Last week I went to the premiere of the new Disney- Pixar movie COCO and Olaf’s Frozen Adventure at Novo Cinemas at the Mall of Qatar (which btw was something else! This 19-screen megaplex is home to the largest IMAX with Laser screen in the MENA region!) 

Although it was a school night, I made an exception when choosing my plus 1 for the movie premiere and I took my daughter along (I am known to be very regimental about bedtime and my kids are in bed by 6:30 pm, but sometimes its okay to bend the rules a bit). I decided to take only her because the other two cannot survive past 7:30pm anyways! And I was kind a glad I didn’t take them (will tell u why in a bit).

Before the movie Coco started, there was a 20 minute short, Christmas -themed special screening of Olaf’s Frozen Adventure where Olaf goes on a hunt, looking for family traditions for Anna and Elsa. I loved Olaf (as usual), but kept worrying about the parents of all the little girls, who will now be buying the new Anna and Elsa costumes! (LOL! Thank God my daughter has grown out of it!)

Then it was time for Coco. I had not seen the trailer nor heard about it, so didn’t know what to expect at all and I MUST say I was just blown away by the concept!

It’s a story about a young boy Miguel who dreams of becoming a musician like his idol and famous singer Ernesto de la Cruz. But there is one problem – his family is totally against Music, as his Great Grandmother’s (Coco) Father, who was a musician had abandoned his family to make a career in Music. Miguel, desperate to play Music and prove his talent, runs away from his family and finds himself in an unusual situation – with his ancestors in the Land of Dead. That is where he discovers the truth about his family history.

 

Disney-Pixar has once again left me speechless with their creativity! The concepts that they introduce in their movies is simply GENIUS! Whether it be a story about the inanimate objects like toys in Toy Story or the working of the Monster world on energy from kids in Monsters Inc or be it the story of how feelings and emotions work in Inside Out – every movie was a masterpiece. This time they introduce the kids to death, in a child-friendly way! Though a major part of the movie is made in the backdrop of the Land of the Dead, yet it is colourful, cheery and beautifully animated!

Death is a reality of life and yet such a difficult topic to tackle with, especially when explaining it to the kids.  When my father passed away, I struggled explaining it to them, but this movie just normalizes it and gives them such a normal version of the Land of the Dead. And also teaches them the importance of remembering the family members who have passed away. The first thing I did after I came out of the theatre was read Fatiha for my dad (and felt so bad for not doing it as much as I did earlier)

 

Though the movie is rated PG (in the US) and PG-13(in Doha), I think it is better suited for kids who are 5+ – in fact, a MUST watch for them! I am sure my 4 years old would have freaked out a bit seeing it in theatre (he doesn’t like life size bad characters). I would definitely show this movie to them later, when it comes on Netflix.

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