WASHINGTON — Are you planning to take the family to a movie this holiday season?
Look no further than Pixar’s new animated gem “Coco,” which won the box office over Thanksgiving weekend despite John Lasseter’s leave of absence due to personal “missteps.”
This review will not cover the behind-the-scenes transgressions of the company’s figurehead; rather, it will grade the movie on its own creative merits by a team of collaborating artists.
Forbidden by his family to play the guitar, 12-year-old aspiring musician Miguel Rivera sneaks off to perform at Mexico’s Day of the Dead festival. Desperate for an instrument, he swipes a famous guitar from the tomb of his idol, Ernesto de la Cruz, sparking a supernatural plunge into the Land of the Dead, where he must seek his dead relatives’ blessing in order to escape.
The film is directed by Lee Unkrich, who co-directed “Toy Story 2” (1999), “Monsters, Inc.” (2001) and “Finding Nemo” (2003) before his solo directorial debut in the Oscar-winning “Toy Story 3” (2010). “Coco” could be destined for similar Oscar gold thanks to a clever script by co-director Adrian Molina (“The Good Dinosaur”) and co-writer Matthew Aldrich (“Cleaner”).
Just as “Toy Story” (1995) captured the growing pains of childhood playthings and “Inside Out” (2015) diagnosed the mental anguish of moving, “Coco” demystifies the afterlife, allowing kids to deal with death in a more metaphysical way than Mufassa or Bambi’s mother. Joined by his dunce, drooling dog Dante (a fitting name), it’s a divine case of “All Dogs Go to Heaven” (1989).
Parents should know that this includes macabre elements, from ghosts to skeletons, but it’s all handled with a warmth and gallows humor we haven’t seen since “A Nightmare Before Christmas” (1993). You’ll also notice an homage to “Ghost” (1990), as ghostly Miguel walks through people, and “Back to the Future” (1985), as his body fades in a race against the clock.
This duality between the mortal and immortal worlds makes for rich animation, including a wondrous heavenly community, a golden bridge that spirits “cross over,” and marigold petals that swirl in the air as Miguel strums his guitar. Story artist Dean Kelly was reportedly inspired by seeing the flowers placed on altars during a trip to Mexico: “They felt so iridescent, even at night. We came up with the idea — what if there was a literal bridge made of marigolds.”
These vibrant visuals are paired with beautiful music by Michael Giacchino, one of the best composers working today, from his Oscar-nominated score for “Ratatouille” (2007) to his Oscar-winning score for “Up” (2009). Accenting the score is the memorable song “Remember Me” by Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez, who wrote “Let It Go” for “Frozen” (2013).
This touching lullaby reminds us that music and memory go hand-in-hand, ranging from joyful to painful, as Miguel’s great-great-grandfather deserted his wife for a career in music, leaving behind a daughter who’s now the dementia-stricken matriarch Coco. Considering that’s the title of the movie, it’s clear that she holds the key to this mysterious family puzzle.
Fittingly, the voice cast is almost entirely Latino. Anthony Gonzalez (“Icebox”) shapes Miguel into an adorable, ambitious protagonist; Benjamin Bratt (“Law & Order”) elevates Ernesto de la Cruz into a sort of Mexican Elvis with the lavish Latin fanfare of Selena or Jose Feliciano; and Gael García Bernal (“Mozart in the Jungle”) brings the skeleton sidekick Hector to life, featuring all of the lovable, clumsy stumbles of Ray Bolger’s Scarecrow in “The Wizard of Oz” (1939).
As we watch these Latino voices set entirely in Mexico, the cultural impact on American viewers is subtly subversive. The film doesn’t overtly discuss border walls; rather, it shows a dreamer in a loving Mexican family. The result is already Mexico’s top-grossing film ever made, while here in the United States, Pixar just tore down a wall and let Hollywood pay for it.
This is a 4-star flick that only loses half a point for echoing last year’s stop-motion gem “Kubo & The Two Strings” (2016) — magic strings and all — but at least it takes the premise in unique directions with genuinely surprising twists. After two hours of strumming our heartstrings, you’ll leave misty-eyed and humming “Remember Me.” How fitting; this one’s unforgettable.
