The movie Vivo tells an amazing story of love, pursuing your dreams, and family. It’s a heartfelt masterpiece, and one of my favorite animated movies on Netflix. The streaming service may not have the best films, but Vivo definitely had a lot of thought put into it.

The edited Colombia intro really sets the musical mood for the movie. It tells you that this movie is going to have a lot of songs in it, and the songs aren’t half bad either. They’re kind of catchy, and lifts your mood a little. The way only the audience can hear Vivo sing and speak separates him from everyone, and tells you that he is, in fact, the main character. Sure, Gabriella and Andres are main characters too, but Vivo is the main character. The movie is even named after him.

The opening song shows how much of a connection Vivo and Andres have. They’ve been together for so many years, and it just goes to show that they are father-son goals.

Lin-Manuel Miranda voicing Vivo, Ynairaly Simo voicing Gabi is really an amazing duo for such a great movie. Lin has been in other animated movies before. He helped write the music for Encanto, Chef Louis in The Little Mermaid, etc. It’s really nice to see him voicing the main character in Vivo.

Vivo defeating that python by himself shows that he isn’t a regular Kinkajou. He’s been raised by a very nice man who took very good, and careful, care of him.

The musical storytelling in this movie is absolute perfection. You really get immersed into the story, and feel what the characters feel. Every song sounds so beautifully written, even if it isn’t beautiful sounding.

One thing I don’t like about Vivo is that the creators got you a little attached to Andres, then kill him when you least expect it. Yeah, it had to happen so Vivo could meet Gabriella, but it couldn’t have happened at a less unexpected part.

Gabriella’s energetic personality makes me think she’s a bit insensitive, but then she came off as very playful. She is only 10, so she might not have taken it horribly. In fact, everyone seems to completely forget that Andres died. Studies show that people grieve for about 1 to 2 years after someone’s death, so it’s not logical that nobody, after the funeral, cries about his passing.

Overall, this was a fantastic movie. It had it ups and downs, but it had more ups than downs. I would definitely recommend to some of my friends and family.