Movie: Coco Year: 2017 Language: English, some Spanish sprinkled here and there Length: 1 hour 46 minutes Where to watch: Disney+ Hotstar
I have always prided myself in being someone who does not cry at movies. Why would I want to cry over something fictitious that does not even concern me, ruining my face and mood to eat, right? This movie slapped me across the face, spit in my eye and told me that I was wrong.
Coco focuses on the Dia de los Muertos or the Mexican culture of celebrating the Day of the Dead. Aptly, the main theme was to remember and respect the dead, always. Just because they are no longer with us, doesn’t mean we should forget they ever lived because without them, we wouldn’t even be alive today.
The movie starts off by introducing us to Miguel, a boy living with his extended family in Santa Cecilia. He has dreams of being a musician, idolizing a local famous but very much dead musician, Ernesto de la Cruz. However, his family prohibits music due to his great-great-grandfather leaving his great-great-grandmother, Imelda and their child, Coco, to chase the same dream.
Distraught at the fact that her husband never returned, Imelda established the family’s shoemaking business and banished music forever. Though Imelda had already passed, his family, especially his abuelita who goes above and beyond to make sure nobody turns out like her grandfather. Because of the opposition from his family, Miguel secretly teaches himself the guitar (one which he crafts himself).
Miguel, being a klutz, accidentally discovers a torn picture where Coco’s father was holding Ernesto de la Cruz’s guitar. As it is typical in movies, his face was torn out. At this point, Miguel and I were on the same page. Ernesto was his deadbeat great-great-grandfather. That would explain why he never returned. Fame got to his head and Imelda couldn’t stand a prick like that, thus banishing music forever.
With this new information, Miguel had to prove a point to his uptight family. Music was in his blood. His abuelita, pissed, breaks his guitar (I flinched when she smashed it on the ground like that). Miguel is pissed (as anyone would be after their grandmother violently breaks their DIY guitar) and he goes into Ernesto’s mausoleum where his legendary guitar hung. Since it is technically his ancestor’s property, he thought what’s the harm?
He broke in, took the guitar and strummed it. It was like the dumb boy wanted to get caught. But the weird thing was, nobody could see him after that. He saw his dead relatives crossing from the Land of the Dead and it hit him. He was in the other realm. Unfortunately, his family was pissed at him because he took Imelda’s photo off the ofrenda so she couldn’t pass through to the Land of the Living. Damn, this family seriously needs to chill.
Miguel finds out that he may turn into a skeleton like his dead family members and should return to the Land of the Living. Only problem, he has to get the blessing of his family member (any one would do). Imelda promises him the blessing, but only if he gives up on his dream of becoming a musician. Miguel, as stubborn as he is, refuses and insists on getting Ernesto’s blessing instead. He bumps into this colorful character, Hector, while running away from his family.
Hector tells Miguel that he knows Ernesto and can help him get Ernesto’s blessing. The catch was that Hector wanted Miguel to put his photo on his family’s ofrenda so that he can visit his daughter before she forgets him, and he ceases to exist in the other world too.
Miguel and Hector enter a talent show to be invited into Ernesto’s afterlife mansion. Before that, they meet an old man who was dying in the Land of the Dead because he had already been forgotten by his family. That scene was devastating, especially that sorrowful rendition of Everyone Knows Juanita. Him drifting off broke my heart, even though he was only introduced mere minutes before he passed. Miguel and Hector formed a duo and knocked everyone’s socks off with their song Un Poco Loco.
When Ernesto and Hector met, they started arguing about how Ernesto plagiarized his whole career and identity from Hector. Here we learn that Ernesto killed Hector just because Hector wanted to go home to his wife and daughter. Geez, you don’t have a family to know the pain of missing them, Ernesto! As if it was not bad enough killing his so-called “best friend”, he proceeded to steal Hector’s guitar and his songs. Such an arse. *insert that video of that kid going “WhEn WiLl YoU lEaRn ThAt YoUr AcTiOnS hAvE cOnSeQuEnCeS?!”*
Miguel needed a whole scene where he gets thrown into a pit with Hector to realize that Ernesto wasn’t his great-great-grandfather. Miguel’s family tracks him down and helps him and Hector get out of the pit, and Miguel explains to Imelda the reason why Hector couldn’t return (HE WAS DEAD, IMELDA! Not even by his own doing). No surprise, they make up. As a family now, they had to take revenge on that jerk Ernesto (and also take Hector’s photo that Ernesto snatched from him).
For someone who banned music, Imelda could really sing. She shared a duet with Ernesto in an attempt to take Hector’s photo from him. I especially liked how they exposed Ernesto without really trying. He spilled everything himself. I never knew it was possible for someone to die again in the Land of the Dead, the same way they died in the Land of the Living, until I saw Ernesto de la Prick get crushed by a giant bell. Everything was good again. Not quite. Hector’s photo falls into the water, and he was dying as well, because Coco’s memory of him was fading.
Miguel’s family blesses him, allowing him to go back to life. Miguel starts singing Remember Me to Coco and she sings along. I sang along too, teary-eyed. She forgot almost everything but not the song her dad sang for her. IS THAT NOT THE CUTEST THING EVER? Coco starts telling everyone everything about her dad (like finally). You remember that torn photo of Hector from the ofrenda? Turns out, Coco kept it with her all these years.
Now that music technically saved their family, the music ban was lifted. Flash forward a year, Miguel has a baby sister and turns out he was telling the story to her. Coco kept some letters from her father. These letters had his lyrics written on them which would have made Turnitin detect 100% plagiarism.
Miguel’s family reconciles with him, ending the ban on music; one year later, Miguel presents the family ofrenda (which now includes the deceased Coco) to his new baby sister. Coco’s collected letters from Héctor prove that Ernesto stole his songs, destroying Ernesto’s legacy and allowing Héctor to be rightfully honored in his place. In the Land of the Dead, Héctor and Imelda rekindle their romance and join Coco for a visit to the living, where Miguel plays and sings for his living and dead relatives.
I finally cried bittersweet tears when Mama Coco joined her family in the Land of the Dead. It was so cute, but a little creepy how she’s older than both her parents. It gave me hope that when I die, I will be reunited with people I knew who had already passed on.
This movie’s soundtrack was definitely 11/10 with bangers such as Remember Me, Un Poco Loco and La Llorona to name a few. After watching this movie, I am sure at least one song would be stuck playing in your head on repeat for a few days.
This movie hits close to home because personally, I have a huge fear of being forgotten. After watching this movie, it only got worse. What’s even worse, my family has a history of dementia.
Final verdict: