Coco

Coco – Miguel loves music and yearns to be a guitarist just like his idol, Ernesto de la Cruz (the most famous musician in all of Mexico). But, due to his great-great musician grandfather who walked out on the family, listening to music is banned in Miguel’s house, never mind playing it. Desperate to see if he has what it takes as a guitarist, Miguel accidentally sets of a family curse during Dia de Muertos (the Mexican Festival of the Dead) and is trapped as a ghost in the land of the dead. To escape he must receive the blessing of one of his deceased family members, but is he willing to give up music in order to get it? Or does Miguel have any family in the land of the dead who loves music as much as he does?

Coco (2017) – Director: Lee Unkrich, Adrian Molina

By Source, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=47613889

Rating: PG

Running Length: 105 mins

Starring: Anthony Gonzalez, Gael Garcia Bernal, Benjamin Bratt

Genre: Animated, Comedy, Drama

REVIEW: ‘COCO’

When watching a Hollywood-made film trying to cover the subject matter of another country, the whole affair can often smack of paying awkward lip service. So when Pixar announced that their latest movie would be about Dia de Muetos (the Mexican ‘Day of the Dead’) and thus be about a rich Mexican traditional festival as well as covering the distinctly non-child centric subject of death, it would have been natural to have been concerned. If any studio could do it then Pixar, with its reputation for thoughtful and layered films, stood a good chance. Other studios had tried (see ‘The Book Of Life’) with middling success.

However, with an entirely Latino cast (save for the usual token appearance of Pixar good luck charm, John Ratzenberger), a thoroughly researched and detailed world, and a script full of Spanish words and phrases, ‘Coco’ is a respectful and rich homage to Mexican culture that never feels like a ‘Hollywood’ version. Plot wise, the general set up is familiar. Miguel longs to play guitar but his family ban music and he feels trapped. However, like acclaimed Japanese animation company, Studio Ghibli, Pixar’s ‘Coco’ takes what could be very adult subject material (death) and finds the universally relatable human angle (the importance of family and remembering your loved ones) whilst never feeling patronising. Combine that with a beautiful score, heart wrenching songs (recurring motif, ‘Remember Me’ is guaranteed to bring tears to your eyes) and truly stunning cinematography chock full of glorious technicolour then you have a movie which wins on all fronts.

Perhaps as a counterpoint to the seriousness of the overall subject matter there are a few more ‘silly’ gags in Coco than other Pixar films thanks to the malleability of skeletons (i.e. heads coming off, jaws detaching, eyes rolling out of eye sockets and into a mouth), but for younger children these will get the laughs. The movie is also a tad slow in the middle when it takes ages to reach the much earlier mentioned party, but then with a world as richly coloured and detailed as this it is often a joy simply to take in the lovingly crafted visuals. The ever present influence of family is shown throughout several generations and Pixar’s take on the idiosyncrasies of Miguel’s extended family (both living and dead) will certainly be something that all viewers can take something away from, be it a loving but imposing matriarch, elderly and fading relations, siblings who blindly toe the line, or odd uncles with very memorable foibles!

Much like ‘Inside Out’ and ‘Up’ before it, ‘Coco’ strikes that wonderful balance between childish splendour and relatable adult emotion and so works for all the family. And with similarly themed ‘The Book Of Life’ being eventually disappointing, it is a credit to Pixar that they pulled off ‘Coco’ with respect, dignity, and beauty all at once.

CONTENT: IS ‘COCO’ SUITABLE FOR CHILDREN?

The opening sequence describes the starting of a family and raising of a young daughter. However, the musician father leaves the family and never returns. This is played as part of a story but may have sad implications for children who are missing a parent. The mother quickly resolves and carries on with life but it is said that as a result of this music is banned from all generations of the family.

Miguel throws food to a stray dog. Whilst it is later shown that Miguel and the dog are friendly anyway, his parents scold him for doing so and we mention this in case children imitate approaching dogs without caution, stray or otherwise.

A flashback shows a performance by a character singing to a crowd. However, they are crushed to death by a falling giant bell. This is treated somewhat comically and not lingered on.

A very elderly character is shown to have some memory problems. She asks after ‘papa’ and when she is comforted by her daughter she asks ‘who are you?’. The daughter is taken aback and upset but this moment is over quickly.

A child reveals a secret shrine to a beloved celebrity which has several lit candles dotted around it, the naked flames were clearly lit sometime before and left alone. The following scene has a brief moment where very young children are seen running unattended with sparklers.

During a confrontation a treasured personal item is taken away from a character and suddenly destroyed. The character is devastated and shouts angrily at those around them before running away.

Miguel breaks into a building in order to steal something. He says, “I’m sorry,” as he does this and says aloud that he only intends to borrow the item and will return it when done.

One character is shocked to discover that they are now apparently a ghost. People walk through them and can’t see or hear them. The character panics and runs around in fear, through several people, through family members, and eventually landing in an open grave. This sequence lasts around two minutes and is accompanied with tense and dramatic music. Panic continues when the character is actually seen by some skeleton-like people. When ran into, some turn around to look down at him sternly and with others, their bones fly apart and heads come off but they ‘magically’ reform with no pain or ill effects. The scared character calms down once the identities of the skeletons become apparent.

One character is angry at being refused access to the land of the living and she shouts and hurls abuse at an official who is scared of her. Her language isn’t strong in itself but her disrespect for an official just doing their job may upset sensitive children.

The skeleton character of Hector picks up a random bottle and pours drinks from it. It’s clearly alcohol-like and no-one minds but we mention it in case picking up random bottles to drink from is imitable.

One character sings a comical song about an unattractive woman. At one point the lyrics go “and her……knuckles …. dragged on the floor.” The character is chided by someone saying, “those aren’t the words!” to which they reply, “there are children present!”. Obviously this will likely go over the head of younger kids.

It is said that when no-one remembers you in the living world, you fade away in the land of the dead. The character who was enjoying the song lies in a hammock, apparently weak and ‘dying’. Each time he is nearly forgotten he convulses and glows. After a few times he slowly fades away into nothing, accompanied by sad music. The other characters present are sad at this but the moment is short and not brought up again.

Miguel is annoyed that the dog is preventing him from going where he wants to go. He pulls away and scolds it saying it is “just a dumb dog.” The dog looks hurt by the rejection.

A character can summon her ‘spirit animal’ which is like a giant multi-coloured lion / bird cross. It often lands into shot with a loud thump and roars. This happens several times in the film and may scare or startle young children.

After a party, the true actions of a character are revealed another is devastated to find that they are not who they appeared to be. It is shown that drastic action had been taken in the past which had fatal consequences. A flashback shows what happened. The words ‘murder’ and ‘murderer’ are used several times during this scene and some later scenes.

When two characters are trapped they have an emotional conversation. One regrets that they told their family that they ‘didn’t care’. The other painfully misses a family member. This is a long sad scene that lasts around 4 minutes. It is punctuated the lion / bird cross spirit animal landing nearby with a loud thump and roar.

An established sympathetic character is being forgotten in the living world. As before, this makes them convulse and glow before collapsing weakly. This keeps happening, preventing them from helping in a dangerous situation. It could be upsetting for children who understand that this means this character may permanently fade away.

In the land of the living one character pleads with another to remember. This is very tense and sad at first. A song is played which has emotional connotations which makes all present both happy and sad. The tension lasts around a minute and the scene ends positively.

After a year has passed when the photos of loved ones are being put up, another character who was alive earlier has their photo put up also, indicating that they have since died. However, characters warmly remember them and indeed we see the character again shortly afterwards in the land of the dead.

CAN I SEE A CLIP?

VERDICT: IS ‘COCO’ FOR KIDS?

The underlying subject matters of death and dying may be a little morbid for children sensitive to such subjects. However the strong theme of family shines through and in typical Pixar fashion the characters and cinematography as so engaging that we feel that this movie is suitable for children aged 4 and up, with some parental supervision as appropriate for the sad moments.

• Violence: 1/5 (some fighting at the end although no characters feel any pain)
• Emotional Distress: 3/5 (several emotional moments about family and death. One character is devastated at the destruction of a precious item)
• Fear Factor: 1/5 (the initial appearance of the skeletons may scare. The spirit animal makes a very imposing entrance several times in the film)
• Sexual Content: 0/5
• Bad Language: 0/5
• Dialogue: 2/5 (several references to murder and a murderer. Emotionally charged dialogue about loved ones)
• Other Notes: Deals with themes of family, living your dreams, hero worship, being remembered, greed for fame, peer pressure, not being allowed to express yourself, death, and the power of music.

Words by Michael Record

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