36. Coco; movie review

COCO
Cert PG
105 mins
BBFC advice: Contains mild threat, violence

Sunday morning after a night out in the city of our birth, Mrs W and I found ourselves sharing screen 2 of Coventry Odeon with a lot of children.
Yes, parents clearly sought respite from the slushy snow and turned to Pixar's award-winning Coco.
I am not certain that all of them would have considered it a good idea.
Coco is highly imaginative, highly ambitious and looks absolutely stunning. But that is an adult's opinion - we heard restlessness among young children.
And that is understandable - while it looks fantastic technically and we were entranced, it certainly doesn't have the cuteness of Frozen, Tangled or Moana.
Coco centres on a young Mexican boy called Miguel (voiced by Anthony Gonzalez) who is obsessed with making a career as a guitarist.
His problem is that his family is fanatically opposed to musicians because one walked out on the matriarch several generations previously.
Anyway, on the night of the annual festival of the dead, Miguel decides to defy his family's ban and perform in his small town's market place.
Needless to say, his plan doesn't run smoothly and he is transported to the 'other side' where he is greeted with dismay by his ghostly ancestors.
Lee Unkrich and Adrian Molina's movie is fast-paced, amusing without eliciting big belly laughs and has a focus on family which is particularly well placed.
There is a particular emphasis on estrangements and prejudices which may be harboured as a result.
And, to lighten the load, there are a couple of irresistible animals helping the tale along.
As indicated, Mrs W and I were charmed by Coco but we wondered whether it might be all a bit too Hallow'een-y for the very young children (there were under-threes in the audience).
However, I would think parents of any boys and girls between five and ten would be on to a winner.

Reasons to watch: a Pixar film overflowing with imagination and wonder
Reasons to avoid: the storyline might not be for very young children

Laughs: six 
Jumps: none
Vomit: none
Nudity: none
Overall rating: 8.5/10

Co-director quote - Lee Unkrich: "We knew that we were telling a story about a culture that has been often maligned in the United States and we wanted to celebrate the beauty of the Mexican people and their culture.”

The big question: - the imagination of how many people needs to be tapped to come up with ideas like Coco's 'other side'?

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