“Chico & Rita” was nominated for a Best Animated Feature Film Oscar this year — but this cartoon is not for kids.
I’m not sure it’s for adults either, though.
There’s certainly mature content in the film: The title characters become collaborators, on stage and in the bedroom, before rivalries in both arenas tear them apart — repeatedly. But the plot, the people, and how both are handled are overly familiar to every grown-up. The animation is neither particularly beautiful nor particularly experimental.
| On screen |
| ‘Chico & Rita’ |
| 2.5 out of 4 stars |
| Stars: Eman Xor Ona, Limara Meneses, Mario Guerra |
| Directors: Fernando Trueba, Javier Mariscal, Tono Errando |
| Rated: Not rated |
| Running time: 94 minutes |
So how did it compete alongside Hollywood blockbusters like “Rango” and “Kung Fu Panda” for an Academy Award?
The lost world it conjures is so winning that many viewers will find it easy to forget the film’s flaws.
“Chico & Rita” opens with Chico looking longingly out his window as the radio plays nearly forgotten songs. One of them won a competition six decades ago; the announcer tells us it’s by Chico and Rita, and the music takes Chico back to the Havana of 1948.
At a nightclub one night, he is mesmerized by a woman’s voice as she sings the (also overly familiar) “Besame Mucho.” When the piano player approaches her, she mistakes his interest as purely sexual and brushes him off. But Chico will never be as easy to get rid of as that. He has talent and ambition, and the Afro-Cuban jazz scene is producing many others with both. Chico and Rita will find themselves going from Cuba to New York, Paris, Hollywood and Las Vegas before the film is over — and going in and out of each other’s arms.
Legendary Cuban pianist and composer Bebo Valdes provides an original soundtrack, as well as Chico’s singing voice. His own story shares similarities with that of his character — Valdes, too, found his music lose its popularity when Fidel Castro came to power.
Valdes’ new compositions re-create an atmosphere, but he’s helped by the music of greats such as Thelonious Monk, Cole Porter, Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker, who also make appearances in animated form.
Given that two of the trio of directors involved are the Oscar-winning Fernando Trueba and Spanish designer Javier Mariscal, one might expect something with a little more sizzle. And the bits of sexual content mean this can’t be used to introduce a new generation to the Cuban jazz Castro never managed to stamp out. “Chico & Rita” does prove it never really went out of style.
