Review of Coco (2017) by Alan W — 16 Jan 2018

Disney has co-opted foreign, i.e. non-Caucasian, cultures for inspiration and materials before and it is a smart and lucrative thing to do especially for the international box office. Coco proves that Pixar can also play that game, but with more sophistication and finesse and thus we have their new animated feature based on the Mexican festival of El Dia de Los Muertos when families remember and pay respects to those who have passed away.

Miguel is a young boy with music in his veins who rebels against his family of shoemakers who has banned music because his great-great-grandfather has abandoned them for fame and fortune as a musician.

Unlike, say Moana, which can feel generic and plays too safe in its adaptation, Coco is not only more engrossing and thoughtful, it also evokes genuine emotional blubbery from its audience, i.e. me. Only a few songs feature, showing restraints on the filmmakers' part and they are enchanting and narratively relevant.

For a film about death and dead people to look realistic yet will not give your average 6-year-olds nightmares, the visuals are imaginatively rendered with colours that explode gloriously on the screen, keeping the mood light and cheerful.

The theme that family is important and will support you no matter what, is old-hat but universal enough, and thankfully, the lean and coherent script is entertaining, engaging and gets the story over without too many unnecessary detours, even managing a third act nod to telenovelas that feels right instead of jarring or over-melodramatic.

With a refined sense of melancholic joy and well judged sentiments, it reminds me of Up, which just happens to be one of my favourite Pixar films.