Not perfect but colorful and with engaging themes and ideas - a bit too respectful and broad though

Rating: Null/10 (9 March 2019)

My toddler means I don't watch a lot of films, but when I do then I tend to watch it over and over and over again. Over time I have tried to bump her to different things, even if only to get more diversity in the mix. Coco was one such film snuck into normal habits, and it was done because I'd not seen it myself. The film follows a young boy who is banned from playing music due to an ancestor who was a musician but left the family, and when he tries to steal a guitar to enter a Day of the Dead contest, he finds himself transported to the other side and needing the help of his family in getting him home.
As is often the case with Pixar films, Coco deals with some difficult issues in a way that is accessible and not too challenging. In this case it is death and loss, and the film deserves credit for the way it gives messages of acceptance, of grief, and of memory. Coco is also notable for the cultural setting, which is unusual in such a mainstream film. The pressure of both of these things can be felt though, and while the film is pretty light and well balanced, it does feel a bit restrained by the pressure of being respectful and serious on its setting and themes. Perhaps related to this, the film is not as sharp in the narrative as Pixar at their best - it doesn't totally have the heart, laughs, or intelligence that an Up or Wall-E or Toy Story would bring to the table. For sure it is still a very good film, and is solid across the board, but it rarely rises above this - which is more than fine were it not for the film's own ancestors standing above it.