Pleasantly surprised, entertained, and moved.

Rating: 8/10 (2 April 2018)

Summary: After a somewhat cliché start, the movie (which is beautifully, colourfully told) keeps you hooked on the story, waiting expectantly to see what unfolds next. The tragic and emotional elements really took me by surprise, which will be all the more suprising for the targeted children's demographic. The song 'Remember Me' and what it signifies in this movie is truly moving and beautifully done, as is the message to not give up on one's family (even when that becomes rather tricky).
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I didn't really pay much attention when Coco was released and never bothered to watch the trailer. There wasn't too much promoting anyway, I believe. If it's a Disney movie, but not about princesses and fairy tales, I wasn't interested. It looked like just another overly colourful kids' movie, but may be set in the land of the dead etc etc. I only got interested once CinemaSins released their EWW video for this and said they really liked the movie, and I am not sorry I watched it.
I went into the movie, fully expecting to be bored with the clichés, and at first, despite the alluring glimpse into Mexican culture and way of life, I wasn't too impressed. Then came the introduction into the land of the dead which changed all that. Suddenly I was worried Miguel had died, relieved when he turned out to be ok, amazed and amused by the land of the dead, and already felt sorry for Héctor, whose struggles, despite the comedic take, made the desperation clear.

Regarding Miguel's gg.grand-father, it was neither too obvious nor too stunning. I can imagine it is really surprising for kids, however, who this movie is targeted at. At first, I thought the movie was going to reveal it was Ernesto, which it did. The moment I saw Héctor though, I began to wonder. I never expected the darker murder twist, however. I merely thought maybe Héctor died in poverty and sold his guitar to Ernesto in his early days. The emotional beats towards the end were also not something I was expecting and was absolutely moved by the song and what it signified.
I also really liked how convincing a fan Miguel was to Ernesto, depicted by how he knows all the lines off by heart from his movies and montages. It's quite clever how that pays off when he uses that to connect the facts later.
Regarding 'Family comes first', I hope the movie isn't saying Coco should have given up music, had his family insisted. Rather, that instead of walking out on them, he should keep trying to make them understand what it means to him.