Facebook Twitter Instagram
    Latest
    • Thank You
    • 4000. Scenes From A Marriage (1973)
    • 3999. The Pianist (2002)
    • 3998. Philadelphia (1993)
    • 3997. Jeanne Dielman, 23 Quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles (1975)
    • 3996. The Green Mile (1999)
    • 3995. Doctor Zhivago (1965)
    • 3994. Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (2022)
    The Mad Movie Man
    • Home
    • Blog
      • All Posts
      • Best Of The Year
        • Best Of 2015
        • Best Of 2016
        • Best Of 2017
        • Best Of 2018
        • Best Of 2019
        • Best Of 2020
        • Best Of 2021
        • Best Of 2022
      • The Decade In Review
      • Box Office Analysis
      • James Bond
      • Oscars
      • RANKED
      • Star Wars
      • The Big Questions
      • Top 10
      • World Cinema
    • Ratings
      • Top 250
      • Top 100 Foreign Films
      • Bottom 50
      • 0 – 1.9
      • 2 – 3.9
      • 4 – 5.9
      • 6 – 7.9
      • 8 – 10
    • Genres
      • Action
      • Anthology
      • Animation
      • Christmas
      • Comedy
      • Crime
      • Documentary
      • Drama
      • Fantasy
      • Film-Noir
      • History
      • Horror
      • Kids’
      • Musical
      • Psychological
      • Romance
      • Sci-Fi
      • Short
      • Silent
      • Sport
      • Superhero
      • Survival
      • Thriller
      • Western
    • Release Year
      • 2020s
      • 2010s
      • 2000s
      • 1990s
      • 1980s
      • 1970s
      • 1960s
      • 1950s
      • 1940s
      • 1930s
      • 1920s
    • Country
      • Afghanistan
      • Argentina
      • Australia
      • Austria
      • Belgium
      • Brazil
      • Cambodia
      • Canada
      • Chile
      • China
      • Colombia
      • Costa Rica
      • Czechoslovakia
      • Czech Republic
      • Denmark
      • East Timor
      • Faroe Islands
      • Finland
      • France
      • Germany
      • Georgia
      • Greece
      • Hong Kong
      • Hungary
      • Iceland
      • India
      • Indonesia
      • Iran
      • Iraq
      • Ireland
      • Israel
      • Italy
      • Japan
      • Latvia
      • Lebanon
      • Laos
      • Malaysia
      • Mexico
      • New Zealand
      • Nigeria
      • North Korea
      • Norway
      • Paraguay
      • Peru
      • Philippines
      • Poland
      • Romania
      • Russia
      • Saudi Arabia
      • Singapore
      • South Korea
      • South Africa
      • Soviet Union
      • Spain
      • Sweden
      • Switzerland
      • Syria
      • Taiwan
      • Thailand
      • Turkey
      • Uganda
      • United Kingdom
      • United States
      • Uruguay
      • Vietnam
      • Zambia
    • About
    The Mad Movie Man
    You are at:Home»Review»1962. Coco (2017)

    1962. Coco (2017)

    0
    By The Mad Movie Man on November 24, 2017 100-109 mins, 2017, 8 - 10, Animation, Comedy, Drama, Fantasy, Movies Of 2017, Nov 17, Review, United States
    8.7 Absolutely wonderful
    • Acting 8.6
    • Directing 8.9
    • Story 8.7
    • User Ratings (1 Votes) 7

    Starring: Anthony Gonzalez, Gael García Bernal, Benjamin Bratt

    Director: Lee Unkrich

    Running Time: 109 mins


    Coco is an American film about a young Mexican boy who, despite being forbidden by his family from being the musician he dreams of, finds himself thrust into the Land of the Dead, where he takes on an epic and emotional adventure to get home, while aiming to discover why his family have distanced themselves from music.

    This is such a good film. Pixar haven’t been on the greatest form in recent years with a slew of sequels, but the brilliantly original and beautifully emotional Coco is exactly what makes Pixar so great. Not only is it an enormously fun and enjoyable family adventure, but it’s a film with unbelievable visuals, a characterful and memorable soundtrack, as well as a whole lot of pure, heartfelt emotion that put me right on the edge of tears on more than one occasion.

    There’s so much to love about Coco, but we’ll start off with what makes it most beautiful: the emotion. Pixar have always been renowned for their ability to tug at your heartstrings (Up, Inside Out, Finding Nemo, Monsters Inc, Toy Story 2, Toy Story 3, need I say more?), but what they do with Coco is take the emotional side of the story to another level.

    This isn’t so much of a sad tearjerker, but what it does bring is a truly deep and genuine sense of familial love, which plays the central role of pretty much everything that happens in the film. You may have seen the ‘family is important’ message before, but Coco does it in such an elegant and genuine way that you won’t be able to resist feeling so closely connected to the central family here, which makes the film’s plot so much more powerful and uplifting to follow, pulling you in to the point that you’ll be crying tears of joy and family nostalgia all at once.

    Alongside the beautiful emotion that the film manages to bring about, it’s also a fantastically captivating look at the festival of The Day of the Dead. Although undoubtedly well-known around the world, Coco is a film that allows you to go in knowing pretty much nothing about the festival, and explains not only its customs, but its real importance in both simple and riveting terms. It’s not something I expected to gain from the film, but I really found the film’s vibrant and genuine depiction of the festival and its meaning to the people who celebrate it absolutely fascinating as well.

    But when it comes to vibrant, there’s nothing that beats the film’s visuals. As I’m sure I’ve said in every Pixar review, the studio knows how to make jaw-droppingly beautiful animation, and Coco is yet another example of their brilliance. Above all, it’s the depiction of the Land of the Dead that makes this film really sing, as the film goes about portraying the afterlife in the most colourful and energetic fashion, filling the screen from start to finish with vibrant locations and characters that all make it an absolute joy to watch.

    A visually beautiful film that uses as much imagination as possible to bring a fantasy world to life, Coco is arguably Pixar’s most visually ambitious and successful film, with some sequences so stunning to look at that they too had me on the edge of tears (sounds like I’m a bit of a cryer – but this film really got to me).

    And then beyond even that, there’s the soundtrack. Pixar have never really managed to pull off musicals in the same way that Disney have had eternal success with, and although this isn’t a musical, it’s a film with music as close to its heart as family and tradition, but it’s yet another element that makes for an even more vibrant and delightful watch.

    With a whole range of songs that take inspiration from Mexican music, the film manages to blend musical numbers perfectly into the middle of its story, and make each song just as meaningful and emotionally captivating as fun to listen to, which really is no mean feat, and it will undoubtedly have you humming a few melodies for the rest of the day.

    Finally, we come to the fact that, along with all of its hugely impressive emotional depth, cultural insight, visual thrills and musical brilliance, Coco is still a kids’ movie, and an excellent one at that. Although I will say its opening twenty minutes do feel a little bit too much like a generic Disney movie, once we see the change of setting to the Land of the Dead, the film bursts into life, and in tandem with its beautiful emotion, it’s a really fun, exciting and even unpredictable adventure that will surely entertain kids to the full from beginning to end – it even had me on the edge of my seat with some genuinely surprising and riveting moments.

    On the whole, Coco is an absolute wonder of a film. It’s a beautifully crafted animation that features dazzling visuals from start to finish, complete with a very characterful and memorable soundtrack, a really fun adventure story, a fascinating look at the deeper meaning of the Day of the Dead, and vivid, genuine and powerful emotion in a way only Pixar can do, and that’s why I’m giving it an 8.7.

    Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email
    The Mad Movie Man
    • Website
    • Facebook
    • Twitter

    The Mad Movie Man, AKA Anthony Cullen, writes articles and reviews about movies and the world of cinema. From January 1st, 2013 to December 31st, 2022, he watched and reviewed a movie every day. This is the blog dedicated to the project: www.madmovieman.com

    Related Posts

    8.2

    4000. Scenes From A Marriage (1973)

    7.8

    3999. The Pianist (2002)

    8.2

    3998. Philadelphia (1993)

    Follow Me Online!
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
    • Tumblr
    New Releases
    8.2
    December 25, 2022

    3994. Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (2022)

    5.6
    December 10, 2022

    3969. Falling For Christmas (2022)

    6.9
    December 4, 2022

    3956. The People We Hate At The Wedding (2022)

    5.4
    December 3, 2022

    3954. Disenchanted (2022)

    7.4
    December 3, 2022

    3953. Meet Cute (2022)

    7.6
    November 23, 2022

    3934. Do Revenge (2022)

    7.0
    November 18, 2022

    3929. The Wonder (2022)

    6.7
    November 13, 2022

    3924. See How They Run (2022)

    Recommended Movies
    9.6
    Review
    January 17, 20140

    421. The Wolf Of Wall Street (2013)

    8.5
    Review
    March 1, 20170

    1677. Logan (2017)

    8.9
    Review
    August 9, 20130

    248. Air Force One (1997)

    8.3
    Review
    December 31, 20170

    2000. War And Peace (1966)

    8.5
    Review
    August 10, 20150

    1053. A Streetcar Named Desire (1951)

    Popular Posts
    December 31, 2022

    Thank You

    8.2
    December 31, 2022

    4000. Scenes From A Marriage (1973)

    7.8
    December 30, 2022

    3999. The Pianist (2002)

    8.2
    December 29, 2022

    3998. Philadelphia (1993)

    7.5
    December 28, 2022

    3997. Jeanne Dielman, 23 Quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles (1975)

    9.1
    December 27, 2022

    3996. The Green Mile (1999)

    7.6
    December 26, 2022

    3995. Doctor Zhivago (1965)

    © 2023 ThemeSphere. Designed by ThemeSphere.

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.