Rating: PG

Score: 9/10

On Wednesday, November 22, 2017, Disney came out with its latest animated film, Coco, which follows a young boy finding his family history and entering the world of the dead on Dia de los Muertos (The Day of the Dead)

Dia de los Muertos is a huge Mexican holiday celebrated through several days in order to pray and remember loved ones who have died. Families and friends gather to help the spiritual journey of loved ones who have passed away

. It is important to have an “ofrenda” which is a collection of objects and/or food and a picture of the ones who have died. It is used as a welcoming to the dead people.

Coco is a movie different than anything Disney has done before, putting so much culture into one movie. The plot twists throughout the are very unexpected and keep you on the edge of your chair the whole movie. Furthermore, the movie teaches the importance of family and how everyone should work together. It also shows how kids aren’t always right and need to trust their elders instinct. Additionally songs and beautiful scenery throughout the movie, impressed me and helped me to now know a lot about the Day of the Dead.

Backround Summary :

Coco is focused around a young boy named Miguel. The name Coco comes from his great grandma who was called “Mama Coco.” In Miguel’s family, for several generations, music was never allowed. No singing or instruments at all. No one knew exactly why, but it was how each member in that family was taught and raised. Miguel’s grandma would scream at the sound of music and shoo them away because that’s how her mom, Miguel’s great grandma, raised her, and that is also how “Mama Coco” was raised by her mother. Miguel was the odd one in the family who couldn’t resist the sound of a certain singer who was famous in his time and left a legacy behind. He would go on hiding to listen to the songs written and sung by this singer and would also watch the films that he starred in. A whole room in the attic with pictures full of this singer and a guitar just so he could learn how to play too fueled his passion for music. He knew being a musician was in his blood, but he didn’t know how since music was banned from his family. With his family preparing for Dia de los Muertos, the ofrenda was set up. At the very top of the ofrenda sat a picture of his great great grandma. When Miguel’s dog was being hidden under the ofrenda, he bumped it and that picture fell and shattered on the ground. Miguel picked up the picture and noticed it was folded in half. On the other half of the picture was a man, but his head was ripped out of the picture leaving only his body and his guitar. Miguel knew the guitar was familiar and ran to his hideout only to find out it was the same guitar as the famous singer who he dreamed of being. After being in total shock, Miguel runs away from his house and his family to the place where the singer was laid to rest. The guitar he owned hung above his coffin so Miguel broke in and stole it. With an amazing plot twist, Miguel ends of in the world of the dead. No one living could see Miguel, only the dead who crossed over to the living world for their holiday. The only way they could cross over was if someone had their picture up on a ofrenda.

Find out what happens when Miguel has to find a way out back to his normal life and figure out what he learns along the way about his family and history. The rest of the movie is filled with twists and turns, making it a must watch film!