Film Criticism: Coco (2017)

The perfect combination between beautiful Mexican culture and the mellow plot in the film Coco

by Thitichaya Somsuk

    

What will you do if the dream that you want to chase is against your family’s desire? Will you choose to follow your heart or your family?

 

      In 2017, Pixar Disney released an animated movie;--Coco, a Mexican boy named Miguel, who was born in a shoes maker’s family, has a big dream to pursue; to be a famous musician like Ernesto de la Cruz, his role model. But here is a problem, music has been forbidden in his family for generations as Coco (Miguel’s great grandmother)’s father leaves his family to pursue his dream to become a musician. One day during the Mexican's old traditions, Día de Los Muertos (Day of the Dead), Miguel bobs up in the fantasy and varicolored land of the dead taking an adventure to find the way to get permission from his ancestor to let him follow his dream. On the journey, he bumps into a tricky impostor named Hector with the deal to help each other accomplish one’s wish; they then find out the truth about Miguel’s family background. The brilliant technique in telling the story through the Mexican culture made the director, Lee Unkrich and Adrian Molina (co-director), win Oscar for Best Animated Feature Film in 2018. It is Lee Unkrich's second time winning Oscar after Toy Story 3. Lee and his crew worked hard on researching Mexican culture as he interviewed with The Verge that he felt a big responsibility to do it right. He and his team had to submerge themselves in Mexican culture and surround themselves with the experts to narrate the story mixed with culture effectively and delicately. Their efforts make Coco cross the biggest box office, about 827 million pesos or 43 million dollars, of all time in Mexico after releasing the film in less than a month.

       The creator’s studio of Coco, Pixar Animation Studios, is Walt Disney studios’ subsidiary and is hugely famous for its computer-animated feature films. The first animated film created by Pixar is Toy Story, first launched in 1995, and it became a hit and successful animated film. The terrific reputation in this field becomes wider and wider due to the unique and outstanding style of telling a story. Pixar always comes up with emotional and ingenious ways of creating characters and storylines. Pixar’s animated movies usually leave some worthy and touching messages for audiences of all ages. For instance, Toy Story points out the aspects of the bonding of friendship and growing up, Inside out (2015) tells the audience to embrace all of the emotions within ourselves as all of them are part of us, Soul (2020) takes the audience on the flight to explore the meaning of life. Apart from the impressive plot and messages, the visual innovation is priceless. The quality of both sceneries and characters is stunning and delicately created. However, in later films of Pixar studios, they focus more on cultural aspects in one's culture. For instance, Luca (2021) picks Italian folklore and myth to create the characters and depicts the story through the Italian environment and culture. And importantly, the main focus, Coco (2017), the director gets inspiration from Mexican culture and centers around the tradition of the Day of Dead (Dia De Los Muertos) and smoothly introduces the audience to this unique tradition of Mexico. He and his crew also add some specific details of Mexican culture. For example, the fantasy and colorful animals in the land of the dead are inspired by the Mexican folk creature, Alebrije. In addition, the setting of the land of the dead in the film also gets inspiration from Guanajuato City. Coco indeed becomes booming because of the flavorful balance between the cultural aspects and the plot. We will look closely and deeper at the cultural aspect in the next part. However, the point that cannot miss mentioned is the musical element as Pixar is also famed for its iconic original soundtrack. Such as, in Toy Story, most people are familiar with the song You've Got a Friend in Me. In 2018, Remember Me, composed by Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez, the original soundtrack of Coco, won an Oscar for the Best Original Song. This song is one of the prime keys in making this film a good tearjerker and warm-hearted. 

the Ofrendas

As in the aforementioned, Coco beautifully illustrates Mexican culture and tradition throughout the 105 minutes of the film. The most remarkable cultural aspect that the director points out is the Mexican holiday, Día de Los Muertos. This tradition plays a significant role in connecting the living world with the death world. In the film, Miguel can travel to the land of the dead because he steals the guitar of Ernesto de la Cruz on the day of the dead as the ripened photo of his ancestor make him mistakenly think that Ernesto de la Cruz is his true ancestor. He then starts his extraordinary adventure in the land of the dead. Día de Los Muertos is the day that Mexican people honor their ancestors. It is believed that the souls of the departed family members will reunion to have a feast together with the livings; dancing, singing and eating. They will prepare the big meal on the graves or the Ofrendas (the altar decorating with candles, flowers, and photos of the dead ones) at their house and use the petals of marigold flowers as a bridge to lead their deceased ones. As we can see from the film, the road on the land of the dead to the living world is covered with marigold petals. Also, the photos of the departed ones are exceedingly crucial as Mama Imelda, the family founder, and Hector, a stray spirit, cannot return to the family reunion due to the absence of their photos on the altar. This annual tradition is celebrated from 31 October to 2 November. They believe that on 31 October at midnight, the heaven gate will be opened, and the children's souls will return to the families for a day. On 2 November will be the time of the adults’ souls. Another outstanding cultural aspect is the Mexican families. Most Mexican families tend to be large families and have a very close relationship with every generation. Mexican people are expected to put families above their desires. Therefore, the families have a vast influence on each member. It can link to the film Coco, as Miguel is prohibited from becoming a musician or even playing music in the house due to the strict rule set by the former of the family, Mama Imelda. Everyone in his family agrees to follow the rule except Miguel. He has a serious argument with his grandmother because he does not conform to the family’s convention. However, at the end of the movie, Miguel uses music to bring the joyfulness of the family back. He sings Remember Me for Mama Coco, who is about to forget everything in the past, to recognize the treasure moments of her life;-- singing with her papa, Hector. Therefore, he saves Hector, his true ancestor, from being fade away and can rejoin the family on the day of the dead each year.

The film Coco is indeed a mellow animated movie that can divisibly blend the odor of Mexican culture with the simple but also tasteful plot. It is a masterpiece of art. If you are a big fan of Pixar studios, this film is truly worth being on the top of your favorite lists.