Vivo

Directed by Kirk DeMicco

★★½

VIVO - (L-R) EVA (voiced by Olivia Trujillo), BECKY (voiced by Katie Lowes) and SARAH (voiced by Lidya Jewett). ©2021 SPAI. All Rights Reserved.

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This is the summer of Lin Manuel Miranda, for better or worse. While undeniably talented, Miranda has been tapped by seemingly every major studio to create a viable product, since the mega success of Hamilton. Unfortunately, the creative mind of Miranda doesn’t always produce something that stays on pitch, which is apparent with Netflix’s Vivo.

Vivo tells the story of a “music-loving kinkajou” from Cuba, who after the loss of his friend, teams up with a young girl to deliver a song to Miami to his friend’s former singing partner. 

For a story that relies so heavily on urgency, the movie's pace feels anything but. Even as we encroach on our destination, the film seems more laxed and focused on introducing side plots and uninteresting characters, than trying to get to the final destination.

The film also has a lot of similarities to Pixar’s far superior Coco, both with themes of death and family. However, Coco had intent with each scene as the story unfolded, whereas Vivo feels a little undercooked.

There are some songs that will definitely get stuck in your head, one very annoying tune in particular. Other than that, unfortunately, Vivo is forgettable children’s programming fodder.