Coco, the newest Disney Pixar movie is having its “midnight” release today. But, is it worth jumping to the theaters to see? Here’s a spoiler free review.
Music
A big component of the film is the music. The story centers around a young boy wanting to play music. So, how is the music for the film? The songs are great ballads. They are catchy and are nicely cultural as well. Lyrically there are some terrific lines, some being rather humorous when appropriate. In all, this is a great soundtrack.
Michael Giacchino does the score for the film. If you’ve read some of my other reviews I have a love hate relationship with his composing. He does some really great, memorable music. And other times the scores for one movie remind me of another instead of being unique. Coco has a uniqueness to the score. It’s very much influenced by Mexico and its music. However, I can’t say the score is especially memorable. It’s not bad, but not great. It’s good, and does the job. I wouldn’t say it adds a lot to the movie, but it is nice for the film.
Characters and Voice Acting
First off, I will say Anthony Gonzalez did an amazing job as Miguel! He really made the character come to life with both speaking and singing.
Now that’s not to say the rest of the cast did badly. I was very impressed by the ensemble! I didn’t recognize the actors and actresses behind each character, but even if I knew them they made such distinct characters that it’s a remarkable voice cast.
Characters made this film so great. Each had a unique personality to them. They made impressions on the audience so well. I would dare say this is one of the best sets of characters in the Pixar library.
Animation
I don’t always discuss the animation of the films. That is, how is it technically executed. This is a film that is worth mentioning the animation execution. Particularly with Mama Coco. Most of the time in the film she is a very senior woman that is not mobile. But, the animation of her expressions would make my eyes tear up. She had such emotion with her face it was hard to believe it was just computer animated.
Story
Here we go. The main ingredient of the movie. Is the story good? It’s going to be hard to describe this film’s story without giving too much away. Seeing preview after preview I thought I knew the story. I thought it would be very straight forward. I’ll be honest in saying I wasn’t looking forward to the movie thinking I already knew how it would all play out.
I was blown away by this story! Even though there’s some outcomes I guessed, the full result of it all still caught me by surprise. And it brought so much emotion to me. I think this is a story that is going to bring emotion to everyone who sees it. It deals with some heavy subjects, though in enough of a light way to enjoy.
The way the story moved was done in that great Pixar way. Scenes and plot points are not wasted. It flows and still delivers some twists.
Is Coco Worth Seeing?
So now we’ve reached the conclusion. Should you go and see this movie in the theaters? Yes! A big yes! I’ll say it is not at the top of my Pixar movie list, but I do acknowledge it’s one of the best. It’s more personal taste that it’s not at the top of the list. But, this is a great film. The characters, songs and story are all crafted so well. The visuals are stunning that it must be seen on a big screen. And it’s one to see again and again.
If you’re looking for that Pixar film that is going to stir emotions in you, this is definitely that film. If you’re looking for one that has great characters that you can feel for and laugh when they’re funny, it’s that film too. It’s an amazing family film that is definitely worth the full price of admission!
