Movie review
April 7, 2023 · 98 min · PG
Woke Score
Lower is better
Review
The story constantly pushes the Mexican-American boy Alex embracing his heritage and family pride after being bullied at school for being Mexican and his lunch. His entire character arc revolves around reconnecting with Mexican roots, culture, language, and family while protecting the chupacabra. Heritage pride and cultural reconnection drive the narrative engine the whole way through. The evil government scientist hunts the creature for medical gain but stays standard family-movie villain stuff.
Breakdown
These are the editorial factors and ratings behind our score for Chupa.
Woke representation / casting
Natural casting fits the Mexican family and ranch setting with no forced diversity, swaps, or audience-visible identity signaling.
Woke political dialogue
No explicit activist or political dialogue; conversations stay personal and family-focused.
Identity-driven story themes
Protagonist's arc centers on embracing Mexican heritage and family pride after ethnic bullying, making cultural identity a noticeable recurring driver.
Western institutional / cultural critique
School bullies and profit-driven scientist appear as obstacles but without modern activist framing of systemic oppression, whiteness, patriarchy, or Western institutions.
Woke character or canon changes
Not relevant
Production
Anti-woke backlash and complaints
No meaningful anti-woke backlash or complaints about forced identity politics.
Creator track record context
Director's Desierto establishes pattern of work engaging Mexican identity and anti-racism themes.
