Coco

Movie, 2017, PG

Premise – A young boy in Mexico must hide his dream of becoming a famous musician from his overbearing family. When he attempts to steal a guitar from the greatest musician of all time, he is transported into the Land of the Dead, and cannot return to life until he receives his anti-music family’s blessing.

Review – I love Pixar films! This one goes up there with the other classics, such as Inside Out and Up, for its pure and wholeheartedly good storytelling. Visually, it ranks up there with the greats like Finding Nemo, if not even better for its incorporation of newer animation technologies. This is probably the most colorful film I have ever seen, which is something I prefer. I would take an explosion of color over a minimalist, simple film any day. The entire time I was watching this film, I was just in awe of how beautiful it was, and the colors will stick in my mind for years to come.

All of this said, this is not one of my all-time favorite Pixar films. In some ways, there was no possible way it could become a favorite, because it will never have the nostalgic quality of older, childhood Pixar films. I felt the same way about Inside Out. However, there are other reasons why it does not top the list. In comparison to other Pixar films, Coco is lacking in its comedy. They try to make up for it by including a ridiculous dog, named Dante, who has little to no purpose in the film other than providing Miguel a companion. I loved Dante, but his presence was a little forced. I also had a problem with the story’s predictability. Spoiler alert, but I was able to predict that Hector was the real musician and ancestor from the beginning, and I hate being able to predict the ending of a film. I want that feeling of surprise. Overwhelmingly, though, my response to the film was positive.

Pixar is famous for its ability to humanize what had previously not been humanized before. Ratatouille humanizes rats, Cars humanizes cars, Toy Story humanizes toys, and now Coco is humanizing the dead, which is somehow even more striking because they used to be just as alive as us. Before the Land of the Dead plotline kicks in, the beginning of the film feels too overwhelmingly generic. A kid wants to follow his dream of pursuing the arts, but his family wants him to have a more practical career - in this case shoemaking. It is the same old story where one becomes motivated to follow their dreams no matter what, with the caveat that sacrifices need to be made. And of course, Miguel does the obvious of somehow uniting the two opposing forces, showing how you can pursue your dream and stay close to your family. Alone, this story would be incredibly lazy. However, with the added component of the dead, it becomes original and emotionally provocative. Disrespecting or leaving one’s family carries so much more weight if it not only impacts your living loved ones, but generations of them. Even more importantly, the film addresses WHY family is so important. Family keeps the dead alive. While one’s physical body may be gone, an individual is not truly dead until they are no longer remembered. People stay alive, sometimes for eternity, in the living consciousness of others. More meaningful yet, one way to keep memories alive is through the arts, like music. The moral of the story resonates incredibly deeply with me, as this conception of death is one that I have personally agreed with for years. (87/100) 

Quote - "Five minutes ago I thought I was related to a murderer, so you're an upgrade! I'm proud you're my family!" (...Or something like that. Definitely paraphrasing here).

What to Watch For - The colors. Really.

If you liked this movie, I'd recommend Ratatouille!

Director: Lee Unkrich

Distribution Company: Disney Pixar