Vivo

The new Sony animation film (via Netflix) is bright and colorful, but the songs by Lin-Manual Miranda are underwhelming and the kid protagonist is pure ugh.

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Somehow I've gotten this far without being exposed to much of Lin-Manuel Miranda's songwriting. I'm the last person in America who hasn't seen "Hamilton." I had a conflict and reviewed something else than "In the Heights." I don't listen to a lot of radio other than my local NPR station, watch much TV (movies are my game) or pay attention to Broadway.

So "Vivo," the new animated film from Sony debuting on Netflix, is pretty much my first serious exposure to the EGOT-chasing Miranda's musical creations. And, I have to say, I'm not impressed.

I know, I know. Blasphemous. He's a modern master, they say, combining hip-hop rhythms and rap-patter delivery of lyrics with traditional Broadway melodies. 

Maybe "Vivo" is just an off outing for him. Maybe I'm tin-eared. (I am, admittedly, partially deaf, though I can just turn up the volume and think I can judge what I do hear just fine.) But musicals pretty much live or die by the catchiness of the songs, and I only counted one or two that got my toe to briefly tapping. 

A few are just plain bad.

Let's put it this way. Through a scheduling quirk, my sons and niece actually watched the movie a few hours before did. They liked it -- 9/10, 10/10 and 7/10 for the record -- but complained about a particularly horrible song that had them clapping their hands over their ears. During my viewing, I immediately knew which one they meant. Here are the choral lyrics, sung atonally with a lot of bass:

"I bounce to the beat of my own drum
I’m a wow in a world full of ho-hum
I’m a wild young lady, but you know ‘sum?
I’d rather be at home with my own drum."

"I'm a wow in a world full of ho-hum?" Yyyeeeeeesh. Humility much?

The young lady in question is Gabi, voiced by Ynairaly Simo. She's a squat little purple-haired rebel with no friends who appears to be having an ongoing conversation with herself, which mostly consists of how she's too awesome to associate with other kids.

And this is a child we're supposed to sympathize with. In most movies Gabi would get a song or moment where she admits that she's lonely and resolves to be more in touch with people, not listen to those who put her down, etc. Here it's the world that needs to adapt to be worthy of her untouchable awesomeness. 

This kid is pure ugh.

Miranda himself voices the titular character, a kinkajou (don't call him a monkey) who somehow emigrated from South America to Cuba and was adopted by Andrés (Juan de Marcos González), a kindly old street musician. Every day they perform a song-and-dance act and are the best of friends.

Within the conceit of the story (screenplay by Quiara Alegría Hudes and Kirk DeMicco, who also directed), Vivo thinks understands Spanish and English and thinks he speaks it, too, though to human ears it's just titters and squawks. Still, monkey and man... excuse me, kinkajou... seem to have a genuine heartfelt connection.

Unfortunately Andrés dies early on, after receiving an invitation to reunite with his long-lost lady love and former musical partner, the great Marta Sandoval (Gloria Estefan), at her goodbye performance in Miami. He wrote her a song expressing the true feelings he never could, and now she'll never hear those notes and sentiments -- unless Vivo can somehow make the journey to deliver the song.

Gabi is Andrés' great niece, and traveled to Cuba with her mother, Rosa (Zoe Saldana), for the funeral. Vivo sneaks into her luggage, even though he's put off by Gabi's brash ways and un-musicalness. But things go awry and they end up having to travel through the Everglades, pursued by some eco-minded Sand Dollars -- think Girl Scouts majoring in wokeness -- who think it's their duty to return Vivo to his proper home. 

They also get chased by a giant snake (Michael Rooker) who loves the quiet and help out a lovelorn spoonbill (Brian Tyree Henry). These sections had a very "The Princess and the Frog" feel.

There's a fair amount of action, some of it fairly scary, and a whole lot of singing. I have to say that when the movie settles down, just focuses on its characters and their respective plights, "Vivo" has a gentle charm to it. But then we're banging on to the next song, whether it fits with the story or not, and waiting it out until the next oasis of calm comes.

Miranda is a nice singer, with a voice so high and clear it could belong to a boy. His vocal acting is just workmanlike, and I never felt like the monkey... darnit, kinkajou, had real presence. If Gabi is much too much, Vivo is a little too little, more a collection of quirks than a character.

"Vivo" is passable entertainment for kids, and that's about it. Also coming out this week is "Annette," another musical that is weird as hell but actually contains songs that grip your heart and then linger there a long while after. I couldn't hum one from "Vivo" on a $100 bet, and don't care how many Grammys and Tonys Miranda has.