Viva la música

Vivo is a new animated musical from Lin-Manuel Miranda, creator of the ­Pulitzer-, Grammy-, and Tony-winning Broadway hit Hamilton. In Vivo, now available on Netflix, Miranda again demonstrates his gift for marrying story with song but also shows he can create kid-friendly entertainment.

And that’s not just because of the film’s panoply of talking animals. As one of the executive producers, Miranda gets credit for keeping the PG-rated Vivo free of sensuality, bad language, and social-policy pushing. It’s an adventure tale with a timely if conventional lesson: Don’t miss your chance to tell someone you love him or her.

The story opens in Havana, Cuba, where Andrés (voiced by Juan de Marcos González) earns a living playing his tres, a guitarlike instrument, in the city’s open-air plazas. A bongo-drumming, flute-tootling kinkajou—a tropical mammal resembling a lemur—named Vivo (Miranda) accompanies Andrés and collects tips.

Sixty years earlier, Andrés performed with Marta Sandoval (Gloria Estefan) but never told her he loved her. She moved to Florida to further her singing career, which is now coming to a close with a final show in Miami. Years before, Andrés had written her a love song, “Para Marta,” and it falls to Vivo to deliver the handwritten music to her in time for the performance.

The geography between Havana and Miami is the least of the journey’s obstacles. Along the way, Gabi (Ynairaly Simo), a spunky 10-year-old girl with purple hair and a garish outfit, joins Vivo.

“I bounce to the beat of my own drum! I’m a ‘wow’ in a world full of ho-hum!” Gabi raps over a synth beat. Her Auto-Tune style offends Vivo’s refined musical sensibilities: They’re not the team he and Andrés were.

Also hindering their quest are hungry Everglades critters and a trio of girl scouts, rules sticklers who want Gabi to wear a proper scouting uniform. Can Vivo put the song into Marta’s hands before the curtain falls?

The humor and dramatic elements may not leave lasting impressions, but the production design is unmatched. I hit pause more than once to admire the exquisitely drawn background buildings. The music is lively and diverse: Miranda incorporates a classical Cuban sound bouncing lightly over a claves rhythm, electronic dance music, and melodies ready for Broadway.

One sour note: The buildup to the unveiling of “Para Marta” comes in flat. Perhaps, though, it’s a dose of reality.

“You spent your life making music. I thought the songs would never end,” Vivo sings. Miranda seems to know they do. Every wise man understands he’s powerless to make the beat go on.