Coco Is a Feast for the Eyes and Ears

A 12-year-old boy with music in his heart finds himself transported to the Land of the Dead in Pixar's first feature film with a minority lead character, co-directed by Lee Unkrich and Adrian Molina. Giving the film a 96% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, critics are singing its praises:

• "Effervescent, clever and thoughtful," Coco "is Pixar's best effort since 2015's Inside Out and also one of its "most gorgeously animated outings in some time," writes Brian Truitt at USA Today. It will "makes you laugh and cry in equal doses." It might have you singing, too. Among Pixar's most musical films, Coco sees 13-year-old Anthony Gonzalez shine as main character Miguel. "The kid can sing like nobody's business," writes Truitt.
• Justin Chang argues the film is good, not great, missing "the sense of filmmakers boldly and brilliantly conquering new terrain" as in Inside Out. Viewers might also object to the film's "breathless velocity," he writes at the Los Angeles Times. But there are things to appreciate, too, like "a non-white human protagoninst" and "a showstopping musical climax and an ending all but guaranteed to tickle your tear ducts," Chang writes. "Progress could certainly look worse."

• "The action moves swiftly but still manages to picks up amusing details" in this "brilliant original creation," Peter Howell writes at the Toronto Star. He admires much, including dialogue that "blends Spanish and English as naturally as rum and Coke." But it's the sights and sounds of music that take the film to another level, says Howell. "Every step of the way in Coco is a visual and sonic delight."
• "Despite a slow start … Coco finds its groove" on a "delightfully nonlinear path" through "fanciful new worlds," writes Stephanie Merry at the Washington Post. The "stunning visuals" cannot be missed. "Some of the animation in Coco is so detailed that it looks photorealistic," she writes. But mostly, the film feels fresh as it celebrates "a culture that's so often overlooked by the movie industry," addresses death "in a lighthearted way," and tries its hand at dark comedy to much success, Merry writes.

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