Vivo sees a couple cresting things meeting at their current peaks. Sony Animation has killed it recently with SpiderVerse and Mitchells vs. the Machines. Their first big peak is now tied to Lin Manuel Miranda’s 2nd, pulling double duty this summer with In the Heights and now this enjoyable romp. Though Vivo isn’t the addition of both peaking entities, it’s still a fruitful pairing, that I hope leads to more Miranda soundtracked animated films. Maybe the Puerto Rican New York sewer rat movie next?
Miranda (I’m assuming) lives a lifelong dream playing an animated Cuban monkey, Vivo. Raised by the sweet elderly Andres (Juan de Marcos Gonzalez), the pair are appointment viewing in Havana’s main square, singing their way into the locals’ hearts and pocketbooks to live simply and comfortably. Their simple life gets upended when Andres gets a letter from his lost love Marta (Gloria Estefan), inviting Andres to sing with her at her farewell concert in Miami. Vivo is initially scared, but eventually comes around, joining Andres, his niece Rosa (Zoe Saldana), and her daughter Gabi (Ynairaly Simo) covertly to help his best bud profess his love.
Sony made a smart move, hitching their wagon to Miranda. Already boasting an amazing animated soundtrack with two great bangers, Sony entrusts Miranda to deliver those catchy beats the world has fallen in love with, and they’ll do the rest. That trust mostly pays off. Even though there’s no How Far I’ll Go (Inside Your Heart tries, but it can’t quite hit that high, “settling” for a Gloria Estefan ballad instead), there’s still a lot of catchy Miranda magic. The kids will enrage their parents repeatedly playing My Own Drum; Keep the Beat has a nice emotional swell that might get belted out; or else they’ll dance a Cuban Salsa and rap along to the opener One of a Kind. Sony takes these songs and builds wonderful colorful animations around them that fit the story, befitting the Cuban heritage of the story. All the settings dazzle with bright colors, making the Cuban Streets, luscious Everglades, and Miami’s skyline feel alive and propulsive, beautifully complementing Miranda’s soundtrack.
With all that razzle dazzle, all Vivo’s story has to do is find some simple message for its characters to rally around to tell their story. Much like In the Heights, we find that message early: basically each person has to find their own song to come alive. Pefect! That totally fits the story like a wonderful Cuban Cantonier. The message gets emotionally muddled in the middle, as the movie tries to cram in Gabi’s search for friends into the story (she’s totally fine; she’s best as the sidekick) by the end of our trip through the Everglades the movie finds its voice again to stick the landing. When the movie focuses on Vivo’s goal to get Andres to Marta, and uses that adventure to help others around him find their songs, the movie bursts to life and hits some lovely highs.
As a Netflix release, parents, I’m sorry that you’ll be hearing My Own Drum for the next month and a half after your kid sees Vivo. But hey, you can maybe gateway this into something? Maybe use the animation style to show your kid Spiderverse? Or get them off the pulsating drum and replace it with the bop that is In the Heights? Either way, your kids will enjoy this gateway drug of a movie that will keep them out of your hair for an hour and a half. That’s at least…something right?