Holly on Hollywood
“Coco”
by Holly McClure
“Coco” is the colorful story of Miguel (Anthony Gonzalez) a young boy who wants to be a musician but for generations, his family has banned music from the house because Miguel’s great-great-grandfather left his great-great-grandmother Imelda and their young daughter, Coco, to become a musician. On the Day of the Dead celebration, Miguel finds himself communicating with talking skeletons who turn out to be his family in the Land of the Dead. He secretly plays the guitar and yearns to become a famous musician like his idol, Ernesto de la Cruz (Benjamin Bratt), the long-dead singer/actor from Miguel’s hometown. Miguel teams up with Hector (Gael García Bernal), a friendly skeleton who claims to know de la Cruz and will lead Miguel to him, if he will help him get home.
The PG animated adventure is a colorful, vibrant, Pixar gift for all ages, as only Pixar can do it. The film explores the traditions of the Day of the Dead, combining Mexican folklore and traditional themes. It has catchy music, a complex but comprehensible plot, and cultural humor and satire. There are memorable songs (“Remember Me” from the husband-and-wife team behind the Frozen soundtrack), lovable characters and themes of family love, honor and believing in others. It’s a little hard for me to recommend a movie for children about a boy crossing over to the “land of the dead” and meeting his dead relatives who are all skeletons, is hunted by colorful spirit animals, and goes through a series of chase scenes and events, to find his way home. Little ones may be a disturbed or frightened by those scenes. But all ends well with a sweet and emotional ode to past relatives, an encouragement to love and appreciate family and to always follow your dreams.
“Remember to Choose Your Movies Wisely”
~Holly On Hollywood~
Holly_McClureHolly McClure is a multimedia personality with a career that spans over 20 years in the entertainment industry. Her background as a film critic, film and television producer, creative director, filmographer, radio and television host, author and pundit for family values, has established her expertise and made her a recognized advocate for family-friendly entertainment.
Holly was the first family film critic syndicated in over 365 newspapers with The Orange County Register. Her “Holly on Hollywood” movie reviews have been featured on TBN, Daystar and can now be seen on Uplift TV, The Word Network, UANetwork, Parables.tv and other affiliates.
In 2002, Mel Gibson asked Holly to come to Italy and film the behind-the-scenes interviews for The Passion of the Christ. She produced a one hour special, The Making of The Passion of the Christ (TBN, ION) and has since produced numerous press features for films like; Do You Believe, Dancer and the Dame, God’s Not Dead, The Frontier Boys, House, Thr3e, One Night With the King, Midnight Clear, The Visitation, Hangman’s Curse and others.
Holly is a charter member of the Broadcast Film Critics Association and serves on the advisory boards of The Dove Foundation and The Parents Television Council. She is a proud mother, grandmother, mentor and Christian, and passionate about supporting and creating life-changing entertainment!
For more information visit Hollymcclure.com or IMDB.com
