Here's a funny story. Back in July, I remember channel surfing when I came across an ad for the awful "Emoji Movie". In the commercial, Sony described the film as and I quote, "the perfect family movie of the year" even though not a single review had been released yet. It was one of the biggest lies I have seen so far this year. The reason why is not only because "The Emoji Movie" was appalling like I expected, but because "Coco" was actually the perfect family movie of the year. After having sat through so many disappointing as well uncreative animated movies this year, "Coco" came along and made up for everything. It's clear that the people of Pixar haven't lost the magic touch they had in the past because this movie is without a doubt, the year's best-animated movie. This film has everything that I expect to see in an animated movie including an emotional and creative story, rich and beautiful animation, as well as funny and memorable characters with a nice touch of music. I'll now explain why you must see this movie.
During the holiday of Día de Los Muertos, a young Mexican boy named Miguel (Anthony Gonzalez) lives in a very strict shoemaking family. The reason they are strict is that they have a longtime ban of music due to his great-great-grandfather, a musician left his family for the career and never returned. Though the rest of his family have nothing against the band, Miguel, on the other hand, dreams of becoming a musician and admires one of the greatest in history, Ernesto de la Cruz (Benjamin Bratt). He then makes the discovery that the musician might as well be his grandfather after discovering that in the ripped photo of him and his wife and their young daughter, is the same guitar as de la Cruz. Wanting to enter a talent show competition, Miguel tries to borrow the guitar of de la Cruz from his grave, but accidentally ends up in the Land of the Dead itself full of hundred's of families ancestors who are now skeletons, and has only until sunrise to return home before becoming a skeleton himself. With the help of a trickster skeleton named Hector (Gael García Bernal) and a street dog named Dante, Miguel must find de la Cruz in order to return to the land of the living.
Words cannot describe how amazed I was at this movie. This is the very definition of a film succeeding my expectations. The story had so much creative energy put into it and was perfectly infused with respect to the Mexican culture as well as having some very emotional moments. Trust me when I say that the last few minutes of the movie could have you crying like "Up", "Toy Story 3" or "Inside Out". As for the animation, it's absolutely stunning. This is one of the most beautiful animated movies that Pixar has ever put out with its stunning colors and eye-popping detail shown in the Land of the Dead and how huge and colorful it is compared to the land of the living. I also liked the look they gave the skeletons by making them not creepy as well as giving them the ability for them to do many creative possibilities with their bones. The characters are also very fun as well. Miguel is by far the best kid character I've seen this year and one of the best put to film. The reason why I think he works is very simple. Unlike Arlo in "The Good Dinosaur", he's not annoying and has other emotions other than fear. Unlike George and Harold in "Captain Underpants", he's played by an actual twelve-year-old boy. And especially unlike Alex in the godawful "Emoji Movie", he actually acts like a kid and isn't glued to a stupid smartphone screen. The other characters are also a lot of fun and have memorable personalities. Miguel's strict family has tons of personality and even his relatives in the Land of the Dead are a lot of fun. I also like the character of Hector and his goofy antics like trying to sneak into areas by dressing up as Frida Kahlo. And lastly, I must talk about the glorious music. Although Michael Giacchino's score delivers like usual, it's the songs written by Frozen composers Robert and Kristen Anderson-Lopez along with Germaine Franco and Adrian Molina that stand out. Although it's not a musical, the songs do have an important role in the film and are beautiful to listen to. I was initially nervous at the idea of putting these kinds of songs into a Pixar movie, but now I actually really want them to do a musical now. I can name a lot of fun moments in this movie, but I'd rather you watch them than have me explain it.
"Coco" is the very definition of a timeless instant classic. This was the film that this year was building up to and certainly delivered with a fun and touching story, beautiful and stunning animation, memorable and funny characters, as well as some great music. It's certainly a film that will be remembered for years to come and honestly shows that animation isn't just for kids. There's nothing else I can say, but I loved it.
