"Family movie" takes on a whole new meaning. Also, stay until the final credits!

Rating: Null/10 (19 November 2017)

I saw this movie at a special screening at Pixar Studios in Emeryville, CA. What an experience for the heart, mind and sou!
We generally think of family films as those aimed at children, that happen to be enjoyable enough for adults. Coco, however, will be as much a hit in nursing homes as it'll be among grade-schoolers, who will laugh and cry in equal parts as the people at my screening did. It's about a family, a multi-generational family living together. I won't spoil anything, but I wish I'd been as good a great-grandson as the boy in this story.
Here are my six takeaways from the morning after. I'm sure more will come to mind in the coming days and weeks, because it definitely deserves a second or third view:
1. The story is probably the most rich, complex and well-written narrative I've seen in an animated film. It breaks into, and surpasses, some worthy live-action screenplays. Pixar should start campaigning for a Best Original Screenplay nomination in my opinion.
2. The animation and production design are as expected, first-class. There are feast-for-your eyes visuals in the creation of imaginary places and characters, but what most impressed me was the everyday places and people, and how they filled them with cinematic wonder and color. Note: everyone I was with agreed that the detail of the titular character of Coco was unlike anything we've ever seen in animation.
3. I'm a guitar player, and I can say with certainty that this is the first time I've seen animated characters correctly playing the instrument. Even in live-action movies this is not always the case, but in Coco it's obvious the filmmakers captured real guitarists playing note-for-note what you hear in the music.
4. All the research and consulting into Mexican culture/sociology has paid off. To the rest of us the movie seems very respectful of family dynamics and the Día de los Muertos celebration. But the best proof lies in Mexico: since its release (which was one month before it appears everywhere else) it has become the highest-grossing movie in Mexican box-office history. After the screening I read that many of the minor characters were drawn as an homage to legendary Mexican entertainers.
5. The filmmakers created a good balance between the characters' use of English and Spanish, as well as in the visuals (streets and shop signs, etc.). English-speaking audiences will understand the plot, while learning some vernacular in the process.
6. Stay until the last credits roll! The filmmakers added a heartwarming segment at the very end. You'll be glad you stayed.
Here in the US it's being released around Thanksgiving, and just like Saving Private Ryan made us respect The Greatest Generation, this movie will make you want to hug and kiss all your elders at the table.