Coco

While you'd think Pixar wouldn't be able to come up with a film that gets to you again, the opposite is true. By the end, I just couldn't help watching the film through tears. Visually beautiful, Day of the Dead is a great backdrop in its own right, but in Pixar's rendition it is beautiful to behold. You can add to that a story that is beautifully powerful, emotional and just plain good. A beautiful film! (02/03/2018)

In my opinion, Coco is probably the best-animated movie of the year 2017. It is colorful and beautifully shot. It has got some drive, the characters are likable, it is entertaining, and the narrative is really good (considering it is Pixar). They did a great job as it gets really emotional, and I almost could not hold back the tears at the very end. As for the negative aspects, the movie is very predictable in places (who exactly is Hector?), slightly unbelievable at times (could a family ban music so stringently?), and the first half of the movie is much less interesting than the second. In my final assessment, I compared it mainly to last year's Kubo and the Two Strings and 2014's The Book of Life (because of the subject matter), and I am finally clear about the rating, 8.4/10. (12/09/2017)

For about three quarters of its runtime, it still feels like a classy four-star animated film, with lots of visual flourishes and ideas, some predictable sequences, and one weaker scene that I've seen in other films (the reveal of the bad guy to the public). But then it builds up to an incredible moving moment, and the pivotal scene with the song at the end made me cry like a little kid – something that hasn’t happened to me in a long time. It's true, the most important thing in life is the family being together in mutual love and respect for the elderly. On top of that, the eye-pleasing Mexican setting, unusual in Hollywood productions, its flair and positive mood. Yeah, it was very good. (08/06/2018)

The premise and the Mexican atmosphere are definitely great, but the characters aren’t fully developed. Not to mention that you can feel how much the film wants to be touching and I don't think it ultimately succeeds. I've seen prettier fairy tales. With nicer endings, more sympathetic protagonists and, most importantly, no annoying supporting characters. I’ll give an extra point for the music and the Spanish, but otherwise I consider it a slight disappointment. 3 stars. (09/25/2018)

A cloying story that relies solely on clichés and basic family values, led by a typical outsider whom everybody underestimates and prevents from dedicating himself to the only thing he enjoys. Fortunately, that routine development is abundantly spiced up after arrival in the Land of the Dead, and the film becomes visually and humanly richer and gets a relentless pace, and the fate of the heroes is closed in a way that will soften even the toughest grouch and will cause an unlimited flow of tears. The moral is important and also fun, so mission accomplished. 75% (11/08/2018)