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Cuban Rhapsody How the artists at Sony created Vivo, a joyous musical valentine to the island nation and its people and culture.
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t’s summertime, and few can resist a whirlwind tour of Havana, the Florida Everglades and Miami! The fact that this trip is provided by Sony Pictures Animation’s new musical Vivo, which features music by the award-winning team of Lin-Manuel Miranda and composer Alex Lacamoire (Hamilton, In the Heights) makes the experience even easier to love. The much-anticipated feature, which premieres on Netflix this month, is directed by Oscar-nominated animation veteran Kirk DeMicco (The Croods), co-directed by Brandon Jeffords and produced by Lisa Stewart, Michelle Wong and Oscar winner Rich Moore. The script was penned by DeMicco and Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright and lyricist Quiara Alegría Hudes (In the Heights, Water by the Spoonful), with special input from the production’s experts on Cuban culture and the Cuban-American experience. Oscar-winning cinematographer Roger Deakins was the film’s visual consultant. Vivo follows the adventures of a charming kinkajou (a rainforest “honey bear,” voiced by Miranda), who entertains crowds in a lively Havana square with his beloved owner Andrés (Buena Vista Social Club’s Juan de Marcos). When tragedy strikes, Vivo has to deliver a message to Andrés’ long-lost love Marta (Gloria Estefan) with the aid of an unusual and irrepressible young girl named Gabi (Ynairaly Simo).
DeMicco says he was immediately drawn to the project when he discovered that Miranda was involved. “Lin-Manuel’s optimistic, bright heart is at the center of our movie. We wanted to show an optimistic way of life. What Vivo goes through is painful, but he learns that friends, music and collaboration can help you move forward. I think the big message of the movie is that, with love in your heart, you can learn to move on and find new meaning in your life.” Miranda first came up with the idea for the movie after watching street performers in a New York subway years ago. He recalls, “Vivo came into my life a long time ago, just after I had finished writing In the Heights. So I started writing the
songs way back in 2009, and then obviously it got pushed. When we revisited the project with Sony Animation, and with Quiara attached as the screenwriter, we totally rediscovered this journey. The movie has taken so many turns, but at the heart of this story is this incredible friendship between Andrés and Vivo, and how it launches Vivo on an incredible journey from Cuba to Florida, where he does a lot of growing up.”
A Trip to Remember For DeMicco, the movie offered a chance to work on Sony’s first animated musical and to create a vibrant valentine to some unforgettable locations. “I love the fact that our movie takes us
www.animationmagazine.net 12 august 21
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