After having to sit through an incredibly schmaltzy "Frozen" themed musical short (Olaf is apparently now essential, nay vital, to the sisters' characters and happy memories), the audience is treated to the tale of "The Little Mermaid," "Tangled," "Brave," and "Ratatouille" but with a twist: a young character bound by family to be one thing while there is a burning desire of doing more, but alas, that desire is forbidden and poo-poo'd by the family. Yet through some happenstance that's never truly explained, the young character is whisked away on a truly life-changing journey with the chance to live out that dream. Along the way, truths are revealed about both the family and the character's own remarkable capabilities.
So just replace the mermaid with a young Mexican boy destined to be a shoemaker but dreams of being a master chef, I mean musician.
The trademark Pixar A-game is on full display with this film: heart, humor, action, adventure, more heart, and gorgeous art via moving pictures. The main character wants more but never seems too bratty and his family and their prejudice against music doesn't seem unreasonable based on what happened in that family's past. The movie's version of the Afterlife is not only vibrant and lively, but filled with fun yet never unbearable characters. An interesting twist is that just like "Spirited Away," the boy finds himself becoming more and more like the locals; so it's a race against time as well as a race to find the forgotten member of his family with the intent on becoming a musician like him.
Now the inevitable comparison will be made to the other well-known Dia de los Muertos-themed animated feature, "The Book of Life," by ReelFX and Fox. And while there are comparisons that can be drawn, (the culture, the setting, the main character and his struggle with family, rivals in ambition, etc) they are as different films as apples and oranges are different fruits. Prime amongst the differences is the tone of the movies. The one with Zoe Saldana as the object of affection between two men who also are trying to live their personal dreams is an interesting one, even without the supernatural rulers of the afterlife meddling in their affairs like the myths of old, as the climax has the living and the dead team up to defeat a bandit king and his army that has been billed as a major threat throughout the whole movie. The one with the modern-day boy finding himself inexplicably transported to the land of the dead, who also have inhabitants who look like sugar skulls and skeleton puppets sold by the vendor on the side of the lonely street, has a major focus on music and how he wants to achieve his own dream, and the climax has him realize that his family had his back the whole time because they themselves had a passion for music. Thus, one is like an old-school myth with the higher beings manipulating the mortals like puppets (har har), and what Pixar has offered is more a story along the lines of "Alice in Wonderland" with the protagonist finding himself transported to a weird and wild world.
Overall, this hot "Coco" is a wonderful take on a culture's notion of what happens after life and just how important are memories of the departed, a lesson on how lives can be enriched by something as simple as music, and a big ol' reminder to cherish your family, whoever they might be.
And since my culture is definitely not one reminiscent of the people south of the border, here are some actual legitimate film reviews by the people this movie honors:
http://remezcla.com/lists/film/latino-film-critics-review-pixar-coco/
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| I know it's a different...well everything, but would've been hilarious to see these guys referenced. |
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