Review of Coco (2017) by Conrad T — 12 Jan 2018

Pixar is widely regarded as one of, if not the, best animation studios in the world. With an extensive list of beloved films, and only a few that are considered subpar, they really do hold the highest standards in the industry. With that in mind, Coco is more than a worthy addition to the Pixar family. It takes place in Mexico and follows a child named Miguel, who dreams of being a musician despite his family's hatred thereof. On Día de los Muertos, he ventures into the Land of the Dead to seek his idol Ernesto de la Cruz, a famous musician he admires. Meanwhile, his ancestors try to return him to the Land of the Living, as he will die if he stays there too long. The story is very interesting, and keeps your attention quite well. The only real downside here is that if you've watched most of the recent Disney movies, some of the twists at the end will be rather predictable. Still, that's not enough to really detract from how good the movie actually is. As you can imagine, the music plays a major part in the story. "Remember Me" is one of the best Disney songs lately, and possibly one of Pixar's best tear-jerkers. Given that Pixar is known for that, that's no small feat. "Un Poco Loco" was very good as well. As with most Pixar movies, the characters are lovable, memorable, and well written. The characters, like real families, clearly love each other and wish the best for each other, despite the conflicts they have. That realism with the characters is one of the movie's strengths. Because of that, most of the story doesn't have a proper villain, because Miguel's family - living and dead, care for him dearly. The animation is some of the best ever made, which is to be expected coming from Pixar. The Land of the Dead looks spectacular and imaginative, and the color scheme is beautiful. The imagery that appears in Día de los Muertos celebrations in Mexico is shown here, and the way its reflected in the character designs for the dead is fantastic. The accuracy that goes into characters playing guitar is also outstanding. This is easily one of Pixar's best movies. And that's really saying something.

It is also worth noting that Olaf's Frozen Adventure, the short before the movie, was way out of place. It wouldn't be bad as a TV special, but it's not the type of thing you want be stuck sitting through prior to the movie. Still, that doesn't detract from Coco itself.