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In ‘Coco,’ Family is Everything
New Disney Film About Family, Life, and Remembering
by Sandra Olmsted
Director Lee Unkrich’s animated film Coco portrays the Mexican holiday of Día de Muertos as a celebration of family love. However, 12 year-old Miguel (voice of Anthony Gonzalez) isn’t feeling very loved because his secret love and talent for music has been discovered by Miguel’s grandmother, Mamá Imelda (voice of Alanna Ubach). Because his great-great-grandfather abandoned his great-grandmother Mamá Coco (voice of Ana Ofelia Murguía) and her mother to become a troubadour, music is never allowed in the extended family’s home or shoemaking business. During the preparations for Día de Muertos or Day of the Dead, Miguel discovers that his great-great-grandfather had a guitar that is identical to the one owned by his idol Ernesto de la Cruz (voice of Benjamin Bratt). The photo with the guitar in it was torn and folded to remove the face of Coco’s father by her mother, who started the shoemaking business and banned music forever. Fortunately, Unkrich and his music-loving creative team created an intricate musical tapestry for Coco, which echoes with heartfelt marimba, mariachi and cumbia tunes.
Miguel is so convinced that Ernesto de la Cruz, a movie star and acclaimed singer-songwriter who died young in an on-stage accident, is his missing ancestor that he sneaks into de la Cruz’s mausoleum to get the guitar. Miguel feels the beautiful guitar is rightfully his; he also desperately needs it for the musical competition he hopes will convince his family that he has music in his blood. When Miguel strums the guitar, he is transported to another dimension, the dimension of the dead, even though he is still alive. He and his dog, Dante, cross into the Land of the Dead, a fantastical metropolis beautifully rendered by production designer Harley Jessup.
Meanwhile, in the Land of the Dead, departed loved ones are preparing to cross the beautiful bridge of orange flowers and visit their living families, yet only those who photos are on the altars can visit. The photos of deceased loved ones are put out on a family altar each Día de Muertos so that those departed loved ones may visit their family and celebrate with them. Hector (voice of Gael García Bernal) is one of the unfortunates whose family doesn’t remembers him, and he will soon suffer the second death of never being remember and disappear from even the celebratory Land of the Dead. Hector befriends Miguel because both have a connection to de la Cruz, and Hector will do anything to help Miguel return home provided Miguel takes the only remaining photo of Hector with him. Hector wants to continue to wait to see his family again before his second death, and Miguel has only until dawn to complete his quest or he will not return to the land of the living. Several lovely plot twists will surprise.
In Coco, Unkrich makes the Day of the Dead extremely appealing while presenting a way of dealing with death and still celebrating life and loved ones. The film is gorgeous, both musically and visually. The 3D version is well worth the extra cost because Unkrich and his creative team have used the 3D exactly as it should be used — to tell the story better. As this quintessential Mexican holiday and its decorative skulls have become more popular in America, Coco is extremely timely in sharing this meaningful family holiday. Coco also presents death in a way that might provide a little solace for those who have suffered the loss of a loved one. Coco, a Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures release is rated PG for thematic elements and runs a fast paced 151 minutes. At the end of the credits, the filmmakers appropriately pay homage to their departed loved one with photographs. The twenty-one minute animated short “Olaf’s Frozen Adventure” accompanies Coco.
