Based on the soundtrack, Coco will be like no other Pixar movie. Most scores for their movies are in the range of 50 to 60 minutes long. Not Coco. The movie, which comes out November 22nd, is filled with music to such an extent the score is 112 minutes long, which is longer than the movie’s runtime (109). It’s essentially split into two: The first half is full of songs and the second half is Michael Giacchino’s score. It’s a lot of music and, good news, all of it is wonderful.
Giacchino is a Pixar veteran, who has scored five of their movies, with Coco being the sixth. His score is full of delightful melodies and, even if it’s not as brilliant as his work for The Incredibles, Ratatouille, Up, or even Inside Out, it’s still very good. But the highlight of this soundtrack is not the score. It’s the amazing 22 songs that come with it.
You’ll find a lot of the cast as artists in these songs and even though Pixar insists this isn’t a musical, music plays an important role in the story. Some of the songs are entirely in English, some partly in Spanish, and other entirely in Spanish. I can’t speak for the experience of a non-Spanish speaker but the soundtrack is an amazing experience for me. I have not stopped listening to it for days.
One of the highlights is Remember Me, which will clearly play an important part in Miguel’s journey. Anthony Gonzáles, who voices Miguel, is amazing at the songs he gets, particularly Proud Corazón. The soundtrack also includes some tracks inspired by the movie, performed by Latino artists. These pop versions of the movie’s songs Disney always does have never been my favorite, but these ones are very strong. Spanish speakers beware, Bronco’s El corrido de Miguel Rivera basically tells you the entire plot of the movie, so if you don’t like spoilers, stay away.
All in all, I can’t recommend getting this soundtrack enough. You won’t be disappointed, it’s a phenomenal one!
