[yasr_overall_rating]
Aspiring musician Miguel, confronted with his family’s ancestral ban on music, enters the Land of the Dead to work out the mystery.
With the exception of the “Cars” movies, everything else Disney•Pixar has produced, from “Toy Story” to “Coco,” has been truly exceptional. My two personal favorites are “WALL·E” and “Up,” stories that touched my heart but also my funny bone. “Coco” comes out right before Thanksgiving, a holiday that, over time, has become more dedicated to the importance of family and friends than any other festivity and in today’s volatile climate, not just here in America but around the world, we could use more films of its ilk.
Miguel (Anthony Gonzalez) is your typical 12-year-old boy who lives in a small Mexican village called Santa Cecilia with his large family. We learn early on that music has been banned in his household because many years ago, his great-great-grandfather left his wife and daughter to pursue a career as a musician and never returned. As a result, his wife banned all forms of music and concentrated on building her shoe empire, which is where we find Miguel today, living in a family who produce and sell shoes. Unbeknownst to his family, Miguel has secretly taught himself how to play guitar in the attic of an old abandoned nearby house by watching old movies of his idol, Ernesto de la Cruz (Benjamin Bratt), a popular Mexican singer-songwriter and film star who died tragically during one of his concerts when a large bell fell on him and crushed him. As the Mexican holiday Día de Muertos (Day of the Dead) fast approaches, Miguel’s family are busy preparing for the holiday when they discover his musical secret and his grandmother smashes his self-made guitar, demanding that he never play music again.
Heartbroken, he runs away. When he discovers that there is a talent contest in town the same night as Día de Muertos, he is determined to enter to prove to his family, once and for all, that he is indeed, a real musician. Without a guitar, however, he tries, unsuccessfully, to borrow one from the large assemblage of local musicians. He realizes that his only option is to break into Ernesto de la Cruz’s mausoleum and borrow his guitar but as soon as he enters the crypt and picks up the instrument, he passes out. When he awakes, he quickly departs the building but while the surroundings are the same, the people look very different. He quickly surmises that he is now in the Land of the Dead, a result of him taking Ernesto de la Cruz’s guitar on a night that is all about giving. Dante, a street dog that he has always looked after, is with him and leads him to deceased family members who are very surprised to see him. When they discover what happened, they tell him that he has to return to the Land of the Living before sunrise or he will stay in the Land of the Dead forever.
Through an old family friend, Hector (Gael García Bernal), he learns that his idol, Ernesto de la Cruz, may very well be his great-great-grandfather that abandoned his family all those years ago and he is determined to find him. In order for him to return to the Land of the Living, he must return with the blessing of a dead relative but his family will only give him a blessing as long as he agrees to abandon any and all musical ambitions. He refuses, stating that if he can track down and find Ernesto de la Cruz, he knows that he will help him return to the Land of the Dead without any musical conditions. As Miguel’s stay in the Land of the Dead lengthens, he notices that he is beginning to turn into a skeleton and with Hector and Dante’s help, he finally locates his idol, Ernesto de la Cruz. Initially overjoyed, the two men talk about music, movies, and family but soon thereafter, Miguel accidentally uncovers a terrifying secret about Ernesto, one that he will do anything to keep from the rest of the world, living or dead. He has Miguel and Hector thrown into an inescapable pit and it is there that Miguel finally realizes the importance of family. With time running out, the rest of Miguel’s family rescue him and Hector and before Miguel returns to the Land of the Living, he sets out to expose Ernesto for the fraud he is, by revealing it to the entire Land of the Dead, with a little help from his family.
“Coco” delivers everything we have come to expect from Disney•Pixar, exceptional animation, top-notch voice performances, and the emphasis on family and friendship. Miguel is truly your typical 12-year-old boy, one who believes that he is always right and that everyone else is wrong and is not afraid to dream big. He is determined to prove to his family that if they just listen to him, they will change their views on music, concede and that everything will be right with the world. By the end of the movie, Miguel learns the hard lesson that while it is important to dream, trying to achieve those goals without family, is almost next to impossible. His family also come to the realization that just because they have a history of suppressing music because of the actions of one man a long time ago, it is unfair to do away with music altogether for future generations as it affects everyone differently. Naturally, the film is concluded with a little happily-ever-after and in today’s unpredictable and precarious world, it is exactly what the doctor ordered!
In theaters Wednesday, November 22nd
