Flash Movie Review: Coco
IT WAS NOT UNITL I turned 12 years old that I first experienced a death. A close relative had suddenly died; it was a complete shock for everyone. After hearing the news I remember sitting down at the piano to play a song over and over that reminded me of this relative. The funeral took place rather quickly and afterwards we all gathered at a relative’s house. The atmosphere was somber but there were periods of laughter throughout the night. Typically I was excited about all the food that somehow magically appeared while we were at the cemetery. There were so many desserts that they commandeered their own table. The amount of people who stopped over was staggering and it never let up for the next several days. By the end of the mourning period I felt the past week had been one long party. I discovered this was our custom for all future funerals. AS I HAVE GONE through the past years I have been exposed to other forms of mourning from my own experiences. There are some cultures that believe in cremation, while others are against it. In some faiths it is important to bury the body quickly, yet I have been to funerals where the body remains above ground for several days. Now one thing I have noticed as baby boomers have aged is hearing more people talk about incarnation. Excuse me for being simplistic but I can see how death would be less scary if one felt they would be coming back to life. To tell you the truth I feel however one deals with death is fine with me because I have seen so many people deal with loss in many different ways. There is not one that is better than another. Regarding myself I hope when my time comes people will focus more on celebrating my life instead of mourning it. Death is one of those things that everyone on the planet will experience in their life; so why focus on the sadness and sense of loss? Honoring a deceased person and sharing personal stories about them is something I find comforting, which is why I was enthralled with this animated, adventure comedy. DESPITE HIS FAMILY’S BAN on music Miguel, voiced by relative newcomer Anthony Gonzalez, wanted to be a musician like his idol Ernesto de la Cruz, voiced by Benjamin Bratt (Doctor Strange, Miss Congeniality). His determination would lead him to the grave of his idol just in time for the Day of the Dead celebration. This film festival winning movie was exquisite in both the kaleidoscope of colors across the screen as well as the script that beautifully handled the subject of death based on Mexican culture. I thought the story was thoughtful, respectful, kind and in a way comforting; it did not shy away from the subject of death. With Gael Garcia Bernal (The Motorcycle Diaries, Rosewater) voicing Hector, Alanna Ubach (Meet the Fockers, Waiting…) voicing Mama Imelda and Renee Victor (Confessions of a Shopaholic, Weeds-TV) voicing Abuelita; I cannot say this was a true comedy. It had a few humorous moments but for the most part the word I would use to describe this picture would be heartwarming. As an added bonus to watching this movie there was a short film shown beforehand from the award winning Frozen realm, “Olaf’s Frozen Adventure.” There is nothing you will lose by seeing this captivating film about life and death.
3 1/2 stars
Posted on November 28, 2017, in Fantasy/Sci-Fi and tagged 3 1/2 stars, adventure, alanna ubach, animation, anthony gonzalez, benjamin bratt, comedy, day of the dead, film festival winner, gael garcia bernal, mexico, renee victor. Bookmark the permalink. 11 Comments.
I’m undecided about this one. But I do see many very positive reviews. I appreciate yours!
Go see it!
Thank you and I hope you decide to go see this one; even if you do it at a bargain matinee. If you do go, please let me know what you thought of it.
I’ve been looking forward to your review of this one. Now I’m hoping we can get a chance to go and see it.
I hope you do Laura. An employee of mine’s son’s class did a field trip to see this movie. Let me know if you do get to see this one, thank you.
Would you say it’s your favorite Pixar film? I think it’s mine. I really disliked the Olaf film tho – I thought it was incredibly dull and also annoying and it went on for far too long. I want to see Coco again and will be out getting a beer while Olaf is on 🙂
In fact the reaction to it has been so bad that Disney are removing it from the schedule in a cpl of weeks.
Coco is certainly one of my favorites for sure. And agree the Olaf film was odd and not memorable. Thank you for your comments.
Was it a shiva?
I want to see this movie now! Can you follow my blog too? Thanks!
HI and thank you for stopping by to leave your comments. You are correct it was a shiva; I hope you get to see this film and I would enjoy hearing what you thought of it.
We went to see Coco at the weekend and I absolutely LOVED it! It has been ages since all six of us saw the same movie (I think Force Awakens was the last time) and we all completely loved the movie. It was enchanting and genuinely moving (yup, I cried) and so visually arresting. I thought it was a movie of staggering quality. I would love to see it nominated in best movie categories and not just best animated. It was amazing.
Yay!!! The whole family out to see a movie and a great movie on top of it. It is a clean sweep all around; thank you so much for telling us. Fingers crossed it gets the top prizes this awards season.