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       Coco

review by Bobby Blakey

Disney / Pixar has continued to churn out some animated masterpieces and they show no signs of slowing down. I was happy to see with their latest Coco they were taking on the Hispanic heritage and Day of the Dead. The film sports a good voice cast including Anthony Gonzalez, Benjamin Bratt, Gael Garcia Bernal,  Edward James Olmos, Renee Victor, and Alanna Ubach, but does it capture the magic it promises or will it fail to honor the dead?

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Coco follows Miguel who dreams of becoming an accomplished musician like his idol, Ernesto de la Cruz despite his family’s baffling generations-old ban on music. 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 Héctor and together, they set off on an extraordinary journey to unlock the real story behind Miguel's family history. Like many I was a bit worried going into this film that it might be too similar to the animated feature Book of Life that tackles similar subject matter, but was glad to see it that it is completely its own film. In fact they both offer up different takes on the Land of the Dead and both work to perfection.

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Coco brings everything that fans expect from a Pixar movie with it being one of the better of the Disney releases in some time. The voice cast are all excellent and the flow of the film offers up plenty of laughs and heart to keep you invested throughout. I loved the attention to detail of the culture here that makes the film feel more authentic. My wife fully connected with this film as she said the real world stuff mimicked her real life family and in turn was emotionally relatable. The animation is as gorgeous as ever offering up so many vibrant colors and designs that your senses will be in overload in the best way possible. For me though it was the attention to detail that took it to the next level. Things like the extra skin on the grandmothers arms shaking or the wrinkles in the great grandmothers face made you feel like these were real people to connect with.

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In the end they have delivered yet another excellent feature that will no doubt please the fans. I hope they do more focusing on varying cultures with stories like this that are not what you think. Whether you are a fan of Disney / Pixar films or not this is a must see heartwarming tale of forgiveness and redemption mixed with emotion and laughter that everyone should check out.

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This release not only includes the film but a full band of bonus features included deleted/extended scenes, commentary, trailers, and numerous featurettes that take you behind the music and cultural that helped to bring this film to life. Cross over to the other side and grab your copy of Coco available now on Digital HD, 4K Ultra HD™ and Movies Anywhere and then on 4K Ultra HD™ and Blu-ray™ on Feb. 27 from Disney/Pixar.

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