Need a catchy tune? Just call Lin-Manuel Miranda. The Hamilton and In the Heights creator is back on the screen, this time as you’ve never seen him before, in Netflix’s animated Vivo. The film stars Miranda as a kinkajou, which may sound like a giant Japanese monster, but is actually a mammal referred to as a “honey bear.”
And what a helpful little singing kinkajou Vivo is! He spends his days on the streets of Havana, sharing a love of music along with his owner, Andrés . The story finds Vivo on a journey to Miami, joined by a young girl named Gabi, to find Andrés’ lost love, Marta.
Also in the voice cast are Zoe Saldana, Ynairaly Simo, Juan de Marcos González, Brian Tyree Henry, Nicole Byer, Gloria Estefan, and Michael Rooker. Kirk DeMicco (The Croods) directs alongside Brandon Jeffords.
Vivo comes to Netflix on August 6th.
The film follows a one-of-a-kind kinkajou named Vivo, who spends his days playing music to the crowds in a lively Havana square with his beloved owner Andrés. 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, inviting her old partner to her farewell concert in Miami, Florida 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 the distant shores of Miami, Vivo will need to accept the help of Gabi – an energetic tween who bounces to the beat of her own offbeat drum
