The trailers for Pixar’s newest animated film “Coco” aren’t particularly captivating. At first glance, the story seems confusing and vaguely reminiscent of last year’s motion-capture feature “Kubo and the Two Strings”.
As it turns out, trailers can be misleading and skipping “Coco” would be the biggest mistake of the year. Miguel’s (Anthony Gonzalez) search for his father through the land of the dead is a visual masterpiece. The production design is rich with detail and the character design is fabulous. Whoever first imagined skeletons could embody a range of emotions as sympathetic characters had tremendous foresight. “Coco” is a prime example of Pixar at its finest.
Aside from the look of the movie, it’s the themes and story that push it over the top in the best possible way. “Coco” explores what it is to follow your dreams, respect your family and that seeing is not always believing. Similar elements exist here as in the other Pixar success stories as well; death and sacrifice are significant and, as was so beautifully expressed in 2015’s “Inside Out”, while emotions may guide us, they shouldn’t define us.
The movie also stars the voice talents of Gael Garcia Bernal and Benjamin Bratt.
For more about “Coco” and how the color design influences the film, take a look below:
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All film photos are courtesy of Walt Disney Studios / Pixar.
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