An animation that beautifully combines music with friendship. It has a pleasant atmosphere due to Vivo's relationship with Andres and Vivo's relationship with Gabi.
The reason I say it beautifully combines both aspects is because it's a musical with original songs composed specifically for this animation. Most of the songs were enjoyable and delightful. They have an innocence and joy of life that the songs from Vivo convey, written with a nice flow that instills hope even in difficult moments, if you are connected to reality and life.
The songs are composed by Lin-Manuel Miranda, who is also the executive producer.
To my delight, in animations, we find the magic of life translated into simple contexts, such as the connection between an animal and humans, the friendship that can form between them, and how comforting it is to have someone close when times are tough or you've lost someone dear.
This is how the relationship between Vivo and Gabi is built. Both have lost someone important to them and didn't get to say goodbye. They both felt lonely, and by opening up to each other, supporting each other, they realize they are going through the same situations and share a common thread: music.
From here, we can see how nothing should be underestimated, and they both share the same passion for music, which seemingly is the only thing that connects them.
As they spend more time together, they notice other relevant aspects that bond them: the enjoyable time spent together, caring for each other, the silly things they do together, their adventurous spirit, and their friendship.
And we can observe in the film how valuable sincere friendship is, which comes with the pleasure of sharing the same goal, objective, and passion. Through their common interest and their total commitment to fulfilling Andres' last wish of delivering his letter to Maria Sandoval, the two manage to strengthen Gabi's bond with her mother and gain a friend who was once part of Andres' life.
What we can take away from Vivo as a conclusion:
Life is tough for everyone. We will all face difficult situations, challenging moments that are hard to manage and accept, and we will all lose loved ones (perhaps much sooner). But if we have the right attitude toward life, hope, if we hold onto life and maintain our connection with people who mean something to us, if we cherish the good times, their dreams, what brought us together, and build other lasting connections on the same healthy foundation with those around us...
By taking care of our lives, being happy, open to the people we want close, and building lasting relationships, keeping our hope alive, we can enjoy life and deal with whatever comes our way with joy and pleasure.
Because beyond everything, being alive is a joy, which is why we fear death so much.
Enjoy watching! 😁