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COCO

Mini Review

[23rd of November, 2017]

[PG, 1hr 49min, Animation, Adventure, Comedy]

It is about time for another holiday besides the always festive yet heavily trodden Christmas to get the main spotlight, and it couldn't get into more capable hands than of Pixar. While the Day of the Dead has been the subject of an earlier animated feature in the Book of Life that revolves around romance and have much more fantastical premise, Coco is more 'grounded' in having a coming of age tale with strong themes of family. Arguably the preceding film have the journey of the protagonist of confronting fears and becoming brave being the main focus with the backdrop of the holiday while the succeeding film have Miguel's journey of self-discovery and learning the importance of family actually intertwined with Día de los Muertos itself. The concept of the Mexican holiday could be foreign to those who are not close to the country or familiar with their particular culture especially those around the world that is the target demography which could detract from the bottom dollars but the allure of a new Pixar film and a colourful world to delve into should counteract that easily. After watching it last night, I came out of the cinema as a hot crying mess and I'm all the better for it!

Family is at the forefront and remain throughout the feature as we see the character progression of the main protagonist from a rebellious teenager against his put upon culture to have his own dream materialized and finally learn the legacy of his extended family tree and how much it matter to his family who are still alive as well as those who have passed away. I was hooked right away with the unique culture of Mexico with the effective world building makes me feel like I'm actually there during the festivity, everything feels genuine and heartfelt that I can't believe it hasn't been in mainstream culture just like the red and white holiday. Not wanting to spoil too much, this is one of the best Pixar works in recent times as they return to back to form, although the third act reveal/twist could have been a bit more inventive than relying on admittedly classic tropes. This doesn't really detract from the overall experience in hindsight at all as the music and culture of the Mexican community is represented to the highest of quality as they are adapted to perfection. Oh, if you do not cry or get emotional at all in any moment of Coco, you are not human to me! That last scene kills me! I still get choked up here as I remembered it vividly ... I wouldn't mind going for a second round at all. Watch it with your family as it definitely will bring you all together while learning of other people's culture in a rich and heartfelt piece of entertainment.

wiki - IMDb

P.S. There's an almost twenty minutes of Frozen: Olaf's Adventure short as per tradition. So, do with that information as you will. Is that the correct phrase? Can someone help me ...