Coco by Adrian Molina (Co-Director), Lee Unkrich (Director) on November 21st, 2017
Genres: adventure, children's, folklore
The 411 Junkie Rundown
Miguel loves music. He wants to be a musician. Nothing wrong with that, except his entire family, for as long as he can remember, hates music. At the very least they strongly dislike it due to something that happened in the past. So when his family forbids him to play his guitar for the dia de los muertos celebration talent show, he takes off and gets himself trapped in the realm of the dead.
Screenplay: Adrian Molina and Matthew Aldrich
Rated: PG
The Hook: I needed to see how a children’s movie surrounding the Day of the Dead would look like.
The Good
- The humor. I appreciate the humor that punctuated this story about the dead. Some people may not, but I did. It helped keep the story from getting too intense, which I’m sure was the point. It’s not the witty, sarcastic kind of humor, but the light-heart, feel good kind. Not that there isn’t some sarcasm, but it’s mostly the feel good, poke-fun-at kind of humor.
- The cinematography. Beautiful imagery. I have to say. I’m not familiar with this cultural event, but from what I know of it, it’s not the dark and dreary imagery usually associated with the dead. It’s vibrant and colorful and this film seems to hold true to the celebration part of this holiday.
- Dante is the man! (or well, not man, but . . . would that be considered a spoiler? I’ll just leave it at that.
The Not so Good.
- The bad guy. And maybe it’s not that bad. The bad guy kind of predictable. I mean, I know a villain is a villain and exactly how unpredictable would you expect a children’s villain to be. I guess I just figured there would be a little more to it. What exactly? I can’t tell.
With that said . . .
It was a good children’s movie. It had all the aspects that make Disney, Disney. The feel good part, the funny part, the “moral of the story” part. With a little less singing (actually, quite a bit less) than some of their other films. Overall, it teaches about the holiday and provides a general sense of what is celebrated. I compare it to the Chinese honoring their dead with the lantern ceremony or the Japanese having their bon dances. Every culture celebrates, remembers, respects the dead in different ways and I’m glad to see a movie done about this culture.