Bolívar: el héroe (found Colombian animated film; 2003)

The film's poster.

Status: Found: Mexican dub
Lost: Original Colombian dub

Date found: 04 Dec 2015

Found by: A. Ariza (Mexican dub)

Bolívar: El héroe (Bolívar: the Hero) is a Colombian animated film released on December 25th, 2003 and based on the life of Simón Bolívar (a Latin American military and political leader who fought against Spanish colonial rule). Not a great deal is known about the film, and there are few online resources regarding it. However, the film has become notorious on Latin American websites for its low quality, due to its lack of funding. Sources say the film performed decently at the box office.

The director, Guillermo Rincón, has not made any further ventures in the film industry. However, according to some forums from the early 2000s, Guillermo Rincón actually put his name only to take the credit for the film. The work of the film recall to Diego Zajec and Nixon Aguilera, two artists with a doubtful career.^[1]

In 2003, El Tiempo website posted an article about the movie production announcing that the movie would have a Colombian exclusive dub featuring Manuel Cabral as Bolivar. Nothing about this dub has resurfaced or even mention again, even the Mexican dub was transmitted on Colombian national channels. ^[2]

On December 4th, 2015, user A. Ariza uploaded the full movie with the Mexican dub on YouTube. The user was taken down months after but the movie was mirrored for various users.

Plot

The film tells the story of Bolívar using basic characters: a tyrannical one representing Spanish oppression, and "Americo," who represents the Latin Americans and their desire for freedom.

Running 75 minutes, the film was designed to appeal to younger audiences with a "cartoony" art style. It was produced entirely digitally over the course of four years. It was screened at numerous film festivals between 2004 and 2007 and, according to Wikipedia, still airs occasionally on Colombian and international television.