SPOILER ALERT: the following article contains massive spoilers, including the ending. If you have not yet seen the movie, proceed at your own risk, or better, come back to this article later!
Vivo follows a one-of-kind kinkajou (Lin-Manuel Miranda) who spends his days playing music to the crowds in a lively Havana square with his beloved owner Andrés (Juan de Marcos González). 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 (Gloria Estefan), 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 (Ynairaly Simo) – an energetic tween who bounces to the beat of her own offbeat drum.
SPOILERS AHEAD
Vivo Plot Summary and Synopsis
In Havana, Cuba, Andrés Hernández and his kinkajou Vivo play music together in the plaza (One of a Kind).
One day after their show, Andrés receives a letter from Marta Sandoval, an old friend of his, informing him that she is retiring from her music career.
The letter offers a chance to reconnect in Miami, Florida at the Mambo Cabana and for Andrés to finally tell Marta how he feels about her through a song he wrote just for her (Mambo Cabana). Vivo, happy with their life in Cuba, is reluctant to help Andrés and leaves in a huff. After reflecting on his past and how Andrés rescued him as a baby, Vivo returns and packs his suitcase.
The next morning, it is discovered that Andrés has passed away in his sleep and that night, a funeral service is held in the plaza, with Andrés’ niece-in-law Rosa and her daughter Gabriela attending before they head back to their home in Florida.
Vivo is determined to get Marta to hear Andrés’ song (One More Song) and stows away to Miami with Gabriela and Rosa. Gabi is thrilled when she discovers Vivo hiding in her stuff and explains to him how no one understands her because she’s different from everyone else (My Own Drum) and doesn’t want to be a part of her girl scout troop, the Sand Dollars.
She soon discovers Marta’s letter to her tío Andrés and becomes a part of Vivo’s mission.
Under the guise of attending a cookie sale in town, Gabi and Vivo purchase bus tickets to get to Marta’s show, but they are stopped by the other Sand Dollars (Becky, Eva, and Sarah).
When Gabi claims that she rescued Vivo, they insist on taking him in to be quarantined for 10 days, as is the Sand Dollar protocol for rescued animals. Gabi and Vivo escape from them but miss the bus. They end up in the Everglades and are separated by a freak storm (Keep the Beat), losing the song.
While searching for Gabi, Vivo comes across a spoonbill named Dancarino, who is unsuccessful in finding love with one of his own.
With Vivo’s help, he wins the heart of Valentina (Love’s Gonna Pick You Up) and the two of them rescue Vivo from a noise-hating green anaconda named Lutador.
Meanwhile, Gabi discovers that she was followed by the Sand Dollars on Eva’s boat and that they are holding Andrés’ song, keeping it from her until she leads them to Vivo. When the girls are attacked by Lutador, Vivo saves them (Tough Crowd), but the song is destroyed in the process.
Depressed at having failed his mission, Vivo decides to go back to Cuba. Then he hears Gabi reciting the lyrics and realizes that they can recreate the song, as he knows the melody (One More Song (Reprise)).
Together, they make it to Miami and go searching for Marta, who has learned of Andrés’ death and refuses to take the stage (Running Out of Time).
Gabi and Vivo sneak inside the Mambo Cabana, but Gabi is unable to open the door as it is locked by a chain and tells Vivo to go on without her. She is soon caught by security and her furious mother, who has discovered that she ran away.
Vivo finds Marta, who recognizes him from Andrés’ obituary photo, and delivers the song.
He then locates Gabi and Rosa, who are driving back home, and Gabi finally shares her feelings with her mother: she felt the need to be a part of Vivo’s mission to deliver the song because Andrés never got to tell Marta how much he loved her, just like she never got to tell her dad before he died.
Rosa reassures her daughter that her father knew how much she loved him and drives Gabi and Vivo back to the concert just in time to hear Marta play Andrés’ song (Inside Your Heart).
Vivo Ending
Vivo decides to stay in Florida with Gabi and Rosa, and they perform in the city together with Marta (Grand Finale).
Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 3.0).