I'd rather have a bowl of Coco Pops

Rating: 8/10 (14 February 2018)

After some recent misfires, Pixar really find its stride again with "Coco", a charming and beautiful tale that builds a relatable family story around the mythos of Mexico's Day of the Dead.
Young Miguel longs to be a musician like his hero, Black and White Screen Idol Hector De La Cruz. Unfortunately, since his great great grandmother was abandoned by her musician husband, music has been banned by the family in favour of their shoe making business. During the Day of The Dead celebrations, Miguel is transported to the Land of The Dead but soon finds that his late family is no happier about his life choices than his living one. . . so he sets off to meet his Idol and prove his dream is valid.
Initially, I was hesitant about even seeing "Coco". Its long gestation period allowed Guillermo del Toro to release "The Book Of Life" in 2014, which was film I really enjoyed. Having seen the two, despite the similarities in setting, the plots are significantly different and both are worthy of your time.
My other concern also proved to be unfounded. A child lead, particularly a singing child, can occasionally prove more grating that great. Anthony Gonzalez is excellent though, aggrieved but not whiny, and his singing is accomplished without being overproduced.
"Coco" does have a relatively predictable story, once the initial ideas have been set out. You will see the twists coming but oddly those don't always work against the film. For example, around two thirds of the way through, Miguel learns a song important in the life of his great grandmother. As soon as I saw the scene, I knew that Miguel would end up singing the song himself and I knew that it would make me cry, and indeed it did.
Admittedly, it's not as funny as some other recent animated features and what humour it has is "Family humour" rather than jokes that work on different levels for adults and children. Also, it's oddly specific that a film for children would rely so heavily on Frida Kahlo being an integral part of it.
It is, however, Pixar's best looking film. The land of the dead allows them a freedom of creativity that many of their other films don't attempt and they capture it, and contrast it with the "real" Mexican village beautifully.
It's odd, and a little sad that Pixar will spend the next two years on sequels to their current IP's, when, Toy Story aside, they have usually just been underwhelming - compared to the successes of "Up", and "Inside Out" but until then I am looking forward to whatever original idea they come up with next.