I'm not sure how normal it is for a 40 year old man to really want to watch a new Disney/Pixar movie, but that's where I was from the first preview I saw of Coco. I wasn't sure what it was about the short clip that instantly captured my imagination, but it did, and last night, on Father's Day, I finally hit "Play". So glad that I did.
Miguel (Anthony Gonzalez) is a young man growing up in a small town in Mexico to family of shoe makers that all despise music. Miguel, however, has music in his soul and desperately wants to let it out. Miguel's idol is the long dead Ernesto De la Cruz (Benjamin Bratt), his towns most famous mariachi. Miguel is very close to his great-grandmother, Coco (Ana Ofelia Murguía), and shares everything with her.
We soon find that his town celebrates the Day of the Dead where they display photos of their dead relatives in an effort to allow the deceased a day to be remembered and to temporarily cross over to the land of the living. After an argument with his family over his love of music, Miguel accidentally knocks over a photo of Coco with her mother and father, although the father's head has been removed from the photo. After unfolding the hidden section of the photo, we discover that Miguel's great-great-grandfather was also a mariachi and left his family in search of fame when Coco was still a toddler. This is what led to his families hatred of music. The wardrobe, and guitar belonging to mariachi in the photo are instantly recognized as Ernesto.
With Miguel's own guitar having recently been destroyed by his grandmother, Miguel attempts to use the guitar of De la Cruz which is on display in this tom, to enter a contest to "Seize his day". The theft of the guitar has unforeseen consequences as Miguel finds himself transported to the land of the dead.
After meeting his deceased family, Miguel is given the chance to return to the land of the living, under the restriction that he never pursue music again. Refusing, and with the knowledge that anyone in his deceased family can send him home, Miguel sets out to find Ernesto so that he will send Miguel home with the blessing to play music.
As Miguel makes his escape, he meets Hector (Gael García Bernal); a bumbling spirit that claims to have once played with Ernesto, and in exchange for Miguel taking Hector's photo back to the land of the living, is willing to help Miguel in his quest.
Hijinks's ensue as Miguel and Hector attempt to reach Ernesto while evading Miguel's dead clan and before sunrise when Miguel will become a permanent resident of the land of the dead.With a great twist in the story, and a tear jerking revelation, Miguel returns home and brings the gift of music back to his family.
This film is beautifully colored and brought to life by the geniuses at Disney/Pixar. Visually, the most stunning aspect to me was the fluidity of the musicians fingers as they glided over the fret boards. So much attention to detail with every note was simply mind blowing! As usual, these companies also seem to find the most eloquent scripts to bring to life. Miguel's love of music is only trumped by the love of family.
I will openly admit that I cried several times during this movie, as my wife sat close by laughing and mocking me. I was really touched by this story and it gave me a very special Father's Day memory. Definitely recommended for everyone with the means to watch a movie.
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