The Powerful Sabor of Coco

Rating: 9/10 (9 December 2017)

Pixar has traveled through murky quality waters since arguably the greatest quality run in the history of filmmaking (2007-2010, research it), with Cars 3 sputtering earlier this summer. And with Lasseter shenanigans, lay offs, secret struggles with several projects, the once-invincible animation studio is beginning to show its wear and tear. Coco successfully rights the ship by offering a very engaging storyline that hits every emotion you can possibly fathom and even though its subject matter might scar and emotionally deteriorate some of the youngsters, the film overall is a superb work of detail, love, and a respect for the audience and the culture its representing.
The respect towards Mexican culture and folklore is the backbone and most crucial element in the film—messing it up ever so slightly would create all sorts of problems. Luckily despite the recent struggles Pixar remains the best and brightest of the animation studios in terms of sheer detail. From the visible damage on Wall-E to the "jail tattoos" on the Toy Story 3 cast, Pixar's history towards meticulous subtle touches keeps them above the competitors at all times. Coco's Mexico (dead and alive) is about as vibrant an atmosphere as you'll ever see in cinema. Animation allows for the scope to be infinitely larger than any live-action sequence, and the animators use every penny of budget and every fiber of talent to deliver two stark yet expansive environments linked together by the Dia De Los Muertos that operates as an extra character in the charming tale of a boy in an anti-musical family trying to follow his dream and become a musician—against the protests and warnings.
Whatever this movie lacks in humor (to be honest, it's hard to laugh when the pain is so damn deep) is recovered by the beautiful story and surrounding themes about family, forgiveness, sacrifice, death, and legacy. Being the black sheep of the family and potentially becoming that broken link in the family bond (which is a conflict that is by far stronger in Hispanic culture as compared to most others) is a conflict well-executed by Lee Unkrich and the entire writing team (how Pixar can churn out gems with four writers is a baffling mystery, while working on a script I argue with myself). Managing to find light in the darkness of a film centered around death is a tough task, and it can get quite heavy-handed.
The world of the deceased is one that was whimsical, creative, vibrantly colorful, and easily the strongest visual of Coco. I also wish it was explored a little more. At the same time, I would have also loved to see more of Pixar's Mexico, which perfectly nailed the Central American vibe within the opening frames. And at over 100 minutes, it's interesting how the film reveals so much, yet keeps you seeking more, similar to the settings created by Miyazaki. I'm not asking for an arsenal of irritating Frozen-sized featurettes surrounding the world of Coco (I went there, and I don't care), but Mexico and the Land of the Dead deserves some revisiting. The core of the film is the quest of the boy, and no time is wasted sending him on a seemingly impossible task of finding his inspiration to become a musician while running out of life, literally.
The secondary characters, the family on both sides of the fence, add a burst of life to an already-vibrant movie. This is supported by strong writing that guarantees no one-dimensional characters, and an excellent ensemble voice cast that deliver flawless performances (special nod to the singers of the spellbinding soundtrack) to help keep the heart of Coco very strong. And in keeping with recent Disney tradition, plot twists and surprising antagonists emerge towards the final act, which ironically gives it a slight twitch of predictability. But as the constant theme in this review, all flaws small and major are forgiven because of the personality and soul of Coco, which will make you smile and simultaneously break you.
Mexico was very well-represented to a point that I was secretly irrationally demanding more (the soundtrack should have been sung entirely and only in Spanish for example), but succeeds in not being a movie with Mexicans, but being a pure Mexican flavored film. Coco is one of the best films of the year, the best animated film of 2017 by a long shot, containing one of the best music scores in quite some time, and a delightful 100 minutes that you should spend with family and friends—-so you can all ugly cry together and see who looks the worst.
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