Coco (2017)

Whew, I almost finished 2017 without seeing any of its animated features. Honestly, it was awfully low on promising ones. Even Coco seemed iffy to me, given its conceptual similarity to The Book of Life. Further research assured me that Pixar was planning it before TBoL got started. My folks joined me for the former in a theater.

The title oddly refers to a character with little screen time: the senile great-grandma of 12-year-old protagonist Miguel. Her father abandoned the family to pursue a career in music, so her mother, Imelda, banned music from the household. In what I take to be the present, albeit in a Mexican town poor enough to pass for the '80s, Imelda's rule is still in full effect, but Miguel loves music and has no use for the family business of shoemaking. Hoping to enter a talent show, he swipes a guitar from the local tomb of a celebrated musician. But grave robbing on the Day of the Dead takes him straight to the realm of the dead, and only a blessing from a dead relative by dawn can return him. Since the first dead relatives he meets include Imelda and don't dare bless him without a promise that he give up music, he sets out to find his estranged great-great-granddad....

Unlike TBoL, Coco does not speak of a Land of the Remembered and a Land of the Forgotten. Instead, the dead who are in the process of getting forgotten grow weak and prone to pangs, eventually vanishing in a Final Death. No one knows where they go after that, if anywhere, but it's a likely imminent fate for Héctor (Gael García Bernal), a charlatan who promises to help Miguel find his only known music-loving relative in exchange for a saving remembrance via a photo on an ofrenda.

No, I didn't already know that last word, and I've had quite a bit of practice with Spanish. You can't expect high-level language lessons in a family film, but it does pretty well. There's even a song with 100% Spanish lyrics. Another term often used herein is "alebrije," tho my sources say it normally refers to a work of art rather than the animal spirit guide represented by such art. (If the makers took liberties in the educational aspects, it hasn't stopped Mexicans from throwing record-breaking money at Coco. The almost completely Hispanic vocal cast may have helped.)

Those colorful spirit guides, as a rule, are among the most beautiful sights in an already visually arresting picture. I'd almost want to visit that city of the dead ahead of my death. The songs complement it nicely, too.

The dead themselves look about as tasteful as possible: skeletons with hair, eyes, and ridiculously expressive mouths. Despite being able to move easily detached limbs, they can still feel pain from events like a foot getting stomped. Amusingly enough, they tend to freak out at the sight of Miguel's skin. Oh, they don't see him as a threat, nor do they particularly threaten him; he's just out of place...for now. Héctor awkwardly gives him a well-meaning "Hope you die soon."

The moratorium on music -- vociferously extended to outdoor passersby -- is one of the hardest things about the movie to buy. Even religious extremists seldom oppose all music, and how can a family go four generations before finding a rebel? We get the impression that Imelda and Miguel's grandma are the main enforcers and the rest are more wishy-washy about it, but still. Seems the writers wanted to make absolutely sure we sympathized with Miguel from the outset.

At the same time, I worried that the trite "Follow your dream" message was going to undermine the problem that brought about the ban in the first place: Some dreams take you away from more important matters. Fortunately, Miguel does have a non-music lesson to learn, and it's in keeping with the general Disney canon.

I'm afraid that several key moments are blatantly contrived. Never mind how quickly Miguel runs into the bulk of his departed family; the revelation of the twist (not to be confused with the twist itself) simply doesn't make sense when you give it a few seconds' thought. For all the formulaic elements, the gestalt is kinda sloppy.

Thankfully, what it lacks in intellect, it more than makes up for in emotion, especially at the resolution. I admit it: I choked up like at no other Pixar flick. Neither Up nor even Inside Out can compare on that score.

If you don't find Coco too Disney-ish, then you might just put it in the top five for Pixar, as I'm considering. My parents love it as well. The bad news is that it has basically no competition at any upcoming awards ceremony with an animation category. What's a likely second choice, The LEGO Batman Movie?

NOTE: You may have heard about the introductory "Olaf's Frozen Adventure" bogging down the moviegoing experience. My theater, at least, had mercy on us and skipped it.