History TearJerker / Coco

** Adding to the emotional gut punch is the fact that 12 year old Miguel quite likely ''made that guitar himself'' out of discarded pieces. The frets on the fretboard are penny nails. The teeth were drawn in with Sharpie... And all that hard work is destroyed in seconds. By Elena, no less.

Hoo boy, where do you even start? Considering it's heavy subject matter for Creator/{{Pixar}} film, ''Coco'' has a reputation for breaking hearts-a-plenty. Here are some examples that show just why.

* Coco has grown so old that she's in a wheelchair and suffers senile dementia. When Miguel goes to the family ofrenda and Elena understandably warns him never to mention his great-great-grandfather, they are in Coco's presence, which triggers her to almost break out of her unresponsive state and reaches her arm out and speaking in a frail voice. She thinks her father came home. Elena then assures her that he's still away, and all Coco can do in response is look at her and asks... who she is. For a moment she forgot the name of her daughter. Just seeing Coco can cause some people to feel sad.

** If you take away all of her descendants, Coco’s actually pretty lonely. She’s outlived all of her previous family members and her husband ''and'' one of her daughters, her old friends are probably long gone by now, and she literally can’t do anything because her body is so fragile and enfeebled with age.

* In hindsight, it's actually tragic that Miguel mistakenly believes Ernesto de la Cruz to be his great-great-grandfather. Because at this point, not only has Ernesto stolen from Miguel's ''real'' great-great-grandfather his life, the recognition and remembrance he deserved: he's even stolen his ''identity''.

* When Miguel happily shares the news that he wants to be a musician, we have a sobering GilliganCut where Elena has destroyed Miguel's shrine to Ernesto, and the Rivera family react with ''[[DisappointedInYou disappointment]]'' that he "kept secrets from [them]". Miguel was ''hoping'' that the revelation of his great-great-grandfather's identity (supposedly Ernesto de la Cruz) would instantly change their minds about banning music, but it doesn't work out for him.
** Leading up to that, Elena and Miguel's parents decide Miguel should start working in the family business. They look so happy and so proud at the idea of having him be a shoemaker, [[DramaticIrony you just know]] they're only setting themselves up for the disappointment when Miguel later shares he actually wants to be a musician.

*** One could argue that there's a glimmer of SugarWiki/{{Heartwarming|Moments}} here as well- the fact that they still exist in the Land of the Dead imply that they have relatives who love and remember them among the Living, and are making a point to keep their memories alive.

* Imelda revealing to Miguel that long ago, she too was a musician and singer, before her husband left her. Worse, it hurts for her to remember music after her husband's fateful departure. There's even signs that perhaps, she ''regrets'' banning music.

*** The context that Imelda was once an aspiring singer like Héctor, only her path went the other extreme. Instead of pursuing a musical career, she swore off singing ''until her dying day''. It also helps that her actress Alanna Ubach is a singer herself.
*** A smaller one, but this is tragic that the ban on music has lasted so long, at least ''one'' member of the Rivera family (Tía Victoria) went their entire life without listening to or enjoying music.

* When Héctor approaches Miguel and Ernesto, it takes a moment for the latter to recognize this "stranger" as his old friend. There's a poignant expression of recognition mixed with (fleeting) guilt. Despite that he's really [[TheSociopath a heartless murderer]] who killed his own friend for his songs, he's still caught off-guard by seeing how far Héctor's fallen because of him. ("My friend.. you are being forgotten.") It never occurred to him until now that his friend would be having a lousy ''after-life'' in the Land of the Dead.

* Héctor's death. Ernesto secretly added some poison to the tequila in his shotglass, causing him to be killed not even a few minutes down the road. To add up to it, [[FamilyUnfriendlyDeath we actually see the death onscreen]], without any {{Gory Discretion Shot}}s. Even worse, the camera is panned away, so he looks so small and ultimately alone as he collapses in a street.

** ''Coco: A Story of Music, Shoes, and Family'' shows what was going through Héctor's head as he told Ernesto that he was going to return to his wife and daughter. He was worried for Ernesto as well, not wanting his best friend to hate him for his decision. As he's about to tell him this, Ernesto gives him the poisoned tequila. As he drinks from the glass, Héctor is happy that he can return home and that he's parting in good terms with Ernesto. Then the poison takes effect...

** Add that Héctor has had to avoid his wife due to her anger against him, and you realize that Héctor has been rejected by his family (both living ''and'' dead), the person he thought was his closest friend, and his fellow peers among the remembered dead. And it's been going on for '''decades'''.

** Before that, he yells "You took away ''everything'' from me!". And he's right. Ernesto did take away everything from Héctor; his life, his hard work, his family, and almost any chance he had of ever seeing his daughter again.

* When we learn that Héctor was really Miguel's great-great grandfather and Coco's father. We see a flashback of him playing his song "Remember Me" to a young Coco, as he had wrote it just for her.

*** Even sadder, since he couldn't at least see her on Dia de los Muertos like all the other spirits, he never got the chance to watch her grow up or see how her life has changed (if she got married or had children).
** Also, from Coco's side, it's so sad that after that last time Héctor played "Remember Me" for her, she never saw him again. For the rest of her life, she never saw her father, no matter how many times she hoped he was coming home.
** Making it even sadder is Héctor's explanation that he and Coco would sing this song each night at the same time even when apart. Little Coco probably sang it nightly, hoping Papa would come home, until her mother foreswore all music (and then mouthed the words silently in the dark after being put to bed).

*** Coco's blank expression may not be just from the dementia, but may also be her [[FridgeHorror sadness]] at realizing her father's memory is fading away.
** After Coco starts singing along, a warm smile begins to brighten her face and after the song she starts to talk about her father. She is so happy for the occasion of being able to talk about this part of her life after all those years of the whole family making her beloved father an UnPerson...
** For anybody who has a loved one suffering from the last stages of Alzheimer's or has died from it, it's a heartbreaking reminder of how the last stages of the disease leaves you helpless as you watch your loved one fade away until they are a shell of their former selves. And this is an illness that can last for ''years'' before they finally die. There is a reason the disease is called the Long Goodbye.

* Miguel's understandable devastation when Elena, over the objections of him and his family, destroys his guitar to make an example of how the Riveras do ''not'' want to accept his love of music, given how his great-great-grandfather left him. He decides to bail on his family as a result; the rest of his family's "MyGodWhatHaveIDone" reactions are understandable, considering that they're all taken aback by what happened and destroying Miguel's property in front of him has the potential to scar them for life.

* Believe it or not, there is an element of tragedy to [[BigBad Ernesto de la Cruz]]. He killed his only friend Héctor because he thought he was walking away just as they got close to the fame they left home to achieve. He is clearly saddened when he learns that Héctor is being forgotten. Look closer at the scene where we see that he put his murder of Héctor in one of his movies. Totally sociopathic thing to do? Yes, but look at the roles. Who is in the role of Ernesto? The scummy villain, who is obviously terrible. Who is in the role of Héctor? The canny hero, who figures it out and defeats the villain. Maybe Ernesto is just a [[CardCarryingVillain Card Carrying Villain]], but the context makes it seem like a decent amount of self loathing and guilt is going on.
** There's something tragic in how Ernesto himself died, crushed by a bell due to a distraction of his staff. It's just so... mundane, it's merely an accident ending him while relatively still young. And while he ''had'' it coming, there isn't even anything karmic in the death itself. It's also a grim reminder of how, no matter how rich and powerful you are, you are still a fragile human being, subjected to the whims of fate. Inverted with his final defeat in the afterlife by dropping a second bell on him, since this time it comes after he reveals his true nature and it's ''incredibly'' karmic and cathartic.
** What makes it extremely tragic is that, when you think about it, Ernesto ''never needed to be a villain in the first place''. Héctor merely wanted to spend more time with his family, but he still considered Ernesto a friend and a partner. Had Ernesto asked, Héctor would have likely been happy to keep giving him his lyrics, neither him nor his family even wanted the spotlight in the first place. The worst that could happen would have been for Ernesto to admit he didn't write his songs, but he would have still been an incredible performer and showman, perfectly able to reach fame despite that. But Ernesto just wanted more, he wanted ''all'', and for that he killed his best friend and destroyed a family, just so he wouldn't have to share even a little. On a rewatch, seeing him comment that he really has no idea what to make of the ridiculous amount of offerings he gets from the fans really hammers how he could have had it all without killing anyone. And what did he get out of it? A successful life, but also an untimely death. And even if we get an happy ending, [[LaserGuidedKarma with Ernesto's actions eventually catching up to him and his attempts to cover his actions directly leading to exposing them]], it's still sad to think that a suffering spanning three generations was caused by something so unnecessary.

* Mama Coco lives to be 99. Her mother, Imelda, died in her 70s... so where did the longevity come from? ''Hector'', who was murdered young.

* Even after learning that Héctor was trying to come home but got murdered, Imelda [[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome understandably won't forgive Héctor that easily because he still left her and Coco in the first place]]; Héctor even admits that [[ItsAllMyFault he has no one to blame but himself for his current predicament]]. Fortunately, she decides to help Héctor be remembered again, and they do eventually reconcile.

** Earlier, when Miguel believes there's no hope of helping Coco remember Héctor, the boy cries in his father's arms and apologizes for running off. His parents console him that what matters is they're together again, as a whole family. But Miguel sadly remarks that the family isn't entirely a whole (meaning Héctor, and the impact his loss has on all of them). Worse is the DramaticIrony of this statement--he's Héctor is a dead relative he's only just met but an obscure figure to his living family members, and Miguel can't exactly explain without them thinking he's loco.

** Yet another reason this scene is itself such a tearjerker is that it feels like the family is trying to sweep it under the rug, as though pretending ''this giant argument didn't happen''. Miguel is trying his hardest to defend why music isn't so bad, but his father adamantly tells him, "[[PunctuatedForEmphasis No. More. Music.]] [[LetUsNeverSpeakOfThisAgain End of argument]]!"

** Ironically, the only person who doesn't react to Miguel's living face with fear or panic is Ernesto. ...[[AndThatsTerrible And he turns out to be]] [[BigBad the bad guy]].

* Ernesto ordering his men that Miguel be thrown into the cenote becomes Fridge-Sadness on the latter's part when one remembers that at the time, Miguel still thought this man was his great-great-grandfather. From his viewpoint, his own ''ancestor'' was [[FaceHeelTurn betraying]] [[OffingTheOffspring him]]. ''Ouch''.
* When Miguel is thrown in the cenote, he calls out "I want to go home". He sounds like any child who's [[TheRunaway run away]] [[ScrewThisImOuttaHere from home]] and has lost their way.

* While it was intended to be comedic, how would you feel if the only one to make an ofrenda for you was your ''dentist''? Even if the deceased civilian with braces had no living relatives, a friend could've put his photo up for him but none did. The departure agent also specified that it was his dentist foremost, not a friend who happened to be a dentist. How lonely was this guy?

!!Meta:
* This deleted scene "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_2l3DO_8CI Celebrity Tour]]" becomes somewhat sobering once you know Héctor's [[SadClown true nature]]. Even when there's no one on the train (save Miguel), he goes through the motions and [[{{CloudCuckoolander}} talks to passengers who aren't there]]. It's an indication that after everything he's been through [[note]] dying before returning home, losing his music to his "friend", being disowned by his wife and never seeing his daughter again [[/note]], [[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome it really did take a toll on his sanity somehow]].
** An extended version of this deleted scene reveals that Héctor isn't ''just'' going through the motions, he's ''struggling'' with his profession as a tour guide, especially after Ernesto asks him to stop driving by his house. It's implied that ever since, tourists have stopped coming because they [[DeconstructedTrope want nothing less]] [[JustHereForGodzilla than to see Ernesto de la Cruz]].
** In "Family Fix", Miguel's devastation when Ernesto destroys Héctor's guitar, thus destroying Miguel's last chance of returning to the Land of the Living.
** The original prologue opened with the night that Ernesto died, showing him getting "his" guitar and telling it "Show time, old friend". The sad thing is, Héctor's the one who should be holding that guitar and being acquainted enough to call it ''his'' old friend.
** In "Bus Escape", Héctor's definition of loneliness is surprisingly poignant.
* There's a scene in the novelization that's not found in the film, when Miguel admits to Héctor that he doesn't get along well with most of his living family members, as they try to hold him back from following his heart. The following exchange occurs.
--> '''Héctor:''' Let me tell you something, chamaco. When I follow my heart, guess where it leads? It leads to my family.
--> '''Miguel:''' [[ArmorPiercingQuestion If that's true, than why are you alone]]?
** Another such sad moment in the book: we're treated to a flashback of Coco as a grown woman and a mother of two (Elena and Victoria). In secret, she dances to herself. But one day, she accidentally falls over and sprains her ankle. The family is in such a panic as to how she injured herself. While everyone gets her medical aid, her daughters cry for their mother. This is [[ToughLove Elena]] and [[TheStoic Victoria]] we're talking about here. From then on, Coco promises herself that if she doesn't want to upset her daughters like she did just now, she will never dance again.
*** What makes it especially sad is, if not to the same degree of bitterness, Coco followed her mother's footsteps: allowing one bad experience to keep her from doing what she loves best. At least [[SugarWiki/HeartwarmingMoments Coco swore off dancing for the right reason.]]
** When Miguel and Héctor are talking about what Ernesto de la Cruz is like, Héctor (without meaning to hurt the boy's feelings) says [[InnocentlyInsensitive this]]:
--->'''Héctor:''' Well, I ''have'' met him, and honestly, [[HarsherInHindsight I don't think he'd care for you]].
** Back when Miguel was a baby, Coco was sadly musing to herself how quickly time went by and she's already an old woman.
** Héctor recalling what it was like when he and Ernesto went on their music tour. It was fun at first, but then Héctor started to miss home. Playing music for others starts to feel more and more like work. Even [[BigBad Ernesto]] shows shades of this same tiredness (at least whenever they only garner a small crowd).
** After learning that Ernesto killed Héctor, Miguel tries to remind himself that de la Cruz is his hero. But he looks back on all the times he left something at his de la Cruz offrenda, and wonders to himself if to Ernesto he was just another faceless fan.

** Yet another reason this scene is itself such a tearjerker is that it feels like the family is trying to sweep it under the rug, as though pretending ''this giant argument didn't happen''. Miguel is trying his hardest to defend why music isn't so bad, but his father adamantly tells him "[[LetUsNeverSpeakOfThisAgain End of argument]]!"

--->'''Miguel:''' But I don't wanna pick sides! Why can't you be on my side?! That's what family's supposed to do... support you! But you never will.

* Miguel returning home and desperately trying to get Coco to remember Héctor might be the biggest tearjerker yet in the entire Disney/Pixar oeuvre. At quite a few showings, the entire theatre was audibly weeping. The emotional weight of the entire movie building up to Miguel’s reconnection with his family, and bonding with Héctor, and the desperation of his last chance to preserve his memory, and thus keep "alive" the friend, mentor, and great-great-grandfather he’s only just met—and in doing so, finally allow Imelda and the whole family, present and passed, to heal— makes the stakes unbearably high. And of course, this echoes each audience member’s deepest feelings towards anyone they’ve personally lost, hoping beyond reason that we could somehow bring them back. So as he pleads with Coco, who we know wants nothing more than to see her father again, to merely do the one thing that will make this possible—to remember him—and she seems unable, we feel every moment of his desperation. He's about to get in trouble with his Abuela, who is absolutely skeptical he's trying to help Maméa Coco, and is about to deliberately disobey his family's music ban to do so. When he finally plays "Remember Me" for her, almost convinced it won’t work, and more out of hopelessness than hope, we can’t help but grieve with him as by the end of the song he’s resigned to his ultimate loss. And then, it's followed by a [[SugarWiki/HeartwarmingMoments bittersweet]] moment where, slowly but surely, Coco begins to sing along. Even Elena cries at seeing her mother become lucid once more.

** After Coco starts singing along, a warm smile begins to brighten her face and after the song she starts to talk about her father. She is so happy for the occasion of being able to talk about this part of her life after all those years of the whole family basically making her beloved father an UnPerson...

* Miguel returning home and desperately trying to get Coco to remember Héctor might be the biggest tearjerker yet in the entire Disney/Pixar oeuvre. At quite a few showings, the entire theatre was audibly weeping. The emotional weight of the entire movie building up to Miguel’s reconnection with his family, and bonding with Héctor, and the desperation of his last chance to preserve his memory, and thus keep "alive" the friend, mentor, and great-great-grandfather he’s only just met—and in doing so, finally allow Imelda and the whole family, present and passed, to heal— makes the stakes unbearably high. And of course, this echoes each audience member’s deepest feelings towards anyone they’ve personally lost, hoping beyond reason that we could somehow bring them back. So as he pleads with Coco, who we know wants nothing more than to see her father again, to merely do the one thing that will make this possible—to remember him—and she seems unable, we feel every moment of his desperation. When he finally plays "Remember Me" for her, almost convinced it won’t work, and more out of hopelessness than hope, we can’t help but grieve with him as by the end of the song he’s resigned to his ultimate loss. And then, it's followed by a [[SugarWiki/HeartwarmingMoments bittersweet]] moment where, slowly but surely, Coco begins to sing along. Even Elena cries at seeing her mother become lucid once more.

** Earlier, when Miguel believes there's no hope of helping Coco remember Héctor, the boy cries in his father's arms and apologizes for running off. His parents console him that what matters is they're together again, as a whole family. But Miguel sadly remarks that the family isn't entirely a whole (meaning Héctor, and the impact his loss has on all of them).