I’m going to go against the majority here, and not just for the sake of it. I did not like Disney/Pixar’s Coco. In fact, I hated it. To me, this is the worst Pixar has done since Cars 2. There, I said.
I tolerated Pixar duds that were just mediocre, like The Good Dinosaur and Cars 3, but this was just a boring, clichéd stinker. I will say that the film looks beautiful; I can’t ever knock Pixar for that.
Everything is bright, colorful and there is astounding attention to detail, especially in the wide setting shots. There are always a few neat things to find hidden in most frames. I will give credit for that.
And the acting does seem heartfelt from the majority of the cast. I personally don’t recognize any names from the principal characters except Edward James Olmos, Benjamin Bratt, and Allana Ubach, and the bit parts that went to popular Hispanic comedians (and of course John Ratzenberger’s obligatory cameo), but that doesn’t automatically reflect poorly on the film as a whole.
But the story just kills it for me. I’m sure there are plenty of people that this resonates personally with, and that’s fine. But if you don’t identify with any of the elements or characters (and I don’t mean because of cultural reasons) in this film like I did, it ends up being a waste of time.
For a while, it seemed like the movie was going to take an unexpected direction. I thought perhaps it was going for something like if family gets in the way of like if family gets in the way of our dreams and ambitions, it may be better to cut that toxicity out of your life.
The main kid character Miguel’s family has an irrational hatred towards music, something he has great passion and talent for, and the crux of this film’s plot is his journey to the Land of the Dead to find some family that will help and not hinder his goal of becoming a great guitarist.
I thought that would be a bold and new take, especially for Disney. But of course it didn’t go that route. Even though both his living and deceased family show him nothing but hostility for his passion, some convenient misunderstandings eventually come to light, it’s none of their fault, and everyone comes around to Miguel’s side by film’s end.
I thought it a bit of a cop-out, actually. If they had gone the route I thought, although a lot riskier, it would have been much more avant-garde, memorable, and unique for a Disney film. However, Disney/Pixar did decide to put a twist near the plot’s climax.
However, it was the exact same twist that they have done to death and back in way too many of their films since the turn of the millennium, that of the secret villain. I swear, this plot device is dumb and it’s everywhere.
In Frozen, Monsters Inc. , Zootopia, Big Hero 6, Toy Story 2 and 3, Atlantis: The Lost Empire, etc. They all have the villain turn out to be one of the characters everyone thought was a good guy close to the end.
Even if an idea like that can be new at first, when it’s overused like they’ve been doing, it becomes just another annoying cliché. And frankly, I’m tired of this one. I want the old style of gleefully and unabashed bad guys like Jafar and Maleficent.
Villains like the one in Coco aren’t fun to watch because we can’t enjoy them as villains if they’re not villains until the last quarter of the film. There are other parts of the plot that get to me too.
There is far too much time dedicated to the complexities and intricacies of the technical nature of the Land of the Dead’s rules. It gets way to specific and way too complicated. I don’t know if this was pulled directly from or at least inspired by actual Mexican folklore, but either way, it should have been simplified or downplayed.
The Princess and the Frog had similar issues with the specifics of its magic rules. Blessings could be rescinded, being forgotten leads to super death, can’t visit unless picture is just right, and a lot more make the rules hard to follow.
Another thing that I thought hurt the movie is the title itself, Coco. That’s the name of one of the characters. However, it’s not one of the main characters, or even secondary characters. She barely has any screen time, let alone lines, and she isn’t the crux of the plot or Miguel’s main motivator.
It makes no sense for the film to be named for a character that has so little to do with it. It’s like if Aladdin was named for the shopkeeper in the opening scene or if Finding Nemo was called Crush the Turtle.
I am aware of the issues with originally naming the movie Day of the Dead, and the copyright controversy that arose from that, but they still could have done better than a character that is barely in the movie.
Miguel’s Journey, or Love of Music, or I don’t know, something else could have worked. It’s like they came down to the wire and just threw a dart at a dartboard full of all the characters and just called it after the one it hit.
I also personally do not care for the musical style of the movie, being traditional Mexican mariachi and the like, but I will admit that is more of a personal grievance than an objective fault with the film.
Still, if you don’t love that style, this movie may make your ears bleed. In my opinion, there was another movie with a similar style that did all of these things better than Coco, and that was The Book of Life.
Its world and magic rules weren’t too complicated and were easy to follow. The villains were simple and clear-cut. The music was traditional but still widely accessible to a general audience. The title may not have played a huge role, but at least it was there and plot didn’t have to dwell on it.
If you have the option, I would definitely recommend The Book of Life over Coco any day. Final grade: D+.