Coco celebrates family and honors heritage

Movie Title:  Coco (Theatrical Verision)

Grade:  A

Rating: PG, 1 hour 49 minutes

In a Nutshell:  This extremely vibrant, colorful animation by Pixar has heart, visually stunning effects, and celebrates a wonderfully rich Mexican culture that we rarely get to see in the movies.  

It will have you contemplating what happens to you and your loved ones after we die as an added inspiring bonus.

If you’re not familiar with Mexico’s “Day of the Dead” holiday, you might be a little creeped out by all of the skeletons at the beginning of the movie, but by the end, you’ll wish your country celebrated it too.

My twin sister and I wrote a book together about how to research your family tree and celebrate your heritage.  People from around the world sent us their inspiring stories about how they felt their ancestors from “the other side” helping them to find the missing information they were looking for on their family tree!  If you want to have a spiritual experience, do your genealogy!  Click here to learn more about our book called Climbing Family Trees, Whispers in the Leaves.

 

Uplifting theme: 

• “One cannot deny who one is meant to be.” – Ernesto de la Cruz (Benjamin Pratt)
• “Seize your moment.” – Ernesto de la Cruz
• Helping friends
• “Nothing is more important than family.” – Miguel .  Families ARE forever!
• Life goes on beyond this mortal experience.
• “That’s what family is supposed to do…support you.” – Miguel
• “Never underestimate the power of music.” – Ernesto de la Cruz

Things I liked:

• I adore Jaime Camil.  His character is ridiculous and charming on Jane the Virgin, Season 1 (5 Discs). 
• The colorful, stacked houses in the movie were inspired by Guanajuato in Mexico.
• The music is really engaging.  The actual composer of the movie appears in caricature as the conductor at the end of the movie.
• I thought it was cool how they used the Aztec marigold throughout the movie to connect things together.  It’s used traditionally on the Day of the Dead for the same purpose: to connect the living with the dead.
• If you see this film in the theaters, you’ll get to see an ADORABLE 21 minute musical short of “Olaf’s Frozen Adventure” with characters from the movie Frozen (2013)  Apparently, quite a few audiences in Mexico have complained that it’s too long!  Ha ha  I thought it was awesome and the audience I saw with applauded happily at the end of it.  It’s all about families and their traditions during the holidays.  Super cute.
• After the Frozen (2013) short, the directors of the movie COCO also talked for a minute, which is something I rarely see before a movie starts.  Interesting.
• The beginning of the movie was clever how it told Miguel’s ancestry through lacy flags.
• The movement of the animation was AMAZING. The details were so impressive.  I watched an interview with director Lee Unkrich, who explained that they tied GoPro HERO cameras on people playing the guitar in order to get the fingers exactly right as they played.
• I loved the tiny details in each frame.  For example, you could actually see tiny little chin hairs on Great Grandma Coco (Ana Ofelia Murguia).
• Voice talents include Benjamin Bratt, Gael Garcia Bernal, Anthony Gonzalez, Alanna Ubach, Gabriel Iglesias, and Latino legend Edward James Olmos.

Things I didn’t like:

• It reminded me a lot of Book of Life movie, which came out three years ago from Twentieth Century Fox.  I personally liked this one more.

Fun Facts:

• In Brazil, the name of this movie is “Viva”, which means “life”, because the word “coco” sounds too similar to the Portuguese word for "poop."
• This film broke the record for the longest production time, because it started in 2011 and didn’t hit theaters until November 2017.
• Merchandising has really gone big.  Southwest Airlines actually painted one of their Boeing airplanes in Coco design.
• The Santa Cecilia graveyard in the movie is named after the Catholic saint of musicians.
• Dante, the dog, is named after Dante Alighieri, who wrote The Divine Comedy and also went on a journey to the world of the dead.

Interesting lines:

• “You don’t have to forgive him, but you shouldn’t forget him.” – Miguel
• “The music is not just in me.  It IS me.” – Ernesto de la Cruz
• “No one was going to hand me my dream.  I had to reach out and take it.” – Ernesto de la Cruz

Tips for parents: 

• You’ll hear the word “chamaco”, which means “kid.”  In some Latino cultures, it has more of a connotation of “brat.”
• The story might be hard for young children to follow.
• Some of the dead ancestors are a bit spooky and creepy.  There are TONS of skeletons!
• Challenge your kids to spot the Pixar character pinatas hanging along the street in the beginning of the movie (Buzz Lightyear, Wood, Mike Wazowski).  You’ll also see the Pizza Planet delivery truck in another scene.  I love that.
• A lot of Spanish words are spoken with no subtitles.  You’ll still understand the story if you don’t speak Spanish.  Here are a couple that are important to know:  

          Mijo  = Mi hijo = my son
          Ofrendas = offerings

• There are some “spirit guide” animals in the story.  This is a perfect time to talk to your kids about what you believe happens to people and animals after we die.
• People drink alcohol.
• No profanity.

The Shallows features a lively Blake, shark, and seagul

Movie Title:      The Shallows

Grade:   B

Rating:   PG-13, 87 minutes

In a Nutshell:  This ain’t no Sharknado.  In fact, this shark is extremely realistic looking, gigantic, and scary.  

But who’s looking at the shark when you can watch gorgeous Blake Lively in a bikini…according to all of the men in the audience.   She actually gives an impressive performance, so even the females in the audience will enjoy this "girl vs. nature" thriller.

I know the feeling of being out in the ocean and suddenly wondering what’s underneath.  It’s pretty creepy.  I’m a terrible swimmer and would be dead so fast if I were in this movie.

Uplifting theme: 

•  Tip:  Learn how to whistle loudly for help; screaming doesn’t always work.
• Be a fighter to the end.  Tenacity, persistence, hope.
• Carlos tells Nancy to stop looking down at her cell phone and instead, look up to appreciate all the beauty around her.  Great advice.

Things I liked:

• There are some easy jumps and scares that you can see coming a mile away, yet they still get ya!
• Steven Seagull!   He reminded me of Tom Hanks’ Wilson in “Castaway.”  I've read that he was real and that he was CGI.  Either way, the friendly bird provided some comic relief to ease the tension and give Blake someone to talk to.
• Thank goodness for GoPro, eh?  Other merchandising spotlights were Baby G watch, Uber, and Body Glove.
• The underwater footage is really great.
• Do big ocean buoys have flare guns on them?  Good to know.
• Blake Lively does most of her own surf shots, with a body double stepping in for the more dangerous moments.  A couple of local guys also do some pretty good surfing before becoming shark bait.  Speaking of awesome surfing, congratulations to Jordy Collins, my friends' son who just won the 2015/2016 Surfing America prime Series Season Crown for Boys Under 18!  
• The cove where the movie takes place is supposed to be in Mexico, although filming actually took place in Australia.  The scenery and colors are beautiful.

Things I didn’t like:

• I’m sure no real animals were harmed in the making of this movie, but you see a dead whale in the ocean, which becomes the shark’s feeding grounds.
• The family story in the background doesn't quite reach the emotional depths I had hoped it would.
• It's still not as good as JAWS.  
• Nancy keeps asking people what the secret beach was called in the beginning of the movie.  By the end of the movie, no one mentions it again and the running theme just gets dropped.

Funny lines:

•  “Get a life, Buddy.” – Nancy to Steven Seagull
• “Ew” – Nancy after she eats a crab and vomits it back up
• “You know my friend we left at the hotel who smells like Don Julio and bad choices?” – Nancy
• “Not very many Americans here…bummer.” – Nancy

“Gracias a dios.”  (Thank God) – Carlos  (Oscar Jaenada)

• “What’s this place called?” – Nancy

“If I told you, I’d have to kill you.” – surfer

“Well, that would ruin my whole day.” - Nancy

 Interesting lines:

• “I’m NOT dying here!” – Nancy 

Tips for parents:   

• The audience sees a LOT of Blake Lively.  She’s in a bikini the entire time.
• You see Blake try to sew her leg that has been bitten by a shark, so it’s really bloody and gory.
• Profanity, including 1 F-bomb.