Coco

I am very glad I saw "Coco" and understand exactly why it won the Oscar for Best Animated Feature, as it's terrifically entertaining, fun to watch...and quite touching as well.

The story is set around Día de Muertos, the Mexican Day of the Dead. Miguel is a nice little boy whose family, inexplicably, HATE music and insist he never can grow up to become a musician. And, wouldn't you know it, but that's EXACTLY what the boy wants to become one day. But after destroying his homemade guitar, he is unable to enter a music contest...so he decides to take one from the local cemetery. Not surprisingly, this creates all sorts of problems...and Miguel is transported to the land of the dead. What's next? Just see the film!

The CGI for this film is simply the best you'll currently find...putting it well above the quality of competing studios, such as Universal and Fox. In addition, the scope of the images is just breathtaking....and a treat to see on the big screen. Additionally, the songs, story and characters are all lovely. One warning, however, is that this film will very likely start you crying now and again...be sure to have some tissues nearby, just in case. A must-see film.

I'm no critic, but Coco is close to movie perfection. It definitely deserved the Oscar for Best Animated Feature, no doubt, and is by far the best animated movie ever created. The visuals are stunning, the characters are fantastic, the twist is somewhat predictable but still great, and the story is so touching. This is the best film I have ever seen, over Shawshank, over The Godfather, over The Matrix; this film is a godlike creation from the very, very best of cinema. Do not be fooled by the haters who say it is a poor portrayal of a tradition; the tradition is likely far more beautiful in Coco than in real life. Fantastic, I am blown away.

Coco tells the story of young boy named Miguel living in Mexico (Coco is his great grandmother). Miguel loves music and must keep his love a secret from his family who has forbidden music of any kind since the days of his great great grandmother. On Día de Muertos, Miguel wants to enter a contest to showcase his musical talent, but his grandmother intervenes, reiterating the family's ban on music.

In his hunt for a suitable guitar to play, Miguel finds himself in the land of dead, meeting the spirits of those who have passed on. On his adventure he meets his musical hero, much of his deceased family, and a strange man who asks for his help and quickly becomes a close friend. Along the way, Miguel helps his new friend and his friend helps him understand the true significance of Día de Muertos.

Of course, the title character (Coco) turns out to play a vital role before the movie is over. When the moment arrives, she delivers something powerful, and it's beautiful. It moved me in a very satisfying way that felt well-earned and authentic, rather than manipulative, the way many movie moments of this sort feel.

Quick sidebar: when I took Spanish in high school, my teachers would occasionally incorporate culture from Spanish-speaking countries (usually Mexico) into the lessons. In some of these lessons, I learned about Día de Muertos. Sort of. I'm not sure if the lessons were lacking or if I just wasn't paying much attention to them. Regardless, I learned more about Día de Muertos from Coco than I did in four years of high school Spanish classes.

In high school, my understanding of Día de Muertos was that it was basically a Mexican Halloween. They raised spirits from the dead and played music or something, as I understood it. It seemed silly to me. After watching Coco I realized that the tradition is anything but silly.

It's not about the dressing up or the food or the music. It's about family and remembering those that came before us. Leave it to Pixar to not only entertain me, but also educate me about a rich and wonderful tradition of another culture. Bravo!

I knew absolutely nothing about this movie walking in, the only reason I was there was to take my daughter to see it is strictly because my wife said there was a short Frozen film that played along with the movie and my daughter just so happens to be the biggest Frozen fan on the face of the planet.

Not only was I surprised by Coco, it might be the most in depth best story line I've ever seen in an animated movie. It was also educational and shed an entirely new light on the background of the Mexican holiday Dia De Los Muertos.

Wonderful movie, can't say enough good things about it!

Coco is about Dias de las Muerte (Day of the Dead), family, family crises and musical passion. The posters have a boy and an adult skeleton capering through the afterlife. So you can know that upfront, Pixar is going to fully deal with the subject of death that it touched upon I UP and hinted at in the death of childhood innocence in Inside Out.

We were subtly forewarned that tissues would be needed. :)

It surpasses the other aforementioned masterpieces by being more relatable, drawing on family restrictions and prohibitions (e.g. "there will be no X in this family!" X being "instead whatever has caused pain to a family member in the past". Pick your poison my reader). It surpasses them in making death tolerable. It reminds us that we should be mindful and respectful of all those who went before us. Most of all it taps on the shoulder and whispers that the temporal, the world we live in, in just as important as the next one and we should strive to keep family bonds strong. For when we're at the end of our rope, who else is there to pull us up?

Did I mention bring Kleenex? A full box. Even hard core macho men are driven to quiet sobs and immediate phone calls to mothers and fathers telling them "mama, I miss you."

Beautiful.