Vivo is a children’s movie about a rainforest honey bear who spent his life as a street performer with his elderly human partner, Andre in the country Cuba. A few days later into the movie, Andre receives a letter form his long time friend, Marta who’s moved to Florida and become a famous singer, inviting him to come visit her. Andre had always loved Marta, but he couldn’t confess to her before she left for Miami. So, he wrote a song for her. But, before he could get to Miami, he dies. Then vivo decides the song must be delivered. He gets in a ride with Andre’s great niece, Gabi. They fly to Florida and overcome obstacles to get to Marta’s farewell concert. In the end, we find that Andre and Marta have always loved each other.
My favorite character from this movie is Gabi, a ten-year old girl with purple hair. Even though Gabi can’t sing well, the messages she has in the songs she creates can express a lot. “My Own Drum” is a great song about following your dreams and doing what you want to do,not the standard set by parents or society.
I also enjoyed how funny Gabi can be. Vivo and Gabi make the perfect combo. Vivo can understand music and is not tone deaf. Gabi is tone deaf but is really talented with drums. It’s amusing to see them together, trying to work out problems while they are so different.
The songs were pretty catchy, too, so if you are a musical lover, you will definitely enjoy this movie / musical whose creative minds include Lin-Manuel Miranda.
Overall this a is a great movie about love and friendship.