Pixar’s Coco debuted on Friday at the Morelia International Film Festival in Michoacán, Mexico, ahead of a wide release in Mexican theaters next week. The timing is appropriate for the Día de Muertos–themed film, but audiences in the U.S. will have to wait until Nov. 22 for a glimpse at Pixar’s latest creation, about a boy whose dreams of becoming a musician accidentally lead him to the Land of the Dead.
Fortunately, critics in attendance at the Morelia screening make the film sound worth the wait, in particular praising the visuals and Pixar’s usual knack for making theatergoers bawl. Here’s what else they had to say about the film.
There were the inevitable comparisons to The Book of Life as well as other Pixar movies.
Peter Debruge, Variety:
Coco feels like Unkrich and his story team (so good at perfecting and/or “plussing” Pixar’s projects) watched The Book of Life and thought, “Hey, we’ve got a better idea!” or “We can fix this!”
Michael Rechtshaffen, the Hollywood Reporter:
… Pixar’s most original effort since Inside Out, it’s also among its most emotionally resonant, touching on themes of belonging common to Finding Dory and the Unkrich-directed Toy Story 3.
The Día de Muertos–inspired visuals are stunning.
Robert Abele, the Wrap:
Visually, Coco is a swirling, vibrantly hued artistic achievement. It’s everything from a sepia-tinted memory book come to heart-tugging life to a pulsating multi-tinted mural. The stellar design team and animators find room for both the sun-kissed verisimilitude of a homey pueblo, and the razzle-dazzle of elaborately designed folk-art animals called alebrijas that become flying, hot-colored spirit creatures in the Land of the Dead.
Peter Debruge, Variety:
From the altar-like ofrendas where family photos pay tribute to loved ones lost (whose spirits remain alive in this parallel realm, so long as they are remembered by the living) to the brilliant-orange marigold petals that serve as a bridge between the two worlds, Pixar’s art department makes stunning use of the holiday’s signature elements.
Critics also had plenty of praise for the score by Michael Giacchino.
Tim Grierson, ScreenDaily:
[T]he film’s original songs and traditional Mexican music—which draw from marimba, mariachi and cumbia—are vibrant and emotional, creating a sonic tapestry as intricate as production designer Harley Jessup’s lavish, colourful depiction of the Land of the Dead as a kaleidoscopic metropolis.
Michael Rechtshaffen, the Hollywood Reporter:
Equally affecting is the film’s musical palette, with resident Disney-Pixar composer Michael Giacchino delivering yet another stirring score that blends seamlessly with traditional source music and tunes contributed by Molina and Germaine Franco …
Robert Abele, the Wrap:
The movie’s signature corrida, “Remember Me,” an Ernesto standard, is by the Frozen team of Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez, and its use as both an anthem for popularity and tear-jerking familial plea is well-deployed.
Some reviewers thought the film’s narrative lacked originality …
Peter Debruge, Variety:
By this point, the Pixar machine has gotten so efficient that watching its movies can feel less like hearing a good story than sitting in on a well-polished pitch meeting.
Tim Grierson, ScreenDaily:
But in its zeal to pay proper respect to Mexican traditions and to avoid any hint of appropriation, Coco fails to give as much attention to its perfunctory characters or mediocre plotting, resulting in a family film which is reverent rather than inspired.
… but you’ll still probably cry.
Michael Rechtshaffen, the Hollywood Reporter:
Ana Ofelia Murguia coaxes some genuinely earned tears as Miguel’s fading great-grandmother Mama Coco (the de facto title character) …
Peter Debruge, Variety:
… the story’s sincere emotional resolution earns the sobs it’s sure to inspire …
