Coco (2017)

Among Pixar’s films about death, this is the brightest and most beautiful. Coco uses Mexico’s cultural tradition of Día de los Muertos (the Day of the Dead) as its backdrop and unfolds a story about the way the living and the dead are connected, told through the medium of music. My rating is ★4.0.

What it’s about — Miguel, who went to the Land of the Dead

Miguel (Anthony Gonzalez), a boy who loves music, steals a guitar from the tomb of legendary musician Ernesto de la Cruz despite his family’s ban on music, and is pulled into the Land of the Dead. Before sunrise he must receive his family’s blessing and return to reality or he will be trapped there forever. The Land of the Dead is a colorful, vibrant world — a beautiful visualization of Mexico’s Día de los Muertos tradition. In the Land of the Dead, Miguel meets an unexpected companion named Héctor (Gael García Bernal) and begins a journey to find his great-great-grandfather. A Pixar film from 2017, it won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature and Best Original Song.

Direction — A world built on the bones of culture

Lee Unkrich used Mexican culture not as surface decoration but as the bones of the story. The Pixar production team is known to have visited Mexico directly and received cultural consultations, and that diligence shows on screen. The visual design of the Land of the Dead is at a level that overwhelms the eye. Fluorescent buildings, marigold bridges, the colorful festival atmosphere stacked in layers — all combine to create a completely distinctive world. The structure in which music itself drives the narrative is also effective.

Performance — Voices that even carried the singing

Anthony Gonzalez, who voices the protagonist Miguel, brings the character to life by performing the songs himself. Gael García Bernal’s Héctor is a character carrying both comedic elements and emotional weight simultaneously, anchoring the film’s center.

What the film says — You exist as long as you’re remembered

Coco’s core message is about the relationship between memory and death. In the Land of the Dead, you can exist as long as the living remember you. Complete death arrives when no one remembers you any longer. The way this premise operates movingly throughout the entire film is Pixar’s own craft. The method of weaving the meaning of remembering and being remembered into the story carries a profound resonance for adult viewers as well. The process in which a family’s history and an individual’s dream collide and then reconcile is handled without cliché, and the fact that reconciliation doesn’t feel forced is this film’s greatest virtue.

Ratings & reception

TMDB score is 8.2, high even among Pixar films. IMDb score is 8.4. Rotten Tomatoes freshness reaches 97%. It won Academy Awards for Best Animated Feature and Best Original Song (Remember Me). It received warm praise in Mexico itself for its careful recreation of the culture.

What doesn’t work

The reversal formula shared by Pixar films becomes predictable at the midpoint. The climactic scene just before the ending is handled somewhat quickly. Once the main twist is known, it’s hard to recapture the impact of the first viewing on re-watch.

Verdict

Coco is Pixar’s most beautiful handling of the theme of death. Visual spectacle that delights the eye and narrative that touches the emotions mesh perfectly. The emotional climax of the final fifteen minutes is among the most cited scenes in Pixar’s catalog — and knowing it’s coming doesn’t diminish the feeling. The decision to make Mexico’s cultural tradition the heart of the story rather than mere backdrop is what makes this film special. It works for both children and adults — one of Pixar’s finest. Those who love music will find an even deeper resonance.

Recommended for

• Pixar animation fans
• Those with an interest in Mexican culture and Día de los Muertos
• Those who want a moving story with music at its center