History Awesome / Coco

--->'''Miguel:''' (Angrily, to Ernesto) Héctor's the ''real'' musician! You're just the guy who murdered him and stole his songs!

*** Speaking of the shoes: Imelda uses a shoe to stamp on Ernesto's foot to steal the picture back. Presumably this is ''a shoe she has made herself.'' Talk about well made!
* During the chase for Héctor's picture, Ernesto sends some of his goons after the deceased Rivera family. But does that stop them? Nope! The entire Rivera family fights back! Special mention goes to Papa Julio, who takes a couple of the guards down, despite being [[PintSizedPowerhouse the shortest]] and [[BewareTheNiceOnes the most timid]] out of all the deceased Rivera family.

*** Especially in the novelization. For context, Miguel's family has always believed music tears family apart, whereas the shoe-making business brought them together, all while being ignorant about what did really happen to Héctor and how the music ban really affected Coco to the point of worsening her dementia. Héctor, on the other hand, advises that the purpose of music is to bring people closer, and Miguel's experiences with him left him contemplative about becoming a musician for popularity's sake like what his idol Ernesto always espouses. Not to mention, that particular purpose is also how Héctor is saved in the end by having Coco becoming lucid again upon hearing the familiar strumming of the guitar and her favorite lullaby being sung by her descendant. Here's where the boy speaks the truth when he confronts Ernesto, now finally armed with facts and applying wisdom to his reasoning against the very person who played him and his family [[PrecisionFStrike stupid]] for almost a century that it almost feels cathartic to see Miguel finally directing his ire to the ''right'' person:

* The CatharsisFactor when Héctor posthumously receives all the fame and recognition and remembrance he was denied for years. He even gets his own little museum. At least he had one family member (Coco) to remember him, whereas Ernesto has neither a family (presumably), nor will he keep the fame he (literally) killed for - his gravestone sported a handmade sign reading "Forget You!" on the Dia de los Muertos the next year.

* During the chase for Hector's picture, Ernesto sends some of his goons after the deceased Rivera family. But does that stop them? Nope! The entire Rivera family fights back! Special mention goes to Papa Julio, who takes a couple of the guards down, despite being [[PintSizedPowerhouse the shortest]] and [[BewareTheNiceOnes the most timid]] out of all the deceased Rivera family.

** What's more, if the picture of Héctor symbolizes Imelda's heart, her taking it back after Ernesto steals it [[RuleOfSymbolism represents]] what a strong-willed woman she is to not fall for a scoundrel like de la Cruz. Ernesto can make any woman fall in love with him, but not [[SeductionProofMarriage Imelda]]. As demonstrated, if he ever ''tried'' to steal her heart, she'd only steal it back.

*** Especially in the novelization. For context, Miguel's family has always believed music tears family apart, whereas the shoe-making business brought them together, all while being ignorant about what did really happen about Héctor and how the music ban really affected Coco into the point of worsening her dementia. Héctor, on the other hand, advises that the purpose of music is to bring people closer, and Miguel's experiences with him left him contemplative about becoming a musician for popularity's sake like what his idol Ernesto always espouses. Not to mention, that particular purpose is also how Hector is saved in the end by having Coco becoming lucid again upon hearing the familiar strumming of the guitar and her favorite lullaby being sung by her descendant. Here's where the boy speaks the truth when he confronts Ernesto, now finally armed with facts and applying wisdom to his reasoning against the very person who played him and his family [[PrecisionFStrike stupid]] for almost a century that it almost feels cathartic to see Miguel finally directing his ire to the ''right'' person:

** Héctor explains at one point that it doesn't count to get to know the dead once they died. Someone that personally knew them needs to remember them and tell their stories to others who will do the same. This is exactly what happens at the end once Miguel triggers Coco's memory of her father and she starts talking about him, resulting in him being permanently saved from the final death.

** It's also cathartic that, after generations of wrongfully blaming her husband, she's finally unleashing her wrath on the very man blameworthy for making her a widow and single mother.

** Even if the audience doesn't believe Ernesto killed his best friend and stole his songs, watching him throw a child to his death [[ThisIsUnforgivable definitely made them turn their backs against him]].

* For starters, the film's animation is spectacular, given it's a Pixar film, but the Land of the Dead itself is especially beautifully animated and detailed. Lee Unkrich's commentary shown before some releases of the film reveals that the full image shot of Land of the Dead is a 12 layered image featuring over 3000 unique buildings and over ''seven million individual light sources'' ranging from flickering candles to modern day electric lighting with dozens of different shades for every color of the rainbow represented.

** Adding to that, the twins get heavily outnumbered by the guards early on. Their response? A quick, confident smirk at each other, then Oscar takes his brother’s arms and wields them like nunchucks, and proceeds to deliver a CurbStompBattle to the goons. Later, when the rest of the family goes after Ernesto, the brothers stay behind to hold the line against the remaining security forces.
* The deceased Rivera family exposing Ernesto in front of a whole stadium of him not only being a fraud, but a murderer. It's very satisfying to watch the crowd turn on him.

** In a way parallel to Imelda being angry at Hector, Miguel has vented all his frustrated feelings on the people who were only trying to help him (Hector, Dante, Imelda). But for once, this is where he finally vents all his [[KickTheDog anger]] and [[TheReasonYouSuckSpeech scorn]] on just the right person.
--->'''Miguel:''' (Angrily, to Ernesto) Hector's the ''real'' musician! You're just the guy who murdered him and stole his songs!
*** Especially in the novelization. For context, Miguel's family has always believed music tears family apart, whereas the shoe-making business brought them together, all while being ignorant about what did really happen about Hector and how the music ban really affected Coco into the point of worsening her dementia. Hector, on the other hand, advises that the purpose of music is to bring people closer, and Miguel's experiences with him left him contemplative about becoming a musician for popularity's sake like what his idol Ernesto always espouses. Not to mention, that particular purpose is also how Hector is saved in the end by having Coco becoming lucid again upon hearing the familiar strumming of guitar and her favorite lullaby being sung by her descendant. Here's where the boy speaks the truth when he confronts Ernesto, now finally armed with facts and applying wisdom to his reasoning against the very person who played him and his family [[PrecisionFStrike stupid]] for almost a century that it almost feels cathartic to see Miguel finally directing his ire to the ''right'' person:

* Pepita rescuing Miguel from falling to his death, and then immediately going after Ernesto.

* Upon seeing Ernesto throw Miguel to his death, [[ShamedByAMob the audience starts jeering at him the instant he comes on stage.]] They are letting him know that although he's a good singer and a great actor, [[EverybodyHasStandards not one of them]] condones that he stole his songs from a real musician, murdered said-musician, and threw a living kid to his death.

* Dante helping rescue Miguel from falling to his death. He struggles to keep Miguel in the air, and ends up dropping him, but it's just long enough for Pepita to swoop in.

* When you think about it, Mamá [[TitleDrop Coco]] has a small, quiet crowning moment all her own. For 96 years, ''she remembered Héctor''. She was obviously just a little kid when her dad left, and all those years, Coco had nothing but a lullaby he sang her [[note]] Remember me [[/note]], letters he sent her, and a small picture of him to remember him by. And that's assuming she got to take the last two items out of their hiding place regularly. As for the lullaby? She could only remember it in her head after Imelda banished music. Even when Mamá Coco had dementia, she ''still'' held on to his memory. It was only during the last year of her life that she was starting to truly forget him, and it was thanks to her great-grandson, Miguel, playing "Remember me" that she recalled her beloved father so clearly. In her own small way, Coco saved her father's life (well, his afterlife at least).

** Adding on to that, she still kept the poems Héctor gave to her, which were his songs that Ernesto stole from him after poisoning him. So, not only did Mamá Coco save her father's (after)life, she also simultaneously gave him the deserved recognition for his work and revealed Ernesto as a murdering fraud.

* The fact that Coco lived to be 100 years old before she died. When you think about it, not many people reach such a ripe old age. This is also a definite proof of Imelda's dedication to her family as well, if by her example they took care of her daughter long after she was gone.

!!Meta
* When the movie was first announced, many people were calling it a ripoff of ''WesternAnimation/TheBookOfLife'' just because of a few similarities. After it was officially released, the same detractors are now the biggest fans of the movie.
* According to an article in Entertainment Weekly, there's one thing the movie does that not many animated movies have the courage to do: "[[AnAesop dealing frankly and even joyfully with death]]".
* If you pay close attention and have a musical eye, you might notice that all the guitar-playing animation in the movie is 100% note-accurate to the music being played, even when the character has skeletal fingers. As you can imagine, this was a tremendously difficult task for the animators, but they plunged ahead and went the extra mile anyway. In terms of outstanding animation in the movie, it's practically a drop in the ocean, but it's a drop that's very emblematic of how far the animators were willing to go to make the film as authentic and beautiful as possible nonetheless.
* In the deleted scene "Alebrije Attack", Pepita tries to snatch up Miguel, only for Dante to [[DareToBeBadass bark at her]] without a second thought that she's ten times his size.
** Also notable is Héctor managing to ''land a punch on Pepita.''
* In the deleted scene "Family Fix", the dead Rivera family are capable of fixing a broken guitar, using the same skills they used to make a shoe. All the way down to using their shoelaces as the strings. If not perfect, it certainly gets the job done.
** Earlier on, Imelda slapping Ernesto with her shoe after the latter [[KickTheDog breaks Miguel's guitar]]. This time, it knocks him out for good.
* A ShoutOut art to the music video "[[WebAnimation/MysterySkullsAnimated Ghost]]", where Hector [[DeathGlare fiercely stares down]] and [[YouExclamation points]] at Ernesto the same way [[https://www.deviantart.com/art/Ghost-721353750 Lewis does to Arthur]].
* Not only did the film win Best Animated Feature at the 90th Academy Awards, but it also won Best Original Song for “Remember Me”! This also made Robert Lopez the first ever "Double EGOT," winning at least two of each award.

* The fact that Coco lived to be 100 years old before she died. When you think about it, not many people reach such a ripe old age. This is also a definite proof of Imelda's dedication to her family as well.

** The {{Foreshadowing}} page also points out that Miguel invoking the curse unwittingly [[{{Symbolism}} disrupts the marigold path leading to and from Ernesto's coffin]]. It's as though the movie is epically foretelling how Miguel will be [[SpannerInTheWorks the reason]] Ernesto loses the fame he wanted so badly: the visual looks like Miguel has destroyed his only bridge to the living world.

* Upon seeing Ernesto throw Miguel to his death, [[ShamedByTheMob the audience starts jeering at him the instant he comes on stage.]] They are letting him know that although he's a good singer and a great actor, [[EverybodyHasStandards not one of them]] condones that he stole his songs from a real musician, murdered said-musician, and threw a living kid to his death.

* Upon seeing Ernesto throw Miguel to his death, the audience starts jeering at him the instant he comes on stage. They are letting him know that although he's a good singer and a great actor, [[EverybodyHasStandards not one of them]] condones that he stole his songs from a real musician, murdered said-musician, and threw a living kid to his death.

* The fact that Miguel very likely ''self-taught'' himself to play guitar and sing with only Ernesto's videos as a guide. When in his secret shrine, he watches very closely so he can copy Ernesto's strumming and get the correct notes.

* Héctor's attempt to cross the Marigold bridge is this when you consider its more [[TearJerker tragic]] context: Héctor has been trying year after year to see his daughter one last time, despite nobody putting up a photo of him. This is comparable to Odysseus trying to reach his home and family in Ithaca in the span of 20 years, only [[UpToEleven much longer]]. Although, [[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome that's not to say it hasn't made him desperate somehow]]. But anyone else in his position would've given up hope a long time ago. This establishes his status as a {{Determinator}} and a PapaWolf.

*** It goes UpToEleven in the novelization. For context, Miguel's family has always believed music tears family apart, whereas the shoe-making business brought them together, all while being ignorant about what did really happen about Hector and how the music ban really affected Coco into the point of worsening her dementia. Hector, on the other hand, advises that the purpose of music is to bring people closer, and Miguel's experiences with him left him contemplative about becoming a musician for popularity's sake like what his idol Ernesto always espouses. Not to mention, that particular purpose is also how Hector is saved in the end by having Coco becoming lucid again upon hearing the familiar strumming of guitar and her favorite lullaby being sung by her descendant. Here's where the boy speaks the truth when he confronts Ernesto, now finally armed with facts and applying wisdom to his reasoning against the very person who played him and his family [[PrecisionFStrike stupid]] for almost a century that it almost feels cathartic to see Miguel finally directing his ire to the ''right'' person:

--->'''Miguel:''' (Angrily, to Ernesto) Hector's the ''real'' musician! You're just the guy who killed him and stole his songs!

** Even if the audience doesn't believe Ernesto killed his best friend and stole his songs, watching him throw a child to his death [[ThisIsUnforgiveable definitely made them turn their backs against him]].

* Imelda smacking Ernesto with her shoe twice after learning he killed Héctor.
-->'''Imelda''': That was for murdering the love of my life!

* According to an article in Entertainment Weekly, there's one thing the movie does that not many animated movies have the courage to do: "[[SomeAnvilsNeedToBeDropped dealing frankly and even joyfully with death]]".

* Héctor's attempt to cross the Marigold bridge is this when you consider its more [[TearJerker tragic]] context: Héctor has been trying year after year to see his daughter one last time, despite nobody putting up a photo of him. This is comparable to Odysseus trying to reach his home and family in Ithaca in the span of 20 years, only [[UpToEleven much longer]]. Although, [[RealityEnsues that's not to say it hasn't made him desperate somehow]]. But anyone else in his position would've given up hope a long time ago. This establishes his status as a {{Determinator}} and a PapaWolf.

** Adding to that, the twins get heavily outnumbered by the guards early on. Their response? A quick, confident smirk at each other, then Oscar takes is brother’s arms and wields them like nunchucks, and proceeds to deliver a CurbStompBattle to the goons. Later, when the rest of the family goes after Ernesto, the brothers stay behind to hold the line against the remaining security forces.

*** It goes UpToEleven in the novelization. For context, Miguel's family has always believed music tears family apart, whereas the shoe-making business brought them together, all while being ignorant about what did really happen about Hector and how the music ban really affected Coco into the point of worsening her dementia. Hector, on the other hand, advises that the purpose of music is to bring people closer, and Miguel's experiences with him left him contemplative about becoming a musician for popularity's sake like what his idol Ernesto always espouses. Not to mention, that particular purpose is also how Hector is saved in the end by having Coco becoming lucid again upon hearing the familiar strumming of guitar and her favorite lullaby being sung by her descendant. Here's where the boy speaks the truth when he confronts Ernesto, now finally armed with facts and applying wisdom to his reasoning against the very person who played him and his family [[PrecisionFStrike stupid]] for almost a century that it almost feels cathartic to see Miguel finally directing his ire to the right person:

* The fact that Coco lived to be 100 years old before she died. When you think about it, not many people reach such a ripe old age.

*** It goes UpToEleven in the novelization into the point of being cathartic. For context, Miguel's family has always believed music tears family apart, whereas the shoe-making business brought them together, all while being ignorant about what did really happen about Hector and how the music ban really affected Coco into the point of worsening her dementia. Hector, on the other hand, advises that the purpose of music is to bring people closer, and Miguel's experiences with him left him contemplative about becoming a musician for popularity sake like what his idol Ernesto always espouses and this is also how Hector is saved in the end by having Coco becoming lucid again upon hearing the familiar strumming of guitar and her favorite lullaby. Here's where the boy speaks the truth when he confronts Ernesto, now finally armed with facts and applying wisdom to his reasoning against the very person who played him and his family [[PrecisionFStrike stupid]] for almost a century:

*** It goes UpToEleven in the novelization. For context, Miguel's family has always believed music tears family apart, whereas the shoe-making business brought them together. Hector, on the other hand, advises that the purpose of music is to bring people closer. Here's where the boy speaks the truth when he confronts Ernesto, now finally armed with facts and applying wisdom to his reasoning against the very person who played his family stupid for almost a century:

*** It goes UpToEleven in the novelization. For context, Miguel's family has always believed music tears family apart, whereas the shoe-making business brought them together. Hector, on the other hand, advises that the purpose of music is to bring people closer. Here's where the boy speaks the truth when he confronts Ernesto:

-->'''Miguel:''' (Angrily, to Ernesto) Hector's the ''real'' musician! You're just the guy who killed him and stole his songs!

-->'''Miguel:''' [[MeaningfulEcho Music is supposed to bring people together]]! [[TheReasonYouSuckSpeech You tore my family apart]]!

* Ernesto rescuing Miguel after he falls into the pool is rather epic. Too bad the guy turns out to be a sociopathic murderer a few scenes later.

** Ernesto tries to get the orchestra to start playing again, only for the conductor to snap his baton in two and drop the pieces, all the while maintaining a DeathGlare.

** Ernesto tries to get the orchestra to start playing again, only for the conductor to snap his baton in two and drop the pieces, all the while maintaining a DeathGlare.