That being said, I know for a fact that no one asked for this blog to exist, but I just felt like I should preface my absence with a valid excuse before I take another long absence as the semester draws to a close. Don't worry- I'll (probably) be more active over winter break, because then I won't have to worry about school.
But never mind that now. Let's begin.
Let's talk about Coco.
Now, I usually don't like to talk about movies that have been recently released in theaters- mostly because I like to give away details within the movies in order to explain why I liked and/or didn't like them. However, I saw this movie recently, and since it just came out over the holiday break, I feel obligated to give a review of this movie without any spoilers, and without giving away any major plot points.
I'm just gonna do my best to explain to the general public why this movie is completely worth seeing, and why everyone should give Coco a fair shot in the box office.
Here's the thing: I have a lot of things to say about this movie, but before I get into them, I would just like to mention the worst part of the movie outright.
Now for those of you who haven't read it, I will put a link to my blog post on Frozen where I detail exactly why I didn't like the movie, but I will attempt to keep my opinions brief on why this Frozen-themed short was absolutely the worst.
Thus begins Miguel's adventure, where he finds his skeletal relatives, and he learns exactly why music was banned from their household so long ago. And of course (again), in true Disney fashion, there are plenty of heartfelt moments in the movie that are sure to make you cry, along with some funny moments that will make you smile.
Here's the thing: I have a lot of things to say about this movie, but before I get into them, I would just like to mention the worst part of the movie outright.
First of all, you should know that my brother and I were almost late to see Coco. We thought we were going to miss the first five minutes or so, but luckily for us, there was this Frozen short at the beginning of the movie that cushioned the run-time so that we could be seated and still catch the last few minutes of the short. Now, to me, the worst part of the movie was this stupid, unnecessary short about Christmas traditions, presented by the cast of Frozen.
My primary complaint about this short was that it was too damn long.
I can't tell you how often my brother and I looked at each other as we watched the short, waiting for it to end. Sure, we were late to the movie, and admittedly I was grateful for the short because it provided us with more opportunity to see the movie, but after about ten minutes of sitting there watching the Frozen short, I was like "...Okay, when is this going to end?"
I am not even joking when I say that I heard a kid behind me in the theater say, "I thought we were watching Coco," because the short ran as long as a 22-minute cartoon on the Disney Channel. Honestly, it was too much. The whole point of a short is that they're supposed to be short- as in 10 minutes or less. Disney was honestly just pushing their luck.
Had they aired this short on the Disney Channel as a special event to get kids to tune in, I feel like less people would have been annoyed before the movie started, because after the short was over, I heard another, different kid say, "It was good, even though it lasted a million years." (I am not exaggerating.)
I also love that I am not the only one who had a similar feeling about this stupid short, because apparently people on the internet hate it, too. Here's the link to some funny tweets about how long and trite the Frozen short was:Why Olaf's Frozen Adventure is Literally the Worst. I love those tweets because they validate me.
Anyway, now that that's out of the way, let's get to Coco's spoiler free review.
Category 1: Plot- B-
I liked the plot of Coco, because it was incredibly culturally significant and touching. If anyone remembers that movie, The Book of Life, from a few years ago, you might recognize similarities between the plot and setting and whatnot, but let me assure you right now that these movies are very different.
As someone who saw The Book of Life and absolutely thought it was trash, I have to say, that I also thought that the plot of Coco and The Book of Life would be similar. And it worried me, to be honest.
Because of that, I had high hopes, but average expectations going into this movie. If Coco sucked- it was alright. I figured it couldn't have been as bad as The Book of Life. But I have to tell you right now that Coco exceeded my expectations, and completely made up for whatever sorry excuse for a movie The Book of Life was three years ago.
In short, the plot of this movie focuses on a twelve year old named Miguel who wants to grow up to a musician, like his idol, Ernesto de la Crúz. Unfortunately, in true Disney fashion, Miguel's family does not want him to pursue music, because of an old family rule that bans music from their household. So one night, Miguel decides to sneak into the mausoleum of Ernesto de la Crúz on El Día de los Muertos (The Day of the Dead) and steal his old guitar. The only thing is, once he plays it, he is sent to the land of the dead.
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| Miguel, the main character in Coco, playing Ernesto de la Crúz's cursed guitar. |
Overall, without getting into specifics, I enjoyed the plot of this movie, and I thought that the only thing similar between Coco and The Book of Life, were the setting and the fact that the main character liked to sing. The overall plot of the movie is completely different and much more enjoyable than The Book of Life, in my opinion. (But even if you did like The Book of Life you should still go see Coco, por favor.)
Category 2: Themes- A-
Because I am determined not to spoil this movie for anyone who hasn't seen it, I will just suffice it to say that the themes in this movie are more mature than I was expecting for an animated Disney film. That being said, I was actually completely on board for all of the themes in this movie. It's Disney, and so the theme of "family" was obviously present throughout the film, but there was also the underlying theme of "memory" and how that effected your life and the lives of those who came before you. Overall, I wish I could dive deep into why the themes of this movie are so touching and brilliant, but I do not want to spoil any of the actual movie, because I strongly believe that everyone should see it for themselves. Lo siento, muchachos.
Category 3: Animation- A+
Giving Disney an A+ for visual effects and animation is like giving Usain Bolt a gold medal for the 100 meter dash- it's expected, and honestly it's a little unnecessary. Disney always puts a lot of time and effort into it's animation, and obviously Coco is no exception. Particularly though, there was one scene that caught my attention in the movie that I feel like I have to highlight.
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| Miguel and his dog, Dante, looking up at the land of the dead. |
This scene (featured above) is the epitome of beautiful animation and creativity. Before the film even began to play (and right after the obnoxiously long Frozen "short"), there was a brief intro into the movie by a few of the producers, that quickly went over all of the techniques that were used to create this one scene specifically. Apparently, this scene is composed of thousands individual islands in the sky in order to create "the land of the dead," for the movie. The layered animation here is detailed in a way that is astonishing, and I know that hundreds of animators worked their asses off in order to make this movie look as colorful and gorgeous as it turned out. "The land of the dead" is incredibly vast and beautiful to look at in the film, and it made me appreciate all of the time and effort that went into the movie as a whole.
If you're interested in finding out more about the animation of Coco, here's an interesting article from Entertainment Weekly on how they animated the skeletal people in the "land of the dead": How Disney Animated Coco's Skeleton's.
If you're interested in finding out more about the animation of Coco, here's an interesting article from Entertainment Weekly on how they animated the skeletal people in the "land of the dead": How Disney Animated Coco's Skeleton's.
Category 4: Characters-A-
Another thing that I liked about this movie was how all of the characters seemed to feel like real people- especially the skeletons that Miguel meets in "the land of the dead." Honestly, it was amazing how multifaceted and realistic the characters were in the movie, and how they were able to incorporate so much Spanish dialogue and dialect into the film. As someone who does not speak Spanish, I was a little confused at times by this, but it didn't absolutely throw me. In fact, it just added to the environment and the overall feel of the movie.
The two main characters in the movie, I would say, are Miguel (the 12 year old boy), and Hector, a skeleton Miguel meets in the lad of the dead. In true movie fashion, Hector and Miguel must stick together throughout the whole movie in order to both get what they need from one another. As a whole, the dynamic between these two characters was great, and the two of them respectively had a lot of heart.
Overall, I loved all of the characters in this movie and how three dimensional they were.
The two main characters in the movie, I would say, are Miguel (the 12 year old boy), and Hector, a skeleton Miguel meets in the lad of the dead. In true movie fashion, Hector and Miguel must stick together throughout the whole movie in order to both get what they need from one another. As a whole, the dynamic between these two characters was great, and the two of them respectively had a lot of heart.
Overall, I loved all of the characters in this movie and how three dimensional they were.
Category 5: Music-B+
There was a fair amount of music in this movie, despite the fact that Miguel's family did not allow him to play music in the first place. And while the music in Coco isn't Moana level catchy, it's good. I quite enjoyed the music that was played throughout this movie, and I admired the talented voice actors that they got to sing all of the songs. The only person I was familiar with before watching this movie was the actor Benjamin Bratt, who was in Miss Congeniality and is now on the TV show, Star. However, the kid who played the main role of Miguel, Anthony Gonzalez, absolutely killed it in this role. I had never heard of him before, but for a twelve year old kid, he had some pipes!
My brother even looked over at me while a musical number was playing and asked me who the kid was that was singing, and we had to Google it afterwards. Honestly, he was impressive to listen to.
Some of the music that was sung in the movie was in Spanish, and if you don't speak Spanish it can make it a little harder to enjoy, but honestly, the music still sounded good, regardless.
Just a warning, there is one song that might get stuck in your head after you leave the theater and that is "Remember Me." This song was sung maybe four times throughout the movie, and honestly once you watch it, you'll understand why. It's honestly such a beautiful song with a beautiful sentiment behind it.
Overall, the music was incredibly good and the vocals of the voice actors were amazing.
My brother even looked over at me while a musical number was playing and asked me who the kid was that was singing, and we had to Google it afterwards. Honestly, he was impressive to listen to.
Some of the music that was sung in the movie was in Spanish, and if you don't speak Spanish it can make it a little harder to enjoy, but honestly, the music still sounded good, regardless.
Just a warning, there is one song that might get stuck in your head after you leave the theater and that is "Remember Me." This song was sung maybe four times throughout the movie, and honestly once you watch it, you'll understand why. It's honestly such a beautiful song with a beautiful sentiment behind it.
Overall, the music was incredibly good and the vocals of the voice actors were amazing.
Category 6: Kid-Friendliness- B
For the record, this movie is PG. And when I walked out of the movie, I could honestly understand why parental guidance is recommended when watching this movie. The themes of this movie are a little more mature than you would expect for a traditional G-rated Disney movie. However, that being said, I still think that kids should watch it. There is nothing in this movie that is hard for children to understand, and frankly I did not find it inappropriate in any particular way. In fact, based on the setting, plot, and themes of this movie, I would to say that it is probably one of the most important movies for children to watch now. With our current social climate and people failing to relate to one another on a base level, I would say that exposing your children to a different culture with a different language could help them in the long run. If only to show them that there is more to Disney movies than just princesses and castles.
As someone who views representation as one of the most valuable things in media and film, I think that Coco is a great representation of Mexican culture (Disclaimer: I am not Mexican, and I cannot wholly confirm the accuracy of the cultural representations.), and I enjoyed the movie very much.
I believe that Disney is in the era of recognizing the importance of representation in its media, and realizing that not every child comes from the same background. Movies like Mulan, Aladdin, Lilo and Stitch, The Emperor's New Groove, The Princess and the Frog, Moana, and now Coco, prove that within the past twenty years Disney is trying its hardest to recognize that representation matters, and that it is worth putting into its animation.
Overall, I really liked Coco.
It had a good story, with a good heart and good characters. It even managed to make me cry at the end, which made my brother look over at me and call me a "sucker." But I don't care. I enjoyed it, and for that I am going to give Coco a B+.
(Keep in mind that the individual grades have no actual bearing on my overall grade, and that just because I gave it a B+, it does not mean that I did not enjoy the film. Ve a verlo, por favor.)
This is a first for me, not only because this is my first-spoiler free review since my very first review on Fantastic Beasts, but because this is the first time I have given a good grade to a film I have reviewed on this blog. Maybe this is a turning point in the formatting....
Nah. I wouldn't count on many more positive reviews if I were you. I have a lot of opinions, after all.
Overall, I hope that you go see Coco, out in theaters now (I am not sponsored by Disney, although I wish that I was.). I just think that it's a good, wholesome movie, featuring a person of color as the main character. By no means is it my favorite Disney movie, but I just think that these types of movies need all the promotion they can get, especially when Frozen is such global phenomenon. It is important that we let Disney know that Frozen isn't all that matters, and that culturally and racially diverse movies are just as supported by movie-going audiences.
Gracias.
As someone who views representation as one of the most valuable things in media and film, I think that Coco is a great representation of Mexican culture (Disclaimer: I am not Mexican, and I cannot wholly confirm the accuracy of the cultural representations.), and I enjoyed the movie very much.
I believe that Disney is in the era of recognizing the importance of representation in its media, and realizing that not every child comes from the same background. Movies like Mulan, Aladdin, Lilo and Stitch, The Emperor's New Groove, The Princess and the Frog, Moana, and now Coco, prove that within the past twenty years Disney is trying its hardest to recognize that representation matters, and that it is worth putting into its animation.
Overall, I really liked Coco.
It had a good story, with a good heart and good characters. It even managed to make me cry at the end, which made my brother look over at me and call me a "sucker." But I don't care. I enjoyed it, and for that I am going to give Coco a B+.
(Keep in mind that the individual grades have no actual bearing on my overall grade, and that just because I gave it a B+, it does not mean that I did not enjoy the film. Ve a verlo, por favor.)
This is a first for me, not only because this is my first-spoiler free review since my very first review on Fantastic Beasts, but because this is the first time I have given a good grade to a film I have reviewed on this blog. Maybe this is a turning point in the formatting....
Nah. I wouldn't count on many more positive reviews if I were you. I have a lot of opinions, after all.
Overall, I hope that you go see Coco, out in theaters now (I am not sponsored by Disney, although I wish that I was.). I just think that it's a good, wholesome movie, featuring a person of color as the main character. By no means is it my favorite Disney movie, but I just think that these types of movies need all the promotion they can get, especially when Frozen is such global phenomenon. It is important that we let Disney know that Frozen isn't all that matters, and that culturally and racially diverse movies are just as supported by movie-going audiences.
Gracias.