Mr. Movie review: ‘Coco’ is colorful, creative and fun

Coco is a beautiful movie in two ways. First, it is visual feast. Hundreds of colors pulse and move across the screen in a melody that seems like only light itself can understand. The colors blend together in a jangle of hues that almost seem to be outside the spectrum a human ought to be able to see.

When you see the movie all of that will make sense. It also makes sense when you consider much of the film takes place in the Land of the Dead.

The second part of the beauty of Coco is the story. Miguel’s family makes shoes. An incident a few generations back got music banned from the family. Miguel loves music. He loves the guitar and admires Ernesto de la Cruz, Mexico’s most famous guitarist, singer, songwriter and actor.

Cruz died years ago but Miguel learns to play the guitar by watching his old movies. Forbidden from playing music, Miguel rebels and on the Day of the Dead when families pray for those who’ve died, Miguel accidentally crosses over. There, he seeks the one person who can get the ban lifted.

Coco is co-directed by Lee Unkrich who co-directed Monsters, Inc. Toy Story 2 and Finding Nemo and was the solo director of Toy Story 3. He’s a wonderful storyteller whose skill with animation and effects is superb.

Coco is an animated movie and animated movies follow formula. You get characters, humor, a touch of drama and a moral lesson.

The moral lesson here is who — among us — hasn’t at one time or another been told that a dream we hold dear will never come true. We persevere and — presto — a miracle happens. That is the wonderful moral and the teaching moment in this film that might inspire the youngest among us to reach for their own stars.

Miracles do happen and while not a miracle, or completely original in terms of plot, Coco is a wonderful way to kick off your holiday movie going season.

This story was originally published November 23, 2017 at 2:30 PM with the headline "Mr. Movie review: ‘Coco’ is colorful, creative and fun."