Coco (Lee Unkrich, Adrian Molina, 2017)
Cast: voices of Anthony Gonzalez, Gael García Bernal, Benjamin Bratt, Alanna Ubach, Renee Victor, Jaime Camil, Alfonso Arau, Natalia Cordova-Buckley, Edward James Olmos, Luis Valdez, Cheech Marin. Screenplay: Lee Unkrich, Jason Katz, Matthew Aldrich, Adrian Molina. Cinematography: Matt Aspbury, Danielle Feinberg. Production design: Harley Jessup. Film editing: Steve Bloom, Lee Unkrich. Music: Michael Giacchino.
When Coco was being made, there was no thought that the film's vibrant evocation of Mexican culture might be seen as a nose-thumbing directed at a xenophobic POTUS. If anything, the concern ran the other way, especially after a bone-headed attempt by Disney Pixar to trademark the phrase "Día de los Muertos" was met with outrage and charges that it was "cultural appropriation and exploitation at its worst." The Disney people backed off, explaining that they were only hoping to protect what was then one of the working titles of the film. Today, after three years of talk about building walls and fighting off invasions, Coco can probably be seen as a vehicle for understanding rather than co-opting another culture. Or what is better, it can be enjoyed for vivid color, imaginative design, and engaging characterization, and for its crowd-pleasing accomplishment of what Pixar and Disney have always done best: blend jokes and scares and music in a wholly satisfying way.