
COCO
Starring the voices of Anthony Gonzalez, Gael Garcia Bernal, Benjamin Bratt, Renée Victor, Ana Ofelia Murguia, Alanna Ubach, Jaime Camil, Sofia Espinosa,
Selene Luna, Alfonso Arau and Edward James Olmos
Screenplay by Adrian Molina and Matthew Aldrich
Directed by Lee Unkrich and Adrian Molina

Reviewed by Patrick Gibbs & Paul Gibbs
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Miguel practices his guitar while watching an old video of his idol, Enresto De la Cruz. (Image Courtesy Disney/Pixar) |
Twelve-year-old Miguel Riviera (voice of Anthony Gonzalez) lives in the small, fictional Mexican village of Santa Cecilia. Miguel dreams of becoming a musician like his idol Ernesto de la Cruz, a popular singer-songwriter and film star who died when he was crushed by a bell in a live concert. However, because Miguel's great-great-grandfather left his family to achieve his musical dreams, his family has banned music for generations. Because of the ban, the only relative Miguel likes is his great-grandmother Coco (voiced by Ana Ofelia Murguia.). On Dia de Muertos, after Miguel inadvertently damages the photo with Miguel's great-great grandfather's face ripped out that is used for Mama Imelda's ofrenda, he finds a bent section of the photo revealing that his great-great grandfather used a guitar similar to De la Cruz. This causes Miguel to believe that he and his family are direct descendants of De la Cruz (voiced by Benjamin Bratt.).
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Miguel uncovers a secret. (Image Courtesy Disney/Pixar) |
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Miguel suddenly realizes he's not in Santa Cecelia any more. (Image Courtesy Disney/Pixar) |
There were those immediately jumping to the conclusion that Pixar was remaking The Book of Life after the initial trailers, and the comparison is more than understandable. However, Coco is a movie entirely it's own, with a different story, different characters and situations. It's really a bit like calling What Dreams May Come a remake of Heaven Can Wait. This version of the afterlife is a little less stylized but it's every bit as marvelous.
If you are the kind of person who cried at Up (also known as a good person) be prepared to be hit hard by this film. We admit that the emotion was heightened for us by having no living parents or grandparents, but when the lights came up, our 10-year old niece was smiling and chattering away until she looked at us and asked "Wait . . . are you guys crying?" We are not trying to be funny when we say she had to pull us together. It's also perfect timing for Disney to make a film set in Mexico, especially one so indelibly human.
This film has it all: adventure, love (no central romantic love story it does have a deeper touch of romance) and plenty of hearty laughs. It's by far one of the best films of 2017 and may take our top spot. Make this one a top priority to see in theaters.
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