Vivo (film)

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Vivo is a 2021 animated Netflix film. It starts Lin-Manuel Miranda as the title character, with Gloria Estefan and Zoe Saldana lending their voices. Ynarily Simos makes her debut in debut voice-acting as Gabi. Lin also composed the songs in the movie.

In Havana, Vivo the kinkajou performs daily with his human Andres. They have settled into a comfortable routine, ever since Andres rescued Vivo as a baby. While Vivo and Andres don't speak the same language, they always sing in tune and with perfect sync.

One day, however, tragedy strikes just as an old flame invites Andres to perform with her in Miami. Vivo goes on a journey to Miami to deliver a special song from Andres to Marta Sandoval. Andres's great-niece Gabi, a Sand Dollar truant and aspiring musician, joins him for this important mission.

Tropes used in Vivo (film) include:

Art Shift: When Andres is singing to Vivo about the Mambo Cabana, the art switches from 3D to 2D, as he has an Imagine Spot about Miami. The art shifts again when Marta sings Andres's song, showing her and Andres dancing again while young in his idealized vision of the Mambo Cabana.
Book Ends: The movie starts and ends with Vivo singing "One of A Kind"; the first is a bouncy opening number in Havana with Andres. At the end, he sings a Triumphant Reprise, with Gabi this time, in the center of Key West.
The Cover Changes the Meaning: In-universe, what happens when Marta sings Andres's song for her at the end of the movie. He was singing about how he loved her but let her go so that the world could see her perform and shine. When she sings it, it's about how she hopes that Andres will always remember her, even after death.
Due to the Dead:
- At Andres's funeral, hundreds of people show up, offering their respects. You can see how much they loved him.
- To honor Andres's wishes to reunite with Marta, Vivo decides to deliver the song "For Marta" to Marta Sandoval. Gabi decides to help him when Vivo shows her the song, because she regrets not telling her father that she loved him before he died.
Earn Your Happy Ending: After all the tribulations and Gabi and Vivo undergo to deliver Andres's song to Marta, they find each other after succeeding, and become a new duo performing on the Key West boardwalk. Her mother and the Sand Dollars have made peace with Gabi's choices, while Marta comes to visit
Gut Punch:
- The scene where Andres passes in his sleep. Vivo tries to wake him up and apologize for his outburst the night before. He then realizes that Andres is not waking up, and his hand is limp.
- Later, Marta finds out several hours to her farewell concert. Her stage manager knocks on the door; when Marta lights up, asking if it's Andres, the stage manager hands her a news printout reporting the funeral, apologizing for delivering bad news. When Vivo finds Marta's dressing room, Marta is sobbing with regret that she waited too long.
I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: This is why Andres never told Marta how he felt about her, though he put his feelings in a song. He saw that if he admitted it, she would have stayed in Havana rather than pursue her music career. Marta is very touched when she reads the song that Vivo delivers to her, learning that Andres never stopped loving her.
A Simple Plan: When Gabi finds out why Vivo wants to go to Miami, she says that she has a plan. She buys bus tickets online, prints them, and says they just need to get to the stop in the Key West square. Only problem? The Sand Dollars bust her for playing hooky from their latest bake sale, and chase her and Vivo down because as a wild animal he needs to be quarantined. Gabi and Vivo have to go for plan B when they end up on a barge in the Atlantic Ocean, fashioning a sailboat to navigate to Miami through the swamp.