Review of Coco (2017) by Richard C — 27 Feb 2018

I'm going to be honest. At first, I was dreading this film. I had seen and greatly enjoyed Book of Life by Jorge Gutierrez previously, and knew his story of pitching his film about Day of the Dead to several studios for 13 years only for them all to reject it or want to drastically change it beyond recognition.

They had told him, no one wants to see a film about Mexican culture. Fortunately, not only was his movie given a chance to be made, he had creative control which meant he could be true to his vision and culture.

Seeing the similarities between Book of Life and Coco in Coco's first trailer led me to the impression Disney Pixar was trying to ride on the critical and financial success of Book of Life by coming up with their own version.

But for the benefit of the doubt, and hearing that Jorge gave this film his blessing, I decided to give Coco a chance. And I am happy I did. What I expected to be mere pandering turned out to be a beautiful story with wonderful music, great (inside) humor, and visual marvels that sincerely pays homage to Mexican culture.

And if you have seen Book of Life, yes the similarities are there but Coco does have its own distinct story, and now we have two great animated films around Day of the Dead! Next step, a Latin Superhero or Superheroine!