Coco Film Review

Another Incredible Pixar Film

Pixar’s reputation for producing incredible animated films continues with their latest effort, Coco. Inside Out was arguably Pixar’s most ambitious title, balancing a fun animated flick with mature themes around embracing sadness. Coco continues this boundary defying formula somewhat, tackling themes around death, the afterlife and the importance of music. Coco is a beautifully written, visually stunning film and although it may not be the best film this studio has produced, it’s still an incredible effort, solidifying Pixar’s position as the King of animated film.

Set in the heart of Mexico on the eve of Day Of The Dead (Día de Muertos) and focuses on aspiring musician Miguel (Anthony Gonzalez). Dismayed by his music loathing family, Miguel and his trusty guitar set off on a journey to make a name for himself. After a series of transpiring events, Miguel finds himself in the land of the dead surrounded by his deceased ancestors. Once there, he attempts to track down and find his famous musician great-grandfather, Ernesto de la Cruz (Benjamin Bratt) and get his blessing to play music. Most of the story plays out in typical Pixar fashion; an enthralling, absorbing story sprinkled with well-timed humour and compelling characters combined to produce a colourful animated title. Pixar seem to have a knack for finding the right formula for their films and Coco is no exception.

There are a few plot inconsistencies but they’re relatively minor and easy to look past, given the care put into the rest of the film. For much of Coco’s run time, this Mexican inspired animation oozes charm and visually, nails the aesthetic with a medley of neon fused colours and vibrancy. What really separates Coco from other animations is not just the Mexican theme, it’s the exceptional ending.

Thematically, Coco bravely ventures into taboo subjects handling them beautifully in an emotional rollercoaster of a film. The importance of music plays a key role in the story too with a perfect, believable arc including Miguel’s family and their attitude toward music changes and evolves throughout the film. Too often in titles like this the ending feels manufactured and contrived but Coco nails every aspect of its story, perfecting its ending to easily make it one of the best animated titles released in quite some time.

Coco is Pixar at its finest. Gorgeous visuals, compelling characters and a variety of different emotions mixed together produce another amazing effort from the award-winning studio. Coco’s story is one of sadness, acceptance, death and joy, all bundled together and fused with Mexican music. Somehow Pixar always seem to outdo themselves and Coco is no exception, this Mexican inspired animation is a wonderful film and easily one of Pixar’s finest efforts.