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"Coco" is the sprightly story of a young boy who wants to be a musician and somehow finds himself communing with talking skeletons in the land of the dead. Directed by Lee Unkrich (" Toy Story 3 ") and veteran Pixar animator Adrian Molina , and drawing heavily on Mexican folklore and traditional designs, it has catchy music, a complex but comprehensible plot, and bits of domestic comedy and media satire. Most of the time the movie is a knockabout slapstick comedy with a " Back to the Future " feeling, staging grand action sequences and feeding audiences new plot information every few minutes, but of course, being a Pixar film, "Coco" is also building toward emotionally overwhelming moments, so stealthily that you may be surprised to find yourself wiping away a tear even though the studio has been using the sneak-attack playbook for decades.

The film's hero, twelve-year old Miguel Riviera (voice by Anthony Gonzalez ), lives in the small town of Santa Cecilia. He’s a goodhearted child who loves to play guitar and idolizes the greatest popular singer-songwriter of the 1920s and '30s, Ernesto de la Cruz ( Benjamin Bratt ), who was killed when a huge church bell fell on his head. But Miguel has to busk in secret because his family has banned its members from performing music ever since Miguel's great-great-grandfather left, abandoning his loved ones to selfishly pursue his dreams of stardom. At least that’s the official story passed down through the generations; it’ll be challenged as the film unfolds, not through a traditional detective story (although there’s a mystery element to “Coco”) but through an “ Alice in Wonderland ” journey to the Land of the Dead, which the hero accesses through the tomb of his ancestors. 

Family and legacy as expressed through storytelling and song: this is the deeper preoccupation of “Coco.” One of the most fascinating things about the movie is the way it builds its plot around members of Miguel’s family, living and dead, as they battle to determine the official narrative of Miguel’s great-great grandfather and what his disappearance from the narrative meant for the extended clan. The title character is the hero’s great-grandmother (Renee Victor), who was traumatized by her dad’s disappearance. In her old age, she has become a nearly silent presence, sitting in the corner and staring blankly ahead, as if hypnotized by a sweet, old film perpetually unreeling in her mind.

The machinations that get Miguel to the other side are too complicated to explain in a review, though they’re comprehensible as you watch the movie. Suffice to say that Miguel gets there, teams up with a melancholy goofball named Hector ( Gael Garcia Bernal), and has to pose as one of the dead with the aid of skeletal facepaint, but that (like Marty McFly returning to the 1950s to make sure his mom ends up with his dad in “Future”) the longer Miguel stays on the other side, the more likely he is to end up actually dead.

I’m reluctant to describe the film’s plot in too much detail because, even though every twist seems obvious in retrospect, Molina and Matthew Aldrich ’s script frames each one so that seems delightful and inevitable. Many of them are conveyed through a stolen family photograph that Miguel brings with him to the Land of the Dead. The deployment of the photo is a great example of how to tell a story through pictures, or more accurately, with a picture . Somebody’s face has been torn out; there’s a guitar that proves to be important later, and there are other ways in which visual information has been withheld from Miguel (and us) so that it can be revealed or restored when the time is right, completing and correcting an incomplete or distorted picture, and "picture.”

What’s freshest, though, is the tone and outlook of the film. “Coco” opened in Mexico a month before it opened in the USA and is already the highest grossing film of all time there. It assumes a non-American point-of-view on spirituality and culture—not in a touristy or “thought experiment” sort of way, but as if it were merely the latest product of an alternate universe Pixar Mexicano that has existed for just as long as the other one. The film’s stable of voice actors reads like a Who’s Who of Latin-American talent: the ensemble includes Edward James Olmos , Alfonso Arau , Ana Ofelia Murguia, Alanna Ubach and, in a small role, to my surprise and astonishment, playwright Octavio Solis , who was one of my teachers in high school back in Dallas. Michael Giacchino's score is unsurprisingly excellent, as are the original songs—in particular, the future Oscar winner " Remember Me ," the greatest tear-eruption mechanism to accompany a Pixar release since the " Toy Story 2 " centerpiece "When She Loved Me."

Like most Pixar productions, this one is filled with homages to film history in general and animation history in particular. I was especially fond of the references to the dancing skeletons that seemed to pop up constantly in cartoon shorts from the 1930s. There’s a touch of Japanese master Hayao Miyazaki in the film’s matter-of-fact depiction of the dead interacting with the living, as well as its portrayal of certain creatures, such as a goofy, goggle-eyed dog named Dante (modeled on Xoloitzcuintli, the national dog of Mexico) and a gigantic flying dragon-type beast with the personality of a plump old housecat.

Also notable are the film's widescreen compositions, which put lots of characters in the same frame and shoot them from the waist up or from head-to-toe, in the manner of old musicals, or Hollywood comedies from the eighties like "9 to 5" or " Tootsie ." The direction lets you appreciate how the characters interact with each other and with their environments and lets you decide what to look at. At first this approach seems counter-intuitive for a movie filled with fantastic creatures, structures and situations, but it ends up being effective for that very reason: it makes you feel as though you're seeing a record of things that are actually happening, and it makes "Coco" feel gentle and unassuming even though it's a big, brash, loud film.

I had some minor quibbles about “Coco” while I was watching it, but I can’t remember what they were. This film is a classic.

Matt Zoller Seitz

Matt Zoller Seitz is the Editor at Large of RogerEbert.com, TV critic for New York Magazine and Vulture.com, and a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in criticism.

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Coco (2017)

Rated PG for thematic elements.

109 minutes

Anthony Gonzalez as Miguel (voice)

Gael García Bernal as Hector (voice)

Benjamin Bratt as Ernesto de la Cruz (voice)

Renée Victor as Abuelita (voice)

Ana Ofelia Murguía as Mama Coco (voice)

Alanna Ubach as Mama Imelda (voice)

Edward James Olmos as Chicharron (voice)

Gabriel Iglesias as Head Clerk (voice)

Cheech Marin as Corrections Officer (voice)

Alfonso Aráu as Papa Julio (voice)

• Lee Unkrich

Co-Director

• Adrian Molina

Writer (original story by)

• Matthew Aldrich

Cinematographer

• Matt Aspbury
• Danielle Feinberg
• Steve Bloom
• Michael Giacchino

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• Cast & crew
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• Aspiring musician Miguel, confronted with his family's ancestral ban on music, enters the Land of the Dead to find his great-great-grandfather, a legendary singer.
• Despite his family's baffling generations-old ban on music, Miguel dreams of becoming an accomplished musician like his idol, Ernesto de la Cruz. Desperate to prove his talent, Miguel finds himself in the stunning and colorful Land of the Dead following a mysterious chain of events. Along the way, he meets charming trickster Hector, and together, they set off on an extraordinary journey to unlock the real story behind Miguel's family history. — Disney/Pixar
• Young Miguel simply loves music. But his family has a mysterious ban on anyone from their clan performing music. The ban dates back for many generations yet Miguel dreams of becoming an accomplished musician just like his idol, Ernesto de la Cruz. Longing to prove his musical talents, Miguel finds himself in the technicolor Land of the Dead. Along his way, he meets the charming trickster Hector, and together, they set out to find the real story behind his family's mysterious ban on music. — DeAlan Wilson - ComedyEcom
• Rebellious Miguel, a twelve-year-old Mexican boy and hopeful musician, can't understand the family's continuing ban on all music, especially when his icon and the greatest guitar player ever, the deceased Ernesto de la Cruz, is the town's hero. However, when an inadvertent mistake on the sacred Day of the Dead magically transports Miguel to the distant and bustling Land of the Dead, the scoundrel skeleton, Hector, will lead the way through the vibrant underworld to help the young trespasser find a missing ancestor. But can they do it before sunrise? — Nick Riganas
• An aspiring young guitar player, whose family has a classic hate for music, tries to find answers of his great Grandfather, which leads his search to his entrance to Tierra De Muertos, where all dead people get to live if they are remembered well. In there, the boy will not only discover his family's legacy, but his search will lead him to an unexpected truth in this Disney tale about love, hate, death, music, betrayal -- and most of all: Family. — Ivo Byrt
• In Santa Cecilia, Mexico, Imelda Rivera was the wife of a musician who left her and their 3-year-old daughter Coco, to pursue a career in music. She banned music in the family and opened a shoe-making family business. Ninety-six years later, her great-great-grandson, 12-year-old Miguel, now lives with Coco and their family. He secretly dreams of becoming a musician like Ernesto de la Cruz, a popular actor and singer of Coco's generation. One day, Miguel inadvertently damages the photo of Coco with her parents at the center of the family ofrenda and removes it, discovering that her father (whose face is torn out) was holding Ernesto's famous guitar. Concluding that Ernesto is his great-great-grandfather, Miguel ignores his grandmother Elena's objections and leaves to enter a talent show for the Day of the Dead. He enters Ernesto's mausoleum and steals his guitar to use in the show, but becomes invisible to everyone in the village plaza. However, he can see and be seen by his Xoloitzcuintli dog Dante and his skeletal dead relatives who are visiting from the Land of the Dead for the holiday. Taking him there, they realize that Imelda cannot visit as Miguel removed her photo from the ofrenda. Discovering that he is cursed for stealing from the dead, Miguel must return to the Land of the Living before sunrise or he will become one of the dead: to do so, he must receive a blessing from a member of his family using an Aztec marigold petal that can undo the curse placed upon him by stealing Ernesto's guitar. Imelda offers Miguel a blessing but on the condition that he abandon his musical pursuits when he returns to the Land of the Living; Miguel refuses and attempts to seek Ernesto's blessing. Miguel encounters Héctor, a down-on-his-luck skeleton who once played with Ernesto and offers to help Miguel reach him. In return, Héctor asks Miguel to take his photo back to the Land of the Living so he can visit his daughter before she forgets him and he disappears completely. Héctor attempts to return Miguel to his relatives, but Miguel escapes and infiltrates Ernesto's mansion, learning along the way that an old friendship between the two deteriorated before Héctor's death. Ernesto welcomes Miguel as his descendant, but Héctor confronts them, imploring Miguel to take his photo. Miguel soon realizes that Ernesto murdered Héctor using a poisoned drink and stole the songs he had written, passing them off as his own to become famous. To maintain his legacy, Ernesto steals the photo and has Miguel and Héctor thrown into a cenote pit. Miguel realizes that Héctor is his actual great-great-grandfather and that Coco is Héctor's daughter, the only living person who still remembers him. With the help of Dante - who turns into an alebrije - the dead Riveras find and rescue them. Miguel reveals that Héctor's decision to return home to her and Coco resulted in his death, and Imelda and Héctor reconcile. They infiltrate Ernesto's sunrise concert to retrieve Héctor's photo from Ernesto and expose his crimes. Ernesto is crushed by a falling church bell as in his previous life, but the photo falls into the water and disappears. As the sun rises, Héctor is in danger of being forgotten by Coco and disappearing. Imelda blesses Miguel with no conditions attached so he can return to the Land of the Living, where he plays a song for Coco that Héctor wrote for her during her childhood. The song sparks her memory of Héctor and revitalizes her, and she gives Miguel the torn-out piece of the photo from the ofrenda, which shows Héctor's face. Elena reconciles with Miguel, accepting both him and music back into the family. One year later, Miguel proudly presents the family ofrenda - featuring a photo of the now deceased Coco and the restored photo of Héctor and Imelda - to his new baby sister. Letters kept by Coco contain evidence that Ernesto stole Héctor's songs. As a result, Ernesto's legacy is destroyed and the community honors Héctor instead. In the Land of the Dead, Héctor and Imelda join Coco for a visit to the living Riveras as Miguel sings and plays for his dead and living relatives.

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Pioneering the Future of AI-Enhanced Storytelling

The sophisticated juxtaposition of logistic concerns & emotional issues secures this film's immortality.

Remember me.

The characters in Coco worry about it. They sing about it. They say it over and over again until you shout at the screen, We get it! They come into conflict over being forgotten!! [^kids]

[^kids]: Note, this may be a result of the regularly repeated viewings of the film over and over again in my house. In fact, it's on right now!

One would assume then that an analysis of this Best Animated Feature for 2018 would turn up Memories as a critical inflection point for conflict within the narrative.

It doesn't.

A benchmark by which to measure success

The Dramatica theory of story identifies two crucial Storypoints within a Throughline: the Throughline's Concern and the Throughline's Benchmark. Both Storypoints interconnect in a holistic and balanced relationship unlike any other two Storypoints within a narrative.

• The Concern identifies the type of conflict characters encounter using plot
• The Benchmark measures that level of Concern

The more the Benchmark appears, the higher the Concern. The less, or weaker the Benchmark looks, the level of tension within the Concern drops appropriately.

In Coco , Memories—or being forgotten—functions as a Benchmark, not as a Concern.

Pinpointing the source of conflict within a story

Hector (Gael Garcia Bernal) fulfills the role of the Obstacle Character in Coco . While he spends a considerable amount of time focusing on his fear of being forgotten, it is the level to which everyone ignores him—or disregards him—that is indeed the source of conflict within his Throughline ( Obstacle Character Concern of Conscious](https://subtxt.app/storypoint/influence-character-concern/conscious "Obstacle Character Concern of Conscious - Storypoint - Subtxt") and [_Obstacle Character Benchmark of_ Memory ).

Likewise, Miguel—as the player holding the perspective of the Main Character Throughline —struggles with his version of remembering. In this case, those memories find storytelling in the shared family history and rejection of all things musical ( Main Character Benchmark of `Past ).

But the Past is not where Miguel finds conflict.

Miguel can't help but be attracted to something he shows a natural talent for and takes on without first asking his family ( Main Character Issue of Attraction](https://subtxt.app/storypoint/main-character-issue/attraction "Main Character Issue of Attraction - Storypoint - Subtxt") and [_Main Character Problem of_ Proaction ). His battle is the here and now, his struggle is being trapped in the figurative and literal land of the Dead when he wants to live through his music ( Main Character Concern of `Present ).

A similar, yet different, approach to solving problems

One grows as a result of an alternate perspective with somewhat similar inequities. Hector's feared disregard resonates with Miguel's fears of being disregarded and rejected by the family. Hector's attitude and fear of judgment show Miguel the way through his problems ( Obstacle Character Throughline of Mind](https://subtxt.app/storypoint/influence-character-domain/Mind "Obstacle Character Domain of Mind - Storypoint - Subtxt") and [_Obstacle Character Problem of_ Evaluation ).

The emotional balance towards a logical plot

The key to Coco 's success lies in the dysfunctional relationship between Hector and Miguel ( Relationship Story Throughline of Psychology](https://subtxt.app/storypoint/relationship-story-domain/Psychology "Relationship Story Domain of Psychology - Storypoint - Subtxt")). The subtle manipulations and use of each other in satisfying their objectives resonate against the plot-oriented storytelling of family guilt and yearly memorial services ([_Relationship Story Issue of_ Deficiency and Objective Story Issue of `Preconditions ). The Relationship Story Throughline balances out the Objective Story Throughline the same way the Obstacle Character balances out the Main Character Throughline.

The certainty of shared history and expected levels of behavior within a family serves as an excellent counter-balance to the judgments and criticism that fuel the story's central plot ( Relationship Story Problem of Certainty](https://subtxt.app/storypoint/relationship-story-problem/certainty "Relationship Story Problem of Certainty - Storypoint - Subtxt") and [_Objective Story Problem of_ Evaluation ). The promise of their newfound family dynamic propels them across the bridge and into a position where the entire family re-examines their misconceptions ( Relationship Story Solution of Potentiality](https://subtxt.app/storypoint/relationship-story-solution/potentiality "Relationship Story Solution of Potentiality - Storypoint - Subtxt") and [_Objective Story Solution of_ Re-evaluation ).

The meaning of a changed perspective

Miguel and Hector return home just in time to play one last time for Grandma Coco ( Story Continuum of Spacetime](https://subtxt.app/storypoint/story-continuum/spacetime "Story Continuum of Spacetime - Storypoint - Subtxt") and [_Story Driver of_ Action ). While he flirts with giving up on his dream, Miguel's steadfastness and refusal to give into over-reaction grant his family the opportunity to find out what their matriarch thinks of Hector's music ( Main Character Resolve of Steadfast](https://subtxt.app/storypoint/main-character-resolve/steadfast "Main Character Resolve of Steadfast - Storypoint - Subtxt") and [_Story Outcome of_ Success ).

More importantly—and closer to the heart—this adherence to his point-of-view is just the thing the family needs to rethink their opinion of Hector. And for Hector to reconsider his low opinion of himself ( Obstacle Character Resolve of Changed](https://subtxt.app/storypoint/influence-character-resolve/changed "Obstacle Character Resolve of Changed - Storypoint - Subtxt") and [_Obstacle Character Solution of_ Re-evaluation ).

Miguel's steadfastness and Hector's paradigm shift proves to be beneficial for the entire family ( Story Judgment of `Good ) and provides the kind of significant meaning Audiences expect from a story.

Coco 's sound and functional narrative account for much of the film's success. The attribution of key challenging perspectives to its principal characters, enrapturing them into an emotional and fulfilling relationship, and balancing this all against a plot integrated with their thematic explorations elevates Coco beyond all others.

In short, a film long remembered.

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“Coco,” a Story About Borders and Love, Is a Definitive Movie for This Moment

By Jia Tolentino

One weekend last fall, my boyfriend, Andrew, whose favorite movies include “Deliverance” and the original “Texas Chain Saw Massacre,” went off to go see the Pixar movie “Coco,” by himself, and came back in a delirium of happy, wistful tears. “What’s going on with you?” I asked, watching him wheel his bike back into the living room. I hadn’t moved from my permanent station behind my computer monitor, a hub for the ongoing erosion of my belief in human good. “You have to go to see ‘Coco,’ ” he croaked. “You have to. It’s, like, the best movie of all time.”

I assumed that he was being hyperbolic, until a night in April when I invited three friends over to watch “Coco,” all of us first-time viewers with high expectations. People we knew—people in their twenties and thirties, few of them with children—had been freaking out about “Coco” in group texts and random conversations, saying things like, “I cried so hard I started choking,” and “I’ve watched it five times this month on airplanes.” “Hey ppl over here getting drunk and watching Coco just fyi,” I texted Andrew, who was still at the office. In return, I received a series of panicked instructions to not start without him. “You have already seen it….” I texted. “I DON’T CARE!!!!!!!” he texted back. “DON’T START WITHOUT ME!!!!”

We started without him. Andrew came home a third of the way into the movie, cracked a beer, and silently sat down on the floor of the living room to watch. By the end, every one of us was crying through a manic grin. “I told you,” he said. “It’s the best movie of all time.”

In the weeks since that viewing, “Coco” love has continued to spread among my demographic—thanks, in part, to the movie’s release on Netflix in May. “Coco” is unlike any film I can think of: it presents death as a life-affirming inevitability; its story line about grudges and abandonment makes you feel less alone. The protagonist, Miguel, is a twelve-year-old boy in the fictional Mexican town of Santa Cecilia—named for the patron saint of musicians—and he is trying to get out from under the shadow of his great-great-grandfather, who left his family to pursue a career as a musician. His wife, the ferocious Mamá Imelda, was left to take care of their young daughter, Coco. She instituted a permanent household ban on music and started making shoes.

We meet Coco as an old woman. Her daughter, Miguel’s grandmother, now runs the family and its shoemaking business with an iron chancla . Earnest, sweet Miguel teaches himself to play the guitar in the attic, watching and re-watching tapes of the bygone star Ernesto de la Cruz. On the Day of the Dead, he accidentally shatters a framed photograph on the family ofrenda , then spots a hidden detail in the picture, one that makes him suspect that his wayward ancestor was in fact de la Cruz himself. He sprints to the town mausoleum, hoping to borrow de la Cruz’s guitar and prove the value of music to his family. Instead, the guitar turns Miguel invisible, and whisks him across a skybridge covered in thick, soft marigold petals that glow like lava. He falls to his knees in the petals, and then looks up to see a grand floating metropolis, confetti-colored in the darkness: the Land of the Dead.

The second and third acts of the movie are mostly set in this city of jubilant sugar-skull skeletons, where you exist only as long as you are remembered by the living. (You can cross over to the living world on the Day of the Dead, but only if your photo is on display.) Miguel joins up with a raggedy show-biz hustler named Héctor, who’s desperate to get his picture back up on an ofrenda , and who says he can bring Miguel to de la Cruz. Héctor lives in a waterfront shantytown filled with people who are about to be forgotten; at one point, he begs a guitar for Miguel off an ill-tempered cowboy named Chicharrón, who vanishes as soon as Héctor finishes singing an old dirty song.

Our staff and contributors share their cultural enthusiasms.

Eventually, Miguel realizes that Héctor is his real ancestor, and the movie sprints to a conclusion that’s as skillfully engineered to produce waterworks as the montage at the beginning of “Up.” But until the end, “Coco” is mostly, wonderfully, a mess of conflict and disappointment and sadness. Héctor seems to have failed everyone who takes a chance on him. Miguel’s face, painted in skeleton camouflage, often droops as if he were a sad little black-and-white dog. “Coco” is animated by sweetness, but this sweetness is subterranean, bursting through mostly in tiny details: the way that both Mamá Imelda and Miguel’s grandmother brandish shoes when they’re angry; or how the daffy Xolo dog that accompanies Miguel on his adventure is named Dante; or how the skeletons return to their city through the Day of the Dead’s efficient T.S.A. system, declaring the churros and beer that their families gave them for their journey home.

Before “Coco” hit theaters, it was easy to doubt that the movie would present Mexican culture as expansively and gorgeously as it does, with such natural familiarity and respect. It is Pixar’s nineteenth movie, but its first with a nonwhite protagonist; Lee Unkrich, the director and creator of the initial story, is white. The movie’s working title was “Día de los Muertos,” and, in 2013, Disney lawyers tried, absurdly, to trademark that phrase. But Unkrich and his team approached their subject with openness and collaborative humility: they travelled to Mexico, they loosened Pixar’s typical secrecy to build a large network of consultants, and, after the trademark controversy, they asked several prominent critics to come onboard. “Coco” is the first movie to have both an all-Latino cast and a nine-figure budget. It grossed more than eight hundred million dollars worldwide, won two Oscars, and became the biggest blockbuster in Mexican history.

“Coco” is also a definitive movie for this moment: an image of all the things that we aren’t, an exploration of values that feel increasingly difficult to practice in the actual world. It’s a story of a multigenerational matriarchy, rooted in the past—whereas real life, these days, feels like an atemporal, structureless nightmare ruled by men. It’s about lineage and continuity at a time when each morning makes me feel like my brain is being wiped and battered by new flashes of cruelty, as though history is being forgotten and only the worst parts rewritten. It feels like myth or science fiction to imagine that our great-great-grandchildren will remember us. If we continue to treat our resources the way we are treating them currently, those kids—if they exist at all—will live in a world that is ravaged, punishing, artificial, and hard.

This world is hard enough already: its technological conditions induce emotional alienation, and its economic ones narrow our attention to questions of individual survival. As it is, I haven’t assembled the ofrenda I ought to. I barely feel like I’m taking adequate care of the people I love right now, and I mean the ones I know personally. I feel certain that I’m failing the people I don’t know but that I love nonetheless—the people in our national community, and the people who are seeking to become a part of it.

“Coco” is a movie about borders more than anything—the beauty in their porousness, the absolute pain produced when a border locks you away from your family. The conflict in the story comes from not being able to cross over; the resolution is that love pulls you through to the other side. The thesis of the movie is that families belong together. I watched it again this week, reading the news that Donald Trump is considering building an unregulated holding camp for migrant children , that ICE showed up on the lawn of a legal permanent resident and initiated deportation procedures , that a four-month-old baby was torn away from her breast-feeding mother . If justice is what love looks like in public, then love has started to seem like the stuff of children’s movies, or maybe the stuff of this children’s movie—something that doesn’t make sense in the adult world, but should.

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By Sarah Larson

By Deborah Treisman

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Coco review: pixar's gorgeous celebration of family & music.

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"Our Movie Was Dead In The Water": How Kevin Costner Convinced Yankees Owner To Film At Stadium For 1999 Sports Movie

The secret sith history of tatooine explains so many star wars mysteries, steven spielberg's new movie will revive a career-defining trend after 10 years away & it's very exciting, coco is a heartwarming story about family and a well-crafted coming of age tale steeped beautifully in the traditions of mexico's dia de los muertos..

Pixar's latest offering, Coco , is the animation studio's second premiere of 2017, following Cars 3  this summer, and the first original, non-sequel since The Good Dinosaur in 2015. Pixar has made a name for itself over the last two decades as an animation house that infuses compelling concepts with a great deal of heart in order to entertain audiences young and old. Though there's been a debate about whether Pixar should focus more on original ideas over sequels to their beloved films, Coco is proof the Disney-owned animation studio can still come up with new concepts with as much magic and heart as their first string of hits.  Coco is a heartwarming story about family and a well-crafted coming of age tale steeped beautifully in the traditions of Mexico's Día de los Muertos.

Coco tells the story of young Miguel (Anthony Gonzalez), who is descended from a family of shoemakers - but who has no desire to join the family business. Instead, Miguel dreams of becoming a musician and following in the footsteps of his idol, the greatest musician to ever live, Ernesto de la Cruz (Benjamin Bratt). However, there's one major factor preventing Miguel from going after his dreams: his family's decades-long ban on music that has been passed down through the generations. As the story goes, Miguel's great great grandfather was a musician who abandoned his family to follow his dreams, leaving Mamá Imelda (Alanna Ubach) to raise Miguel's great grandmother, Mamá Coco (Ana Ofelia Murguía), on her own.

When Miguel's family discover he's been idolizing the music of Ernesto de la Cruz and teaching himself how to play guitar in secret, they forbid him from pursuing a career as a musician. In order to prove he can follow in the footsteps of Ernesto, Miguel steals the famed musician's guitar on Día de los Muertos and accidentally transports himself to the Land of the Dead. Though Miguel meets his deceased ancestors, they also don't understand Miguel's love of music, and he sets out in search of Ernesto with the help of charming con man Hector (Gael García Bernal), who needs Miguel's help in order to visit the Land of the Living. However, Miguel must find a way home before the sun rises, marking the end of Día de los Muertos, or else he'll be trapped in the Land of the Dead forever.

For Coco , Pixar assembled a team that are well versed in the animation studio's offerings - and it shows insofar as the film presents the best of what the studio is known for, while offering a completely new and compelling adventure. The movie was directed by Pixar veteran Lee Unkrich ( Toy Story 3 ), and co-directed by Adrian Molina ( The Good Dinosaur ); the latter co-wrote the script with Matthew Aldrich ( Cleaner ), based on a story by Unkrich, Molina, Aldrich, and Jason Katz ( Toy Story Toons: Hawaiian Vacation ). Unkrich reteamed with Toy Story 3 producer Darla K. Anderson, while fellow Pixar vet Michael Giacchino ( Inside Out, Jurassic World ) served as composer. Music is, of course, an integral aspect of the film, so Gonzalez and Bratt lend their voices to a number of catchy and fun songs in Coco - though it's not quite a musical in the vein of Disney's typical animated offerings.

The story of Coco is a rather typical hero's journey/coming of age tale, with Miguel going on a grand adventure in the Land of the Dead and learning an important lesson about both himself and his family along the way. Miguel's motivation throughout the movie - wanting to follow his dream, but not feeling understood by his family - provides for an exceptionally universal jumping off point, and acts as the anchor around which the entire film's emotional arc revolves. Even so, there are plenty of twists and turns throughout the movie that prevent the story from feeling stale; in that way, Coco somewhat resembles a telenovela, with a big third act twist that completely upends the status quo of the movie. Still, this twist only helps to further develop the main theme of the movie, which is the identity of self vs the identity of family.

Still, while the story of Coco is a major strength, it's heightened and contrasted by the colorful backdrop of the Land of the Dead. The expansive world is beautifully animated - from the wide shots of the Land as Miguel enters, to each setting as he journeys through the world's various neighborhoods. As varied as as any real world city, and populated by skeletons resembling calaveras as well as neon-colored spirit guides, the Land of the Dead in Coco is absolutely eye-catching and a wondrous thing to behold, brought to life superbly by the animators at Pixar. Further, the mythology of the world is well established so that viewers with all ranges of knowledge about Día de los Muertos and Mexican culture can understand the rules of this afterlife.

Beyond the Land of the Dead, Coco  brings Miguel's home and family to life with bright, vibrant colors in the Land of the Living as well. On the whole, Coco utilizes Pixar's typical 3D CGI animation style to craft a rich world full of depth - both for the living characters and those who are dead. Additionally, Miguel and his entire family are brought to life with varying levels of development. Because the family is so large, Coco mainly focuses on Miguel and his great great grandparents, since the ancestors started the rift in the family that's felt by Miguel in present day. Still, the story provides little details about Miguel's various family members to give them some characterization and offer more depth to the characters than viewers may expect. The result is a story full of heart and drama following characters that the audience can't help but love like their own family.

All in all, Coco is a fantastic addition to the Pixar library with all the heart and emotion of the animation studio's best offerings, as well as visuals that surpass even the company's most eye-catching films. Its story is heartwarming and universal, and richly textured thanks to its roots in Mexican culture. Though some elements of Coco are a bit dark for very young children, Pixar's latest is perhaps the perfect holiday film for families - and it will no doubt be entertaining for Pixar fans of any age. Additionally, with the exceptional visuals, Coco may be worth a 3D or IMAX viewing. Altogether, Coco has all the makings of another Pixar classic, proving the animation studio's original ideas are just as strong as they ever were.

Coco  is now playing in U.S. theaters nationwide. It runs 109 minutes and is rated PG for thematic elements.

Let us know what you thought of the film in the comments!

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• Movie Reviews
• 4 star movies

The Untimely Lesson of Coco

Adam Briggle  

T he new Disney film Coco looks at a timeless dilemma in an untimely way. The dilemma is the tension between individual and community, between the free self and the claims of family and tradition.

In Martin Heidegger’s terms , we must balance determination and freedom – we are thrown into a world not of our making, yet we project forward through our choices. By having a living boy dwell among the dead in the spirit world, the film shows the full depths of our contradictory human experience. Our birth sets us on a biography that no one else can share or inhabit from the inside. Our death folds us back into the same cloth. We are at once unique and selfsame. We are, en masse, alone.

We are thrown into a world not of our making, yet we project forward through our choices. Each culture has its own response to this push and pull. The modern West is founded, naturally, on the celebration of the individual. Tradition is seen as irrational, family as arbitrary and stifling, and the community as burdensome. Coco , however, is set in a premodern villa. We know this, because work life and home life have not yet been thoroughly divorced. There is scant electricity and industry and business have not displaced the master-apprentice economy of handcraft. The square, the market, and the church are the living heart of the town. There is a widely shared and substantive morality, one rooted in religious celebration, especially Dia de los Muertos . In the world of Coco , community, family, and tradition indeed lay heavily on the young. The boy, Miguel Rivera, is born into a rigidly structured arrangement with an identity already fated for him. The Riveras are shoemakers. They have been so now for five generations. The movie takes place on the Day of the Dead, where the living must concentrate on the pictures of the deceased arranged on the altar. The living must visit the graveyard and leave offerings there. The main song of the film is titled “Remember Me,” and it is the task of the living to remember, to hold the past in the present, to become a vessel for the ancestors. It is, to say the least, suffocating for Miguel who desperately wants to follow the bent of his own spirit to strike out and play guitar.

This much, of course, resonates with our modern mythology – the explorers, the pioneers, the self-made men. It is also classic Disney fare, and that portrayal of stifling and hidebound societal norms still painted a fairly accurate picture of the world Walt Disney knew. Main Street, USA, although quaint and reassuring, also left kids dreaming of some escape. But this is no longer our world, and that is why Coco is untimely. Our children, who sit there gawking at the computer-generated phantasmagoria, are entirely free-floating. Forget Main Street, how about Walmart Heights? The town square has become the strip mall. And jobs are not destiny, but a whirlwind of uncertainty. According to the World Economic Forum, 65% of primary school-aged children will end up working in jobs that do not yet exist. An Oxford study estimated that 47% of current jobs are at risk of elimination by automation. Another report argued that roughly one third of American workers will have to switch jobs in the coming decade due to artificial intelligence.

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Common sense media reviewers.

Stunningly animated, poignant tribute to family and culture.

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Viewers may learn about some of the cultural tradi

Many positive messages: Remember that your family

Miguel is talented, gifted, and enthusiastic. He m

Among the film's four directors and writers, Adria

For those who aren't familiar with Day of the Dead

Discussion of Mamá Imelda and her husband's love s

Infrequent use of words including "stupid," "dumb,

Nothing in the film itself, but Disney/Pixar films

Adult characters drink in a couple of scenes: a sh

Parents need to know that Coco is a vibrant Disney/Pixar film that explores the traditions of the Day of the Dead, a child's desire to become a musician despite his family's wishes, and the power of unconditional love. Told from the point of view of Miguel (voiced by Anthony Gonzalez), a young boy who ends up…

Educational Value

Viewers may learn about some of the cultural traditions (and creatures) surrounding Día de los Muertos/Day of the Dead and what it's like to live in a Mexican family dedicated to a craft (in this case, shoemaking). Kids may also learn a bit about Mexican music styles.

Positive Messages

Many positive messages: Remember that your family loves and wants the best of and for you. Love and accept who you are, and try to persevere and follow your dreams. Running away doesn't solve anything. Teamwork and asking for help are important. Gifts and talents shouldn't be ignored or suppressed; you shouldn't have to choose between your family and doing what you love. Unconditional love is powerful. It's never too late to forgive someone. Be grateful for what you have.

Positive Role Models

Miguel is talented, gifted, and enthusiastic. He makes some impulsive, risky, iffy decisions (from stealing de la Cruz's guitar to running away from those who want to help him), but he ultimately recognizes the value of his family. Mamá Imelda and Abuelita are very strict but also loving and affectionate; it takes time, but they eventually listen to what Miguel is trying to tell them. Hector is a trickster, but he also wants to redeem himself in his family's eyes.

Diverse Representations

Among the film's four directors and writers, Adrian Molina is Mexican American and openly gay. (The other three filmmakers are White men.) Though the film had a rocky start with Latino communities, Disney/Pixar course-corrected and ended up receiving generally positive reviews by Mexican and Latino critics . Coco has a nearly all-Latino voice cast, with most actors of Mexican heritage. It showcases a Mexican holiday and, through Disney and Pixar's massive scale, brings Day of the Dead traditions to a global audience. Though the main characters are all boys/men -- Miguel, the celebrity he idolizes, and his dad -- women have important supporting roles and are portrayed as strong matriarchs. The film has age diversity and encourages a deep respect for family elders. A character with dementia has a backstory and is loved.

Did we miss something on diversity? Suggest an update.

Violence & Scariness

For those who aren't familiar with Day of the Dead traditions (skeletons, makeup to look like skeletons, beheaded/limbless skeletons, etc.), there's potentially frightening imagery throughout the movie. Some violent moments are played for humor, like scenes in which a character is crushed by a large bell. Skeletons come apart frequently. A character falls from a great height. Another is shown succumbing to poison. Characters are chased/pursued; some tension/peril as a result. Sad moment when a Land of the Dead figure dissolves into dust; later, another popular character appears to fade, which could upset kids. Tear-jerking climactic sequence. Pepita, a large spirit guide animal, is like a huge flying griffin/panther, and she can be intimidating (growling, pouncing, etc.). Arguing; grown-ups yell at a kid.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.

Sex, Romance & Nudity

Discussion of Mamá Imelda and her husband's love story. A married couple embraces. Kissing/romance in a movie-within-the-movie. A "nude" skeleton poses for an artist (played for humor).

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Sex, Romance & Nudity in your kid's entertainment guide.

Infrequent use of words including "stupid," "dumb," "jerks," "hate," and "bum."

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Language in your kid's entertainment guide.

Products & Purchases

Nothing in the film itself, but Disney/Pixar films always have plenty of merchandise tie-ins, from apparel to games to toys.

Drinking, Drugs & Smoking

Adult characters drink in a couple of scenes: a shot in one scene and drinks at a party.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Drinking, Drugs & Smoking in your kid's entertainment guide.

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that Coco is a vibrant Disney/Pixar film that explores the traditions of the Day of the Dead, a child's desire to become a musician despite his family's wishes, and the power of unconditional love. Told from the point of view of Miguel (voiced by Anthony Gonzalez ), a young boy who ends up in the Land of the Dead, the movie -- which features an all-star Latino voice cast (including Gael García Bernal and Benjamin Bratt ), as well as a Latino co-director and many Latino crew members -- is a tribute to Mexican traditions and customs. The Land of the Dead has some potentially disturbing imagery, but most kids will probably get used to all of the skeletons quickly. A few moments of life-or-death peril are fraught with tension, but none of the major characters die (at least, who aren't already dead). There's also some drinking by adult characters (a shot, cocktails at a party) and a few uses of words like "stupid." While all is well in the end, the movie can be sad (as with most Pixar films, it's likely some viewers will cry), especially for those who've lost beloved relatives. But it also has powerful themes of perseverance, teamwork, and gratitude and encourages audiences to love and appreciate their family and always follow their dreams. To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails .

Where to Watch

Videos and photos.

Community Reviews

• Parents say (149)
• Kids say (169)

Based on 149 parent reviews

It was too soon for my 6 years old son.

Not for kids - bad message, what's the story.

COCO follows Miguel (voiced by Anthony Gonzalez ), a young Mexican boy born into a family of zapateros (shoemakers). For generations, the family has imposed a ban on playing or listening to music because, decades earlier, Miguel's great-great-grandfather left his great-great-grandmother Imelda ( Alanna Ubach ) and their young daughter, Coco (Ana Ofelia Murguía), to become a musician. But Miguel secretly plays the guitar and yearns to become a famous musician like his idol, Ernesto de la Cruz ( Benjamin Bratt ), the long-dead singer/actor from Miguel's hometown. On the Day of the Dead, Miguel fights with his family, steals de la Cruz's guitar from a crypt, and somehow gets transported to the Land of the Dead. There, Miguel meets up with his deceased relatives and learns that he can only return to the world of the living with a dead ancestor's blessing. Because Mamá Imelda inserts a no-music clause into her blessing, Miguel flees her and the rest of his skeletal relatives in search of de la Cruz, whom he believes to be his great-great-grandfather. Instead, Miguel teams up with Hector ( Gael García Bernal ), a scheming skeleton who claims to know de la Cruz, on his journey to find the dead idol and earn his blessing, musician to musician.

Is It Any Good?

Colorful, beautifully animated, and culturally vibrant, Coco is an affecting, multilayered coming-of-age drama. Miguel just wants to make music, even though it's forbidden to him because his family believes that music cursed them. Gonzalez, a tween who performs Mariachi music, is an ideal pick to voice the movie's main character. It's clear that, like his animated alter ego, he's a talented performer. Featuring "Remember Me," an original song from Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez (the husband-and-wife team behind the Frozen soundtrack), and other songs written and produced by a team of Mexican songwriters and consultants, Coco boasts an authentic soundtrack and a memorable score by award-winning composer Michael Giacchino.

The voice cast is nearly all Latino (and most have Mexican heritage), with internationally renowned Mexican American actor Edward James Olmos and comedians Cheech Marin and Gabriel Iglesias voicing supporting characters. Bratt (who's half Peruvian) has just the right timbre of gravitas to play de la Cruz, a famous and vainglorious musician who died at the peak of his career. As for the titular character, she's Miguel's great-grandmother, and her scenes with Miguel will bring a tear to even the most jaded viewer's eyes. The movie will be especially moving for anyone who's had to separate from their family, whether because of death or another reason. But of all the movie's relationships, it's really Miguel's with Hector that's the most nuanced and fascinating. Bernal's Hector is so much more than he seems, and whether he's pretending to be Frida Kahlo (the ghost of Kahlo herself also makes an appearance), playing the guitar, or pleading his case to be remembered, he's the film's second hero. Like the best Pixar movies, Coco is ultimately a story about the power of relationships and why familia is so important.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

Families can talk about the popularity of stories about young characters who must go on a dangerous journey to find out about themselves. What does Miguel learn in Coco ? How do his experiences in the Land of the Dead help him grow?

Talk about the movie's theme of family duty vs. personal ambition. Which characters in Coco are role models , and which character strengths do they demonstrate? How are gratitude , perseverance , and teamwork especially encouraged?

Did you think any parts of the movie were scary ? How much scary stuff can young kids handle? Who do you think is the ideal audience for this movie? Why?

Did you already know about the Day of the Dead? If not, what did you learn about the holiday? How does your family pay tribute to relatives and loved ones after they've passed away? Which other Mexican traditions and values does the movie promote? Which holidays, music, and other cultural traditions do you celebrate with your family?

Did you notice that characters speak both English and Spanish in the movie? For bilingual and multilingual families: Why do you think it's important or useful to speak more than one language? How does language connect you with your heritage -- and your family?

Movie Details

• In theaters : November 22, 2017
• On DVD or streaming : February 27, 2018
• Cast : Benjamin Bratt , Gael Garcia Bernal , Anthony Gonzalez
• Directors : Lee Unkrich , Adrian Molina
• Inclusion Information : Latino directors, Indigenous actors, Latino actors
• Studio : Pixar Animation Studios
• Genre : Family and Kids
• Topics : Magic and Fantasy , Adventures , Holidays
• Character Strengths : Gratitude , Perseverance , Teamwork
• Run time : 109 minutes
• MPAA rating : PG
• MPAA explanation : thematic elements
• Awards : Academy Award , Common Sense Selection , Golden Globe , Kids' Choice Award
• Last updated : May 5, 2024

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

Suggest an Update

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Home — Essay Samples — Entertainment — Animation — “Coco” by Lee Unkrich: Movie Analysis

"Coco" by Lee Unkrich: Movie Analysis

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The New York Times

Arts | why you cried at the end of ‘coco’, why you cried at the end of ‘coco’.

By AISHA HARRIS AUG. 20, 2018

An ongoing series devoted to the little things ( a soundtrack , a sculpture , a scene , a bit , a title sequence , a music video , a line ) we love.

Why I Love This scene from “Coco.”

By Aisha Harris

It’s a given that Pixar has cracked the code for calibrating the perfect feeling-all-the-feels moment: That instant where the narrative taps into its audience’s deepest emotions and reduces it to tears. It’s there in “Toy Story 3.” “Up,” of course. “Inside Out.”

“Coco” is no different — though there’s something uniquely effective about how it gets you to that place.

While there have been songs in Pixar movies before “Coco,” musical numbers have always been much more integral to the Disney canon. And within the last 30 years, many of those Disney movies took advantage of a Broadway staple: the reprise.

In movies like “The Little Mermaid,” “Beauty and the Beast,” and, more recently, “Moana,” the reprise is a return to the melody of an earlier song, used as a declarative statement reinforcing the protagonist’s will in their journey.

“Watch and you’ll see, someday I’ll be part of your world,” Ariel belts to an aloof Prince Eric.

“Coco,” Pixar’s most musical feature to date, offers a twist on the reprise. Rather than pump you up for the big adventure, it’ll bring on all the tears — in the best way possible.

The first time we hear “Remember Me,” while watching “Coco,” it’s performed as an up-tempo romantic tune by the famous singer Ernesto de la Cruz:

But when we hear it again later, it takes on a new form: A lullaby by Coco’s father, Héctor, written for baby Coco:

Only when Miguel, Coco’s great-grandson, travels to the Land of the Dead does he discover the true history of “Remember Me”: Ernesto, upset that Héctor planned to abandon his career and return to his family, poisoned his friend and stole Héctor’s songs to seek fame.

In the movie’s final act, Miguel returns to the living and hopes to restore Coco’s memories of Héctor. The song returns again.

He pleads with her: “I saw your papá!”

Hunched over in her wheelchair, she seems to stare off into nowhere.

Miguel again: What about papá’s guitar?

The family photo?

But then — the guitar again.

One last thread of hope.

“Mama Coco, your papá — he wanted you to have this.”

Miguel begins to strum the guitar and perform the song Coco’s papá wrote for her as a little girl. “Remember me,” he sings in a near-whisper, through tears. “Though I have to say goodbye.”

Cut to a close up of Coco’s hand, draped on the arm of her wheelchair, twitching ever so slightly. The camera moves up to her face, and in that moment, the tiniest flicker appears in her downward cast eyes:

Let’s pause for a second here. The restorative power of memory is a recurring theme: To remember someone is to keep their spirit alive. But it’s how one is thought of that is equally important.

As Miguel continues to sing, the elder Coco’s face begins to soften and come alive. She shuts her eyes for a moment, then joins in, a smile widening upon her face:

Miguel’s face brightens and they lock eyes. Abuelita, Coco’s daughter, is drawn in, too, her own eyes welling with tears. A close up on Coco’s face. She’s absolutely glowing. She remembers:

As I take in “Remember Me” this last time, I recall what that song means to Coco and Héctor, and what it now means to Miguel, who, like myself, gains a new understanding of its lyrics.

While the connection between the song and its characters is very specific to the story, there’s an element of universality that links it to my own experiences as a viewer — the passage of time, loss, family.

And then, through my tears, I think of the memories I have of my own loved ones, and how precious, and precarious, they are.

The repeated occurrences of “Remember Me” are not just a clever play on the movie’s themes of recollection and family, or, as in its Disney predecessors, the rallying cry of a protagonist ready to take on the world. “Remember Me” is a gut punch, that fittingly lingers long after it’s gone.

Aisha Harris is an assistant editor on the Culture Desk at The New York Times.

Images and clips: Disney/Pixar

What are the little things we love? Read more in our ongoing series.

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Coco Movie Review and Reflection Analysis

Few film production companies could imagine that an animated film with death as its center would appeal to a wide audience. The question posed at the heart of Coco, the latest Pixar’s film is if a person can honor his family along with pursuing his dreams. The film whirls around an aspiring 12-year-old Mexican boy Miguel Rivera (voiced by Anthony Gonzalez) who dreams of becoming a musician, against the fact that his family proscribed music after his great-great-grandfather left his family for music.

Despite the family’s hatred for music, Miguel covertly plays guitar and covets to become a popular musician like Ernesto De La Cruz.

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On Dia de Muertos(Day of the Dead), Miguel fights with his family about performing in a local music talent show, which doesn’t go well with music-loathing Riveras and especially his abuelita (voiced by Renee Victor), who gets agitated and smashes Miguel’s guitar like a pinata.

After fighting with his family, Miguel finds himself a guitar in the tomb of his idol, Ernesto De La Cruz(voiced by Benjamin Bratt), a well-known musician. Without realizing a thing, Miguel robs a guitar from the crypt and plays it, which gets him transported to the Land of the Dead. The film’s about how he returns back to the world of the living and his adventures in the land of the dead. Stunning visuals with sophisticatedly ordered and intensely striking storytelling being the trademarks of the best movies of Pixar Animation Studios, Coco will also thrill the audience with Pixar’s usual verve and style.

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The land of the dead with skeletons walking and talking with a glaze of fluorescent flower petals paved upon the streets is visually appealing. This whole imaginative journey in the land of the dead is full of mindblowing sights and creatures which is worth getting lost in. The brilliant, colorful visuals and a mysterious chain of adventures that happen throughout the film is what makes Coco interesting like other Disney-Pixar films….

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PaperAp.com. (2019). Coco Movie Review and Reflection Analysis . [Online]. Available at: https://paperap.com/coco-movie-review-and-reflection-analysis/ [Accessed: 28-May-2024]

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