Coco

Rating: 9/10 (30 November 2017)

I really wasn't sure what to expect from Coco going into the film. It's not that the trailer was misleading or too vague in regard to the plot, but I wasn't certain as to the tone. There was a lot of chase scenes and slapstick humor sprinkled around some plot points, I was worried that they were going to treat a pretty deep subject matter with too little gravity. Thankfully my fears were unfounded. Everything about this movie was approached with respect and it presents itself as a labor of love. There is plenty of action to move the plot along, and to be honest, there is more than enough physical humor predicated upon skeletons not being the most stable objects in the world when they're unencumbered by muscles and sinew, but the movie has real heart and it deals with real themes honestly and gently at the same time. All of this wrapped up in a vibrant and deep world that immerses you in Mexican culture with an enchanting and romantic score to guide you through this visual paradise. It's not a perfect film, but there's nothing you can point to as a flaw really worth fleshing out and analyzing. Everything that is not perfect about this movie is easily forgivable and forgettable, because it is honest and earnest, visually striking and emotionally rich. This is definitely a film that I'll watch again, and I'm sure with how deep this movie was that there will be even more things to pick up on the second and third time through. I can't wait.