Coco Review

This review is in poem to parallel a movie that celebrates song
We keep it in simple couplets, as with rhyming two lines we can do no wrong

Keep yourselves warm by the heat of the campfire
For the story straddles the lands of the living and the dead, a treacherous high-wire

There once was a great-grandmother named Coco (Ana Ofelia Murguía)
Her great-grandson Miguel (Anthony Gonzales) thought his family was loco (mental)

Why does this 11-year-old think this way you may ask
It's because his attempts at music make family take him to task

Miguel wants to emulate his hero Ernesto De La Cruz (Benjamin Bratt)
But he's stuck in a family that'd rather have him shine shoes

Miguel's abuelita (grandmother) Elena (Renee Victor) has reasons to be so sour
Her grandfather abandoned his family for his music, leaving them alone in their darkest hour

However, Miguel figures a way to express himself via a talent show on The Day Of The Dead
Being privy to this information, his abuelita kills his guitar until it's dead

Miguel runs away from home with his trusty hound Dante
Ernesto De La Cruz's immortal line "seize your moment" compels him to showcase his forte

He soon realizes that he can't display his musical talents without a guitar
He decides to rob De La Cruz's mausoleum for one, hoping it'll win him hearts as the new pop star

Alas, you don't rob from the dead on a day meant to honour them
Banishment to the beautiful land of the dead is the cruel outcome

He meets all the departed members of his family while trying to find a way out
He refuses their help as his goal is meeting De La Cruz, no ounce of doubt

He traverses the highs and lows of this vividly animated world
With a comedic bag of bones Hector (Gael Garcia Bernal), who a chorizo got into the underworld

Wrapped in the colourful world design is a story so tender and true
It brought tears to parents while the kids enjoyed it all like an outing at the zoo

It is a story that traverses dangerous landscapes of life, family, loss, fame, culture and death with such finesse
Your brain is distracted by the beautiful Mexican culture while your heart turns emotional because it has given the film full access

Miguel, his family, Hector and De La Cruz are entertaining to a tee
Pardoning some seen-it-before moments will make this more entertaining, you'll see

Voice actors young and old sound like larks singing at the first break of spring
Their songs both poignant and peppy blend so well there's no need for any excess bling

Anthony Gonzales, Gael Garcia Bernal and Benjamin Bratt's performances keep their vivid world from overpowering the emotions
So much so that the tender moment Miguel and Coco share at the end stands out amidst a whole lot of commotion

You will read my praise of the incredible music on multiple occasions
But Michael Giacchino's masterful score needs very little persuasion

It's the music that made Coco the highest grossing film in Mexico's history
And's the best complement to visuals that took 6 years to create to tell the story

The colours are splendid, the world is inspired and the animation details the smallest wisp
But while visual excellence courses through its veins, the movie's editing isn't very crisp

But the child in you rarely cares about that when the story is so clear
And even if you don't, the kid next to you will hold this film dear

Isn't that what we want - a story that helps our children grow good
And hidden beneath that, one for us grown-ups that speaks of our childhood?

So take any carping with a grain of salt and spend your weekend at the cinema with the kids
There'll be a few winks and many laughs until one of you busts one of your ribs!