“Coco” is the best Disney film since “Frozen”! It seems like this film has flown under everybody’s radar but its quality is beyond words. I wasn’t sure what to think at first. It seemed overly familiar with its “Corpse Bride”-esque land of the dead gags, the token dumb animal sidekick, and the I-don’t-appreciate-my-family plot from many Disney films, but the screenwriters had a lot of tricks up their sleeves. It maintains an amazing sense of originality considering its similarities to other films, and the surprisingly educational Día De Los Muertos story continually gets better as the film progresses. Once you finally comprehend the reason that the film is titled “Coco” (not the reason that you expect initially), the family theme grows even stronger. The format of the story is interesting in that it is a series of layers that are pulled back one by one. Each layer reveals more information about the family so that, instead of a giant twist at the end, the family dynamic is enhanced and understood on progressively deeper levels throughout the film. It is incredible. This is Pixar’s first musical and I found that the music is much more subtle than other animated musicals. We never have that moment of “Oh, it’s time for another song.” Instead, the music is fluidly interwoven throughout the story and seems more like a plot point than a musical number. But that doesn’t make these catchy songs by Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez any less alluring. “Remember Me” is geniusly used in three completely different ways throughout the film and will have you in tears at the end. It almost acts as its own evolving theme, changing based on what we learn about the characters. Similar to “Moana,” the film has an all Latino cast and the authenticity enhances the characters. I love the visual design of the characters, especially Miguel when he is in his skeleton disguise. They did an amazing job of making him look like a human and a skeleton at the same time. Usually, we would be fixated on the creation of a beautiful Land of the Dead and colorful spirit animals but I almost forgot how beautiful the film was because the story is so incredible. The writers managed to create laugh out loud moments within a story focused around death and they perfectly captured the Mexican culture. Maybe the story resonated so strong with me as a musician who often gets called away from his family, but I feel like the themes in this story should resonate strongly with every parent out there. It definitely makes me want to write a secret song like “Remember Me” for my children someday. “Coco” is a slam-dunk to win the Best Animated Feature Oscar. It’s creativity and deep, emotional content put it in a league of its own. There is no other film like “Coco” and likely never will be again.
[Pictured: The contrast between the human and skeleton characters as well as the stunning Land of the Dead makes "Coco" a visual masterpiece]
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