Blu-ray Review: VIVO

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Aug 22, 2022 Posted by Kyle Nolan in DVD/Blu-ray, Reviews | Comments

Sony Pictures Animation’s first-ever musical adventure, Vivo, was originally released as a Netflix original, but is now available to own on disc/digital. Andrés (Juan de Marcos González) has always loved music, spending his days singing and playing his tres in a plaza in Havana for donations from adoring onlookers. Joining him in these performances is his partner, a musically-talented kinkajou monkey named Vivo (Lin-Manuel Miranda) who dons a fedora and bandana as he sings along and plays the drums. Vivo was rescued by Andrés when he was just a baby, and the two quickly became inseparable best friends. Decades earlier, Andrés said goodbye to the love of his life and musical partner Marta Sandoval (Gloria Estefan). Andrés never revealed his feeling for Marta as he didn’t want to be the reason she didn’t pursue a promising career opportunity in America. Marta went on to be a huge star, but after nearly 6 decades, she is ready to retire, and out of the blue, she invites Andrés to join her for her final show in Miami. This is the opportunity for Andrés to finally tell Marta how he has always felt about her, and give her the love letter/song he wrote for her the day she left. But when tragedy strikes, it’s up to Vivo to carry out his owners wishes and deliver the song to Marta. Vivo is going to need some human help if he’s going to be able to complete his mission. Andrés’ purple-haired, overly-energetic, oddball niece Gabi (Ynairaly Simo) is a bit over-the-top, but Vivo reluctantly agrees to let her help as she may be his only chance of getting the letter delivered in time. However, the duo faces lots of obstacles along their journey, including Gabi’s over-protective mother Rosa (Zoe Saldana), an angry swamp snake (Michael Rooker), and a militant young Sand Dollar Troop scout and and her two friends.

Vivo is a fun, entertaining musical adventure the whole family can enjoy together. Lin-Manuel Miranda is funny, charming and sweet as the adorable titular kinkajou, who often talks to the camera to let viewers know what he’s thinking. Vivo does talk to the human characters, but this isn’t a Disney movie—all they hear are monkey sounds—but Vivo does have a very expressive face, which helps Gabi and others to understand him. Vivo also loves to express himself through song, which is handy when the character is voiced by a Grammy/Tony winner! The film features many catchy new original songs by Lin-Manuel Miranda. As the movie opens and we learn about Vivo’s backstory, Andrés and Vivo belt out the duet “One of a Kind”, where Vivo’s part is in Miranda’s signature fast-paced Hamilton-style rapping. There is another song later on that also takes this form, but Miranda mixes things up, with Vivo singing in several different musical styles.

When Vivo first meets Gabi, she’s like a freight train of energy barreling down on him. She just seems excited and happy about everything, though we quickly discover that this is partially a way for her to mask a deeper pain inside of her. It is this that she uses as a way to try to bond and connect with Vivo as they both have had similar experiences. There is a common theme throughout the film of how people seem to initially judge Gabi by the odd way she looks and acts, rather than for the person she is inside. While the film takes viewers on this wild, fun, action-packed journey, the characters are also given room to grow, forming new friendships as they get to know one another, and going on inner journeys of self discovery.

The music is also very catchy and had my toes tapping, especially Alex Lacamoire’s moving and delightful score. Vivo isn’t the only character who gets to sing in the film. Gabi also has a love of music, but she has more of a wild, rocker style, which we learn as she sings her anthem about marching to the beat of “My Own Drum”. I’ve always been a fan of Gloria Estefan, so it was great to have her voicing Marta, who sings a variety of songs, from the fast-paced, more Cuban/pop sounding “¡Presente!” to the love song/ballad “Inside Your Heart”. The music in the film helps to tell and inform the story, both emotionally and plot-wise.

Sony’s Blu-ray release looks and sounds amazing. The film’s animation is beautiful, making use of a mix of 3D and 2D styles, the latter primarily for Vivo’s flashbacks or dream sequences. The picture looks pristine, with bright, beautiful colors, and an excellent level of detail in both the characters and the backgrounds. The animators do an excellent job of transporting you to these various locales, whether it be the small town setting of the Cuban plaza, a swamp filled with dangerous creatures, or the bright lights and bustle of the Miami skyline. The audio track is also really well done, providing clear dialogue, and showcasing the film’s excellent score and original songs, which really fill the room. The audio track also makes nice use of the stereo and surround channels to make the film feel more immersive, such as the sounds of storms overhead or the ambiance of the wildlife in the swamp or the traffic and people in the city.

The release includes both a Blu-ray and a DVD disc packed on either side of a standard HD keepcase, placed inside a glossy cardboard slipcover. An insert provides instructions on how to redeem an HD digital copy of the film. The Blu-ray and digital copy offer a Sing-Along Edition edition of the film so fans can sing along with the musical numbers karaoke-style. The discsdigital also offer a music video and a short behind-the-scenes featurette with two of the filmmakers.

What’s Included:

Film: (1:35:40)

1080p / Widescreen 2.39:1
Audio: English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, English Audio Descriptive Service, French 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, Portuguese 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital
Subtitles: English, English SDH, Chinese Simplified, Chinese Traditional, French, Korean, Portuguese, Spanish, Thai

DVD:

480i / Anamorphic Widescreen 2.39:1
Audio: English 5.1 Dolby Digital, English Audio Descriptive Service, French 5.1 Dolby Digital, Portuguese 5.1 Dolby Digital, Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital
Subtitles: English, English SDH, Chinese Simplified, Chinese Traditional, French, Korean, Portuguese, Spanish, Thai

Digital (Limited time offer):

HD digital copy of the film, redeemable via Movies Anywhere or Vudu

Extras:

Sing-Along Edition* (1:35:40)
Sing along with Vivo and his friends. When watching the film in this mode, large lyrics appear onscreen during the musical numbers, highlighted in time with the music to assist in singing along. (*This feature is not offered on the DVD disc.)
“My Own Drum (Remix)” Lyric Video (2:59)
Stylized lyrics appear on screen during this music video for a remix of Gabi’s rocking “My Own Drum” that features a breakdown by Missy Elliott.
Behind The Animation (3:57)
Production designer Carlos Zaragoza and writer/director Kirk DeMicco discuss finding the right look for the characters, Vivo’s origin story sequence, the more modern look to Gabi’s “My Own Drum” sequence, and more.
Previews (6:48)
Trailers for Peter Rabbit 2 (1:06), The Mitchells vs The Machines (2:57) and Cinderella (2:45) play back-to-back.

Final Thoughts:

My Rating

Film:

Video:

Audio:

Extras:

Highly Recommended

Vivo is a fun and entertaining animated musical adventure the whole family can enjoy. In addition to action, adventure and humor, the film also has a lot of emotion and heart. There are a lot of wonderful original songs that should please any Lin-Manuel Miranda fan, and fun, well-defined characters—I defy anyone not to fall in love with the adorable kinkajou Vivo. Sony’s Blu-ray release looks and sounds great, but only includes a minimal amount of bonus material. That said, the disc is worth picking up based on the quality of the film itself. As of the time of this review, the film is still available on Netflix, for folks who are still on the fence and want to check it out first. However, this is one you’re going to want to re-watch over and over again.