Donkey Xote (known in some regions as Donkey X or Aeslet) is a 2007 3D computer-animated children's film produced by Lumiq Studios. A co-production between Spain and Italy, the film is directed by José Pozo and written by Angel Pariente, based on the Miguel de Cervantes novel Don Quixote, and features the voices of Andreu Buenafuente, David Fernández, Sonia Ferrer and José Luis Gil. The film has gained notoriety as a mockbuster as the lead character Rucio bears an intentional resemblance to Donkey from the Shrek film series, along with the poster having the tagline "From the producers who saw Shrek".
Donkey Xote was presented at the Cannes Film Festival in May 2012, and theatrically released on 22 November 2007 by Lumiq Studios and Filmax International. It grossed €12 million ($18 million) on a €13 million ($19 million) budget.
Plot
The film begins with a narration of the story as told by Cervantes, but the narrator is interrupted by the donkey Rucio who insists on telling the "true" story of the adventure: Don Quixote was not crazy, but in fact an intelligent and passionate person. In Rucio's re-telling of his adventure with Don Quixote and his squire, Sancho Panza, we learn that Rucio wishes he were Quixote's horse, and that the horse, Rocinante, hates leaving his stable.
Quixote, Sancho, Rucio and Rocinante had gone on an adventure to search for Quixote's supposed true love Dulcinea but were unable to find her. However, Sancho lied that he saw her for a brief moment when Quixote was not with him, so Quixote firmly believes that Dulcinea is out there somewhere. Because of their adventure, Quixote and Sancho have become famous in their home village of La Mancha, much to the ire of their childhood acquiantance Bachelor Sansón Carrasco. Quixote and Sancho later learn from Carrasco that the region has been flooded with letters by one known as the Knight of the Crescent Moon who is searching for Quixote to challenge him to a duel in Barcelona on the next full moon. If the knight should win, Quixote will renounce both his knighthood and Dulcinea forever, but if Quixote be the winner, the knight will reveal the true identity of Dulcinea and give her all his treasures and possessions. Quixote decides to accept the knight's challenge, and to prepare him for his journey, Carrasco gives him the armour of a renowned knight. After Quixote, Sancho, Rucio and Rocinante depart for their journey, Carrasco reveals to his subordinate Avellaneda that he only helped Quixote and Sancho to look good in front of the townspeople and that his goal is to destroy the duo's fame and become more famous than them. To do this, he seeks to hire the services of Sinister Knight, a villain previously thought to have been made up by Quixote, to ensure Quixote and Sancho never make it to Barcelona in time for the duel. The armour that was given to Quixote is meant to hinder their progress.
Upon learning that Rocinante has left with Quixote, Rocinante's bodyguard James Rooster begins following the four to protect Rocinante. When the four reach El Toboso, the supposed home town of Dulcinea, they discover that many other men have received the letters from the Knight of the Crescent Moon and are impersonating Quixote to win Dulcinea's affections. While fighting a duo of thugs, Quixote's armour starts to move on its own erratically, for the soul of the knight who once wore the armour is imprisoned within it, and it can only be freed if it takes part in an act of courage. Thinking he has found Dulcinea, Quixote tries to profess his love for her, unaware that he is actually talking to a cardboard cutout behind a curtain. Avellaneda then makes off with the cardboard cutout in his carriage, tricking Quixote and Sancho into thinking Dulcinea has been kidnapped. James eventually catches up with the four, but as they continue making their way to Barcelona, they find a duchess being attacked by a lion and come to her rescue. Grateful for their help, the duchess invites Quixote and Sancho to come to her castle where the duke, her husband, resides. Unbeknownst to Quixote and Sancho, the lion, whose name is Bartolo, is actually the pet of the duke and duchess and was only pretending to attack the latter so she could trick Quixote and Sancho into coming to the castle to distract them from their journey to Barcelona. The duke and duchess offer to have their soldiers find those who "kidnapped" Dulcinea so Quixote can be with her, and they also offer to make Sancho governor of an island like he always dreamed of.