Coco

Coco (2017)

97% on Rotten Tomatoes (out of 176 reviews)

Runtime: 109 minutes

Directed by: Lee Unkrich/Adrian Molina

Starring: The voices of such people as Anthony Gonzalez, Gael Garcia Bernal, Benjamin Bratt, Alanna Ubach, Renee Victor

From: Disney/Pixar

I haven't seen as much Pixar as I should; at least I got to see this theatrically, and I am glad I did. Read the details below: 

Last night I reviewed Olaf's Frozen Adventure, which controversially played before this motion picture. I found that to be “meh” but thankfully I have a rosier picture to paint here. Shamefully I haven't watched as much Pixar as I should have; I've watched all three Toy Story movies and I rate them as very good or better so I have no viable excuse here... although the reception some of their recent work has gotten has not been outstanding but I blame that on Disney buying them. One day I'll be talking more about them and I'll watch or rewatch their actual worthwhile output.

I say that this is one of those worthwhile movies. Sure, beforehand I thought that the idea of a family just hating music in general is a little zany but I went with it and this movie is simply charming. Of course I don't want to reveal much about a movie that only came to the United States a week ago; I'll just mention the basics of how it revolves around a Mexican family during The Day of the Dead; the film does explain the whole deal for those that aren't familiar with the tradition; it's all about family so no surprise that is a critical plot point, as is music. Thankfully the soundtrack-appropriate for the region-delivered and was effective. I am a gringo from the United States but I know enough where I can say that the film shows the proper reverence towards The Day of the Day and the story where a young boy ends up in the Land of the Dead and there are complications to him returning to the world of the living.

The story isn't mind-blowing but compared to some of the trailers I saw beforehand... the plot and film in general are masterpieces. Sherlock Gnomes, Peter Rabbit, and Ferdinand... those did not look good at all. Early Man from Aardman Animations should be fine and the same goes for The Incredible 2 but the first three, they were filled with lame modern references, fart jokes and other puerile “humor”-I was thankful Coco was none of that garbage. It is rather obvious why fans of the books are IRATE with how Peter Rabbit looks pretty vile and overly violent tripe.

Of course the animation looks tremendous and I loved looking at such a colorful world filled with intricate details; the characters being pretty enjoyable is also a plus. The Latin soundtrack fits and while it's not required, I was glad I got to see it in a Premium Large Format auditorium; considering how Justice League has disappointed, at least starting soon that'll be easier for people to do. The movie is cute and yet it also has some heart-wrenching moments and even I know that this is something you should expect from Pixar. It's now the highest-grossing movie ever in Mexico and both the public & critics rate the film pretty highly. I now understand why and this is a film I can recommend whether or not you have children... and no matter if you are Mexican or not.