My Review of Coco · 6:44pm Oct 25th, 2022
Rating Scale:
12/10—a complete masterpiece; flawless and outstanding
11/10—Excellent, near-perfect film
10/10—the standard rating; awesome film with a couple of flaws
9/10—a wonderful film with several flaws
8/10–a great film with numerous flaws but not enough to ruin it
7/10—a fun and entertaining movie; not great but still enjoyable
6/10—a slightly above average film; it is something I might watch again
5/10—mediocre movie; not awful but not great either
4/10—a below average film; it could have been much better
3/10—a bad film; poorly written and poorly executed
2/10—a very bad movie; the few good things in the movie overshadowed by the bad things
1/10—a terrible movie; a total waste of time
0/10—a worthless piece of abomination; should have never been made
Greetings, everyone! This is Mr. J back with another review for today! This afternoon, I will be reviewing Disney Pixar's Coco from 2017! Now this was one of the couple of Pixar films I have not seen since its release; still, I was very curious enough to check it out on Disney+ for myself and see if it's actually good as people say it is. After seeing the film last night for the first time, I...honestly enjoyed it. Now, this is far from being a perfect movie because there were a few elements therein that really bothered me. Outside of that, I enjoyed both the story, the premise, the main characters, and the overall theme.
This film is about a Mexican boy who loves music and longs to become a great musician one day, looking up to his idol: the late Ernesto de la Cruz. One night, he attempts to take what seemed to be the man's guitar from his morgue and ended up in the magical Land of the Dead. There, his past relatives reunite with him and seek to take him back to the land of the living on the condition of never again playing music. Will the boy choose his life-long dream over family or follow the tradition of his family?
First, let me state the positives therein. I really enjoyed the flawless voice acting, the gorgeous animation, and the moral of the story. I loved how the film emphasized the importance of remembering those you love and never forgetting the impact they have left while living. It even showed us at the end that there should be no conditions in order to be a family member and that just because most members of your family are following tradition or fulfilling one occupation doesn't mean you should, if it doesn't make you happy. Whatever dreams a person wants to carry out, let them do so out of their own choice.
The movie even demonstrated how evil of a fraud Ernesto was--both in death and in life. The twist behind his involvements with Hector and how the former actually became a Mexican icon was sort of brilliant. That teaches us that not every popular icon or model are what they say they are; just imagine--all your life, you've been looking up to someone whom you thought was part of your family and whom you wanted to imitate--only to find out he was a thief, liar, and murderer. That must have both hurt and stung Miguel. This is a very rare instance where a twist villain actually works for the story because of how well-written it is.
As far as the negatives are concerned, they frankly bugged the hell out of me as I watched this movie. One, Miguel's family members are toxic as fuck to both him and everyone around them (especially those who play music). That grandmother was an irritating Karen, his parents were patronizing schlocks, and they were absolutely oblivious to their child's unhappiness. What's even worse is that they weren't kind enough to explain clearly to him why music is bad, who his great-great grandfather was, and how much they actually cared about Miguel's wellbeing. But nope, they are toxic dickheads who abused their familial authority to control that poor kid. And they appeared shocked when he told them that he no longer cared.
I don't care if his family all hugged him in the end with joyful tears and had a happy ending, I hate those characters with a passion. Also, I really don't understand why Hector's wife hated music so much. Yes, it was heartbreaking for him to abandon his family just to pursue a career in music and he regretted that choice....but why take it out on music? That's like saying a man's girlfriend is obsessed with cartoons so much that she neglects her duties and ends up leaving her boyfriend. For that reason, the man begins to hate cartoons and wants no one else to watch them. You see how utterly ridiculous and stupid that is?
Anyway, that is all I have to say for this review. I will officially rate it a solid 8/10. Now, allow me to demonstrate this film in a nutshell. 1,2,3.....
Hey! This is actually part of my heritage
Benjamin Bratt has the skill to play the best villains.
God, when I first watched this movie at theaters I couldn´t stop crying from when Hector sang Remember Me to the end. I really liked this movie. Especially because Mama Coco reminds me of my great-grandmother
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While twist villains have began to annoy me a little, I do enjoy them when they are written like this. It all depends on the story.
Sometimes, people associate things to a painful event and take out on it. That being said, the approach they took was definitely not the healthiest.
Anyway, thanks for making this review. I´ve been anxious lately and this review made me focus on something I like. Keep on the good work!
I don't know why, but somehow...I knew from the beginning that there were things about "Coco" you were going to be critical of. The real thing I didn't know was whether you'd actually enjoy the movie or not, but then again...I'm not a mind reader.