Newcomer Anthony Gonzales and Gael García Bernal (The Motorcycle Diaries) star in this Oscar-winning Disney-Pixar animated adventure about Dia de los Muertos, co-directed by Lee Unkrich (Toy Story 3).
Coco follows the secret musical ambitions of 12-year-old Miguel (Gonzalez) who comes from a family of shoemakers that may be his town’s only music-hating household. But Miguel harbours a secret desire to seize his musical moment, inspired by his favourite singer of all time, the late Ernesto de la Cruz (Benjamin Bratt). When Miguel discovers an amazing link between himself and De la Cruz, he takes action to emulate the famous singer and, in doing so, accidentally enters the Land of the Dead.
There, it's not long before Miguel encounters the souls of his own family - generations' worth of Rivera ancestors. Still, given the opportunity to roam around the Land of the Dead, Miguel decides to track down De la Cruz himself. He teams up with another friendly spirit - a trickster named Hector, (Garcia Bernal) - to find De la Cruz, earn his family’s blessing to perform, and return to the Land of the Living before time runs out.
Best Animated Film & Original Song ('Remember Me'), Academy Awards 2018; Best Animated Film, Golden Globes 2018
Guillermo del Toro’s The Book of Life may have beaten Pixar to imagining Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) as an animated family feature, but its drab love story and spine-cringing cover songs made it very forgettable. Coco is not that film. With Pixar legend Lee Unkrich (Finding Nemo, Toy Story 3) and debutant Adrian Molina at the directing wheel, the studio puts most of its muscle into telling a unique story about music and whakapapa. As a result, they’ve created something unforgettable.
Though the movie drags in places, and features a few too many childish gags...the story’s sincere emotional resolution earns the sobs it’s sure to inspire.
Being dead has never looked as fun as it does in Pixar’s latest adventure, bursting with skeletons, magical spells and Mexico’s annual Day of the Dead.
If "Coco" doesn't quite reach the highest level of Pixar masterpieces, it plays a time-tested tune with captivating originality and flair, and with roving, playful pop-culture erudition.
A rousing, affecting, fun and much-needed return to form after underwhelming Finding Nemo and Cars sequels and will help to ensure that Pixar’s legacy remains intact.
Pixar's Day-of-the-Dead gem pays loving tribute to Mexican culture with animation that brims over with visual pleasures, comic energy and emotional wallop.
The plot, arguably, comes packed with more complications and psychedelic spirit-critters than it really needs. But you can't blame Pixar's animators for having a field day with the film's imagery...
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