Perfect for kids but even better for adults.
An animation spectacular, in term of general creativity and imagination; funny shaped people/animals and a carnival of colour. Suitable for all the family
Good humor (funny one-liners), pretty impressive animation, interesting main characters, but the plot... the plot seemed to be promising at first, as it seemed to take us to a pipeline journey. But in ended up with the same, usual, boring cliche. Not to mention the forced deus ex machina and really forced climax that does not succeed in portraying the intended message (facing your fear). The conflict that leads to the resolution to the climax is not satisfying.
Surprising entertainment with a Mexican mythology background. Besides that it is a one time watch only movie with a basic unsurprising story.
It even needs a few familiar songs to make it more appealing. Didn't feel like a movie where the creators really put in their heart, and were more concerned with the artwork and animation than the rest of the movie.
I was about to give this a 4 but then I remembered how Coco—a fantastic movie and obviously far superior to this one—was a letdown in terms of its musical offerings and didn't leave me with a good song to remember it by. Now I'm not saying this title's soundtrack is overall good either, but the "Toro apology" scene and the song that goes with it are a flash of brilliance that nearly reconciled me with an otherwise clown fiesta of a movie.
Wow, this was not as good as I was hoping. While the animation is beautiful in spots, the characters are paper thin and the plot drags. I found my attention wandering, despite the fact that this film includes dozens of those LOUD animation moments meant to keep the children's attention. Every character is OVER THE TOP excited about everything and hopping up and down and loud and exhausting. There are so many bad jokes and "witty" moments in this film, I don't know where to begin, but I assure you, your eyes will be rolling before the finale.
The plot revolves around three people: Manolo, Joaquin and Maria. The two boys both are in love with Maria. Joaquin is the jock and constantly looking for things to push over, while Manolo, the sensitive one, just wants to play music. Maria's character exists only for the two boys to have something to fight over--we learn nearly nothing about her as a person. Maria's sent away to grow up in Spain, and Joaquin and Manolo resolve to win her heart when she returns. Oh, and there's another plot on top of that--two gods who run different parts of the underworld/Day of the Dead have a bet going as to which boy will win Maria as a prize. Oh, and there's ANOTHER plot on top of that--this whole story is being told by a museum curator to a bunch of delinquent kids. Got it? Come on, keep up! I won't get into the ending or spoilers, but you'll be let down, believe me. Pointless plot turns, dumb characters, and flashy manic fights.
Comparisons to the far superior "Coco" abound, but this is a pale shadow of that film. And I need to address the rumors that this was done first and Coco was a copy: as far as my research shows, this film was announced in 2013 and released in 2014. "Coco" was officially kicked off in 2007 and revamped in 2012 after running into some controversy over Disney's attempts to copyright the concept of "Day of the Dead." And while there are many similarities between the plots, settings and characters, it's difficult to determine who "borrowed" from whom.
The animation style is both interesting and chaotic. Many of the main characters are designed to look like they've been carved out of wood (it ties back to the museum storyline), adding an interesting angle. But it all moves so quickly, it's very difficult to appreciate the amount of time and effort (and computing cycles) that went into creating these characters. If only they'd spent a fraction of that effort on improving the plot and characters.
The music is the largest disappointment: while espousing the Mexican culture, and championing the main character AS A MUSICIAN, there is almost no Mexican or latin-themed music in this film. The only orginal song was a very sappy number called "I Love You Too Much." Many of the other music choices were WAY too obvious, pop standards that will be recognized by the audience: the big montage in the middle, while the two boys grow up and wait for Maria to return, plays over a very weak version of Mumford & Sons "I Will Wait For You." As in "they will wait for her." Got it. Very subtle. The rest of the music is as cringeworthy, with latin-tinged versions of pop songs like Radiohead's "Creep," Elvis' "I Can't Help Falling in Love with You," Rod Stewart's "Do You Think I'm Sexy?" and Biz Markie's "You Got What I Need." They are so out of place in this children's latin-themed film, you'll actually laugh out loud. And these would be near the bottom of the list of songs I'd put in a kid's movie about Mexico and the Day of the Dead.
This film is beautiful, family friendly & has great audio. The story is a bit generic, but the film is charming & unique, It's worth a watch for the visual & audios, and the story has a good message
A really weird film that wasn't very enjoyable. Very confusing, and the plot was just odd. Hope Pixar's Coco is better.
Shout by Kevin SocialBlockedParent2020-04-24T16:03:38Z
Well, this film will always be compared to Coco and it really shouldn't be as though they tackle some of the same topics and cultural subjects it is a very different film.
This film was a blast to watch and though the start was a little slow and confusing the film picked up after 10 minutes. The movie is very whimsical with its visuals and story, the visuals were very unique and kept me captivated the entire way through. But the story has a lot of heart and had me laughing and crying at different points.
Definitely recommend it for kids and adults alike, also the music in the film was really great with Diego Luna killing it as usual.