Vivo – the New Latin Inspired Musical from Sony Pictures Animation: Review & New Trailer
Sony Pictures Animation have so far had a stellar year with their titles being distributed on Netflix and proving to be very successful for both the studio and the streaming service. The Mitchell’s vs. the Machines was a big success critically and commercially back in April and The Wish Dragon last month was a unique Asian spin on the original Aladdin story.
Their latest film, Vivo, is their first animated musical with a strong Latin inspired soundtrack written and starring Lin-Manuel Miranda, who was responsible for the music behind Moana and the upcoming Disney film Encanto. With the film also being directed by Kirk DeMicco (who previously directed The Croods) and written by Quiara Alegeria Hudes (who wrote the musical film In The Heights), does the film hit a colourful musical high or a grey low melody?
Vivo (voiced by Lin-Manuel Miranda)
The adorable Kinkajou Vivo (voiced by Lin-Manuel Miranda) lives a peaceful and simple life with his elderly and loving owner Andres (Juan de Marcos Gozalez) as they use music to bring joy to the people who visit Havana square. But while Andres is excited to leave Cuba to visit his old music partner Marta Sandoval (Gloria Estefan) for their farewell concert in Miami, Vivo is uneasy to leave his home for the first time, until a fateful event makes him determined to deliver a song that Andres wrote for Marta many years ago. But with the help of Andres’ young eccentric relative Gabi (Ynairaly Simo), Vivo’s journey may have more problems than he could have anticipated.
The film’s pace never seems to slow down, even in the more dramatic and sombre scenes scattered across it’s ninety plus minute running time. It constantly remains entertaining from start to finish, but the story unfortunately does skim over some scenes where some of the characters’ relationships and chemistry could have been developed more as it can sometimes feel quick in order to get to the next musical number or scene.
As for the music, Miranda has once again been able to write another brilliant soundtrack. Using a mixture of traditional and modern Latin music, it really elevates the culture on-screen and makes the world and the story that much more exciting.
Vivo (Lin-Manuel Miranda) and Gabi (voiced by Ynairaly Simo).
The animation itself may not be as experimental as Sony Pictures Animation’s previous animated hits like Spider-Man: Into the Spider-verse and The Mitchell’s vs. the Machines, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t gorgeous and expressive in its own right.
As much as it’s soundtrack is vibrant, the film has a bright and colourful palette that’s pleasing and energetic to the eyes. From the murky and lush forestation of the Everglades to the electrifying neon colours of Miami, each locale never gets too old as the animators used the most out of each scene and in a film as fast paced as it is, it certainly has a lot to offer to the eyes.
The animators and the direction of DeMicco also did a great job at bringing exaggerated character designs to life and be able to give them a wide range of expressions and motions that helps to drive the emotional depth of the film. Andres and Gabi in particular were able to show off many layers and depth, from Gabi’s openly upbeat body language to Andres reflecting sadness across his face on his old song for Maria.
Overall, the film is another brilliant entry for Netflix’s growing catalogue and one of the most colourfully enjoyable musical films outside of Disney to be released in recent years. While the film could have focussed a bit more time to build on the chemistry between some of the key characters, it’s still a very entertaining and enjoyable animated film that celebrates Latin music and culture for anyone and everyone.
Vivo will be released on Netflix UK on 6th August 2021.