Lin-Manuel Miranda had a busy year in 2021. Along with directing a Best Picture nominee in "Tick...Tick...Boom!" he provided the music for two animated movies. One of these was "Encanto" which went on to win "Best Animated Picture" as the Oscars. The animated film was this one, "Vivo". One advantage this film has over "Encanto" is that Lin actually does the singing in this film. Miranda is such a unique talent, no one can write songs the way he does, and no one can perform them the way he does. Not only is he great singer, he is a great voice actor as well. There are so many jokes in this movie that are sold by his delivery. He provides a lot of pained screams that are comedy gold.
The songs throughout the movie are all good, some of them being stuck in your head for weeks after hearing them. The animation is also very good, the character designs are distinct and the movements smooth.
The story ebbs and flows in quality. The opening 30 minutes and ending 30 minutes are very good. They hit all the emotional beats just right and move characters forward in a believable way. I even enjoy the twist they do on the kids' buddy road trip formula. Typically, there are two characters that don't get along and they gripe the whole time. That happens here as well, but since one character can't understand the other, they are able to be as brutally mean as they like without it offending the other. They just naively go along like they are the best of friends, and it leads to some funny jokes.
It is just that pesky middle 30 minutes that feels like a series of plot contrivances in order to make the movie happen. There are plenty of ways to fix the problem in a quick and painless way, but to make the story last for 94 minutes, needless complications arise. It is all basic animated movie stuff, and there are some funny jokes interlaced throughout, but it doesn't rise to the quality of its opening or closing.
The first 30 minutes gives the movie its emotional core. The final 30 minutes give it is satisfactory ending. The middle 30 minutes give it typical kids' movie shenanigans. But there is good animation, music and humor throughout the whole runtime.
