Over the past few years Pixar has been a studio which often surprises me. I had become used to seeing a Pixar film and being amazed, at least until 2011 when Cars 2. Since then it seems that their releases have had high, lows and the middle ground as well. Inside Out was an amazing release while The Good Dinosaur I found to be bland and rather unmemorable. Coco seemed to be another of those Pixar releases that I felt I wasn’t going to be that intrigued with. The previews really didn’t grab my attention and the fact that they paired it up with Olaf’s Frozen Adventure to me felt more like they were using Frozen as a means to lure people into seeing a movie which possibly might not meet box office expectations. However, Coco ends up being one of those Pixar surprises that I couldn’t have anticipated.
The film is set in the fictional town of Santa Cecilia, Mexico where Miguel Rivera lives with his family. Young Miguel gives us a history of his family where we learn that his family has forbidden any of its members of listen to music. This comes from his great-great grandfather having left his family to pursue a career in music leaving his wife and young daughter on their own. His wife eventually learned to make shoes, a profession which the family still is involved in but for Miguel, he dreams of being a musician and his idol is Ernesto de la Cruz, the most famous musician in Mexico who came from Santa Cecilia.
Miguel has been hiding his musical talents and decides to participate in a talent completion being held on dia de los Muertos however his family soon finds out and his grandmother smashes his guitar. Desperate to find a replacement he decides to take the one in the tomb of de la Cruz, just temporarily. Miguel however soon finds himself between life and death with the only family able to see him being those who have already passed over. It wasn’t just taking the guitar that cursed him but he also has accidentally forgotten to replace the photo of his Mamá Imelda who now can’t cross over. In order to return to the land of the living Miguel needs to have the blessing of his family but Imelda doesn’t want him to be a musician. Now, having realized that his great-great grandfather is in fact de la Cruz, Miguel sets out to get his blessing and pairs up with Hector, another spirit who is on the verge of being forgotten, to help him return to his own world.
There were a lot of people who compared Coco to another animated film, 2014’s The Book of Life. I do see a few similarities and honestly, I haven’t seen the other film in its entirety. I attempted to watch it a time or two with my daughter but she quickly became bored with it as did I. In fact she had little desire to see Coco until our review copy arrived and she soon became enamored with the characters and the setting. The reality however is that animated films take a great deal of time to produce and finish and Coco originally began production back in 2011. I recall seeing it listed as an upcoming film even back then with the only real description being that it was set during dia de los Muertos and certainly the fact of which film borrowed the either from the other could be debated.
What will surprise some about Coco is that to a certain degree it’s actually a musical. Pixar has usually worked in some memorable song in most of their films but usually as the opening or closing, or perhaps as a means to show the backstory for a character such as the utterly sad recap of Jessie in Toy Story 2 when we learn about her life with Emily, but it’s never really been something that the studio has worked in as a part of the characters. Music however plays a big role in the film and there are moments when Miguel will play guitar and sing as do other characters in the film. Coco though is unlike the traditional Disney musical where characters break into song for no reason at all and here, it all makes sense as a part of the story. I did notice, being a guitarist myself, that both the finger positions as well as the strumming and picking patterns seem to be duplicate to near precision during the course of the film. Also the name of Miguel’s hometown, Santa Cecilia, is named after the patroness of musicians, so Pixar came up with an inventive way to tie everything together.
On some level I believe people will connect with the film. One of these obviously is the connection to family, another aspect of Coco which plays a huge role throughout the course of the movie. We have the tradition of dia de los Muertos and the living remembering the dead. For those unfamiliar with the holiday Coco gives just enough information to have it make sense without overdoing it. The film also has the concept of not being allowed to follow your dreams. This is something I feel everyone has faced at some point in their life. Either they were told by their family not to pursue something and could have been forced away from it, or it could have happened later in life, but whatever the circumstances, most are going to feel a connection to what Miguel is going through.
Coco has a very rich palette to draw from as well with dia de los Muertos being the focus. The city in the Land of the Dead is a very vibrant and colorful location and not without its humor. I failed to notice the first time I watched it (and I’ve seen it twice as of this writing) that the dead have access to what is essentially dead technology so when you see something that seems obsolete since we don’t use it anymore, there’s more logic behind it that you might have guessed. Miguel also crossed over with Dante, a Xoloitzcuintli street dog, and he’s told that his faithful comparison is a spirit guide although he does believe it. The alebrije or spirit guides commonly seen are a colorful combination of different animals which isn’t like the rather plain looking Dante at all.
The idea of Miguel getting a simple blessing seems slightly complicated when you factor in that he is now trying to obtain this from a family member who is a famous musician in both worlds, but from his arrival in the Land of the Dead, things are already even more challenging. Miguel may not be dead but if he’s unable to get a blessing before sunrise, he will be. His body is slowly fading away to leave only bones like the other inhabitants of the Land of the Dead. Hector also has his own problems. Back in the living world it seems he’s been forgotten and those who are completely forgotten become a faded memory and experience what they call the “final death.” The stakes are high for everyone but in true Pixar fashion, just when you think the film is reaching its conclusion, a few twists and turns get tossed in that you might not have expected.
It’s not surprising that Pixar and Disney bring yet another flawless blu-ray release to home video. Coco is a very colorful film and this shines through in high definition. At times it’s easy to get lost within the Land of the Dead which is filled with some amazing artwork. This isn’t merely what you see in front of your back the backgrounds also tend to have some very breathtaking artwork. With each Pixar film I’ve felt that there’s a certain aspect they really focus on even though it’s often a very minor part of the movie, but it helps to make their movies even more captivating and this is true here as well.
The blu-ray includes a ton of extra features although one of them is not Olaf’s Frozen Adventure which was released by Disney on Digital HD separately. As per the official press release for the film, you will find the following extra material across two blu-ray discs:
- Deleted Scenes with Introductions – Director Lee Unkrich and co-director Adrian Molina talk about the deleted scenes and the part they played in the development of “Coco.”
- Filmmaker Commentary – Presented by Lee Unkrich (director), Adrian Molina (co-director) and Darla K. Anderson (producer).
- The Music of “Coco” – Collaborating with musicians of Mexico and some unique instrumentation, this documentary explores the beautiful fusion of music essential to the story of “Coco.”
- Paths to Pixar: “Coco” – Explore how the film crew’s personal stories resonate with the themes of the movie itself.
- Welcome to the Fiesta – A musical exploration of the skeletons that make the Land of the Dead in “Coco” so wondrous and intriguing.
- How to Draw a Skeleton – Pixar artist Daniel Arriaga gives a lesson on the quick and easy way to draw skeletons using simple shapes.
- A Thousand Pictures a Day – Join the “Coco” crew on an immersive travelogue through Mexico, visiting families, artisans, cemeteries, and small villages during the Día de los Muertos holiday.
- Mi Familia – Developing the Riveras was a labor of love that took the cast and crew on a deep dive into the meaning of family.
- Land of Our Ancestors – Watch Pixar artists lovingly construct layer upon layer of architecture from many eras of Mexican history, bringing the Land of the Dead to life.
- Fashion Through the Ages – The cast of characters in “Coco” are from many different eras, making for some magnificent costuming opportunities.
- The Real Guitar – The majestic guitar that spurs Miguel on his journey through the Land of the Dead is a unique creation. Watch as it is initially designed by a Pixar artist and ultimately realized as a real instrument by a master luthier in this poetic ode to craftsmanship.
- Dante – How the crew fell in love with the uniquely Mexican breed of Xoloitzcuintli (or “Xolo”) dogs that inspired Dante.
- How to Make Papel Picado – Join Pixar artist Ana Ramírez González as we learn how papel picado is made traditionally, and then try your own approach to this beautiful art form.
- Un Poco “Coco” – A montage of original animated pieces used to promote “Coco.”
- “Coco Trailers” – Trailers include “Feeling,” “Dante’s Lunch,” “Destiny,” “Journey” and “Belong.”
The blu-ray also includes a DVD copy of the film as well as a digital code, not that this has become out of the norm for Disney releases. It’s more surprising when one of their films doesn’t have these packaged with the blu-ray.
Coco is another of those unexpected pleasures from Pixar. Even with a few weak spots in their filmorgraphy the studio has been very successful over the past twenty plus years at giving us memorable movies that have encapsulated the animated spirit the Walt Disney brought to cinemas decades prior. Pixar has also been great about incorporating other cultures into their films but without being too blatant about it. Instead they simply present a story that transcends the premise of culture and instead becomes a reflection of the human spirit that most will identify with on some level.
Mike is the resident reviewer for Couponing to Disney and his own site Underland Online. He has a toddler daughter and is obsessed with Haunted Mansion and all things Disney. You can read Mike’s complete bio here.