A Celebration for the Dead

In reviewing Incredibles 2 last week, I mentioned that I'd recently caught up on another Pixar film I hadn't yet seen. That was last year's Coco, the story of a young boy's adventure through the Land of the Dead.

The movie didn't make the strongest impression on me right at first. It seemed a bit slow to get started, largely owing to a lot of exposition that has to be conveyed. (And which isn't always done in the most organic way.) The film is trying to place the audience in another culture that won't be readily familiar to everyone, and it's also setting into motion an atypically complex plot for an animated movie. There's a lot of track to lay before this train gets rolling.

Patience is rewarded here tremendously. Once the story really gets rolling, it's fantastic. It's a sweeping adventure, yet also intensely personal. It's dramatic and emotional, but doesn't feel unrealistic or broad even as it takes place in a very unrealistic and broad environment. Because the setup was so detailed, it's impossible not to see some of the plot developments coming, and yet that doesn't matter at all -- the joy of seeing the parts come together in a satisfying way far outweighs the need to be surprised by it.

Throughout, the visuals are amazing. Many Pixar movies are known for bright color, unusual settings, and smart character animation. Coco is a new benchmark in all of this for Pixar. Bright and iridescent, full of details, the Land of the Dead is a feast for the eyes. The characters are expressive as ever, and a particular triumph when it comes to the dead -- they do look like skeletons, but not in a way that's creepy or potentially frightening. The attention to the detail is remarkable, from huge crowds on one end of the scale to the particular fingering of a guitar to produce exactly what we hear on the other.

The cast is great throughout. Gael García Bernal and Benjamin Bratt are the most recognizable names/voices in major roles, but the movie really works as well as it does because of the performances by Anthony Gonzalez as young Miguel (the boy at the heart of the adventure), and Alanna Ubach as Imelda (Miguel's late, great-great-grandmother).

Knowing now how much I enjoyed it, I really should have made time for Coco a long time ago. I give it an A-. It also earns the #5 slot on my Top Movies from last year -- rather pointedly, I should say, kicking the Oscar winner The Shape of Water down a notch. If you haven't seen it yet, like I hadn't, do yourself a favor and make the time.