Coco (2017)

Directed by: Lee Unkrich & Adrian Molina

Written by: Lee Unkrich & Jason Katz

Starring: Anthony Gonzalez, Gael Garcia Bernal, Benjamin Bratt

Coco is one of those movies looking back on it, I should have seen a lot of things coming. If I had thought about why this part of the plot was setup in this particular way, I could have seen that the payoff was the only logical outcome. What happened though is that the movie was so good at emotionally affecting me that each revelation and moment was pulled off with great impact.

Take the sequence where Miguel finally achieves his goal and makes it to Ernesto de la Cruz's party. Ernesto learns he has a great grandson and there's a beautiful montage showing them reconnecting and enjoying each others' company. Miguel is so happy to finally have a family member that accepts his desire to be a musician, and Ernesto is only too happy to show his new family all of his accomplishments. I even said to myself during this sequence "I hope that Ernesto actually is his family, because not being able to send him back after this would be devastating." Then the sequence where Ernesto is confronted by Hector happens. The truth comes out, and that feeling of hoping that Ernesto is Miguel's great grandfather is but a distant memory. The landscape has changed too much.

Another example is Hector being forgotten. The way it played out I thought that there might be a chance he would stay forgotten. That Miguel would use that moment to understand once and for all the power of family, while still being able to gain the support of them. The theme of family didn't quite work for me. Near the end Miguel was willing to sacrifice his dream for Hector, a change that took place over the entire movie. Meanwhile Imelda and Abuelita have a change of heart very quickly after one incident each. For Imelda it's the finale of the film, stealing Hector's photo away from Ernesto, and for Abuelita it's Coco opening up and talking after Miguel plays her 'Remember Me'.

Now that I think about it, Abuelita's change is quite strong. She sees in one act the power of music. It brings Coco back to life more than she has been in years. I think the same idea is behind Imelda's change, but that scene is trying to do so much more (reveal Ernesto's wickedness to the whole world for one) that her change of heart doesn't seem as earned.

Coco is another part of the movie I should have seen coming. Watching the trailers I wondered why it was called Coco. That question returned to me throughout the film, even though Mama Coco is introduced right at the beginning. It was only when Hector talks about his daughter and it clicks why he wants to return to the land of the living that the full weight of that title hit me. That's the genius of the film. The way all the pieces are in plain view for the entirety of its run time, but it's only when they click into place that you realise the answers were right in front of you the whole time. That's why every reveal is emotionally powerful. Even the character arc of Dante the street dog. He and his floppy tongue sit right alongside Doug in the pantheon of great dogs in animation.