The “good” Pixar returns by doing what it does best…not making sequels and going with something original! I haven’t seen anything they’ve done worth a crap since Inside Out but I have better expectations with The Incredibles 2 because Brad Bird is a clever story teller.
Coco, as the trailers show, is a complicated story involving the Mexican Day of the Dead holiday/celebration and a young boy named Miguel. Through a quick exposition at the beginning we learn that Miguel’s family has a multigenerational business making shoes and they want Miguel to join this enterprise. Miguel has other plans, he wants to be a musician like his hero Ernesto de la Cruz, who also originated from Miguel’s home town. Grandma considers music a waste of time so Miguel has to practice playing the guitar and singing in secret for an upcoming talent show. When he gets busted, Grandma destroys the makeshift guitar and forbids him from the competition.
In desperation, Miguel steals a guitar (you’ll see where/what) and gets stranded in the Land of the Dead. The only way he can return is with the blessing of a relative. If he cannot receive one, he will become a permanent resident as his body fades piecemeal over time.
Pixar did a great job translating something most non-Mexicans find rather morbid, a tad scary and honestly, weird; all those skeletons walking around, yikes. The bigger success was presenting a very old tradition with respect. It isn’t ridiculed, made silly or resorts to caricatures Hollywood has created regarding Mexicans. On the technical side, the city is incredible. All of its intricate layers, colors and the illumination from all the halos surrounding the residents.
The only downside was Pixar not having an innovative short. Traditionally, the short highlighted the technical refinements the studio had developed and it was a preview of what the next movie will look like. Not this time. The ever rapacious Disney Corporation switched it out with a long Frozen commercial involving Olaf’s first Christmas. It was incredibly trite and a blatant cash grab. I’m glad I wasn’t the only person with this opinion, Disney has recently removed the crappy “feature” from further screenings.
So I would recommend seeing Coco now because I doubt everybody’s new flat-screen TVs can capture the rich palette Pixar created.
Alamo Extras: A silent movie of Mexican dancing; Spanish-language music videos; a skeleton orchestra cartoon; a dancing skeleton marionette; trailer for The Nightmare Before Christmas; YouTube movie of a one-man band wearing a cow skull (he uses it to hit the high hat on his drum kit); a collection of films showing little kids who are guitar virtuosos; student film about Day of the Dead.