Pixar Perfect Review #4 - Coco

[@TheRealJims]

Featured Song: “Treehouse Campfire” (from Donkey Kong Country 3) by Level 99 kzbin.info/www/bejne/i2Otk6mKgKiLgdU I've used this before but I figured using the Simpsons Mysteries closer was appropriate for this one. Also I couldn't find any mixes with Spanish guitar that I could use.

[@snaketooth0943]

So... when's the Incredibles 2 and Toy Story 4 review?

[@bigredjanie]

Ernesto: “I’ll poison a THOUSAND musicians before I let my career die!”

[@ToonReel001]

"Well, I don't know about the rest of you guys, but I spotted several big mistakes. You know what? Let's watch my favorite part again, shalllll we?"

[@xmegami5511]

As someone with Mexican heritage, the highlight of whole movie for me was the reference to the classic Mexican superhero, El Santo. The sheer fact that Pixar made a reference to the beloved B-Movie luchador who fights vampires and werewolves left me with tears in my eyes from how hard I was laughing.

[@Snakie747]

I think this is one of the few movies I've ever seen where a SONG has a character arc. When you think "Remember Me" is Ernesto's song it almost seems egocentric- it's about Ernesto wanting to be remembered by those who hear what you think is his music at the time. The ending film re-contextualizes it as a gut punchingly personal song that makes you cry. Amazing.

[@patiencewallace8453]

oh i did cry

[@takkycat]

@SatyrToon Animation This reminds me of a song I got on a CD of Civil War themed songs. There was one of a general lamenting sending young boys to die, all sung in the style of a 90's/early 2000's boy band.

[@TheRealJims]

So, on the way back from my trip to San Francisco, they showed Coco on the flight home. It was my third time seeing the film at that point, and I was excited that they picked a good one to pass the time. But then, as we got to the second half of it, I realized... _Oh no. This movie is going to try to make me cry on an airplane. I must not tear up around the other passengers._ So I ended up very strategically looking down at my tray table repeatedly during the sad parts. This movie just always wrecks me by the end of it.

[@Miglohara]

Very strategic way to get out of embarrassment.

[@clockworkmind]

Eh, I would have just let myself bawl like a baby. Let the others on the plane judge; they don't know you. Some might even silently admire you for having the strength of character to let yourself get upset in public- Hell, everybody cried during Toy Story 3, right? There wasn't a dry eye in the entire cinema when I saw that one. Either way bud, just discovered your stuff, and you've more than earned a sub in my (slightly damp) eyes :) Keep up the good work!

[@henrybelman7424]

When I first watch it, I was on an airplane. I did not know how hard hitting this movie was going to be. So when THAT scene came up, I quietly said damn you pixar and cried loudly on an airplane.

[@Yumifreak3]

Man I really hated that frozen "short" plastered in front of Coco. It just dragged on and on and on.. Man, was it satisfying to hear that Disney opening with mariachi music.

[@aralskt4319]

Good thing they actually removed it for theaters shortly after receiving complains from moviegoers who had to sit through it. The previews for things I’ve already seen already take up too much time as is.

[@Yumifreak3]

Exactly. I actually kinda chuckled out loud when I saw it a second time (after they removed the "short") and it went right from the previews to the film. And I liked how Disney tried to sweep the negative feedback under the rug and tell people it was only being run for a limited time, which was not what I heard before seeing Coco. It was, however, advertised as a "short" - which, in general, is 4-5 mintues. NOT 22 FREAKIN' MINUTES.

[@wolf2109]

Mariachi music fucking sucks

[@harinijayasankar8884]

I am sorry what am I missing? I didn't see this at the theatre.

[@AgentTasmania]

Suddenly very glad I missed this in theaters

[@biolrodrigo6137]

As always great review! As a mexican I can tell you that Pixar really took its time in studying mexican culture. Día de muertos is, in my opinion, the most beautiful mexican holliday and I was very happy with the way Pixar showed to the world how this celebration is and how México is. For example, Miguel's town is amazingly similar to any little town in central México.

[@albertolarios5240]

I from Mexico and it is on point, that is how we celebrate Día de los Muertos, my family goes to are loved ones grave yards and clean them, we also do Ofrendas, I loved this movie and made me cry a lot

[@abandonedaccounnt]

Finally saw this one! I enjoyed it quite a bit. I liked the _chiaroscuro_ light/dark palette with the warm oranges against the bleak darkness that really work to this film's advantage. Interestingly, this is pretty much the inverse of a certain wintry film - haven't seen the short but I might get into that one day. Watching Héctor's wacky bone shenanigans and how well animated he is was also a joy - you could tell they totally could've done more of that but, y'know, we got a story to focus on. Sometimes I think his design is almost a little too goofy but it doesn't hurt the film. During the great reveal - once again, I have to praise the lighting because those ominous greens really sell Héctor's haunted look. Also, I'm a total sucker for characters with dementia so I was basically crying straight out the gate. I agree with basically everything you said - but I think this film still had a character development solution, at least on Imelda's part. You can tell during the first scene when Imelda offers her blessing that all of the other deceased Riveras are too timid to offer anything else. It all goes back to Imelda's grudge (I also think this says a lot about Coco's character) and how strongly she's enforced forgetting Héctor so much so that any semblance of music is banned from the household. While "follow your dreams" and "family is important" are both important stances to take, the movie's basically admitting that Héctor walking away from his family (even though he planned to return) and Imelda's anti-music crusade both ultimately damage the second message. It's really interesting how they picked shoemaking to be the thing Imelda chooses as the family business. Not fireworks or candy, but something dull, practical, industrious (the workshop represents this effectively and efficiently) to contrast with the romantic pursuit of art. I also would like to praise Un Poco Loco for showing Héctor barefoot and tap-dancing - I have no shame in admitting it's my favorite song. Screw that song that made me cry twice, I can barely recollect what it's even called. I think it might've been more organic to show little hints of Imelda's arc earlier on (like maybe catching herself enjoying the de la Cruz music contest) and suggest that as an artist at heart, she's letting her stubbornness and bitterness stop her from doing what she wants. She's kind of like a weird inverse of Miguel, in a way. Of course, after they fix everything in skeleton land they have to quickly wrap things up in like 5 minutes in skin land (which is insanely efficient, btw) but it comes from the same place. Héctor and Coco clearly still love each other and the family realizes they're kind of silly for getting in the way of that, on Día de los Muertos no less. I kind of have to wonder how Coco reacted to this whole thing in the past - they sort of handwave it by making her old and senile. Maybe she just didn't have the guts to speak up to her mother and hid all her memories away from Imelda and augh - I'm choking up again. And while it's sort of an easy solution I guess, I think the sheer absurdity of banning all music forever and being forced into shoemaking really doesn't make it too hard to accept. It's ultimately an emotion-driven solution to an emotion-driven problem. Oh, and I definitely enjoyed the theme of things not being as they seem. It's like, ridiculously prevalent through the whole film. I think in this respect, they were really effective in using Miguel as an audience surrogate. With the whole twist, I don't know if Pixar's character design is _too good_ but since the beginning they make de la Cruz kinda sketchy-looking. I dunno if it's his constant Dreamswork-mugging or what, but you can immediately tell there's not gonna be a good ending for this guy. In Héctor's case when it's apparent that nobody ever puts up pictures of him... ehh... I actually thought his headshot was the missing piece of the photograph, which I think the film sorta leaned to to dupe the audience into thinking Miguel would successfully deliver that back to the land of the living. At the time I thought that... I dunno, there were some shady business executives that wanted Héctor to sell out and he didn't so they got rid of him and replaced him with this de la Cruz character. A little too on the nose, I guess. I also didn't notice the tooth thing. Or the papaya thing. Pretty silly of me. I think Coco's ultimately a pretty smart film in that it can use the tropes that always draw in big numbers, give them a new spin, and create something interesting and unique.

[@TheRealJims]

Awesome, glad you liked the film too! I agree with you about Imelda and the character solution angle. If there is going to be a character development solution, it's gotta come from Imelda. I imagine there is a very different film told from Imelda's perspective here. Makes you wonder how much stuff she and Hector worked through in that year until the next Dia de los Muertos...

[@TheRealJims]

And yes, I cheated on the last clue, but it was technically true for Coco as well. Pixar loves parking their characters in front of TVs. For the next one, we're going to do the same clue again. It'll either be Ratataouille or WALL-E for the #3 video.) (Also the next review will be posted tomorrow night.)

[@redline841]

TheRealJims TELLS LIES? NO DIGNITY!

[@Miglohara]

I bet it'll probably be Ratatouille. Wall-E is the best Pixar film aside from Incredibles in my opinion so I hope it gets #1.

[@auggiecunningham]

are you going to review Finding Dory and Cars 3 after you do #1?

[@auggiecunningham]

this kinda gives away that Toy Story 3 is #1, unless being intentionally misleading

[@ballzcorps5146]

Aki My moneys on Ratatoullie being number 3. Toy Story 3 #2 and Wall-E being #1.

[@strawberrysoulforever8336]

My family didn't figure out the twist at all, but one of my friends saw it coming around the time of "Everyone Knows Juanita".

[@98JSB]

I didn't really like Coco until Miguel got to the party. Like you said, everything felt like a typical Pixar coming of age story. That being said I feel I now have a greater appreciation for this story and the way to was told. I always love your perspective and I hope you keep making reviews of animated films when you're done with this series.

[@antonco2]

Great review! I loved this film, Coco is 100% my bisabuela. I found the Final death concept really interesting and I ended up having lots of questions about it. Like, what if you die and a guy writes a book about you, about who you were, everything he knows about you, everything he remembers. Then he dies and everyone who you knew dies, so you have a final death. Years and years later someone reads for the first time the book your friend wrote and he gets to know you. What happens then, you reappear or remain dead? I swear I have the sillyiest questions, every time

[@TheRealJims]

Good question, honestly not sure. They say in the film that it has to be passed down by someone who knew you in the living world... They explicitly don't allow Miguel to remember Hector posthumously. The family members are passing down the memory of folks like Mama Imelda to Miguel, even though Miguel had never met her yet. In theory people could do it via writings that others could discover later. But if you just read about some random guy in a book, does it really count as "remembering"? I guess not. But it is kind of a weird line of what counts as memories being passed down and what aren't.

[@antonco2]

Yeah it really is. I mean, what if this guy who found the book publishes it on the ultranet or whatever and someone makes him realize that the book is actually about his great great-great-grandfather? It's just family who can remember you? What about celebrities then, is Socrates having a wild party in the Land of the dead? Or is it just mexicans who can go there?! Hah! It looks like I would have to do some research about this to get my questions answered, particularly about aztec culture, too bad they are not around to answer me

[@patiencewallace8453]

no these are valid questions, don't be hard on yourself. When I first saw it I immediately started thinking about loopholes

[@flowersoul6894]

No, if something like this happens, the person doesn't return to the world of remembered... why? Because, first of all, we can see how Héctor, when Chicharrón disappears, explains to Miguel how it isn't enough to know a person from the dead or something like that to be able to bring it back, and how there's no going back , moreover, always from Héctor and others, it's explained that a person can remain in the world of remembered only if someone who is alive has known you or memories of you have been handed down to it by someone who knew you (for example, after Coco tells, in front of all his family, what she lived with his father as a child, from then on the whole family will be valid to remember him, and in fact then we see how Héctor, the following year, has the whiter bones because now the memory they've of him is stronger, even if he doesn't have the white bones like Imelda, who has known more people in person, and this reinforces the memory anyway)... in my opinion it's very easy to understand, this movie not only talks about the power of remembrance, but also talks about the *duty* of remembrance, and that's why "remembrance" wouldn't be valid if nobody knows who you really are, if it doesn't know your face, or has never known you, or no one who has dealt with you has told someone about you, because if you cannot address your memory to a specific person (having no facts, as in the examples I just gave you above), then the person cannot magically return to the world of the remembered (it's a little cruel, I know, but I find the sense, sincerely, I find it much more realistic and sensible than it seems) 😊👍🏻

[@elsakristina2689]

One of the most beautiful Pixar movies ever made. Period.

[@WobblesandBean]

I never got the impression Dante was a spirit guide all along. I think he just derped his way into doing something good, and became one as a result. When he changes color, he clearly is surprised and confused that he has the ability to fly.

[@matti.8465]

I do love how, at first, Ernesto can believe he's related to Miguel, not only because he's egocentric enough to think "He's so talented, it must have come from me!" but because it implies that Ernesto totally believes he must have impregnated a woman and left, he was a celebrity after all. Also the way he talks about family implies that he either did what Hector refused to do, or is simply an example of what Miguel could have become after choosing dreams over family.

[@LeafRazorStorm]

17:50 YES! I'm not the only one who thought that! Everyone else I've seen just defaults to quoting the "Zootopia" twist. I swear, if I hear "It's called a hustle, sweetheart" one more time...

[@Tacom4ster]

Leaf-Razor I use Robot Chicken M Night "what a twist" quote

[@SonicHaXD]

I actually call it the "Hans" twist. But Monster's INC "I'll kidnap a thousand children" is way better XD

[@HIPOCRUPTUS]

Not all of them. Gusteau was a good role model for Remy. "Anyone can cook."

[@komakesthings]

As someone with a Grandma who has memory problems, the ending to Coco absolutely wrecked me. I have never cried harder at the end to a movie than I have Coco. I will say, I do wish that we saw Ernesto's progression to villain on screen. I'm a little tired of seeing the aftermath of a fallen hero, I'd like to be there to see the fall instead. I would have liked if, instead of deliberately poisoning Hector, maybe Ernesto killed him by accident. Maybe an argument between the two got heated, a punch was thrown, and Hector hit the edge of something in just the right way to cause his death. Ernesto covers it up, and while Hector acknowledges that it was an accident, he would still be rightfully angry at Ernesto. Maybe instead of revealing to the audience that Ernesto killed Hector, it's more of a reveal for Miguel. Hector spills the beans about why he doesn't like Ernesto, having kept mum since he believes Ernesto is Miguel's relative and he doesn't have the heart to break the news to the kid earlier. I like the idea that Ernesto had the opportunity to do the right thing (Admit the accident and inform Hector's family), but instead covers it up to preserve his own image. Start him small, then start building up the villainous acts. Maybe even show that Ernesto is truly remorseful about what happened to Hector, but still desperate to maintain his image. I think this would also better justify why Ernesto doesn't just skip ahead and try and kill Miguel immediately. Why bother with the cenote when he's already shown to have murdered someone else? Him using poison makes it seem even more pre-meditated. How long was Ernesto planning to murder Hector? Though admittedly, poison is a good choice for someone who wants another person dead, but doesn't want to kill them with their own two hands. Have Ernesto throw Miguel into the cenote because he doesn't want to kill him outright, he's not quite at that level yet, but he does want him out of his way and he's willing to use the circumstances of the curse to finish off Miguel without getting his hands dirty. Then, when Miguel has escaped and Ernesto's concert is up in flames, Ernesto is pushed to his limit and attempts to kill him outright. He's finally reached his breaking point and prepared to deliberately murder another human being. So you'd get to see the progression on screen from accidental murder, a sort of passive 'murder-due-to-inaction', to deliberate murder. In each stage, Ernesto could have taken the opportunity to admit fault, but instead he ignores it and falls further and further into villainy. And in each stage, we could see an emotional progression from Ernesto as he becomes more and more murderous, rather than having that switch be immediately flipped once Hector calls him out at the party.

[@matti.8465]

I definetly fell for the twist. Maybe it's because of the reputation surrounding the twists in these kinds of movies, on that it's always too obvious and 99% of the times ends up being one of the biggest problems of the movie. I didn't Ernesto as a red herring, i saw him as a very badly hidden twist, and the moment i "figured it out" i just stopped thinking about it, i was so completly convinced that is what would happen that all the clues hinting at Hector as the relative and Ernesto as a twist villain flew over my head.

[@Tacom4ster]

I wish you mention the use of Diegectic music, maintaining Pixar difference with Disney more abstract musicals. Also how the plot twist villain has much more incidental subtext now, with Lassester's scandal. Cool intro.

[@Rubberman202]

This is one of my favorite Pixar movies, but it's also the movie that I'm reluctant to watch it because no matter what, it ALWAYS makes me cry. I suppose that's not much of a surprise, but... Well, I lost my Nana in 2016, and the thing I always regret about that is that I forgot what the last thing I said to her was, so when Miguel was singing "Remember Me" to Mama Coco, I was sobbing harder than I ever sobbed at a Pixar movie. When I watched it again a second time at home, I not only cried at that scene, but also the scene where Héctor was singing to it to Coco as a child. It's like, that song just DEVASTATES me now... And again, that's not too surprising, I'm sure anyone with lost loved ones will feel the impact of that song, but something about the memory of that person, combined with my feeling guilty over not being able to properly say good-bye to my Nana, it... well, it really stings, to say the least. I suppose the intellectual side of me can separate the rest of the movie from those moments, like I could say that a lot of the plot and various other contrivances could have been avoided if Héctor and Miguel spent a few minutes talking to themselves about who they are and what they want, but not only would the movie not happen, I think Miguel would lose out on some important lessons he needs to learn; like Miguel wants to run away from home because he feels that his Abuelita and eventually Mamá Imelda are too harsh when it comes to their restriction of "no music" even though it's his passion, and honestly, I can kind of sympathize a bit with Miguel, especially when Imelda tries to reach out to him. Abuelita and Imelda are trying to show Miguel that family should be more important than anything else, but it's hard for Miguel to see that when they're excessively cruel when it comes to anything music-related. Miguel feels a family should be supportive of one-another, and that's absolutely true, so it's easy to understand why Miguel has a hard time seeing the message Abuelita and Imelda are trying to impart on him, because it basically comes off as "oh don't worry, we'll love you no matter what... so long as you're not one of those damn musicians!" Granted, Imelda's (and subsequently Abuelita's) hatred of music is also understandable, even if it's based on a misunderstanding of what actually happened, but Miguel's still just a kid and only has personal experience to go on, so when it comes to choosing between who he thinks is his great-great-grandfather who is famous for something Miguel loves to do or a family who seemingly spites him for even considering that option, it's understandable why he'd want to go with Ernesto de la Cruz (though I should note that although Abueltia is excessive when it came to destroying Miguel's stuff, she did, at least, TRY to patch things over when she sees that it greatly upset him, even if it's kind of a jarring whiplash). It's just a good thing that Ernesto de la Cruz turned out to be an evil bastard willing to let Miguel die in order to maintain his fame in both the afterlife and in the world of the living to really shake Miguel to the core and realize what he thought he wanted wasn't good to being with... and also Ernesto isn't actually his great-great-grandfather so that's good too. I guess what' I'm getting at with this lengthy ramble is that, while the set-up may be a bit obvious and contrived, I appreciate it for teaching Miguel the necessary lessons he needs to learn. Something else I often think of when I think of this movie is The Book of Life, a movie that also deals with Día de los Muertos and the afterlife, though otherwise isn't similar to Coco at all, and people getting really upset that Pixar and director Lee Unkrich were, shall we say, "culturally appropriating Mexican heritage" and taking the spotlight away from The Book of Life and its director Jorge R. Gutierrez (who, incidentally, also created the Nickelodeon show El Tigre). I think a lot of this might be due to Jorge's comments about how a lot of Mexican representation is the "Disneyland" version of it whereas he hopes to see himself and other Mexican creators give more authentic experiences going forward. Either way, it was only until Jorge had to step in and tell people to knock it off that people stopped, also adding that Lee Unkrich is his friend and that his culture is NOT off-limits to anyone who isn't Mexican, actively encouraging people to celebrate Día de los Muertos if they wanted to. It was a bit of a mess, and it's a shame that something like that hung over both The Book of Life and Coco.

[@putzo8]

Perfect timing! I saw this movie a few days ago

[@nukacolanut9274]

I also realized the family twist rather late. But I did figure out the fact that Ernesto stole the songs from Héctor. When he said that Ernesto is not that great of a musician and knowing that these two knew each other in the past, I put two and two together pretty quickly 😄

[@Miglohara]

Perfect thing to listen to while playing the new Incredibles game. Especially when Miguel is playable.

[@GeriatricFan1963]

You mean Lego Incredibles? I'm in the UK so neither the movie nor the game will come out for another 3 weeks at least. What's it like?

[@Miglohara]

Edward Hunter Yeah I mean Lego Incredibles. The game is really good with a lot of Pixar characters being playable. If you're a Pixar fan you'll most likely enjoy it. I had to buy it because Wall-E is playable. And Incredibles 2 was really great in my opinion.

[@gokinsmen]

I liked Coco better than Inside Out, though neither cracks my Pixar Top 5. My main issue was the 3rd act, where we're all waaay ahead of the story and waiting for the inevitable conclusion. "You don't need the photo! Just play the song! YOU DON'T NEED THE PHOTO! JUST PLAY THE SONG!" *20 minutes later* Miguel realizes that he doesn't need the photo, he can just play the song! That said, the finale still brought the tears thanks to great execution. I'm still waiting on the next truly great Pixar film since Toy Story 3...Incredibles 2 wasn't it (good not great).

[@valentinvasquez761]

gokinsmen what about the fact that despite the family being led by a matriarch who's rule goes from mother to daughter, Coco never did anything to change the prohibition of music, even though she secretly still cared for her musician father by secretly keeping his letters and songs. Everyone shown on the altars died relatively close to the age they were in their photos so Coco had plenty of time to change her mother's influence before alzheimer's hit her, but instead continued with the legacy. Having realized that, it made the ending feel like a cop-out to me.

[@aralskt4319]

Between this and your Incredibles review, I am hooked on your analysis style and your coverage of the Simpsons throughout I’m curious if the numbering of your “Pixar Perfect” videos is anachronistic or if it is ranked based on how you like them from worst to best . Would you mind telling me? But anyways good review of one of my favorite movies of 2017. I am anxious to see how you look at Wall-E, Ratatouille, and more recently Cars 3, Toy Story 3 and the recently released Incredibles 2.

[@TheRealJims]

It's based on personal rankings of favorite to least favorite. It's also how I am justifying my more questionable rankings. ;)

[@youdbettertube]

I wish I liked this movie as much as you did.

[@alanbrito141]

I don't like singing in movies but people always speak so highly of this movie

[@SpongeyTheEditor]

Wow, i figured you'd wait til you were done to cover the post 2015 movies but this was very cool to see. Still guessing Ratatouille for the next one, it'd be especially fitting since it's from the same director as the Pixar movie currently in theaters.

[@beniverson3777]

i didn't really like this movie, i'm not entirely sure why. but i do know i thought the twist was pretty lame. i saw it coming a long way off and it annoyed me that they intentionally gave the skinnier guy a large build in the photo we're not supposed to know is him to throw us off. i sat there thinking: well, i know it's him in the photo but it can't be because he doesn't have that huge chest?

[@platenoise256]

the explanation is mexican magic and padded costumes

[@beniverson3777]

@Vivian Fedorov everything has to have a twist these days even if it Messes with the story

[@rickpgriffin]

I guessed the twist the moment that the movie revealed that Hector was definitely going to be a main character (right after Miguel runs out of the office). Then again I'm doing this all the dang time; I don't often give movies the benefit of the doubt and will make my guesses based on the metatextual assumption that "if they're going to have a satisfying ending, then this this and this needs to be true". De La Cruz couldn't be Miguel's gg grandfather because that's the assumption made early in the movie and yet DELIBERATELY not explicitly proven. I mean, the face of the photograph is torn, the only clue is the ownership of a particular guitar. And then in the office scene nobody ever comes out and says "Yes, it was totally De La Cruz" because if it really was there'd be no issue in just telling the audience at that point. Since they don't, we're running on a weak assumption the ENTIRE TIME. That's an obvious setup for mistaken identity, and if the movie doesn't capitalize on that then it'd feel incomplete. (A more nasty way to do it would be to offer an explicit proof against a fact, and then make it turn out the proof wasn't really that explicit all along, which is usually the characteristic of my favorite Agatha Christie stories) That's not to say I don't like the movie; being able to guess the twist a mile off isn't a story killer for me. I very much do prefer the texture of the journey through the plot more than I enjoy being fooled by the ending, and if there is a twist I generally enjoy seeing how it was set up to be unraveled than I do explicitly needing to see, register, and reason through all the clues. My favorite part of the movie is how it undermines the usual message of "You should totally make up with and listen to your family in all things because they know best" that a lesser movie would have leaned on. No, there is absolutely no reason that Miguel can't follow his passion AND be a part of a loving family, and it's clearly the family that needs to change their ways here.

[@macmonkeyhat]

My mother guessed Hector was the one in the picture as soon as he was introduced 😂

[@smoothSnake23]

How about Snake? Or Disco Stu?

[@yeetusyourmeetus]

A new video! Hooray!

[@snaketooth0943]

I re-warched this movie today and I really think it was better than I remembered. Specifically, it was funnier and had more details I didn't notice.

[@Syngrafer]

A new upload from TheRealJims, this is a good day

[@antenna_prolly]

...so not at all related but after seeing the kid in the red hoodie and skull facepaint I realize he looks like a clean version of a Reaper from _inFamous_

[@itstyypical3908]

I’m Mexican and I can’t even roll my R’s

[@RachelScalfani]

They did show the poison movie clip earlier.

[@michaeldavis1879]

Great review as always. Do you plan on reviewing Finding Dory, Cars 3, and (one day) Incredibles 2? I just don't want these Pixar Perfect videos to end!

[@TheRealJims]

Yep. The current plan is to do another double feature (probably in August) for #2 and #1, and then randomly pick up Finding Dory and Cars 3 later. And then hit The Incredibles 2 before the next one and be completely current on Pixar. Will probably take a short break after #1 and hit a couple other random reviews first.

[@snaketooth0943]

What was the reference you were surprised they got away with? You mentioned it at 17:42.

[@TheRealJims]

The imagery of papayas and cactuses in Frida Kahlo's work are commonly accepted to be metaphors for parts of the female anatomy. In the film, the performers are crawling out of a papaya and nursing from a cactus.

[@snaketooth0943]

@@TheRealJims Ah... I see.

[@gstone8255]

I know the twist going in

[@snaketooth0943]

12:46 made me laugh out loud! So did 21:54!

[@horvathbence5373]

Will you make a cars 3 review? c:

[@itscompletelyunderstood]

14:15 That's not too hard to do when you're a skeleton

[@nicholassims9837]

Colinlookback Coco Villain: Ernesto

[@snaketooth0943]

So... when's the Incredibles 2 and Toy Story 4 review?

[@robertbrookes2000]

I think Coco was a little overrated. Yes it’s brilliant, and it looks great. But it seems like it’s just using other Pixar films as a basis. Main protagonist has a passion that his family disapprove of, from Ratatouille. And the curse element, from Brave. Another issue with Coco is how similar Miguel’s grandmother is basically the same as his great great grandmother. One more problem is how Hector never in his whole time of being in the land of the dead, told Emelda that he was killed, his songs stolen etc. Those are just a few things I noticed. But I still like the film, especially the whole land of the dead aspect, it’s really well thought out. But I just think too many people see it as a flawless film.

[@vivimariefedorov7374]

I'll agree with the major nitpicks. And yes, it IS OVERRATED!!! Especially with that danm plot twist!!! It IS UNNECESSARY!!!! Pixar seems to just LOVE to have our main protagonist's hero to turn out to be a selfish bad guy! Like they're trying to tell us that you should'nt have anyone to look up to! Why is it that we are Pixar has less heroes for our protagonist to not be betrayed by!? And it really doesn't help that the trailer made us grow attached to Ernesto only for him to be a selfish 2 dimensional twist villain!!!! Danm you Pixar!!!! 👹🔥

[@GeriatricFan1963]

I dunno if I agree with you about Hector... Overall I liked him but I felt in the second act they laid on the sympathy a bit too thick; the scene of the flashback where he sings to Coco reminds me very heavily of the "When She loved me" scene from Toy Story 2, but I was just thinking. "Okay, we get it! We're supposed to love this guy!"; the TS2 scene is necessary for us to understand where Jessie is coming from, whereas Hector's scene is underlining something that's already crystal clear at that point; Hector really did love his family. I can forgive it because the song itself (And the fact that Hector wrote and sung it to Coco) is so crucial to the climax. I think maybe like you say, the focus on Hector as the film goes on overshadows Miguel's arc; Miguel suddenly thinks his whole family is cool now that he knows Hector is his Dad... It's not unearned, just a bit of a quick 180 for Miguel character-wise. I agree that Imelda is great because they make the most out of the comparatively little screentime that we have with her. I think having De La Cruz poison Hector felt surprisingly dark; it didn't ruin the film for me at all, but surely having De La Cruz steal his songs is enough...It's a ballsy move to make the villain a murderer (Well, not the first time Pixar has done this; Syndrome and Charles Muntz (okay, attempted murderer because he isn't successful) both come to mind) but not a necessary one; I suppose it explains why he is so willing to kill Miguel at the end even though he's just a kid, but they already established that he doesn't care about Miguel other than as a way to make himself more popular; if Miguel is a threat to him, obviously he'll get rid of him. Again it plays into the "now you must feel sorry for Hector" part of the film when I think a little restraint would have helped. The thing I liked best about Coco was the setting...Have to say the colour grade on this was incredible, great contrast between the land of the living and the dead. In terms of visuals it's right up there with Pixar's best; I think the CG here will age a lot better than some of the CG in say, The Incredibles or Monsters Inc. A lot of the plot elements however seemed to emulate previous Pixar films, which sort of reminded me of why I liked those films better. Also (And this is nitpicking) De La Cruz's bodyguards are totally useless; why they thought dancing up the steps to Imelda really slowly al a West-side story was going to work, I'll never know. We have to wait an extra month for The Incredibles 2...I've heard some people call it a bit of a disappointing cash-grab which ruins the Parr family's characters. I hope that's not the case although I think the film would've been so much more interesting with a time jump to Violet and Dash as adults, Jack Jack as a teenager and Bob and Helen as older supers nearing retirement; because let's be honest, the Underminer was kind of a gag because John Ratzenberger hadn't shown up until the end of the movie, just to fill the quota of always having him in there. We know he's not a serious threat to The Incredibles (Especially if you've played the Rise of the Underminer game) so I was never left feeling that was a cliffhanger we desperately needed to see resolved; I could be wrong though, maybe they'll give him a ton of backstory. I get why Brad Bird kept the status quo though; like with the Simpsons it's easier to make that kind of relatable social commentary with the traditional husband, wife and 2.5 children dynamic. I think it's kind of pointless character development-wise though making a sequel which shows the Parr family at pretty much the exact same stage in their lives as they were in the original film. We'll have to see, although I'll be waiting a while obviously.

[@TheRealJims]

Thanks for the detailed reply! While I was doing the sound mix for this video, I was thinking about how to improve Miguel's arc. I'm kind of stumped, given the design of the plot, how that angle could be strengthened. I agree that they lay the sympathy on Hector really thick... He becomes so much of the focus in the third act that Miguel never does have the mental breakthrough that a character like Woody, Marlin, or Carl has. He feels personally connected to his family now, but it is ultimately through a very musical character. They lean really hard on his selflessness in the next scene (now only focused on saving family), they just don't demonstrate this pivot particularly well. There are no hard decisions to be made. I feel like the film has the opposite problem of Brave, despite starting in the same place. Brave focused so much on character relationships and arcs that it's plot becomes kind of a mess in Act 3. Whereas Coco wrote this well-rounded precise plot, but its arcs got a little rushed. I very much prefer Coco's approach, since the character stuff is slightly easier to tweak. I've never considered Hector and Jessie's flashbacks together, that's something I should think about. I've always seen Hector as a fresh take on the "fun sidekick character" like Dory or Russell. I think that's why I didn't see the shift coming as quickly... I was expecting Hector to just be another Dory.

[@jasoninkurai5463]

Incredibles 2 is just as good as 1. It's far from being a cash-grab.

[@GeriatricFan1963]

Okay that's reassuring, because Yourmoviesucks was talking about how lazy he felt it was, which got me a bit worried.

[@Crunchysopa52]

I agree on Incredibles 2. I was actually going into it beforehand not expecting much, or at least not to like it as much as 1 but was pleasantly surprised.

[@valentinvasquez761]

Therealjims i feel like you left out an important plot hole in the ending of the movie. With the family dinamic being that of a matriarch that is passed down from mother to daughter, and everyone being relatively close to the same age they died as in there picture, dont you think it is strange that Coco still loved music and her father, going as far as to keep his pictute and letters hidden away, yet still enforce the prohibition of music? It makes the ending feel like a cheap cop-out that could have been remedied with Coco getting angry at Miguel and 1 or 2 more minutes of Miguel explaining Hector wasnt responsible for abandoning her. And the stash of letters and hid picturr could have been Imelda's with the explanation being that Imelda never got over Hector and Coco's realization that Hector wasnt a fame seeking scumbag. To just have Coco snap into lucidity at the song and show she still loved him yet still enforced the rules all those years makes everything that led up to it a giant waste. People have told me that she was just following Imelda and being a good daughter, but after Imelda's death she could have changed things. If not with her daughter than with her granddaughter.

[@TheRealJims]

My impression was always that Mama Imelda, as the matriarch of the family, was a very dominant and influential force. We see how Miguel's abuelita is very influential over the family's rules in the present day... I suspect that Imelda was very dogmatic about no music and impressed it upon her daughter and especially her granddaughter. I could see a situation where Miguel's abuelita finds Coco's fondness for her father misguided, since Imelda had railed against him her entire line. She would be like, "Why does Coco hold him so dear when he clearly abandoned us?", not understanding their connection. Coco could have changed things after Imelda died, as you suggest, but we don't know exactly when that happened. If Miguel's abuelita was already in her 20s when Imelda passed, the damage was probably done. You're right, they definitely don't explain the family dynamics super closely. If we somehow got a better sense of Coco's personality, it might be clearer how it went down. I don't know how to clarify this in the film without having to go through another lengthy expository breakdown of the family tree.

[@valentinvasquez761]

TheRealJims as you mention that Imelda probably had influence over Miguel's abuela, i also feel Coco should have had influence over whichever one of Miguel's parents is the descendant. Or maybe even a throwaway line about how she was beginning to suffer early onset alzheimers would have worked. But other than that, the fact that it felt like they took too many cues from The Book of Life, and that Ernesto De la Cruz was considered music god even though many late, real life mexican musicians were shown and other than Poco Loco the music felt like it needed more mexican influence, the movie was very good and heartwarming. On that note, I know its not Pixar... but have any plans on doing The Boom of Life in some sort of Review? Also, thanks for replying. I really love your videos.

[@JC-xq7or]

So sad you people had to watch this movie in English.

[@Snakie747]

Did he change the numbers of the other videos? I could have sworn that he was leaving out everything from Finding Dory onward and that the Cars review was originally number 16. Also, am I the only one who thinks Miguel would be really screwed up after the events of this film?

[@TheRealJims]

I re-numbered them when I added Coco to the initial list. It's gotta be weird for Miguel to go back to living in our world after the secret of the afterlife is revealed to him.

[@Snakie747]

Yeah, as amazing as a movie is, the plot -geek in me feels like they ignored the implications of sending someone back to the regular world who knows there's an afterlife and has already seen exactly what it looks like. Also seems like this universe where everyone is so superstitious you'd think there'd be lots of family curses and this sort of thing would happen a LOT more often and there'd be people all over the place telling of their amazing adventures in the afterlife. But that's just me looking way too much into it. I definitely understand why you wanted to adjust your list to make sure this great film gets it's place on your list. Both Finding Dori and Cars 3 are probably towards the bottom for me. Guess I don't lose much sleep over their not being included.

[@mariluzmurcias]

Coco no 💔💔👎🏽👎🏼🚫🚫❌👎🏽💔👎🏽❌🚫🚫👎🏼✖️✖️👿👎🏾👎🏻😡👎❎👎😡❎❎👎😡😡🗑🗑🗑🚮🚮🚮🗑🚮🚮

[@eliasgarcia1100]

Sadist

[@ericemanwu]

I know your analytics probably don't support this anymore, but given how observant you are, it would be cool if you could look at more of the stuff that came out after this movie.🤷‍♂️

[@YMPictures]

Remember me.

[@elijahfordsidioticvarietys8770]

though i have to say goodbye

[@mac081793]

Recuerda Me

[@DaditudeEra]

This is great. Saw this movie on LSD. Excited to finally make sense of it :)

[@507dannyfe]

BRAVE WAS A HORRIBLE MOVIE. I CAN'T STAND IN OUTSIDE OUT. BUT COCO IS AN AMAZING MOVIE.

[@AnAverageGoblin]

Irony