Coco: 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Review
The Movie:
Miguel (Anthony Gonzalez) dreams of becoming an accomplished musician like his idol Ernesto de la Cruz (Benjamin Bratt )—despite his family’s baffling generations-old ban on music. Desperate to prove his talent, Miguel finds himself in the stunning and colorful Land of the Dead following a mysterious chain of events. Along the way, he meets charming trickster Héctor (Gael García Bernal), and together, they set off on an extraordinary journey to unlock the real story behind Miguel’s family history.
This is one of those movies that for some odd reason it didn’t initially grab me. Upon seeing a few more trailers over time I began to get more and more interested. It clicked that this movie was an important one for Mexican culture/traditions and I feel like it nailed it right on the head. It’s almost a no brainer when it comes to Pixar movies because every one of them proceed to give me the same reaction. There’s always plenty of heart and emotions flowing through the films and this one was no different. It tackles the tough topic of death as well as the Mexican tradition of Dia De Los Muertos (Day Of The Dead) and it does so in a way that is relatable to people of any age or ethnicity. The story is greatly interesting and at the same time very sad which took it to another level. If you’ve ever lost someone in your life then this will definitely hit you right in the heart and make your eyes sweat. The music in the film is catchy and beautiful with my favorite being “Remember Me” which will leave you with a lump in your throat by the end of it. This film is one of the best Pixar movies I’ve seen thus far and a recommendation for it is pretty much a no-brainer. Grab this as soon as you can! 9/10
4K Presentation:
Coco looks fantastic in this format. The film itself is very colorful and with it being in 4K it really cranks up the vibrancy in every scene. There’s some really great clarity in the picture as well and as weird as it sounds (with it being an animated movie) you can really see a lot of the detail in the characters and within many of the scenes. There are a number of moments that are pretty dark in spots and it seems like the black levels help a bit in seeing various things in the background but not too much. This is however an overall one of the better 4K releases.
Special Features:
Welcome to the Fiesta – A really neat Proof Of Concept short film that includes optional commentary.
Mi Familia – A great feature that talks about the filmmakers and their upbringing as well as them taking a trip to Mexico to research for the film.
Dante – A nice character piece on the Miguel’s canine partner in the film and the inspiration for him.
How to Draw a Skeleton – A quick drawing tutorial on how to drawn a traditional skull.
A Thousand Pictures A Day – A longer, in depth look at the filmmakers trip to Mexico which looks at characters, story, culture and much more.
The Music of Coco – A feature that looks at the music of the film and how important it is to the story.
Land of Our Ancestors – A quick look at the land of the dead and how research was done to portray it as correctly as possible according to traditions.
Fashion Through the Ages – This feature deals with the attire in the film and how they did research on actual authentic Mexican clothing.
The Real Guitar – Creating the guitar from the film digitally and in real life.
Paths to Pixar: Coco – Various people that worked on the film talk about their lives and how it lead them to working at Pixar.
How to Make Papel Picado – A quick tutorial on making the traditional decoration.
You Got the Part! – Anthony Gonzalez is given the lead role of Miguel in the film.
Deleted Scenes -A good amount of deleted scenes (about 30 minutes worth) presented in storyboard format.
Audio Commentary with Director Lee Unkrich, Co-Director Adrian Molina, and Producer Darla Anderson
