Coco

Pixar's animated movies have been making their ways into the hearts of families ever since Toy Story in 1995 and have contained a sizable portion of great successful quality projects for over most of the two decades, while admittedly having stumbled more than a few times. They are usually celebrated families events for those craving great storytelling, visuals, relatable colorful characters, and endearing life lessons. However, for as delightful as they are, that predictable Disney formula becomes even more noticeable over the recent years: flashbacks featuring a someone as a baby, a quirky animal sidekick for wacky comic relief antics, hidden twist villains later in the story, and a protagonist whose family demands they follow traditions instead of allowing them to follow their passion. In the past few years, the studio has been pushing out quality that ranges from decent (Finding Dory) to undesirable (The Good Dinosaur, Cars 3) and has put faith in the studio into doubt, wondering when it would make a comeback, which brings us to their newest risk taker. The marketing campaign for Coco showed symptoms of that aforementioned formula while utilizing Mexican heritage (and possibly borrowing from another source material*). This new release was a smash hit in Mexico and received strong critical acclaim. I went in ready to see if Coco was worth the hype and left it tear-eyed with the joyful sense of Pixar's return to quality storytelling.

*The Book of Life: For some of you who have seen this that are going to make comparisons and those of you who are unaware of such conversations buzzing about it, here's a little summary to catch you up to speed. This little 2014 antique from 20th Century Fox Animation utilizes a story within a story format as two deities make a wager regarding a budding love triangle between three friends and the shenanigans that ensue. Honestly, watching this before Coco highlights the differences between these two studios as what's presented here surprises me (for better or worse). The best aspects of The Book of Life include the stylistic visuals of the Land of the Remembered, the look and dynamic between La Muerte and Xibalba, a few of the songs, and the animated wooden puppets of the people within the tale. However, it's bogged down by the abundance of cliched lead, obvious story cliches, the over-exaggerated designs of the townsfolk (particularly with the phallic noses and emphasis on mustaches), and insulting portrayal of the targeted culture. As a result, it was hard getting through this until they moved to the aforementioned pros about it, which helped considerably, and while I'm glad I saw it, I don't intend to ever again. ⭑⭑⭑

Olaf's Frozen Adventure: Normally if this wasn't something that big to bring up, I would just go straight to the main review, but because Disney felt that the audience needed to wait 21 extra minutes before we watch Coco so that they will remind us that there's a Frozen sequel coming up, I need to address this for those of you who haven't seen it yet or those poor victims who already experienced this what's going on. This "short" follows Olaf the snowman who endeavors to find new Christmas traditions for Disney's 2nd best pair of sisters, Elsa and Anna (Lilo and Nani from Lilo & Stitch are #1). It manages to push in 4 songs, with 2 reprises mixed in to pad out the runtime (and the patient of families who waited in line and through the previews for Coco), visited a gay family to push LGBQT angle even more (since they did that in the first movie), and physical comedic antics galore. The only good things are a few neat one-liners for Olaf and some nice little moments between Anna and Elsa (when not singing). Overall talking about this in the review instead of jumping Coco is like pushing that merchandise more as well as being shamelessly greedy in having a 21 minute short for another property before letting families adjust themselves for the Pixar delight (having to wait 40 minutes total as a result). ⭑1/2
Update: As of December 8th, Olaf's Frozen Adventure has been removed from the screenings with Disney claiming that the "short" was going to be a limited theatrical run.

Plot: Taking place in a small Mexican village, the story follows a young boy who finds himself transported to the Land of the Dead after a chain of events involving his contrasting views on his own  musical passion versus that of his relatives ban on them and endeavors to get back home before sunrise or else he'll become one of the dead. One of the best aspects is exploring the struggles of compromising between family and hard musician lives, which is laid out in a realistic and fascinating view. It also respectfully celebrates the Mexican culture side with the living and the dead (I'm not familiar with it but the energy carried throughout feels like it). One thing to note, however, if you're paying close attention to the narrative structure, it's hard not to notice that this story borrowed from previous Pixar films (such as Brave, Up, Wall-E, Monsters Inc.) that it felt more predictable and unsurprising in the routes to take to move forward, but not enough to sour the experience. The emotional development is richly abundant to where unexpected teary-eyed moments sneak up on you (as long as the audience knows when to stay silent in order to preserve those feelings, which wasn't easy during my first viewing) and it takes it even further with a sudden dark tonal shift taking place in the second act. It's also smart enough to get the aforementioned Disney cliches out of the way in the first act, which helps considering what's in store later on (even though a few of them are hammered in a little too much). Overall the storytelling crafted here provides audiences fascinating topics of discussion and heartfelt feelings as the pacing picks up in the second half, despite the predicable cliches and borrowed concepts from previous Pixar films.

Characters: The protagonists to focus on are Miguel Rivera (Anthony Gonzalez), Hector (Gael Garcia Bernal), and Ernesto De La Cruz (Benjamin Bratt). Miguel is an aspiring musician at odds with his relatives about their views on his passion who matures as he learns more about his ancestors history while in the afterlife. Anthony gives a great believable performance as one of Pixars most relatable lead child in this deeply emotional journey. Hector is a charming trickster who teams up with Miguel in order to find a way for the latter to help the former to visit the living. Gael is the best performer out of the cast with his great capabilities of balancing comedy and dramatic angles. Ernesto is Miguel's famous musician idol whose crowd pleasing charisma is bolstered by Benjamin's energetic portrayal. Honorable mentions go to Mama Imelda Rivera (Alanna Ubach) and Abuelita Elena Rivera (Renee Victor) for the former's sweet standout scenes with Miguel as well as the actresses singing voice while the latter's balance of sweet and sassy personality (strengthened by Renee's acting) combined with her fierce predator nature around their music ban makes me question the law enforcement situation in that town (since shoes are more dangerous weapons than guns in the village). Overall the actors bolster their respective roles valued worth as emotionally realistic relatives working out complex issues.

Songs: The songs fit perfectly with the environment and standout for not being particularly flashy as more recent songs from the Disney pantheon. They aren't those high caliber orchestrated types but rather a more joyous and soothing melodies that feel more refreshing here. They are also one of the best contributors to the emotional core with the harsh complex story being told (to those of you who have seen it, you know what I'm referring to). It's feel appropriate for audience members familiar with the culture who would get a better sense of home from it while newcomers being exposed to it might entice more interest into similar songs.

Overall Consensus: Coco provides a great experience through its relatable characters, solid acting, predictable Disney cliches, respect towards Mexican culture, gorgeous visuals, complex heartfelt story, and fascinating lessons for it audiences. ⭑⭑⭑⭑1/2🍿🎟

Reasons to watch it: You like any of the aforementioned actors. You like great Pixar movies that treats its subject matter with respect. You want to see Mexican culture respectfully handled in animated movies. You are interested in the gorgeous visuals of the afterlife. You don't mind waiting through 40 minutes of previews and Olaf's Frozen Adventure before getting to see Coco (or can come to the screening around 35 minutes or so after the showtime of the movie). You aren't annoyed by predictable Disney cliches. You want to see if you can make it through without crying. You have seen The Book of Life and are interested in the differences it has with Coco.

Reasons to avoid it: You dislike any of the aforementioned actors. You dislike Pixar movies. You don't care about seeing Mexican culture in animated movies. You aren't interested in the gorgeous visuals of the afterlife. You don't mind waiting through 40 minutes of previews and Olaf's Frozen Adventure before getting to see Coco. You are annoyed by predictable Disney cliches.

Coming up next: November has finally concluded on a strong note through the Pixar's crowd pleasing quality hit, Coco. This past month has been mostly positive, though it wasn't easy at first with a meandering Thor: Ragnarok leaving a bored bland taste in my system that needed at least two of the entries that followed it to cleanse out. The December Delights are just around the corner with 4 upcoming reviews to close out the year with. It will begin with the coming of age genre as a critically acclaimed release has been in theaters for the past few weeks so far. Tune in next time as Screening Spectacles will take a look and see if Lady Bird is worth all of the praise!!!