The movie Coco was an intriguing, heartfelt, and stunning movie told with colorful, visually-stunning animation. It told the story of a boy named Miguel living in Mexico with his extended family. Due to the family’s past, they have forbidden Miguel to follow his dream of playing music in the footsteps of his idol, Ernesto De La Cruz. After stealing a guitar from Ernesto’s grave to compete in a talent show, Miguel gets whisked away and stuck in the afterlife, where he seeks Ernesto’s blessing to come home. He soon discovers that maybe his idol just isn’t as perfect as he thinks, and that coming home may be just a bit more complicated than seeking a blessing.

This movie was generally very good, with absolutely beautiful visuals, including intricate backgrounds, a pretty color scheme, and close attention to details. Set in Mexico, the backdrops, color scheme, music, and even dialogue has a close connection to Mexican culture. Throughout the movie, they interjected simple Spanish words into the dialogue (“Mi familia, mi amigo, etc”) that strangely enough portrayed a similarity to the way the show Dora teaches its viewers spanish.

Speaking of connection, through seeing Coco a second time, I realised that the plot and lesson all felt just a bit too similar to yet another one-worded Disney film, Moana. When Miguel decides to not go along with his family to pursue his passion for music, it seemed an awful lot like Moana deciding to not go along with her family to pursue her passion for water. I guess Disney is trying to appeal to angsty teenagers that want to leave their families to do their own thing.

Nevertheless, the ending of Coco took a delightful twist when they reveal the slightly dark backstory of Ernesto. Although the themes of murder, afterlife, and death in general felt a bit too dark for a family movie, Disney handled it in a mature and respectful way.

Although, as I mentioned before, the first half of the movie felt like it was trying to convince kids to run away from their parents, the second half redeemed itself when Miguel decided to respect his family in the long run, where he realizes running away just wasn’t a very good idea after all.

The music was great, and all connected with the visuals and the Mexican theme. It had a few catchy songs that I remembered long after I watched it, and I even noticed that the hand animation that went along with Miguel playing the guitar was very accurate. The movie’s soundtrack was decent, and was put in at the right place at the right time, and captured the mood of the scene.

The character’s personalities truly came alive through their appearances and clothing. The animation of the clothing was again, super detailed, down to every dirt splotch or wrinkles. In Miguel’s family, everyone’s personalities were shown through what clothing they wore, and you could instantly get to know a character based on their makeup and outfit.

In the end, Coco was a solid film. The animation, plot, and voice acting were all very proficient, and the ending was one that left the audience smiling. I would definitely see this movie again, and honestly, I hope that the afterlife is really as colorful and fun as it was portrayed in the movie.