Coco

Trailers can be a blessing and a curse. They’re personally my favorite part of going to the theater, but sometimes they give away too much, or too little in some cases. Usually a trailer is what ropes my interest in a particular film and I rely on them, maybe a little too much, for deciding what I should try to check out in the future. I have to tell you, when I got a first look at Pixar’s newest film Coco over the summer, I was not interested at all, which is really surprising actually as I usually have so much faith in Pixar. For some unfathomable reason, I had no desire to go see Coco when it was released. However praise from critics and friends who went to see it convinced me to change my mind and buy myself a ticket. Never have I been so happy to be wrong about a film!

Coco follows music-loving Miguel, who accidentally enters the Land of the Dead and seeks the help of his great-great-grandfather in order to return back to his family among the living.

Coco is Pixar’s best film since Inside Out. For a studio that has heavily focused on sequels in recent years, Coco is a proud return to form to the originality and talent that has made Pixar so beloved to many generations. First of all the animation is simply gorgeous. Once Miguel crosses the intricately detailed bridge of marigolds to the Land of Dead, a magnificent palette of vibrant hues awaits with towering shots of an alternate land that simply took my breath away. I cannot stress enough how visually gorgeous of a film Coco is. The details in every single animation are so well placed and thoughtfully created; it is evident the immense work put into the film.

Perhaps the true reason I praise Coco is its story. Incorporating Mexico and the Day of the Dead holiday into the film allows the filmmakers to fully immerse the viewer and truly celebrate the rich culture. The film is not just about Miguel entering the Land of the Dead and trying to find his way out. It is about a boy with a deep love and talent for music, who has to confront his family’s ancestral ban on all things music. Miguel’s passion is so palpable, but so are his struggles to connect with his beloved family and figure out who he really is. It is an incredible journey for a 12-year-old boy, but one that many viewers can find a piece of themselves in. Miguel’s journey helps him not only understand his family better, but also realize his true gifts as well.

Besides from Miguel’s journey of self-discovery, the film places an incredible emphasis on family, and its warmth is inescapable. With its beautifully crafted story, I found myself having to repress my sobs (I’m actually not kidding this movie made me want to bawl). The heart the film has at its center is so great. The voice acting is excellent as well, with a breakout performance by the young Anthony Gonzalez as Miguel. Benjamin Bratt and Gael García Bernal also lend their voices and do fantastic jobs. The music in the film is worth noting as well, with great singing from the cast! “Remember Me” is an instant classic that should win the Oscar and “Un Poco Loco” is sure to be stuck in the audience’s head for the next few days. Just thinking about “Remember Me” brings back all the feels!

Coco is a film that brought out all of my emotions. With its humor and heart, the film is sure to be enjoyed by audiences of all ages. The animation is even more breathtaking on the big screen so this is a movie I would even recommend seeing in theaters if possible. Coco is the kind of film that reminds me of Pixar’s master storytelling ability and penchant to hit right at the core of self-realization and family. It is a well done film that celebrates Mexican culture, the power of music, and the importance of honoring our loved ones.

ALL IN ALL: Coco is yet another celebrated entry to Pixar’s log, with great warmth and superior animation that builds upon a story of family, music, and heart.

Coco: 5 out of 5 ticket stubs

Director: Lee Unkrich and Adrian Molina

Cast: Anthony Gonzalez, Gael García Bernal, Benjamin Bratt, Renée Victor, Alanna Ubach, Ana Ofelia Murguía, Jaime Camil

Run time: 1 hr 45 min, rated PG

Year: 2017

 

 

 

 

Inside Out

Okay so has anyone else been disappointed with Pixar ever since Toy Story 3 came out in 2010? To me, that was the last true and great Pixar film and ever since then the quality and creativity of their works have decreased greatly (mainly due to them relying on sequels, many of which are going to be in production soon as well). I am so happy to say though, that Inside Out has returned Pixar to its’ former glory!

Set in the mind of an eleven-year-old girl Riley, Inside Out explores how her emotions – Joy (Amy Poehler), Sadness (Phyllis Smith), Fear (Bill Hader), Anger (Lewis Black), and Disgust (Mindy Kaling)- try to lead her through life as she moves with her parents from the Midwest to San Francisco.

Let’s first start with the animated short that comes before every Pixar movie, for Inside Out it was Lava. Lava was such a cute story about two lonely volcanoes looking for love that I almost cried by the end. So obviously my emotions were already peaked by the time the movie actually started, and boy did they go on a roller coaster ride! I really loved Inside Out. The concept is so original and something I feel only Pixar would be able to come up with and actually put into motion. The director, Pete Docter, also directed Monsters Inc. and Up, so it is again obvious that he is a creative genius. I was constantly amazed by how unique the movie was and it only attests to the amount of time it took to develop the story. Kudos to the whole crew!

The film was super deep too, especially when you really think about it after watching. The whole idea of sadness being essential to achieve happiness and all emotions being involved in memories and experiences is pretty profound and also complicated. I sincerely doubt if the many kids in the theater really understood what was going on so it is a good thing that the characters were all brightly colored and that there were lots of funny moments. That being said, the animation was really cool to see up close since all the emotions had an almost pixelated, energy look to them. I read it took 8 months to achieve Joy’s “sparkly aura” and the team almost threw it out in the end, so again kudos to the animation team.

Amy Poehler was fantastic as Joy and a great leading character/emotion. The others were also fantastic with Lewis Black’s Anger emotion getting some of the funniest lines in the movie. However the breakout star was really Phyllis Smith who voiced Sadness. Sadness turned out to be the most important character in the film and became the film’s other lead, which I loved. The fact that Sadness resembles Smith was cute but Smith’s voice acting to me was top-notch and the best performance.

Inside Out had all the best emotions and gave me the feels too. There was love, lots of laughs, and yes sadness (two words: Bing Bong…people who saw the movie will understand the distress I went through because of Bing Bong). Above all was a core message about growing up and how hard it is, but the themes of family and being yourself added some much-needed warmth. I do not know how well little kids responded to the movie, especially since again the story got deep at times, but I do know people of all other ages can definitely enjoy Inside Out.

ALL IN ALL: Inside Out is a triumphant return for Pixar with an amazingly creative concept, great voice work, and emotions that run high all throughout the film.

image from: http://cdn.movieweb.com/img.news/NEMye3g3VuXNQM_1_1.jpg

 

Frozen

Okay so while many of us here on the East Coast have been snowed in by this huge blizzard, I decided to review a movie with a title very appropriate for the occasion: Frozen! When I think of Disney movies, I automatically think of Disney’s Renaissance era: 1989-1999 that included classics such as The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, The Lion King, etc. Disney movies have been declining lately so I was genuinely surprised to hear some critics comparing Frozen to the studio’s past glory. I saw the movie and you know, I might just agree with that but with some reserves.

Frozen tells the story of fearless and optimistic princess Anna (voiced by Kristen Bell) who teams up with rugged mountain-man Kristoff (Jonathan Groff), his pet reindeer, and a cheery but hapless snowman (Josh Gad) to find her estranged sister Elsa (Idina Menzel), whose icy powers have trapped the kingdom in eternal winter.

Gosh I loved this movie. Honestly, nothing negative to say! I thought the voices were great, the visuals stunning, and the musical numbers were fantastic! I downloaded the whole album and cannot stop listening to it. Finger’s crossed for the film’s most acclaimed song “Let It Go” to win the Oscar for Best Original Song! The last Disney film of this kind that I can really think of is Tangled, and while I really enjoyed it, I don’t really remember any of the songs. For me, I can remember Frozen‘s songs as easily as I can for some classics like Beauty and the Beast and Mulan, which is why I’m guessing most critics are comparing the film to those of the past (get to that later).  The themes in the film are excellent as well. Sisterhood, trust, and finding the right person are all explored and very refreshing when compared to some previous princess movies. Frozen isn’t cliché and it really does have you guessing till the end, with delicious plot twists and surprises. The characters (especially Olaf) were so lovable too!

Despite how awesome Frozen was, I don’t think it should be categorized with the Disney classics. For one thing, those are classics and made a while ago. Frozen has the same story and song quality, but it is primarily done with CGI rather than traditional hand-drawn animation. However, Frozen is one of the best recent Disney films and I definitely see it as a sign of Pixar’s decline. The last films Pixar released were Monster’s University in 2013 and Brave in 2012, both pretty average and nowhere near the greatness of its past films like Up and Toy Story. Frozen is really driving the Disney Revival.

I recommend Frozen for everyone: young and old alike. It’s got comedy,romance, heart; a cool (haha) treat for anyone to watch!

ALL IN ALL: Frozen is an awesome film filled with music and fun for the whole family, a great addition to Disney’s impressive collection.

image from: http://media.comicbook.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Frozen-movie-poster.jpg

Brave

Let’s get back to reviewing! So I saw the latest Pixar movie Brave over the summer actually, but I thought it would be a good movie to review. Let me start off with saying how much I love Pixar. They have made some of my all-time favorite movies. Monster’s Inc, Finding Nemo, Toy Story, Up. C’mon, who doesn’t love Pixar? So when I saw Brave, I had high expectations. However, unlike some of the other movies I’ve reviewed, those expectations weren’t exactly met.

Set in the Scottish Highlands, Brave is the story of Merida, a reckless princess and aspiring archer who is determined to carve her own path in life. After accidentally unleashing a curse, Merida is forced to set things before it’s too late. From the previews, I actually thought the movie was just about a rebellious Scottish princess, so when this curse came into the story, I was totally caught off-guard. I found myself thinking repeatedly throughout the movie: This is what it’s about? Oh.

Now, now, now, I’m not saying Brave has horrible. It wasn’t. It was good, but sadly that’s all I can say. If I saw the film when I was younger, I probably would have loved it, with the sassy princess and the amazing animations(which really were beautiful by the way), but as an “older person”( I can’t really call myself an adult just yet), I wasn’t very impressed. There were high points though. For one thing, Merida’s hair was probably the best part of the movie. I think I read somewhere that it took the Pixar engineers three years to get the final look for hair. Wow. Her hair was stunning. I mean, look at all those individual curls! I was watching the curls most of the time, rather than the movie! Also there was humor especially brought forth from Merida’s adorable younger triplet brothers. The movie should have focused on them a bit more actually because they were hilarious!

look at those curls!

Brave has the potential to be a great movie. Being Pixar’s first female protagonist, Merida was a much-needed reboot of the damsel-in-distress Disney princess. With her sass and wit, she’s determined to make her own destiny. However, Merida was annoying at times and seemed very selfish. Throughout the whole movie, she kept focusing on her destiny even when there were much more important things to think about! Also, the storyline was very, I guess, basic for Pixar. I mean, they made a movie about a flying house tied with thousands of balloons for Pete’s sake!  Brave just doesn’t deliver the storyline it promises. While the movie is great for children, adults who have seen Pixar’s other works, will not be that impressed.

ALL IN ALL: Brave is not Pixar’s best and fails to live up to its standards

images from:

• http://spinoff.comicbookresources.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/brave-poster-new.jpg
• http://classymommy.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/merida-hair-two.jpg