Coco Movie Review: A Magical Ride You Wish Should Never End

Coco Movie Review Rating: 4/5 Stars (Four stars)

Star Cast: Anthony Gonzalez, Gael García Bernal, Benjamin Bratt, Alanna Ubach, Renee Victor.

Director: Lee Unkrich, Adrian Molina

What’s Good: As every Pixar movie, Coco, too, is high on emotions. Supremely colourful and extremely entertaining.

What’s Bad: Elongated start, makers take their own sweet time to unveil the big surprise but when they do there’s no looking back.

Loo Break: This is 109 minutes of a magic show and you never leave a magic trick in between.

Watch or Not?: A perfect entertainer for the Indian audience, it has jokes, moments to make you go ‘aww’, family traditions – what more could we ask for?

User Rating:

Set in an imaginary town of Santa Cecilia in Mexico, Coco has its protagonist in a 12-year-old. Miguel (voiced by Anthony Gonzalez), who is longing to be a musician. Inspired by the town’s most famous musician Ernesto de la Cruz, who is no more, Miguel decides to go against the wishes of his family and become a musician. Born in a family which hates music, because of a bitter past related with it, Miguel is wanted to become a shoemaker like them when he grows up. But one fine day, on The Day Of The Dead (Día de Muertos) – which as per Mexican tradition is celebrated to hypothetically welcome the ones who are no more with us.

Miguel takes a reverse ride through the passage and finds himself on the land of the dead. On the journey to find his musician father who left his family and never returned, Miguel explores many truths of his life in the afterlife he gets stuck for a night. Pixar’s version of the land of the dead is full of homely skeletons who frequently get themselves disjointed and are back to normal in no time. It’s more like Hotel Transylvania but without the ghosts. Miguel reunites with his entire family but his journey is what Coco is all about.

Coco Movie Review: Script Analysis

Pixar: The masters of portraying human emotions on screen – robots falling in love with each other (Wall-E), exploring the feelings of human feelings (Inside Out) – this production house has juiced every possible emotion available. Coco has two major things going in its way – colours of Disney and soul of Pixar. Taking the musical route, Coco sings the story rather than narrating it.

Makers create a world in which you start noticing everything – from Skeletons’ reaction to the monumental parties they throw. The movie never goes the I-am-a-musical-so-I-will-have-eleven-songs way, which surely is an advantage for it. Coco has enough music and ample of songs required to go with the story. The beauty of the film is it starts getting better with every 15 minutes in it. You’re so full of joy, melancholy, inspiration towards the end which you never saw coming when everything started.

Coco Movie Review: Star Performance

Anthony Gonzalez, who has voiced for Miguel gets the vocals and emotions to the T. For an animated movie, it’s always important to match up the voices with the characters and Coco has everything perfect in this department.

Gale Garcia Bernal (The Motorcycle Diaries fame) has lent his voice to Hector who helps Miguel to burrow into the world of the dead. He also has an amazing twist attached to his character which makes him memorable.

Benjamin Bratt as Ernesto de la Cruz does the best of the lot. Portraying the role of the most famous musician in the history of Mexico his voice fits the bill for someone who is loved by all.

Coco Movie Review: Direction, Music

Lee Unkrich & Adrian Molina are the people behind this magical world. Lee has done a commendable job on emoting everything without crossing any line. When you say – the land of the dead, it sounds scary for kids but when you’re there you know it’s more comical than scary. The movie is named as Coco after Miguel’s great-grandmother who is the soul of the film.

Michael Giacchino captures the essence of Mexican music with utmost honesty. We don’t get a memorable soundtrack but can’t complain about the tranquilizing background score. Music elevates the situations making the comic scenes funnier and adding an emotional touch to the poignant ones.

Coco Movie Review: The Last Word

Go for Coco! It’s a colorful treat to eyes, ears, and heart. Those who are not much into such movies, at a point you’ll forget you’re watching an animated movie. A satisfying experience for the soul.

Four stars!

Coco Trailer

Coco releases on 24th November 2017.

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