Coco - Movie Review

My wife and I went to see Coco at the theater tonight. With a rating of 9/10 at IMDb, I figured this was a film I had to see at the theater. We were not disappointed. The film was packed to the brim with families. Coco is the latest animated adventure from Disney's Pixar. That is generally a stamp of quality in and of itself.

Miguel Rivera (Anthony Gonzalez) has the heart of a musician. He was born to be a musician. But there's a catch. Miguel had a great-great grandfather who left his family to pursue a dream of music. Since that time, music has been forbidden in his house. It was a taboo that his great-grandmother Coco (Ana Ofelia Murguia) handed down. Mama Coco is still alive, but her memory is fading. Miguel's musical hero is Ernesto Delacruz (Benjamin Bratt), who is a hometown hero. When he attempts to retrieve Delacruz' guitar for a music competition, he is mysteriously transported to the land of the dead. Miguel finds himself at odds with his forebears and teams up with a strange loner named Hector (Gael Garcia Bernal) in hopes of meeting Delacruz and receiving a blessing to return him to the land of the living. Things don't go as expected, leading to a twisting adventure and new revelations. Oh, and if Miguel doesn't make it home by sunrise, he will be stuck in the land of the dead. So he is racing against the clock.

Coco is a clear winner. The story was written by Director Lee Unkrich along with writers Jason Katz, Adrian Molina and Matthew Aldrich. The film, at its core, is about family. It is also about fulfilling your dreams. It is a heartwarming story that has a great balance of humor, visual gags (the things you can do with skeletons!) and plot twists. The film manages some nice plot twists to avoid what would otherwise be predictable. The misdirection was well done. The dialogue and characters were engaging. The ending, although predictable, was heartwarming. A nicely constructed, fluid film with exceptional animation.

Coco is a worthwhile film for the entire family. It is also an introduction into some cultural concepts that many of us may be unfamiliar (or mildly familiar) with. The idea of spirits crossing over from the realm of the dead to the living is foreign to most Americans. Yet Dia de Muertos is celebrated throughout Mexico every year. The celebration dates back centuries but has more recently moved into close proximity with All Saints Day. The film uses this celebration to weave together an entertaining, ethereal story experienced through the eyes of a child. I was entertained throughout.

Coco is rated PG. The film is pure Disney. The rating is based on thematic elements, specifically dealing with the afterlife. The film has skeletons throughout, which may be an issue with very young viewers. Reading the warnings at IMDb, there is an indication that the film has a scene of a child drinking whiskey. If that were in some version of this movie, they have removed it. I do not recall a scene anything like that. Some of the folks at IMDb consider the content to be "severely" frightening. More than half voted that way. I don't get it. The subject matter is the afterlife. But there is only mild violence. There is a murder in the film, but it is by poisoning, which is fairly inane. I did not find this film to be anything more than mildly frightening. And that would be for young viewers only. If a ten year old can't handle this subject matter, they are severely sheltered.

Coco was better than I expected. I did not expect anything close to a 9/10 rating as IMDb suggests. I find those ratings are often inflated or deflated immediately after a movie is released. But this is a solid film. The story is interesting and definitely unique. Not the hackneyed writing Hollywood normally churns out. The animation was Pixar quality. Seamless. Some of the effects were startlingly good. The use of light and colors as well as a water scene were exceptional. This film is incredibly colorful, true to the cultural origins. I would recommend seeing this while it is still in theaters. I can actually see this film getting some playing time (niche) at annual celebrations for the Day of the Dead. 8/10.