The Frida star jumped at the chance to turn the beloved story into an animated film, and also voices a character in the movie, which centres on a young girl who loses her voice following the death of her father.

She says, "My grandfather, who was Lebanese..., had the book on his bedside table and I was very close to him. The first spiritual lesson that he taught me was that he died. So I learned about death through him because it was the first person close to me (that died). It was very impactful (sic) in my life and I always wished that he had been there to guide me, to teach me about life and also to get to know him better.

"Then, when I was about 18, I found the book at someone's house and I memorised the cover, which was the drawing of the face of this man, which reminded me of my grandfather... So I borrowed it and when I read it, it was as if my grandfather was teaching me about life through this book and telling me about himself... It's very personal because, for me, it's a journey that started when I was six."

The Frida star's daughter makes her acting debut in the French version of the film as the voice of the daughter of Hayek's character Kamila, and the Mexican star admits the project helped to ease the seven year old's fear of death.

She continues, "(Her) reaction was different than with the other movies (she's seen).

"She came out and she wrote a poem about how we are spirits and because of this we are free, not even our bodies can encapsulate us, and because we are free, we never die, because we are spirits.

"Then she made a drawing of my grandmother, who she never met... coming out of her tomb and dancing with all of us."