Absolutely Delightful

Rating: 9/10 (9 April 2018)

I have to admit, I haven't been in love with the last few Pixar movies. The Good Dinosaur, Cars 3, even Finding Dory was far more forgettable then I was expecting even though it was entertaining. Inside/Out was pretty terrific, but the midas touch appeared to be wearing off a little bit for this storied studio of animation. So, when I ended up going to see Coco almost unexpectedly, I didn't really have any set expecations for what I was going to experience. I had seen the teaser trailer way back in the summer, and my first thought was that it was kind of ripping off Book of Life, which I loved. After the interminable Frozen short before the film (which wasn't bad per se, but it was long, way too long to play before a 100 minute children's movie), Coco began and I was transfixed from start to finish. Beautiful, funny, full of heart and warmth, it earns it's tears at the end of this sweet story and will have you humming the songs for weeks to come, at least I have been.
The film follows Miguel, a boy in a small town in Mexico, whose family's tragic past led them to ban all forms of music from their house, but that hasn't stopped Miguel from falling in love with the music and films of the most famous person to come out of their village, Ernesto De La Cruz. He sits in a hidden room and watches his movies and plays a beat down old guitar. This is one of the first places the movie really got me, because I play the guitar and this is the most realistic guitar playing that I have ever seen on film animation or otherwise, it's really brilliant to watch.
Anyway, on the Day of the Dead, Miguel wants to enter a talent show, but his guitar is unsuable based on reasons that I will allow you to find out and he has to find one himself. His last resort is to borrow the guitar of De La Cruz, located in his mausoleum, which is a big no-no on the Day of the Dead. Stealing from the dead sends Miguel straight to the land of the dead, where he goes on a wild adventure with ancestors and other coloful characters to get back to the land of the living and hopefully play some music while he's at it.
This movie is truly wondeful, a delight from start to finish with more heart than you can ever find in ten movies from other studios. I can't say that I'm particularly knowledgeable about Mexican Day of the Dead customs aside from the most superficial, but the film feels well-researched and respectful of the beliefs and customs of Mexico, and the characters come off as authentic, the voice acting is excellent, and again, the animators have truly outdone themselves in all aspects technically.
***1/2 (out of four)