Chico & Rita

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Aziz J @RT10957422 07/08/2025 While the film’s atmosphere and concept are charming, Chico and Rita ultimately falls short in execution. The animation—especially facial expressions—doesn’t match the voice acting, and the performances lack strength in key emotional moments. The drama feels shallow — scenes of betrayal, distance, and reunion pass by with little impact. Chico’s piano playing is fairly average throughout, except for the final scene, where both the music and singing truly shine. The flashback storytelling through an old man’s memories feels unnecessary and weakens the immediacy of the narrative. It’s a beautiful idea with a strong ending, but so many emotional opportunities were missed — it could’ve been far more powerful and unforgettable. See more Luke H @RT17246332 04/27/2025 Chico y Rita es una película romántica animada que explora el poder de la música y el amor entre Cuba y Nueva York a través de generaciones. La trama no es lineal; vemos el punto de vista del protagonista, el pianista llamado Chico, como un anciano en el presente y un adulto joven en la década de 1940. Chico se enamora de la cantante Rita, pero al igual que su música, la relación es turbulenta. Me sorprendió que la música de la película representara la energía de la época tan bien. El amor trágico de las canciones son una representación perfecta del amor de Chico y Rita que me recordó a otra película similar La La Land. Además, para mí, era importante que esta historia de amor se desarrollara en el gran contexto de eventos y personajes históricos reales en Cuba y el mundo del jazz. Al final, doy a Chico y Rita 4 estrellas y media de 5. See more Oaklee D @ODie63 04/18/2025 Visually this film is a work of art and has a gorgeous storyline to go along with it. Worth watching at least once. See more Jay W @RT52162311 12/01/2024 "Chico & Rita" is a unique animated film. Of the films nominated for the "Best Animated Feature" Oscar it is the first one from Spain, it is almost entirely in Spanish and it is not made for kids. I understand that in Europe a topless woman is not as risqué as it is in the U. S., but here this film would definitely receive an "R- Rating". The animation style also makes it stand out from the rest. It is done in a simplified rotoscope format. It is like they are tracing over live action actors for reference, but they aren't drawing every single line. It is distinct, but it isn't always that pretty. There are times where the film reminds me of an internet point and click game. Most times it doesn't seem like the characters are not interacting with the material around them. They just kind of hover over piano keys, radio dials and sponges. The movement feels very stiff, as they move lines cut in and out making the animation more of a distraction than an aid. There is a car crash that they show in slow motion, and it highlights some of the animation's short comings. The story follows too many of the same old romantic comedy tropes. First, they will both be in love. Then one will be in love and the other angry. Then the one will have moved on and the other will be in love. Keep repeating the formula, having the two never quite get on the same page, then once they're on the same page, fate will intervein and stop things from working out. And they are all very contrived ways of keeping the relationship drama going. Stuff like mishearing conversations, coming to rash assumptions and not communicating are all the things that lead to riffs between these two. By the time the third act came around, I was not rooting for these two to get together. I was more confident that it was lust between these two opposed to anything close to true love. For a movie that is so focused on music, the music isn't all that good. It is nothing that you will be humming along to later. And I speak Spanish, so it isn't a matter of not understanding the lyrics. I guess I'm just not a fan of that era of Jazz music. But a film like "Vivo" was able to make a great variety of jazz music that I really enjoyed. The animation was distinct but not pretty. The romance was cliched and I was not rooting for the couple's success. The music wasn't memorable. But to its positive, it is unique, outside of the romance there are some cool story beats and the I do enjoy the ending. See more Camero W @RT71510397 11/22/2024 This movie was beautifully made and had a great message. The ending had my on the ground. See more isla s @RT89656869 09/02/2022 I very much enjoyed the latin music played in this film, both in the background and during live performances depicted on screen. This is more a music film than anything else, although it is clearly an animated film as well. I quite liked the old fashioned style of animation featured too - there is a certain nostalgic sense to it. The plot is a bit cliched I suppose but its a pretty easy watch and I found it pretty entertaining regardless, with enjoyable music and animation, as I say and so on that basis, I would recommend it, yes. Oh and perhaps its worth pointing out that it is a slightly more adult animation, in that there are sex scenes depicted, so its not suitable for viewing by particularly young audiences. The dialogue is mostly in Spanish, so its a world cinema film - that may or may not put you off (there were subtitles on the Blu-Ray disk I viewed). See more Read all reviews

Chico & Rita

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