Coco is an animated film directed by Lee Unkrich and produced by Pixar Animation Studios. The voice cast of the film includes Edward James Olmos, Ana Ofelia Murguia, Alanna Ubach, Renée Victor, Gael Garcia Bernal, Benjamin Bratt and Anthony Gonzalez. The story of Coco focuses on Miguel (Anthony Gonzalez), a 12-year-old boy with a love for music. During the Mexican holiday of the Day of the Dead, he is accidentally transported to the Land of the Dead. He seeks the help of his deceased family members to return him to the land of the living.

My Knowledge and Expectation of Coco

Anytime a Pixar film, which is not in the Cars franchise, is about to come out, it becomes an event. Certainly, I believe that Pixar is one of the best film studios working today. The majority of the films made by Pixar are fantastic and Coco looked like another hit for the animation studio. The film was released in the United States in 2017 and received rave reviews when it came to its story, emotional weight, themes and music. This has made the wait to see it in the United Kingdom pretty arduous.

Moreover, it has meant that avoiding spoilers for Coco has been tough. Luckily, I did well to go into the film with no idea about what would happen. I always hope that a new Pixar film becomes one of my favourites ever created by the animation studio. I did my very best to keep my expectations grounded. Still, after hearing all the praise Coco received, I could not help myself in thinking that I was in store for another emotional, brilliant Pixar film.

My Thoughts on Coco

Overall, I really liked Coco. Was it as great as I hoped it would be? No, sadly not. I do not consider Coco to be one of the best Pixar films ever made. However, it is still a very good film worthy of your time. A lot of things in this film should be admired. For one, the animation is absolutely gorgeous. Pixar has always pushed the boundaries of animation since Toy Story and they do it once again with Coco.

The use of colour and the vivid imagery keep you engaged in a visual capacity from beginning to end. The themes in Coco are also something to admire. The theme of family is at the very heart of this film as well as themes such as life, death and following your dreams. The way they are used in Coco makes for some poignant moments in the film, especially towards the end. While I was not as emotionally moved as I wanted to be by Coco, it was nonetheless a very heartfelt film thanks to its themes.

The Music and Story of Coco

The music also added to the quality of Coco. Indeed, ‘Remember Me’ was a very sweet, tender song deserving of its Oscar nomination for Best Original Song. While I do believe that it will probably lose to The Greatest Showman’s ‘This Is Me‘, ‘Remember Me’ is still a very good song. The story in Coco was good as well. It had a nice blend of drama and comedy and it delivered well on its overall message which is the importance of family.

Yet, I would have liked the film to have had a few more comedic moments. Furthermore, as I previously said, the more emotional moments did not move me to the degree where I was crying. The best Pixar films always bring me to tears and Coco does not rank amongst them. That being said, Coco is absolutely worth seeing, especially with your family.

Additionally, I consider this film to be worthy of its Best Animated Film nomination at the Oscars. It will probably win too. Although, the film would have stiffer competition if The Lego Batman Movie was nominated which it should have been. Still, even then, Coco would be the favourite to win. After seeing the film, you will hopefully see why this is the case.