Faulkner Reviews Pixar’s Coco

Pixar has been killing off its beloved characters since the beginning of time, so it makes sense that in their newest movie, Coco, that the audience gets a peek into the afterlife. Coco is Pixar’s 19th full-length feature film, and it lives up to its predecessors in a big way.

Pixar has a reputation to get people excited about their movies, whether it’s another Toy Story sequel or an original concept like Inside Out. Their newest film, Coco, is about Dia de los Muertos, a Mexican holiday. Coco follows Miguel Rivera, a young boy who adores music but lives in a family where music is considered a curse, after his great great grandmother is left by her musician husband to raise their daughter Coco. Miguel finds sanctuary in music which is taken away when his grandmother breaks his guitar. Miguel then tries to borrow the guitar of a dead musician whom he idolizes, and, as stealing from the dead is against an unspoken rule, he winds up becoming half human, half dead, a curse he can only reverse in the land of the dead. And the adventure ensues from there.

It is well worth the watch. The movie is beautiful in all senses of the word, the world created is stunning and vast, the characters are funny and feel like a family. The music is wonderful as well, with talented singers and well-written and well-placed songs. The plot gets a bit predictable near the end, but despite the predictability still brings powerful, emotional scenes to leave the audience in tears.

Coco is also very authentic. Pixar tried their very hardest on this film to make it legitimate. From the way Miguel accurately plays the guitar, each string and hand position is how it would be played in real life, to how family and culture is represented. My hispanic cousins and uncle accompanied me to the theatre. Within a few minutes of the movie my cousin was telling me how real to life the family dynamic seemed to her.

There is, aside from predictability, another downside to going to see Pixar’s latest in theatres. Pixar has a history dating back to 1998 of airing short films, usually no more than six minutes long, in front of their movies. These films are usually a delight to watch and add to rather than take away from the movie that was paid for. Not so in the case of Coco. Instead Disney chose to release Olaf’s Frozen Adventure, a Frozen themed Christmas special, before the movie began. While it was on its own an enjoyable little Christmas special, it did not belong in front of a movie about an entirely different holiday, especially when the special was 21 minutes long. After the special aired there was a commercial from Pixar about making the movie Coco, to remind viewers what they came to see.

Another complaint about Coco is that it is essentially the same plot as another movie by 20th Century Fox, The book of life. Both center around Dia de los Muertos, and seem to have very similar plots. The skeletons of the two movies may seem extremely similar- guitar wielding heroes who encounter their family in the land of the dead. However they are fairly different. For one thing, in The book of life, you are viewing the whole story as a spectator. Coco does a better job showing things from Miguel’s perspective, which is a very interesting one at that.
Coco also has a more modern setting, and, interestingly enough, less modern songs than its competitor. With the bright vivid world, cultural authenticity, and charming dialogue, I personally prefer Coco, though I’d say give both a watch and compare for yourself.