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| Frankelda's Book of Spooks | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Spanish | Los Sustos Ocultos de Frankelda |
| English | Frankelda's Book of Spooks |
| Genre | |
| Created by |
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| Written by |
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| Directed by |
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| Voices of |
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| Opening theme | "Tinta Invisible" |
| Composer | Kevin Smithers |
| Country of origin | Mexico |
| Original languages | Spanish |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 5 |
| Production | |
| Executive producers |
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| Producers |
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| Running time | 12-16 minutes |
| Production companies |
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| Original release | |
| Network | HBO Max |
| Release | 29 October 2021 (2021-10-29) (Latin America) 12 October 2023 (2023-10-12) (United States and Canada) |
Frankelda's Book of Spooks (Spanish:Los Sustos Ocultos de Frankelda) is a Mexicanstop motionanimated television series created by brothers Arturo and Roy Ambriz Rendón and produced by the animation studio Cinema Fantasma forCartoon Network Latin America andHBO Max.
Frankelda, a mysterious ghostwriter, tells tales of terror with the assistance of her grumpy enchanted book Herneval, primarily focused on children encountering supernatural entities such as gnomes, witches, sirens and theCoco collectively known as "Spooks", that rely on human fear to survive. Trapped in the consciousness of a sentient haunted house for 150 years, telling stories allows the two an opportunity to gradually regain their strength and make an escape plan, though with the obstacle of the house itself waking up.
Frankelda's Book of Spooks was initially pitched as a small web series with a four-minute pilot episode being released in 2019 on the Cartoon NetworkYouTube channel, inspired byTales from the Crypt andThe Storyteller. When the series was backed by HBO Max as part of their larger initiative to develop 100 projects in Latin America, the Ambriz brothers expanded the scope of the project into something more dramatic with musical numbers. 122 puppets and 42 sets were created for the series.[1]
The series was dubbed into English twice over, first by the Miami-based studio BKS as a language option for its initial HBO Max Latin America release and a second time by Keywords Studios in Los Angeles for its US release. This second dub had the three leads of the Mexican cast reprise their roles in English.
The series is being positioned as a "calling card" for Cinema Fantasma, with the Ambriz brothers describing Frankelda's extended backstory as offering enough depth as a hook for potential later seasons or a movie.[2] A spinoff exploring the backstory of Frankelda and Herneval further was announced at the Pixelatl 2022 festival, titledFrankelda and the Prince of Spooks,[3] later being confirmed as a movie when it was announced it would be featured as a work in progress at the 2023Annecy International Animation Festival as part of a showcase of Mexican animation.[4] The film, retitledI Am Frankelda, was completed in 2025[5] and premiered at Annecy,[6] with a Mexican theatrical release being planned for the fall. Cinema Fantasma would later collaborate with Cartoon Network again onWomen Wearing Shoulder Pads forAdult Swim.
| Pilot | Air Date | Platform | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sustos ocultos de Frankelda | 11 November 2019 | Cartoon Network'sYouTube channel | 4:17 min |
| No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date | English release date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "What's Your Name" | Arturo Ambriz and Roy Ambriz | Arturo Ambriz Rendón and Roy Ambriz | 29 October 2021 (2021-10-29) | 12 October 2023 | |
Frankelda tells the story of Nemo, a boy who is willing to offer a gnome the most valuable thing he has in exchange for free time. | ||||||
| 2 | "You Can Transform Yourself" | Arturo Ambriz and Roy Ambriz | Arturo Ambriz and Roy Ambriz | 29 October 2021 (2021-10-29) | 12 October 2023 | |
Frankelda tells the story of Magali, a girl who accepts a deal with three mysterious women, seeking to change to fit in. | ||||||
| 3 | "They'll Drown in Their Fears" | Arturo Ambriz and Roy Ambriz | Arturo Ambriz Rendón and Roy Ambriz | 29 October 2021 (2021-10-29) | 12 October 2023 | |
Frankelda tells the story of Uli, a boy who will have to overcome his own insecurities to rescue his friends from the clutches of a mythological aquatic being. | ||||||
| 4 | "Let's Get Out of the Dark" | Arturo Ambriz and Roy Ambriz | Arturo Ambriz and Roy Ambriz | 29 October 2021 (2021-10-29) | 12 October 2023 | |
Frankelda tells the story of Tere, a girl who makes a deal with the charismaticEl Coco to stop suffering from her passion for theremin music. | ||||||
| 5 | "Invisible Ink" | Arturo Ambriz and Roy Ambriz | Arturo Ambriz and Roy Ambriz | 29 October 2021 (2021-10-29) | 12 October 2023 | |
Frankelda tells the story of her mortal self, Francisca Imelda, who decides to challenge the world with the help of a mysterious being to dedicate herself to writing horror fiction. | ||||||
A follow-up sequel and a prequel film based on the series under the titleI Am Frankelda had its world premiere as the opening film of the40th Guadalajara International Film Festival on 6 June 2025.[7] The film is scheduled for commercial release on 23 October 2025, in Mexican theaters byCinépolis Distribución.[8]
