Beautiful and unpretentious

Rating: 10/10 (26 November 2017)

Yes, the movie starts a bit slow and takes its time to build up momentum. It is rich in cultural reference to Mexico that may be a bit strange to embrace to non-Latin Americans. The music in the movie is soft and emotional, but not epic, glorious or Oscar-grabbing. The major plot points are predictable. Most of these are not really complaints, just factors of potential viewing (dis)pleasure.
Apart from these, the film blew me away. I had zero expectations walking in the theater with my kids, wasn't sure whether it's just another animated movie after first 30 minutes or so and definitely saw the result of Ernesto/Hector clash coming. It nevertheless grabbed my soul at that breaking point and never let go. It was only then that I truly started to care for our main characters and their family, but did so doubly.
Coco is, for most part, seemingly a completely irrelevant character, until she becomes a focal point of everything. Of entire (mostly dead) family line. She is the key to love and forgiveness of their (deceased) parents, to a final wish of a missing father and to both Miguel and his family members (dead and alive), who come to finally understand that respect for family is just as important as respect for dreams of its individual members. And it is not just Miguel who ultimately suffered from Imelda's hate for Hector, it was also Coco. But her grief and own final wish were locked away in a catatonic body until Miguel came back from the dead to set that wish come true with a song, filled with love for family.
I could not really claim this is the best film I have ever seen, but it was the one that immersed me into its story most and evoke my emotions.
There were three times I've cried watching a movie in my life: - at the end of East of Eden when I was 7 - at the end of Color Purple when I was 15 - for the entire final third of Coco, now when I'm 40+.
It will always have a special place in my heart. I will always Remember you.