Disney and I have always had a sort of... strange relationship. As a kid, I loved movies like HERCULES, ALICE IN WONDERLAND, FLUBBER, And countless other classics. But the older I got, the cooler I felt, and nobody cool still watches Disney movies right? Wrong.
For whatever reason I have been thinking about this movie ever since I first watched it a few days ago, and I figured this review would be the perfect way to talk about both this movie and Disney as a whole.
Coco is a 2017 American computer-animated fantasy film produced by Pixar Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. Based on an original idea by Lee Unkrich, it was directed by him, co-directed by Adrian Molina, and produced by Darla K. Anderson, from a screenplay written by Molina and Matthew Aldrich, and a story by Unkrich, Molina, Aldrich, and Jason Katz.
Despite his family's baffling generations-old ban on music, Miguel dreams of becoming an accomplished musician like his idol, Ernesto de la Cruz. Desperate to prove his talent, Miguel finds himself in the stunning and colourful Land of the Dead following a mysterious chain of events. Along the way, he meets charming trickster Hector, and together, they set off on an extraordinary journey to unlock the real story behind Miguel's family history.
This movie has a few weird undertones about death and remembering your loved ones, but as a whole, it's probably one of the best Disney movies I've ever seen. I really don't have anything groundbreaking to say about why this movie works so well, it just does. The characters are strong, the plot moves quickly, plenty of little cute animal dudes running around, and of course the super-massive sense of spectacle in every single one of the movie's beautiful settings. The whole movie revolves around death, leading to some incredibly powerful scenes of both losses into nothing and reuniting with loved ones after decades apart. It's a warm cozy bundle of multiple families all sharing emotional moments, so of course I started thinking about my own life.
I started to think about movies that center around family, and how movies like this always felt a little plastic to me as someone who didn't get a Disney childhood. I thought about how often the reinforcement of the importance of family in all forms of media felt like propaganda to me somehow until I started dating Rayne and working on myself. I Think about how badly I wanted to cry before, and how often things like this make me want to cry now. I Think about how grateful I am I can finally watch these kinds of movies properly.
Solid ending right? I thought so. But then I remembered some kind of weird controversy about this movie. I thought it was about Disney attempting to trademark Day of the Dead, but I couldn't find anything solid about that. But what I did find is probably the reason people were a little upset after this movie came out.
While the production team at Disney and Pixar have recognized that they "based the Rivera family – a multigenerational matriarchy headed by Miguel's formidable grandmother – on real-world families with whom they embedded while visiting the Mexican states of Oaxaca and Guanajuato between 2011 and 2013," they have not acknowledged Salud's contribution to the film. Co-director Adrian Molina stated, "not only is Coco based in a real place, in Mexico, but it's based in real traditions, so we knew it was essential to do the research, to get every detail recorded, so that when we get back to Pixar and we start deciding what is this town going to look like, what is this grandmother going to wear, what kind of dancing and music are they going to listen to, it can all come from an informed place." However, Salud remains unmentioned in all reports Disney and Pixar have made regarding the inspiration for the film.
Since the film's release, Salud reported that tourists had visited her home, referring to her as "Mamá Coco". In response, she replied, "Yes, but "Mamá Coco's" not my name. The producers chose that name. And now all the people who come and visit tell us that's my name. But I tell them no, it's not my name. My name is María de la Salud."
Big ooof. But hey the movie is still really good.
9/10
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