Blu-ray/DVD/Digital HD/Disney Movies AnywhereJason's Thoughts & Observations

Coco Home Video Release – Jason’s 1st Impressions

Coco Blu-rayDisney-Pixar’s Coco is now available on several home video formats.     The film takes you on a journey with Miguel to the land of the dead where he learns the history of his family’s stories and traditions as he races to return to the land of the living.    The musical adventure celebrates family and remembering your ancestors.  (Here is Maggie’s review of Coco when it was released in theaters as well as a Coco press conference if you would like to learn more about the film).

There is a wealth of bonus material available on this first home video release.  The sum is over 2 hours and the features have a heavy focus on how the film is inspired by and reflects the Mexican/Latino Culture and Traditions.   Several pieces highlight the creative team’s trip to Mexico where they were immersed in the culture and families.    The bonus features explore several components of the film including the characters, music, fashion/clothing, Dante, and the Guitar.  There are seven deleted scenes with introductions/descriptions in this release.  Plus several trailers, a couple how to featurettes, full length commentary, a music video and more.  For a complete listing with descriptions of what is included on this home video release of Coco visit the initial press release.

I explored both the Blu-ray and MoviesAnywhere version of the film.  They mirror each other with the bonus material appearing the same on both.  On the Blu-ray there is material on the movie disc as well as a second disc of just bonus features.   I was pleased to see the amount of and quality of the bonus material with this release matched the level of the film itself.  The material was interesting to watch and gave some more context as well as a look behind the curtain at all the people and work that goes into making these animated films.   The pride and care the cast and crew took in this film is highlighted in the features and shines through.

Two featurettes that stood out to me after watching them all were the “A Thousand Pictures a Day” and “The Music of Coco”.   These were very traditional bonus pieces.  The first sharing the research trip to Mexico and how it influenced the creative team and final film.  I always enjoy these and this was a 20 minute piece taking an in depth look at the trip.   The music feature clocked in at over 13 minutes and really highlighted the diversity of music in the film.  “ Fashion Through the Ages” I found interesting from the technical perspective when the Pixar team discussed the challenges and considerations of how to make clothing for skeletons and how it would interact.  Being a tech geek I would have liked to have heard more about that aspect of the film.  I am always curious about the technical hurdles that each production introduces and how the creative team pushes the technical team and vice versa on these projects.

If you enjoyed Coco on the big screen you will enjoy revisiting the Land of the Dead (and Living) on the small screen.  The large amount of bonus material will shed more light on the process and details of the film.  If you missed the film in theaters this is your chance to finally see what everyone is talking about and enjoy another remarkable Pixar adventure.  I think this release of Disney/Pixar’s Coco will make a great addition to your home video library.

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