IMDb listing
CNS/USCCB (J. Mulderig) review
Los Angeles Times (J. Chang) review
RogerEbert.com (M. Zoller-Seitz) review
AVClub (I. Vishnevetsky) review
Coco [2017] (directed and screenplay cowritten by Lee Unkrich and Adrian Molina, story by Jason Katz, Matthew Aldrich, Lee Unkrich and Adrian Molina) while not without some initial problems (refer to the CNS/USCCB review by J. Mulderig above) largely gets the Mexican "Day of the Dead" tradition right.
On November 2nd, the Catholic Church as a whole remembers the Day our Faithful Departed (All Souls Day), assumed because we knew them (we knew their gifts as well as their failings) to be in Purgatory (where they have to still purify themselves, that is correct / make amends for said failings) rather than end up in either Heaven or Hell. We pray for them that their time in Purgatory would not be terribly long (that they would do what they need to do to make things right). And we have hope that those who will come after us will pray for us as well and that we will, if we've already made it to Purgatory rather than fallen to Hell, eventually make it to Heaven as well.
The Catholic Church's three tier structure of the Afterlife has generally been welcomed by indigenous / pre-Christian cultures the world-over because it mercifully does not automatically send all non-absolutely-perfect Christians after their deaths to Hell. There is this LARGE middle category where our loved ones can go to (again, because we know them, yes, their failings but also their good qualities), from where Heaven remains possible and Hell not inevitable.
For instance, in my parents' native Czech culture, Nov 2nd popularly called Dušičky*, or the "Day of the Little Souls", is extremely important EVEN TO THIS DAY (as the day when EVERYONE, both religious and non, goes to the cemetery to remember their departed loved-ones). And the Russians (Orthodox) ALSO celebrate elaborate prayer services called Panykhidas for their departed loved ones each year. More fundamentalist religions generally don't offer this "middle option" and so the vast majority of people in those traditions are simply doomed.
In Mexico, as elsewhere Nov 2nd is EXTREMELY IMPORTANT and the Church's prayers "For the Faithful Departed" has been conflated there with various pre-Christian traditions, all basically seeking to remember / honor our deceased loved ones.
It is this Mexican pre-Colombian set of Traditions of simply remembering the deceased loved ones that is largely portrayed in this film. However, I would argue that the Catholic concept of Purgatory, the working-out of past tragedies / crimes / misunderstandings is _not_ lost in the story either.
Most Mexican Viewers of the current film (and Mexican descended Readers of this review) will probably have little difficulty harmonizing the two sets of Traditions (Catholic / indigenous) with each other. And again, the concept of reparation, making things right, is _not_ lost in this either.
Alright, to the story of the film at hand, told marvelously by Disney / Pixar, using animated techniques that wonderfully pay homage to traditional Mexican culture: For instance, the whole prologue to the story (it's setup) plays-out, in animated fashion on pieces of papel picado (the elaborately cut-out pieces of tissue paper which are, in fact, used as decorations for the traditional Mexican commemoration of the Day of the Dead). AND THE PROLOGUE TO THE STORY IS _REALLY_ IMPORTANT:
The film's chief protagonist 10-12 year old Miguel (voiced by Anthony Gonzalez) is from a family of shoemakers BUT ... he'd much rather be a musician and play the guitar / sing.
He's being prevented from doing so by his ENTIRE FAMILY, especially by his abuelita (grandmother, voiced by Renee Victor) because FIVE GENERATIONS BACK abuelita's own grandmother, by now deceased, Mamá Imelda (voiced by Alanna Ubach) and her then baby daughter, now abuelita's own mother and Miguel's great grandmother, Mamá Coco (voiced by Ana Ofelia Murguía) ... were left ABANDONED by Mamá Imelda's husband ... A DIRTY NO GOOD MUSICIAN ;-).
So it could be said that Miguel _has_ "music in his genes" BUT ... there's a _still unresolved_ family tragedy / crime GOING BACK FIVE GENERATIONS that is preventing him from fulfilling his destiny.
Well ... Miguel spends his time hiding his interest in music from his family. But things come to a head when he's challenged by one of the local mariachi players to enter into the town's annual DAY OF THE DEAD MUSIC CONTEST. He'd love to do so, but he'd need to borrow someone's guitar -- good old abuelita had discovered his and SMASHED IT.
Well, Dear Readers, you know how musicians are -- NO ONE WANTS TO LEND OUT ONE'S GUITAR ;-). SOO ... Miguel, on the Day of the Dead, enters into the town's cemetery, breaks into the tomb of the town's most famous son, A Mariachi player by the name of Ernesto de la Cruz (voiced by Benjamin Bratt) to steal (err borrow) his guitar. And by then, he actually suspects that Ernesto de la Cruz may have been his great-great-grandfather (so it wouldn't really be stealing anyway ;-).
Well, Miguel gets to the guitar, strikes one chord, and ... since it's ALSO the Day of the Dead, starts seeing Dead People ;-) ...
He then sets out to find good old Ernesto de la Cruz, to meet him and get his blessing. While looking for Ernesto, he also meets Mamá Imelda, his great great grand mother, as well as all the other deceased members of his family, who he recognizes from their photographs that that the family would put on the family's Day of the Dead altar. Needless to say, even the deceased are not excited that Miguel was trying to find _a musician_.
Much ensues as Miguel tries to get to Ernesto's rather luxurious home in the "abode of the dead" (while his own family members, both living and deceased, are trying to prevent him from doing so).
I do want to tell Readers here that the story has some interesting twists: Yes, to begin to get answers, Miguel has to make it to Ernesto, BUT ... the story of what actually happened back to Miguel's family 4-5 generations ago is actually more complicated than it would initially seem.
I won't get into this further, because that would enter into Spoiler territory. However, I will say that the story of what happened to Miguel's family that made them hate music so much (and for so long) is one that would interest a company like Pixar whose stories are often far more complex / poignant than would initially meet the eye ... Think here of WALL-E [2008], Up [2009], Toy Story 3 [2010], Finding Nemo [2003] and Finding Dory [2016]. All of those films were far more emotional than one would have initially expected them to be. The same is the case here.
I will say, of course, that there is a happy ending. However, it's also an ending worthy of the entire setup of the story.
After all, I began this review noting that in the Catholic conception of things, most souls would go to Purgatory initially before proceeding to Heaven. Why? Because there would still be "loose ends" in their lives that would need to be fixed before they could proceed further.
Here is a story, about a tragedy that happened 4-5 generations back that still needed to be fixed.
Wonderful job Pixar / Disney, wonderful job! ;-)
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