monastery's rules and become a luchador to make money. He convinces Steven to join him by promising to share the prize money if they win, so the two join a local competition as tag partners. Ignacio fights with the moniker "Nacho" to keep his identity secret, while Steven adopts the name "Esqueleto" (skeleton). They get defeated in their first match but still get paid nicely, as wrestlers are entitled to a portion of the total revenue. They prove to be popular with the crowd so are invited back. They continue to wrestle every week, with Ignacio using the money to acquire better food for the orphans but becoming frustrated that they can never win. Ignacio tries everything he can think of, including a folk remedy to acquire the powers of an

eagle Eagle is the common name for the golden eagle, bald eagle, and other birds of prey in the family of the Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of Genus, genera, some of which are closely related. True eagles comprise the genus ''Aquila ( ...

, but success still eludes them. He then seeks advice from champion luchador Ramses, who arrogantly rebuffs his attempts at conversation. Undeterred, the duo infiltrates a party Ramses's manager holds for the best wrestlers in Mexico. Steven climbs over a wall to get inside, where he discovers that in order to be considered a professional, one must be the last luchador standing in the ring at an upcoming free-for-all match. Ignacio gets in by disguising himself as a member of the band playing live at the party, but does not know their material and improvises; Ramses finds Ignacio's performance annoying and ousts him. Attending the party causes Ignacio to fall behind on his responsibilities at the orphanage, for which he angrily blames Steven, who retaliates by declaring he hates all orphans; they acrimoniously end their partnership. Ignacio's secret is revealed to the entire monastery when his robe catches fire during

Mass Mass is an Intrinsic and extrinsic properties, intrinsic property of a physical body, body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the physical quantity, quantity of matter in a body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physi ...

, exposing his wrestling costume and forcing him to confess to everyone. He declares that he intends to fight at a battle royale for the right to take on Ramses for a cash prize, which he will use to buy a bus for the orphanage. During the match, wrestler Silencio ultimately emerges the victor after defeating Ignacio, who comes in second place. Ignacio is banished from the monastery, so he goes to live in the wilderness, unaware that he is a short distance from a village. The next morning, Steven comes to tell him that Silencio was injured (by him) and is unable to fight. As the second-place finisher, Ignacio now has the right to fight Ramses; Ignacio and Steven agree to team up again. That night, Ignacio sends a message to Encarnación, explaining his plan and confessing his love to her. Ignacio overcomes difficulty and manages to do well in the match, winning the crowd's support, but Ramses cheats and nearly wins until Ignacio sees Encarnación enter the arena with the orphans. Inspired by their support, Ignacio rallies himself and defeats Ramses with a diving technique. Ignacio becomes a professional wrestler and eventually manages to buy a bus for the orphans with his prize money; he then takes the orphans, Steven, and Sister Encarnación on a field trip to

Monte Albán Monte Albán is a large pre-Columbian archaeological site in the Santa Cruz Xoxocotlán Municipality in the southern Mexico, Mexican state of Oaxaca (17.043° N, 96.767°W). The site is located on a low mountainous range rising above the plain i ...

built by the Zapotec civilization. Ignacio, by now, has earned Encarnación's favor, as demonstrated by her signs of encouragement and his somewhat awkward acknowledgment thereof.

Cast

as Ignacio / Nacho, a Oaxaca monastery cook who dreams of becoming a luchador ** Troy Gentile as Young Ignacio * Ana de la Reguera as Sister Encarnación, a nun at the monastery * Héctor Jiménez as Steven / Esqueleto, Ignacio's tag partner * Silver King as Ramses, the luchador champion and Ignacio's idol * Carla Jimenez as Cándida, a woman who tries to court Steven at the luchador's party * Richard Montoya as Guillermo, a monk at the monastery * Enrique Muñoz as Señor Ramon, Ramses' manager * Moisés Arias as Juan Pablo * Donald Chambers as Silencio, one of the wrestlers who defeats Nacho but is disqualified when Esqueleto runs over him, injuring his foot * Darius Rose as Chancho * Peter Stormare as Emperor/Water Gypsy, the local magic-man who claims that eating eagle eggs will give Ignacio the eagle's power * Diego Eduardo Gomez as Chuy * Human Tornado as El Snowflake, one of the luchadors who faces Nacho * Mascarita Dorada as one of Los Duendes * Fray Tormenta as a retired wrestler * Brett Chan as Dynasty, a rival wrestler who becomes Nacho's partner

Production

was a fan of the film ''

Napoleon Dynamite ''Napoleon Dynamite'' is a 2004 American Independent film, independent Coming-of-age story, coming-of-age comedy film produced by Jeremy Coon, Chris Wyatt (producer), Chris Wyatt and Sean C. Covel (producer), Sean Covel, written by Jared and J ...

'' (2004) and its director Jared Hess, and the two met in Los Angeles to discuss collaborating. Black was drawn to Hess' idea of a man of the Lord secretly living a life of violence via his love of

wrestling. He did, however, express concern over portraying a Mexican character, but Hess quelled his concerns by explaining Ignacio was supposed to be "a gringo" but born and raised in

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

. While filming, Black sustained a gash on his eye after diving out of the wrestling ring during a stunt. He was rushed to the hospital but was able to continue filming. The film was shot entirely in

, Mexico.

Music

Hess originally wanted musical artist

Beck Beck David Hansen (born Bek David Campbell; July 8, 1970), known mononymously as Beck, is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He rose to fame in the early 1990s with his Experimental music, experimental and Lo-fi mus ...

to be behind the soundtrack for the film. Beck, being a fan of Hess, accepted. However,

did not think Beck's style fit the movie, so composer

Danny Elfman Daniel Robert Elfman (born May 29, 1953) is an American film composer, singer, songwriter, and musician. He came to prominence as the lead vocalist and primary songwriter for the new wave band Oingo Boingo in the early 1980s. Since scoring his ...

was brought in to replace him. Elfman then wrote a full score and recorded it in May 2006. However, only about 2/3 of Elfman's score ended up in the movie (with one of the songs, Ramses Suite, appearing in the released soundtrack). Due to how much of Elfman's music filled the film, Elfman's representatives asked that Elfman be the only person credited for the film's score. Hess caught wind of this and would not allow the studio to remove Beck from the credits. When finding that he would not have the only music credit, Elfman told Paramount to remove his name from the film. An agreement was eventually reached where both Beck and Elfman were credited for their respective parts of the score. However, Elfman appears with sole credit in the official billing block on promotional material. The theme song for the Japanese version is called "Go! Go! Carlito" by Jonny Jakobsen.

Soundtrack

The track listing for the official soundtrack to ''Nacho Libre''. The soundtrack was released October 24, 2006 # "Hombre Religioso (Religious Man)" - Mister Loco # "A Nice Pile-Drive to the Face (Dialogue)" -

# "Move, Move, Move" - Alan Hawkshaw and Alan Parker # "Papas" - Mister Loco # "Piel Canela (Singing at the Party)" - Jack Black with Ismael Garcia Ruiz y Su Trio # "Ramses Suite" -

# "All the Orphans in the World (Dialogue)" - Jack Black and Héctor Jiménez # "There is No Place in This World for Me" -

# "I'm Serious (Dialogue)" - Jack Black # "10,000 Pesos" - Beck # "Irene" -

Caetano Veloso Caetano Emanuel Viana Teles Veloso (; born 7 August 1942) is a Brazilian composer, singer, guitarist, writer, and political activist. Veloso first became known for his participation in the Brazilian musical movement Tropicália, which encompas ...

# "Pump a Jam (Ramses)" - Cholotronic # "Black is Black" - Eddie Santiago # "Half Forgotten Daydreams" - John Cameron # "Encarnación" - Jack Black # "Tender Beasts of the Spangled Night" - Beck # "Saint Behind the Glass" -

Los Lobos Los Lobos (, Spanish for "the Wolves") is a Mexican American rock group, rock band from East Los Angeles, California. Their music is influenced by rock and roll, Tex-Mex, country, zydeco, folk, R&B, blues, brown-eyed soul, and traditional ...

# "Beneath the Clothes We Find the Man... (Dialogue)" - Jack Black # "Forbidden Nectar" - Jack Black and Mucho Macho Acapulco Some songs that were not included on the soundtrack, but were in the movie, are "Mucha Muchacha" by Esquivel, "Bubblegum" by Mister Loco, "Holy Man" by Beck, "Bat Macumba" by Os Mutantes, and “La Llorona Loca” by Little Joe and the Latinaires.

Release and reception

''Nacho Libre'' was released theatrically by Paramount Pictures on June 16, 2006. The release date was originally set for May 2006, but was changed by Paramount to avoid competition from

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc., formerly 20th Century Fox, is an American film studio, film production and Film distributor, distribution company owned by the Walt Disney Studios (division), Walt Disney Studios, the film studios division of the ...

's '' X-Men: The Last Stand'' and one of Paramount's other films, '' Mission: Impossible III''. It was then placed between the releases of

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...

Pixar Pixar (), doing business as Pixar Animation Studios, is an American animation studio based in Emeryville, California, known for its critically and commercially successful computer-animated feature films. Pixar is a subsidiary of Walt Disney ...

's ''

Cars A car, or an automobile, is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of cars state that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people rather than cargo. There are around one billio ...

'' (June 9) and

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and the main namesake subsidiary of Warner Bro ...

and Legendary Pictures' '' Superman Returns'' (June 28). It was released on DVD and

Blu-ray Blu-ray (Blu-ray Disc or BD) is a digital optical disc data storage format designed to supersede the DVD format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released worldwide on June 20, 2006, capable of storing several hours of high-defin ...

on October 24, 2006. During its opening weekend, ''Nacho Libre'' grossed $28,309,599, opening at #2 behind ''

'' second weekend. The total domestic box office stands at $80,197,993 and a worldwide total of $99,255,460. The film received mixed reviews from critics. On

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...

, the film has an approving rating of 39% based on 165 reviews, with an average rating of 5.1/10. The website's critical consensus states: "At times hilarious, but other times offensive, director Jared Hess is unable to recapture the collective charisma of his ''

'' characters, and instead, relies on a one-joke concept that runs out of steam. Sure to entertain the adolescents, however".

Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...

gave the film a score of 52 out of 100, based on 36 reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Audiences polled by

CinemaScore CinemaScore is an American market research firm based in Las Vegas. It surveys film audiences to rate their viewing experiences with letter grades, reports the results, and forecasts box office receipts from the data. Background Ed Mintz, who ...

gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale.

Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert ( ; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American Film criticism, film critic, film historian, journalist, essayist, screenwriter and author. He wrote for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. Eber ...

of the ''

Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily nonprofit newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has long held the second largest circulation among Chicago newspaper ...

'' wrote: "It takes some doing to make a Jack Black comedy that doesn't work, but ''Nacho Libre'' does it". Mick LaSalle of the ''

San Francisco Chronicle The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and M. H. de Young, Michael H. ...

'' thought the comedy was "hit and miss, with good bits interrupted by dead patches". Manohla Dargis of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' gave it a positive review and called it "endearingly ridiculous".

Video game

A video game adaptation of the film was published by Majesco Entertainment and was released for the

Nintendo DS The is a foldable handheld game console produced by Nintendo, released globally across 2004 and 2005. The DS, an initialism for "Developers' System" or "Dual Screen", introduced distinctive new features to handheld games: two LCD screens worki ...

on October 26, 2006. It is a cartoon-style wrestling game based upon the film.

Possible sequel

In November 2006,

, when asked, expressed his interest in a

sequel A sequel is a work of literature, film, theatre, television, music, or video game that continues the story of, or expands upon, some earlier work. In the common context of a narrative work of fiction, a sequel portrays events set in the same ...

: "I sure hope so, I love working with Jared. I think it's a good bet that we'll collaborate on something again. Mike had an idea that it would be Nacho goes to Japan, we'll see though." However, Jared Hess (who directed the film) revealed in October 2009 that Paramount had never approached him about doing a sequel to ''Nacho Libre'', though he said he would "love to work with Black again". Hess and Black would later collaborate again on '' A Minecraft Movie''.

Notes

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Nacho Libre 2006 films 2000s buddy comedy films 2000s sports comedy films American buddy comedy films American sports comedy films American superhero films 2000s English-language films 2000s Spanish-language films Films scored by Danny Elfman Films about orphans Films about religion Films directed by Jared Hess Films set in Mexico Films shot in California Films shot in Mexico Films with screenplays by Mike White (filmmaker) Lucha libre films Nickelodeon Movies films Paramount Pictures films Parody superheroes Professional wrestling films Religious comedy films Sport wrestling films 2006 comedy films American children's comedy films 2000s children's comedy films Hispanic and Latino American comedy films 2000s American films Spanish-language American films Catholic Church in popular culture American wrestling films English-language buddy comedy films English-language sports comedy films