Coco

Voices of: Anthony Gonzalez, Gael Garcia Bernal, Benjamin Bratt, Alanna Ubach, Renee Victor, Jaime Camil, Alfonso Arau, Gabriel Iglesias, Edward James Olmos, Cheech Marin, John Ratzenberger
Directed by: Lee Unkirch, Adrian Molina
Rating: PG
Genre: Animation, Adventure, Comedy
2017

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: A boy enters the land of the dead to search for his great-great-grandfather.

Review:

Tim: Pixar has been so consistently good (although I certainly don't love everything they've done) that it's always fun to see what they will come out with next. I have to admit Coco seemed like an unlikely choice. It takes place in Mexico, during the Day of the Dead and the story involves a young boy crossing over into the Land of the Dead, populated with skeletons. And there's a lot of singing. It just seemed like a lot to take in, especially for younger audiences. And it should be noted that younger audiences may find the film a bit frightening and challenging. I'm pretty lax with what my three-year-old watches, but I wouldn't allow him to watch this film. Still, while the movie feels slightly more mature than some of Pixar's fare, I have to admit the movie won me over.

While there's good music throughout and fun fantasy adventure, like all the best Pixar movies, this one has a powerful emotional undercurrent. The heart of the movie is really about not forgetting our deceased love ones. It's the idea that they still live on, as long as the living remember them. That's powerful and deep and immediately goes to a truly emotional place. Everyone has lost people and it's comforting to be reminded that perhaps they live on. The movie is also about family, forgiveness, about finding out who you are. It really is a beautiful story wrapped in an animated children's film. Coco is a great example of why Pixar has won over so many people around the world. It tells this memorable, entertaining and yet heartfelt story. You learn to care about Miguel and Hector and all the other characters. I can be critical of Pixar at times, but few can do what they do. And while I'm heaping praise on Coco, I should also be clear that this isn't among the top tier of Pixar films. It's really, really good, but not quite at the level of some of their other films. That's impressive.

To touch on a few things that didn't quite work- one would be the mythical creature things in the Land of the Dead. I understand that this is part of Mexican culture, but it felt like a tack-on to me. It felt like the thing to do to make the story more appealing to children, but not necessary to tell the best possible version of the story. It makes things a little too convenient for the characters at times. I also thought the climax was a bit of a mess. The ending of the movie is powerful, but the climax felt a bit too frantic and not memorable enough. The movie has some funny moments, but these aren't consistent enough. The animation felt strong, but not as stunning as some of Pixar's other films.

I will say that I loved that this film took place in Mexico and shined a light on Mexican culture. That has been underrepresented in Hollywood, especially in animated films. It was very cool to see an entire Pixar movie built around Mexican culture. That was a big differentiator and it's incredible that so many children will learn about things they wouldn't have otherwise been exposed to.

While I felt like Coco wasn't quite a great movie, it gets awfully close. It's not surprising that the film won two Academy Awards- Best Animated Feature and Best Original Song. This is another stunning achievement for Pixar and the best animated film of the year.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7.5



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