Vivo it's a movie that feels rush, in everyway: in terms of production, story, characters, everything, and not only that, it has a LOT of plot holes.
In less than 10 minutes we are introduce to the characters and because they really love music that's the only way that we can tell that this friendship between Vivo and Andres has been going on for a while, because in those 10 minutes we only see when they met, and nothing else from them, we see Andres and Marta's love story as he tell this to Vivo for the first time, and suddenly in the same day, and in the same minutes, the old man dies. I'm not saying it's impossible, but the story need it to happen soon, they kill the man that owns Vivo that we can hardly get to connect and they barely show him again.
Then we are introduce to Gabi, maybe this is personal, but I don't like her, they made her this really outcast but funny and full of weird modern music character that I feel that I'm not in front of a real person with a personally, I know it's an animated movie and it's not about showing the world as it is, but the character ends up being annoying, I hate the song where she sings about... Well, I don't remember, the weird combination of music makes you forget about what you are hearing and make you concentrate on how weird and how 'musically weird' is.
Then the cookie girls, those are characters that are rush into the story, because they are the bad guys for 15 minutes and then when Vivo saves them from a piton (are there pitons in Miami??) they suddenly have a change of heart. They take Gabi and Vivo to the concert and that's it, we never see them again, except for the finale sequence. They weren't needed!!
And when Vivo is rewriting the song with Gabi, athey made us think that the protagonists would sing together with Marta in her concert, but nooo. And also it took them three quarters of the movie to get to Marta and, it's that simple of a sequence? I mean the parts that Vivo gives her the letter and the song in the Mambo Cabana.
But the thing I'm trying to explain it's that not only the plot feels rush, the production of this movie felt rush! You can tell by watching the movie, that's fuuull of plot holes! In less that 10 minutes we are introduce to at least 4 things that are important to the story (I'm not saying it because it's hard to remember but it's because, couldn't Sony Animation Studios, the same that brought you The Mitchells, which is a masterpiece, extend this things to at least 20 minutes so we can connect with the characters instead of giving everything at once???). And also, in the movie is said that Andres and Vivo are a beautiful music duo, and when they are singing in the plaza the directors makes us think that Vivo can be heard by everyone, but then no, he speaks like a monkey, normally. But then what the hell did the people hear when we was singing?? Natural monkey sounds? This is not explain, naturally but this is a plot hole that is in the entire movie, not in one sequence.
Later, in less than a day, Vivo can: let go of his best friend's death mostly and become friends with Gabi, even though that he didn't like her because of her modern music, but when she builds a boat out of trash, he thinks 'it's not so bad', this is weird and rush, don't tell me that you don't see it. And then when Vivo can't open the door to Gabi in the concert, the movie make us think that is this big separation and it's so sad that Gabi can't go on with Vivo and give the song to Marta, but then, less than 5 minutes later, they are reunited... You can call me cold hearted or whatever, I'm not really, I love to cry in emotional movies, but this one doesn't know how to put an emotional moment correctly! You have to give the characters depth in their stories and personalities and later give time so when they are reunited we can really feel happy about them, this movie does not know how to be good, or instead Sony wanted a movie so they made one in 6 months, the animation it's not so good also, so you can tell by that.
They rush everything into one hour and forty minutes for some reason, if you are going to make an animated movie, make it good! Cuba has a lot of things to show, but of course, half of the movie had to take place in Miami, luckily we got Latin Americans so we can finally get a representation, but this one, it's just bad. And can we quickly talk about how the cookie girls where no use to the plot? And their appearance is 10 minutes long?! The only reason they where useful is because the story needed a bad guys (it really didn't though) and a boat so the protagonists could get where they needed to. How could they even drive a boat and be alone in place full of deadly animals (like the piton or crocodiles), another thing that was just used for the sake of the plot moving forward, in terrible ways. Probably the producers at Sony watched the Encanto trailer and said 'We got to beat the competition, let's make a movie about Latinos!' and then another said 'That sounds great! But we don't have the time...' and the first one said ' doesn't matter! We'll cast Lin Manuel Miranda and people will come!' and so they did, but what a waste of his potential it was.
The only reason I'm giving it a one it's because the only scene I like it's the song at the end, and because the movie was finally over.
I wouldn't recommend this movie, if you are a Miranda's fan, you can watch it, it's a waste of time though, but he sings really good.
