Coco

Coco

I'm going to talk about this film in order of the things that happened once the actual trailers started playing.

Animated films are great to see in the theater, especially movies like Coco, because they're rich in visual detail and the eyes constantly have things to look at. But I hate seeing animated films in the theater because of the trailers that come before them. In a way it's almost nice because it's a reminder that Disney and Pixar films are of such a substantially higher quality than any other American animation studio, even when they're not that good, but it's also horrible because these trailers are horrible. Farting. So much farting. I'm not anti-farting, I think it's a comedy tool that can be elevated to pure artistry in films like Blazing Saddles and Swiss Army Man, but in these cheap, unthoughtful, cynical animated rip-offs they are used purely in place of creativity. And now, a trend in bad animated films almost worse than farting, is twerking. Twerking in children's films is a thing now. In the sequel to Gnomeo and Juliet, Gnomeo and Juliet: Johnny Depp Needs to Pay for His Divorce by Any Means Possible, there is a bare-assed gnome grinding and twerking in the most deeply sexual way possible for what felt like hours. I'll never unsee that, but I believe I managed to block at least two other trailers. The other two I recall were for Paddington 2, which is called Paddington 2, and what seems like a very menacing and creepy adaptation of Peter Rabbit. Then finally the Pixar short started.

Olaf's Frozen Adventure is not a Pixar short. Pixar's shorts are a staple of their films, it's a chance for upcoming animators within the studio to showcase their talents and creativity, and everyone loves them. These shorts are almost always a highlight of going to see a Pixar movie, and sometimes they're even better than the movie that follows. This is not one of those scenarios. Olaf's Frozen Adventure is very bland and very long. There are six songs in it. Six. And I can't remember any of them. I'm not even someone who hates Frozen, I think it's a good movie and it has good, memorable songs. This doesn't. It has a handful of laughs, mainly from Olaf, who's a character that I keep forgetting is actually subversive to the obnoxious comic relief characters that people have really come to hate ever since Jar Jar tipped the scale, mainly because Olaf's humor comes from quietly pointing out odd things, not screaming constantly like everyone expects him to do. The ending is kind of sweet, but that's about the only memorable thing in it. It celebrates everyone having their own weird holiday traditions, and it has some funny observations about it, but nothing particularly unique or interesting. It's just kind of there. Overall I thought this short was a waste of time, but it didn't offend me. Then it ended. Then something else happened.

Maybe this is exclusively at AMC theaters, since that's where I saw it, but after the short was over there was another thing that wasn't the movie. It was a quick behind the scenes look of the movie. I thought I was having a stroke. It felt like how Disney VHS's would have behind the scenes specials automatically play after the movie was over, only this time it happened before the movie. I had never had this experience before, so I was briefly losing my mind. They showed how they made the landscapes and whatnot, then told us all to enjoy the movie. So, now that we had their permission to enjoy it, the movie finally started. Forty minutes after I had sat down.

Coco was a refreshing turn for Pixar. With the exception of Inside Out, which is my favorite Pixar movie, they've been on a downhill slide for a while now. What was once considered the end-all-be-all of animation is now becoming a sequel/prequel churning cash cow that's losing its creative steam. But Coco is a breath of fresh air from all of that nonsense. It's no Inside Out, but it's undeniably fun, imaginative, and emotional.

What immediately sets it apart from other Pixar films is that the characters sing songs in this. One of the original laws that Pixar laid down when they were figuring out ways to distance themselves from Disney was not having the characters sing, but I'm very glad they broke this rule because it becomes the emotional key to the film. While I'll admit I have a hard time recalling the actual tunes to the songs, they certainly left an impact on me while I watching the film. They got Robert and Kristin Anderson-Lopez to do the songs, so it only makes sense that they're good.

The characters are solid. Miguel is a very likable, wide-eyed protagonist, Hector is a charismatic and charming guide, and all of Miguel's family members, both living and dead, are distinct and funny in their own ways. They're all fun to watch, but I don't think any of them are delved very deeply into, except for a couple, but I won't go into any spoilers.

The other huge aspect of this movie is the culture that it's representing. Aside from Book of Life (which I still haven't seen), there really aren't any other big animated movies focusing on Mexican culture. Coco focuses very specifically on traditions surrounding family and the dead, but there are lots of little nods to other parts of Mexican culture that were certainly appreciated by the largely hispanic audience I saw it with here in California. It never feels like they go into stereotypes or make generalizations, they just have fun with the traditional lore, atmosphere, and location of Mexico. It's also nice that almost all of the cast is hispanic, as I could certainly see other animated studios not caring as much and just having famous white people do bad accents. Oh, speaking of which, I just remembered one of the other trailers was for Ferdinand starring John Cena.

Story-wise, it follows the classic Joseph Campbell Hero's Journey structure, as most Pixar films do, but it still comes with some fun surprises. The first and third acts are easily the strongest parts of the film, with the second act being solid, but never quite going as far or wild as they could have. It's still quite good, but the other two acts are so much better that it made me question why they didn't beef up the second act even more to match the rest, especially since one of the biggest rules of screenwriting is that a movie lives in the second act. Again though, it was still good, just not as good as I think it could have been.

The takeaway here is that Coco is an original, fun, funny, heartfelt, and deeply emotional film that's absolutely worth seeing on the big screen. It's not my new favorite Pixar movie, but it would probably make the top ten. Take your family, you'll all have a ball. But feel free to show up to the movie thirty minutes late, because everything before the actual start of the movie is just not worth sitting through.