Pixar (and Disney)'s take on music, family and mortality

Rating: 8/10 (5 January 2018)

"Coco" is the newest collaboration by Disney and Pixar and one of the most talked about animated films of 2017, probably an Oscar frontrunner right now. The man in the center of its production is Lee Unkrich, an Oscar winner for Toy Story 3 already. But in this 105-minute film here, we follow a boy and his passion for music that leads him down to the land of the dead even. The general plot idea of the whole family hating music because of what happened generations ago was maybe my only problem with the film. It does not feel too realistic. But everything else is fine. Music maybe could have been a bit better, but I watched the German dub, so maybe it is better in the English (with a bit of Spanish) original. I personally also felt that the film is always really more about the characters next to the boy than about the boy himself despite his deep-rooted connection with them. The dog, the fella with the hat and of course the fact that a child is in the center of it all (even if not the title character) makes it a good watch for kids too, but as a whole I believe, it is more of a film for grown-ups given the subject of death and several serious references. Early on, I struggled a bit with the fading away reference, basically a second death, but the way they included it then afterward was handled pretty nicely.
I think that everything before the meeting with Ernesto eventually could have been a bit shorter and less, but the final 30-40 minutes really make up for it immensely. This is where the film really gains steam and the main, if not the only, reason I give it a ****/***** and include it in my best-of-2017 list. They really did a smart job there in making us forget about some dragging and mediocrity from early on. Still it's far from a perfect movie. The part about these normal animals transforming into mythical creatures like Dante could have been presented more interestingly and the film could have been better in terms of elaborating on the difference between forgiving and forgetting, a crucial reference in the final chapter. Still with all they do eventually, it becomes a very touching ending and film as a consequence and I must say I liked it a lot and I am glad if it wins the Oscar. The usual massive attention to detail by Pixar, especially when it comes to set decoration and animated places and locations, is truly impressive. The twist about who his real relative is was witty and made me more curious about what would happen next. It is very difficult to say anything too negative about this one, but yeah maybe the early parts were not on par with what followed later and as a consequence I think it is not as good as Inside Out, but it's still very good nonetheless. One of the finest animated films from the 2010s. You really wanna see it no matter what age you are. Highly recommended.