Review of Coco (2017) by Sean L — 25 Jan 2018

Pixar explores Mexican culture, investigating the spirituality and mythos of Day of the Dead while digging into a family conflict that's several generations old. It's a visual, audible and emotional delight, enlivened with loud splashes of color and texture, and accompanied by a constantly upbeat musical vitality.

There's no escaping the visual fabric of this film, immersive and jaw-dropping, as it constantly one-ups itself right alongside the developing plot. Particularly stunning is our crossing into the land of the dead, a monumental city of stacked shanties that shimmers and glistens and pulses as its residents decorate and celebrate their annual recognition.

The story is simple but effective, perhaps a touch on the predictable side... but so are many animated classics, and sometimes there's something to be said for following through on a promise. Coco wears its heart on its sleeve, with a permeating, spirited warmth that's impossible to ignore, while also touching on tricky, lingering feelings of betrayal and repression.

Dazzling and optimistic, with a subject that's, surprisingly, never been explored with such playful reverence in a major family film. Good to see the studio has kept tabs on that bottled magic; for a while, I worried they'd misplaced it.