If you are ever in need of a wing man and a singing entourage to help woo your true love, Cheech Marin is your man!

In "The Book of Life," Marin voices the hysterical role of Pancho Rodriguez, one of Manolo's (voiced by Diego Luna) hilarious mariachi friends, the "Rodriguez brothers" (also voiced by Gabriel Iglesias and Ricardo "El Mandril"). In the film, they try "fun, though hardly romantic versions of Rod Stewart's 'Do Ya Think I'm Sexy' and Biz Markie's 'Just a Friend' -- the latter to the accompaniment of a toy piano."

Marin also brought the laughs to an exclusive interview with Latin Post with his set of vocal chops and Mexican accent as he broke out into song, singing a part of Biz Markie's "Just a Friend."

"Oh, baby, you!" he sang.

"The Book of Life" takes viewers through the vibrant fantasy-adventure of the legend of Manolo, "a conflicted hero and dreamer who sets off on an epic quest through magical, mythical and wondrous worlds" -- The Land of the Living, The Land of the Remembered and The Land of the Forgotten -- to return to his true love, Maria (Zoe Saldana) and defend his village.

Manolo's childhood friend, Joaquin (voiced by Channing Tatum) is the "town hotshot," who is also vying for the attention of Maria, but his machismo often gets in the way of his quest for love.

Not only does "The Book of Life" tell an important tale about love, the bond of friends and family and life's lessons, but it's also highlights the strength of the human spirit and celebrates Mexican culture and its colorful holiday, the Day of the Dead (el Dia de Los Muertos).

Always bringing the funny ever since his "Cheech & Chong" days, Marin is light-hearted, warm and funny, just as I expected him to be.

Not only a comedic actor, Marin said, "I was a singer all of my life, I have been singing since I was five. I was in bands, choirs."

Like his over-the-top character, Pancho Rodriguez who is part of the Rodriguez serenading trio in "The Book of Life," one has to wonder if art imitates life. Has the LA-raised, Mexican-American actor serenaded a love interest in his lifetime?

He admitted that he has but that it was "a quiet affair" and "not a public spectacle" like that in the film.

Marin also compared the serenading and wooing to "being on stage and being in a rock band, trying to get girls."

A longtime friend of Oscar-winning producer and fellow Mexican pal, Guillermo del Toro, as well as renegade Mexican-American filmmaker Robert Rodriguez, Marin was familiar with first-time director and illustrator Jorge Gutierrez's work in the Nickelodeon series, "El Tigre: The Adventures of Manny Rivera."  The series was co-created by Gutierrez and his wife, Mexican animator and painter Sandra Equihua who won an Emmy Award for her character designs.

Rodriguez has worked with Marin several times: "Spy Kids" trilogy, "From Dusk Till Dawn," "Machete," "Desperado" and "Once Upon a Time In Mexico." He also provided his voice for several Disney animated films. In addition to "Oliver & Company" (1988), he voiced roles as Banzai in "The Lion King" (1994) and Ramone in "Cars" (2006) and "Cars 2" (2011). He also reprised the Banzai role in "Kingdom Hearts II." He also appeared in "Ghostbusters II" and the hit TV series "Lost" as Hurley's father.

Marin, a huge fan of animated films, was ahead of the curve, long before there was "Dora the Explorer" and "Handy Manny."

Marin has released two best-selling, bilingual albums in the children's music genre, "My Name is Cheech," the "School Bus Driver" (1992) and "Coast to Coast" (1997). In July 2007, Marin added children's book author to his list of accomplishments with the release of "Cheech the School Bus Driver," which was illustrated by Orlando L. Ramirez. In 2005, Marin appeared as  the character, Juan Bobo on Nickelodeon in the Dora the Explorer series in an episode titled "A Crown for King Bobo."

"It's an idealized art form," he said. "I think the voice has to be bigger than anything, so it works well for personality. I find that in animated films. ... Your voice can get lost. You have to match the image. Louder and broader had to work in animation. You have to match that image."

Which was his favorite role in the children's genre?

"I think my favorite that I did was for 'Oliver and Company," from Disney Pictures. "I played Tito, this Chihuahua; it was the first one I did." He recalled his audition and realized that the first try wasn't his best, so be went back for round two "and really brought his A game."

"I realized what I needed to be, and I came alive," he said. "They kept expanding the part, and I worked on that for a year and a half. It was the very first of the Disney era, the first one to really be successful.

He recalled that at the time many Hollywood stars didn't really take animated movies seriously. Then all of a sudden there was this shift. He added that Bette Midler came in and did her part, but after seeing the character development and audience response to these types of films, she came back and said, "I got to step this up."

At the same time, Marin had some experience as he came from a different background -- he was used to emulating his voice on records as a part of the wildly successful comedy duo, "Cheech & Chong."

"That's what I was raised to do with 'Cheech and Chong,'" he said.

Marin participated in a number of comedy albums and feature film comedies in the 1970s and 1980s. Tommy Chong directed four of their films, while co-writing and starring in all seven with Marin.

While he and Tommy Chong went their separate ways in 1985, Marin is still close friends with Chong who is currently starring on "Dancing with the Stars." Marin said a new "Cheech & Chong" film is in the works, so stay tuned!