SanFranciscoCinephile

Whenever a movie is made based on an iconic character - Condorito is one the most popular comic-strips in Latin America for the last 60 years - the first one is supposed to be expositional, meaning it introduces audiences to the setting and characters. Even though most people know the origin story of Superman or Batman, the first movies start at the beginning because it makes sense; people want to see the backstories, the fictional town the protagonist lives in, their families and friends, etc.

Condorito The Movie does not do this. Instead they opt for a Lord of The Rings-style opening, then the movie jumps to present time where Condorito and his friends, his nephew, his girlfriend Yayita and mother, and his archrival Pepe all know each other. Next thing you know, though, the narrative has moved into outer space.

Why not show how Condorito met his friends, their adventures in sleepy Pelotillehue, and how he and Yayita met and became a couple? This last one is important because it has so much potential: she's respectable, attractive and fashionable, while Condorito is a happy-go-lucky guy with no ambition who lives in a shack. That would have been great! The comics don't provide their origins because each strip was an independent joke, but since this is a 90-minute movie the filmmakers could have set up a bona-fide franchise by starting at the beginning. This is why this movie feels like a sequel; the creators made the choice to skip conventional storytelling and set an adventure in outer space. It does have its funny moments, I'll admit, but I keep thinking about what could have been.

On another note, I think we should have all had the pleasure of watching this movie with the original Chilean voices. I don't know why they re-dubbed it with Mexican voice-actors for North America. I don't think Pixar is re-dubbing Coco with South American voices for that market. We should have heard the originals!

Hey Pajarraco Films, it doesn't mean it's over. Paddington 2 is universally acknowledged to be better than the first, so you can do better.

I saw this movie at a special screening at Pixar Studios in Emeryville, CA. What an experience for the heart, mind and sou!

We generally think of family films as those aimed at children, that happen to be enjoyable enough for adults. Coco, however, will be as much a hit in nursing homes as it'll be among grade-schoolers, who will laugh and cry in equal parts as the people at my screening did. It's about a family, a multi-generational family living together. I won't spoil anything, but I wish I'd been as good a great-grandson as the boy in this story.

Here are my six takeaways from the morning after. I'm sure more will come to mind in the coming days and weeks, because it definitely deserves a second or third view:

1. The story is probably the most rich, complex and well-written narrative I've seen in an animated film. It breaks into, and surpasses, some worthy live-action screenplays. Pixar should start campaigning for a Best Original Screenplay nomination in my opinion.

2. The animation and production design are as expected, first-class. There are feast-for-your eyes visuals in the creation of imaginary places and characters, but what most impressed me was the everyday places and people, and how they filled them with cinematic wonder and color. Note: everyone I was with agreed that the detail of the titular character of Coco was unlike anything we've ever seen in animation.

3. I'm a guitar player, and I can say with certainty that this is the first time I've seen animated characters correctly playing the instrument. Even in live-action movies this is not always the case, but in Coco it's obvious the filmmakers captured real guitarists playing note-for-note what you hear in the music.

4. All the research and consulting into Mexican culture/sociology has paid off. To the rest of us the movie seems very respectful of family dynamics and the Día de los Muertos celebration. But the best proof lies in Mexico: since its release (which was one month before it appears everywhere else) it has become the highest-grossing movie in Mexican box-office history. After the screening I read that many of the minor characters were drawn as an homage to legendary Mexican entertainers.

5. The filmmakers created a good balance between the characters' use of English and Spanish, as well as in the visuals (streets and shop signs, etc.). English-speaking audiences will understand the plot, while learning some vernacular in the process.

6. Stay until the last credits roll! The filmmakers added a heartwarming segment at the very end. You'll be glad you stayed.

Here in the US it's being released around Thanksgiving, and just like Saving Private Ryan made us respect The Greatest Generation, this movie will make you want to hug and kiss all your elders at the table.

You can see The Monuments Men was well shot. I liked what Clooney was doing, putting an Ocean's Eleven flavor in a World War II setting, and the Director of Photography Phedon Papamichael does quality work on films with large exterior landscapes like Nebraska (2013), The Descendants (2011) and 3:10 to Yuma (2007). Furthermore, you couldn't ask for a better cast. There was a lot of expectation for this movie to pick up Oscar and Golden Globe nods which is why it was originally scheduled for a December release (but later moved to February). In spite of its assets, however, in the end it leaves you somewhat disappointed.

Three main issues that made me think this could have been a gem, if only. First is that it couldn't decide if it was a comedy or a serious historical movie. Usually a drama has some humor, and a historical comedy has drama. This one felt like a tug of war between the two, and in the end there was no clear winner.

Second was the editing. They could have shed 3 or 4 scenes without sacrificing the story, and trimmed a few others to keep the movie from lagging. But then in the DVD Bonus Features you see them shoot a victory scene with large crowds; why was that cut from the theatrical version?

And third, as phenomenal as Alexandre Desplat's score was, some scenes felt like they were missing music, again giving us a tug of war between a lush Hollywood production and French minimalism. Maybe it was re-edited at the last moment and some scenes were left bare.

So there you have it, one of the most interesting stories of World War II that could have been an awards favorite. I put it somewhere in the Top 15 non-violent, non-atrocity WWII films. They are (not necessarily in order):

1. The Bridge on the River Kwai 2. The Imitation Game 3. Casablanca 4. Sophie Scholl 5. The Sound of Music 6. Judgment at Nuremberg 7. Ike 8. The Reader 9. A League of Their Own 10. Valkyrie 11. The Book Thief 12. Five Graves to Cairo 13. South Pacific 14. The Monuments Men 15. 1941