I’M IN LOVE WITH THE COCO.
By Sean David Hartman
Disney and Pixar have done it again, creating a movie filled with heart, morals, and laughter. Visually stunning with a beautiful storyline and fantastic music, Coco is a fantastic feature for children and adults alike.
The movie tells the tale of a young Mexican child named Miguel, who dreams of nothing to be like his hero Ernesto De La Cruz. De La Cruz is a famous Mexican musician and soap opera star, the stereotypical Latin lover.
He is considered the most famous Mexican musician, with a statue in the middle of the town square, his own crypt that subtly resembles a Greek temple, and an annual celebration in his honor in both the realms of the living and the dead.
De La Cruz is essentially a god to the community, and everyone including Miguel reveres him.Everyone except Miguel’s family, who not only have a unique distaste for De La Cruz, but for all music in general.
The backstory is that a long time ago, one of Miguel’s ancestors left his wife to pursue a musical career. Distraught, the wife opened a shoemaking business and forbade music.
The tradition of shoemaking and music hating continued onward until Miguel, the family’s black sheep, reverses tradition with his reckless pursuit of his dreams.
Sadly, Miguel’s quest traps him in the realm of the dead during Mexico’s Dia De Los Muertos celebration, a day when the souls of loved one’s travel to the living world to visit their loved ones.
There he meets Hector, a soul who cannot travel to the living world, as his family has not placed his picture on the ofrenda. Hector is slowly disappearing as his family has begun to forget him, and if no remembers you in the living world, you cease to exist in the realm of the dead.
To return to the living world, Miguel must seek out Ernesto De La Cruz, and to do that, Miguel must win a competition to gain his audience at his luxurious underworld penthouse.
The movie is visually stunning and full of heart. Though not entirely a laugh riot, there are enough laughs in the movie to make it enjoyable.
Most importantly, it has such beautiful messages and morals, and yes, that plural was purposeful.
The main story teaches about the importance of family, but also about acceptance and following your dreams. But even than there are even more important messages, including the dangers of idolization.
Coco is one more movie for the Pixar record books, and easily anyone of any age can enjoy this movie.
Sean Hartman is a Junior at the University of Central Florida, studying Political Science. He previously served as the Vice President of the Southwest Florida Young Republicans and as Assistant Regional Coordinator to the Ted Cruz For President campaign. He described himself as a “Professional Political Nuisance” and labels his political views as “classical liberalism”.
