Thanks to Desiree Eaglin with The Funny Mom Blog, I had the opportunity to see the premiere of Coco, Disney Pixar’s new film starring young Miguel (voiced by Anthony Gonzalez).
This film is based on Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead), in a beautiful dedication to Mexican culture. We begin this movie with seeing Miguel idolizing famous musician Ernesto de la Cruz (voiced by Benjamin Bratt), secretly watching his concerts in a hidden room away from his family. However, Miguel’s family has passed down a ban of music for generations. In secret, Miguel has taught himself how to play guitar and has a natural talent for singing. Along a series of events with Miguel desperate to prove to his family that this is his dream, he ends up in the vibrant Land of the Dead. In this world, he meets Hector (voiced by Gael Garcia Bernal), a jokester who is desperate to have his picture placed on the ofrenda so he can cross into the Land of the Living to visit his family. Together, they take on the journey to learn the story behind Miguel’s family.
NAME THAT TUNE – In Disney•Pixar’s “Coco,” Miguel’s love of music ultimately leads him to the Land of the Dead where he teams up with charming trickster Hector. © 2017 Disney•Pixar. All Rights Reserved.
For being twelve years old, Miguel has such character development throughout the film. At the beginning, we see him struggling with wanting to pursue his dream but resenting the fact that his family won’t accept it, and he even runs away from his problems instead of tackling them reasonably. But throughout the film, we see him start to understand everything because of how much he’s learned and at the end of the movie, he sees that family is the most important thing. All of the main characters in this film have layers of complexity that really push the entire fabric of this story.
DON’T FORGET THE SHOES – Abuelita (voice of Renée Victor) and Miguel (voice of Anthony Gonzalez) ensure that their home is adorned for Día de Muertos, including an elaborate ofrenda that holds several framed family pictures, flowers, candles, favorite foods and—because they are in the shoemaking business—shoes. ©2017 Disney•Pixar. All Rights Reserved.
Coco is a beautifully touching movie filled with bright, vivid colors, beautiful designs, amazing music and of course, an incredible story. It’s got tons of humor but it’s also such an important story to tell that I believe everybody can relate to. It also seems like it was a fresh and inspired movie, in a time where tons of sequels are coming out, Coco is new and necessary. It definitely takes me back to when Inside Out came out, where it was a whole other story that hadn’t been told, with new characters to absolutely love and adore.
FAMILY BONDS – Miguel (voice of Anthony Gonzalez) has a very special relationship with his great-great-grandmother, Mamá Coco (voice of Ana Ofelia Murguía). ©2017 Disney•Pixar. All Rights Reserved.
I thoroughly believe that this was a sneaky diamond – not just in a sense where the movie was absolutely one of the greatest from Pixar, but also in a way where it’s got so much humor in the buddy comedy sense, that when you start to feel emotional, you hadn’t even seen it coming and it hits you hard. Make sure you bring tissues, you’ll definitely need them.
UN POCO LOCO – ©2017 Disney•Pixar. All Rights Reserved.
Coco comes to theaters everywhere today, November 22nd! If you haven’t seen the trailer yet, check it out below and then go see the movie in theaters!
