Runtime: 95 minutes
Directed by: Jorge R. Guitterez
Starring the voice talents of: Diego Luna, Zoe Saldana, Channing Tatum, Ron Perlman, Christina Applegate
From: 20th Century Fox
The perfect movie to watch on Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Day)... if you've seen Coco before. Normally I wouldn't boldly make that comparison right away but even before Coco came out, the Internet was the Internet, meaning they thought Coco was a ripoff of this and thus were MAD that Disney was stealing some other property, again. Heaven knows that Disney committed theft when it came to “borrowing” ideas-among many other sins-however, a ripoff this was not. The only similarities are the Day of the Dead setting & music as a key plot point; both tell worthwhile, fun stories suitable for the entire family in a gorgeous, unique visual style. I do prefer Coco to this-that should not be taken as a slight. I am a gringo so take my opinion however you wish.
The plot here surrounds a love triangle where the trio has known each other since childhood; however, it is much more complicated than that. Two higher powers place a bet on which guy the girl will marry, and of course the heel cheats & gives his kid something that will greatly help him be a hero as long as he carries it. The girl becomes “an empowered woman”, the kid from a bullfighting family wishes to become a singer instead & like in Coco the concept of Dia de los Muertos is explained well enough to the audience that is unfamiliar with this tradition.
Not all the humor works & I am unsure why our hero sings songs from RADIOHEAD and ELVIS... despite that and some uneven moments, overall this was a charming film which has some pathos-the traditional music you hear is also fine. Channing Tatum voicing a Hispanic character is a little odd, but I am sure more than a few on Letterboxd will love that not only does Diego Luna lend his voice, he is the one who sings a few songs. I can't carp about its faults too loudly when there are nice messages such as “be true to yourself” and some will love that this gets Vegan Points for being against bullfighting and an early scene of animals being rescued from a butcher. Those that love Coco should at least give this a chance one day, even if it's not on a Day of the Dead.
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