SNAPSHOT
Despite his family’s baffling generations-old ban on music, Miguel (voice of newcomer Anthony Gonzalez) dreams of becoming an accomplished musician like his idol, Ernesto de la Cruz (voice of Benjamin Bratt). Desperate to prove his talent, Miguel finds himself in the stunning and colorful Land of the Dead following a mysterious chain of events. Along the way, he meets charming trickster Hector (voice of Gael García Bernal), and together, they set off on an extraordinary journey to unlock the real story behind Miguel’s family history. (synopsis via Coming Soon)
While Pixar has fallen in love with sequels of late – to be fair beautifully rendered, highly original sequels that elevate the very idea of mining an original concept for further stories – with cars 3 due for release this summer, it has also kept producing emotionally-resonant new films that such as Inside Out and God Dinosaur that have continued its winning of visually and narratively-rich storytelling.
The latest film to join this august group of films is Coco, a film that radiates all the qualities that have made Pixar’s gorgeously imaginative films the superlative benchmark for modern feature animation.
In keeping with many of its films, the protagonist, Miguel, who is a musician in a family that has banned music being played for generations, reasons unknown, finds himself in an extraordinary world far beyond his own, quite by accident, launching him on an adventure that will supply answers for a great many of his lingering questions.
The trailer admittedly only gives us a glimpse of what’s in store but it’s more than enough to realise that Coco has the real potential to be another rich standout entry in the Pixar animation pantheon, which is certainly not short on outstanding members already, a rare claim for any movie studio.
Coco opens in Australia and USA on 22 November.