Another brilliant film from Pixar? I should coco!

Rating: 9/10 (10 February 2018)

Pixar needn't fear about entering the land of the dead after Coco dazzling audiences and critics alike. They've been teetering lately with their three most recent films (The Good Dinosaur, Finding Dory and Cars 3) all of which received relatively mixed reviews from a studio who have churned out more timeless animations than any other. Coco sees them back on top form though by emotionally weaving an engaging and constantly surprising story about family, love and loss.
It follows a spirited Mexican lad called Miguel who wants nothing more than to be a musician. Unfortunately for him, his family are from a long line of music-haters after Miguel's great great great grandmother's husband left her and her daughter alone in order to pursue a career in music. Since then every child from the family has been raised to detest all kinds of music (as any sane family would do) which means Miguel has to tinkle his ivories in secret whilst worshipping his superstar musical idol, Ernesto De La Cruz. For reasons never quite explained, Miguel ends up in the Mexican land of the dead where a madcap adventure ensues, never failing to entertain along the way.
Coco fools you initially by pretending to be a straightforward family adventure film with stunning visuals and cute characters, but a genuinely shocking third act twist reveals itself to be so much more. It's quite barmy how a film targeted for children is more unpredictable than the majority of films aimed at adults in this day and age. Nevertheless, this is Pixar and we all know that despite being family friendly, they're really made for adults!
What makes the film so memorable though is its pure emotion. Pixar have been pulling at our heartstrings for years from the infamous opening of Up to the tragic demise of Bing Bong in Inside Out. I'm happy to say that Coco is no exception. I'm not one to cry in films but I must admit to being quite choked up several times in Coco, particularly in its closing moments. This isn't manipulative, sugary, trying-desperately-hard-to-make-you-cry kind of emotion seen in the likes of the recent Wonder but genuine tear duct pulling. This is a film which genuinely cares about its characters so the audience does too.
Some people are calling this the best Pixar film ever but I think that's a bit of a knee-jerk reaction. It lacks the innovation of say, Inside Out and the comedy of Up but that's not say it's a great film because it is. Pixar have just churned out such a high calibre of animated features that to say one is better than the other doesn't really count for much. Coco will certainly be beloved for years to come though, I know I'll be watching it with my kids all the time if anyone would have them with me.