The Sony Pictures Animation movie Vivo features a cast full of familiar voices for its colorful range of animated characters like Vivo, Gabi, and the nefarious Lutador. The 2021 family movie may have flown relatively under the radar, but the surprisingly deep script is brought to life by some instantly recognizable names — all of which feel incredibly well placed (especially during the many musical numbers). The cast includes a number of performers who viewers may be more familiar with from their time in front of the camera, or even on stage. The heavily Latin American voice cast of Vivo is headed up by multi-talented star Lin-Manuel Miranda, who also played a major role in the film’s creation.
Vivo is a family-oriented musical about a performing kinkajou who goes on a mission to honor his master’s last wish. This goal takes him on an odyssey across Florida alongside an imaginative young girl. It is the first musical produced by Sony Pictures Animation and is the follow-up to the critically lauded The Mitchells vs. The Machines which, like Vivo, was released for streaming on Netflix after a limited theatrical release. The central characters of Vivo are the title kinkajou and Gabi, the young girl he befriends, but there are several supporting roles including everyone from a legendary singer to a villainous python.
Lin-Manuel Miranda as Vivo
Vivo is a kinkajou, a type of South American mammal who has been displaced from his homeland of South America and begins the movie living in Cuba as the singing, dancing assistant to a local busker. He can’t communicate directly with humans, but the audience can understand his words and songs. Vivo is voiced by Lin-Manuel Miranda, the actor, musician, and songwriter who came to prominence through the smash hit historically-inspired musical Hamilton, which he both created and starred in.
Miranda has since been involved in productions ranging from Disney’s Moana to HBO’s The Golden Compass. He made his directorial debut in the Oscar-nominated musical tick, tick… Boom! and will next be seen in the Disney+ series Percy Jackson and the Olympians. Vivo began in 2010 when DreamWorks approached Miranda about making a movie for them, but the project was eventually dropped and picked up by Sony in 2016. In addition to providing Vivo’s voice, Miranda wrote 11 songs for the movie alongside his frequent collaborator Alex Lacamoire.
Ynairaly Simo as Gabi
Gabi is the grandniece of Vivo’s partner Andres and helps to bring him from Cuba to Florida. She later teams up with Vivo on his trek across Florida to get Andres’ song to Marta, a quest that has added personal significance to her. Listed under the “introducing” tag in the credits of Vivo for playing Gabi is Ynairaly Simo, a 14-year-old Dominican American actress, singer, and model based in New York who lists actresses like Guardians of the Galaxy‘s Zoe Saldana as inspiration. Simo also sings her own songs in Vivo, her feature film debut, including a remix of “My Own Drum” alongside Missy Elliott.
Zoe Saldana as Rosa
Saldana herself appears in Vivo as Gabi’s mother Rosa. Rosa tries to stop her daughter from going on the dangerous journey, but later shows how much she cares about Gabi. Outside of Vivo and her well-known role as Gamora in the MCU, Saldana has appeared in the Star Trek reboot movies as Nyota Uhura and Avatar as the voice and motion-capture for Neytiri, giving her the unique claim of appearing in three of the top five grossing movies of all time. Saldana also appeared in the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise. She recently returned to her role as Gamora in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 and will soon be seen in the Taylor Sheridan series Lioness.
Juan de Marcos Gonzalez as Andres
Andres is Vivo’s musical partner on the streets of Havana. A letter from his old flame Marta starts the plot in motion and sends Vivo on his journey. Andres is only in the opening of the movie but makes a big impression. Andres is voiced in the Vivo cast by Juan de Marcos Gonzalez, the famous real-life Cuban bandleader of the Buena Vista Social Club. Gonzalez has decades of acclaim as a musician but Vivo is his first role as an actor.
Brian Tyree Henry and Nicole Byer as Dancarino and Valentina
Dancarino and Valentina are a pair of overly romantic roseate spoonbills. Vivo helps Dancarino woo Valentina, and in return, the bird saves him from the clutches of Lutador. In the Vivo cast Dancarino is voiced by Brian Tyree Henry, who first broke out on Donald Glover’s on-hiatus comedy Atlanta in the role of Paperboy. Henry has since appeared in major movies like Godzilla vs. Kong and Spider-man: Into the Spider-Verse. More recently, he earned his first Oscar nomination for Causeway. Nicole Byer, the voice of Valentina in the Vivo cast, is a comedian who hosts the Netflix baking show Nailed It! and has also appeared on comedies such as Transparent and Brooklyn Nine-Nine. Valentina’s singing voice is performed by Aneesa Folds.
Michael Rooker as Lutador
One unlikely yet welcome addition to the Vivo cast is Michael Rooker as Lutador. Lutador is Vivo‘s only real villain, a Burmese python who threatens Vivo and Gabi on their trip through Florida’s swampland. He hates noise and hence doesn’t get along well with the musical Vivo. Rooker is a veteran actor who portrayed Merle Dixon in The Walking Dead. He is a frequent collaborator of director James Gunn, playing Savant in The Suicide Squad and Yondu Udonta in the Guardians of the Galaxy movies. He also joined the Fast and Furious franchise in F9 and Fast X as Buddy.
Gloria Estefan as Marta
Marta is an internationally recognized singer and the love of Andres’ life. The climax of Vivo takes place at her final concert, with Vivo and Gabi rushing to deliver Andres’ song to her. Marta is portrayed by Gloria Estefan, a best-selling vocalist who is credited with introducing Latin sounds to mainstream pop music. Beyond her role place on the Vivo cast, Gloria Estefan has previously acted on Glee as Santana’s mother and as Mirtha on One Day At a Time.
Vivo Supporting Cast
Katie Lowes as Becky: Becky is the leader of the Sand Dollars, an overzealous and rule-abiding Guide troupe. Lowes played Quinn in Scandal up until its cryptic final moments.
Olivia Trujillo as Eva: Eva is another member of the Sand Dollars. Trujillo is perhaps known for playing Aleida Rosales in For All Mankind.
Lidya Jewett as Sarah: Sarah is the final member of the Sand Dollars. Jewett had a recurring role on Good Girls as Sara Hill.
Leslie David Baker as Bus Driver: An exasperated Florida bus driver pops up a few times in the movie, and even gets some singing lines. Baker is best known for playing Stanley in The Office.
Gloria Calderon Kellett as Gloria: Gloria is Marta’s empathetic stage manager. Kellet is chiefly known as a producer of shows like One Day at a Time and Jane the Virgin.
All of these vocal talents come together in Vivo to create a memorable group of characters. The movie received mostly positive reviews, suggesting that the cast’s efforts to create a family movie that embraced Latin-American culture were successful.
