Netflix has just announced the animated music-driven comedy Vivo will premiere on the streaming service on August 6, 2021. The family-friendly, wild beasty-friendly animated film features the voice of Lin-Manuel Miranda as a kinkajou on a special mission. Music icon Gloria Estefan also lends her voice to a key character in Netflix’s Vivo.
The release date announcement was accompanied by a nearly four-minute video featuring the original song, “Keep the Beat,” performed by Lin-Manuel Miranda as Vivo the kinkajou and newcomer Ynairaly Simo as Gabi. The clip introduces Vivo and his traveling companion Gabi as they set out on a quest to deliver a special song.
The cast of the animated comedy also includes Zoe Saldaña as Rosa, Juan de Marcos as Andrés, Brian Tyree Henry as Dancarino, Michael Rooker as Lutador, and Nicole Byer as Valentina.
Oscar nominee Kirk DeMicco (The Croods) directs and co-wrote the screenplay with Quiara Alegría Hudes (In the Heights), based on a story by Hudes and Peter Barsocchini. Brandon Jeffords (Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2) co-directed. Lin-Manuel Miranda composed the original songs and executive produced with Laurence Mark, Louis Koo Tin Lok, and Alex Lacamoire. Lisa Stewart, Michelle L.M. Wong, and Rich Moore served as producers.
Acclaimed (and Oscar-winning) cinematographer Roger Deakins (Blade Runner 2049) contributed to the film as visual consultant. Tony and Grammy award-winner Alex Lacamoire (The Greatest Showman) is the film’s composer and executive music producer.
The Plot, Courtesy of Netflix:
From Netflix and Sony Pictures Animation — the studio that brought you Oscar winner Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse and this year’s critically acclaimed blockbuster The Mitchells vs. The Machines — comes Vivo, an animated musical adventure featuring all-new songs from Lin-Manuel Miranda, the Tony, Grammy, and Pulitzer Prize-winning creator of Hamilton and In the Heights.
Vivo follows a one-of-kind kinkajou (aka a rainforest “honey bear,” voiced by Miranda), who spends his days playing music to the crowds in a lively square with his beloved owner Andrés (de Marcos). Though they may not speak the same language, Vivo and Andrés are the perfect duo through their common love of music. But when tragedy strikes shortly after Andrés receives a letter from the famous Marta Sandoval (Estefan), inviting her old partner to her farewell concert with the hope of reconnecting, it’s up to Vivo to deliver a message that Andrés never could: A love letter to Marta, written long ago, in the form of a song. Yet in order to get to Marta, who lives a world apart, Vivo will need the help of Gabi (Simo) – an energetic tween who bounces to the beat of her own offbeat drum to fulfill his owner’s wishes.
Also featuring the voices of Zoe Saldaña as Gabi’s mother, Rosa; Michael Rooker as a villainous Everglades python, Lutador; Brian Tyree Henry and Nicole Byer as a pair of star-crossed spoonbills; and Katie Lowes, Olivia Trujillo, and Lidya Jewett as a trio of well-meaning but overzealous scout troops, Vivo is an exhilarating story about gathering your courage, finding family in unlikely friends, and the belief that music can open you to new worlds.
