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"You don't POINT at me!"
Then why are YOU pointing at me?!
Cue Wimp Fight!

As a Moments subpage, all spoilers are unmarked as per policy. You Have Been Warned.


Movie

  • The Running Gag of a chicken running around squawking bubbles—because Maria didn't realize that it was a bad idea to give chickens bubble baths.
  • General Posada's men are a quartet of skinny, wimpy fellows (one of whom is a blind leper who keeps losing his arms no matter what), and they get a lot of funny moments, like when they keep getting beat up by a young Joaquin.
  • Manolo's father rhapsodizing over Manolo's form, and happily reminiscing about how he started training at the same age.
    Manolo: Wait... wasn't that when you ended up in a coma?
    Carlos: *sighs happily* Ah, memories.
    • And then, immediately afterwards.
      Carlos: My only son, fighting angry, thousand pound beasts. Just in the family tradition!
  • Manolo's mariachi friends try to help him serenade Maria with impromptu renditions of increasingly inappropriate songs, such as Biz Markie's "Just a Friend" and Rod Stewart's "Do Ya Think I'm Sexy". The result? Increasingly large cacti lobbed at their heads by Chuy.
    • Pablo, the smallest of the group, starts up his turn of romantic wooing songs. Starts counting down aaaand...Cue giant potted cactus. For bonus points: that countdown is the intro to "Woolie Bully". Even less of a romantic choice than Pancho and Pepe's choices.
      • Look closer when Pepe is singing "Do You Think I'm Sexy?", Manolo's actually grinning and nodding along to the song. He doesn't rightfully think it's a romantic song, but he sure likes it.
    • And the joke they make beforehand:
      Pepe: Trust me, everything will turn around in the space of four bars.
      Pancho: We've already been to four bars. Twice!
    • During this scene, Pancho offhandedly mentions how he won over his wife, and his brothers demand, "You're married?!" That these three brothers are never seen apart and yet two of them somehow don't know that the third is married is hysterical.
  • Joaquin giving Maria an autographed photo of himself as a present, as well as her reaction.
    • Just before that, while describing his medals:
      Joaquin: "And this medal is for having the most medals."
  • The Human Ladder Manolo and the Rodriguez brothers form to reach Maria's balcony toppling over when she stops his kiss.
    Maria: Did you think it was gonna be that easy?
    (Manolo and friends topple over)
    Manolo: (dizzy) I…I kinda did…
    • All three mariachis landing on Manolo, along with their instruments.
  • Joaquin and Manolo's argument over Maria initially seems serious, with the two of them throwing very low blows at each other. Until it turns into two grown men pointing angrily at each other and then having a slap fight.
    Joaquin: So childish!
  • There's also the way Manolo says, "Wait, me too?" when Maria calls him and Joaquin out for acting like fools. Just the way the actor delivers the line is definitely chuckle-worthy.
  • As Joaquin and Manolo prepare to fight mono e mono, one of Joaquin's men throws him his sword, while the mariachi guys throw Manolo... his guitar.
  • Every time Joaquin calls out his own name during an action scene.
    • The fact that he has theme music for said action scenes.
  • The reason why Manolo's great-grandmother joins the rest of the Sanchez family just as Manolo fulfills his wager with Xibalba:
    Great-Grandma: Eh, cholesterol.
    • The fact that members of the Sanchez family keep dying and immediately popping up in the Land of the Remembered as this scene goes on. It is Black Comedy, but it's quite funny to see everyone's casual reactions towards death.
    • And when one of the Sanchez's boasts "La Muerte loves bullfighters, we flirt with death!", Carmen gets a perfect response.
      Carmen: That would explain why there are so many of you down here.
  • The way Xibalba's jaw drops past his chest, complete with cartoon sound effect, when Manolo wins their wager.
  • Manolo emerges completely unscathed from the explosion under the bell. Everyone, including Xibalba, La Muerte, and the Candlemaker, are confused and Manolo turns to La Muerte. Her response?
    La Muerte: Don't look at me.
  • Nearly everything the Candle Maker does.
  • La Muerte's WTF reaction when Manolo, Carmen and Luis arrive in the Land of the Forgotten.
    La Muerte: Manolo, Carmen and...the head of Luis?
  • When La Muerte finds out that Xibalba cheated at their bet, she screams his name and he appears right away—with a big bottle of wine and two glasses, clearly with no idea of just how much trouble he's in. Did the absolute fury not give it away?
    • Then as if he isn't in enough trouble, Xibalba proceeds to pick up a shovel and dig himself even deeper into the grave!
      La Muerte: That is unforgivable!
      Xibalba: Oh, please! I never sent that snake to Maria, and I never gave that medal to Joaquin! (immediately shuts up with a clearly obvious Oh, Crap! expression)
      La Muerte: What. Medal?
      Xibabla: The- uhhhhhhh... one I never gave him! Ever, at all! Never! Who is this "Joaquin"?
      La Muerte: (grabs him by his beard up to his mouth and makes him look her in the eye) You gave Joaquin the Medal of Everlasting Life?!
      Xibalba: (sheepishly) ...Yes.
    • When Manolo asks about Joaquin's Medal of Everlasting Life, La Muerte just says it so casually, it gives a lot more "wham" to how much of a Plot Device it actually is:
      Manolo: Medal of Everlasting Life?
      La Muerte: (casually) Whoever wears the medal cannot die or be injured. (Manolo realizes the secret behind Joaquin's fame and glory)
    • After she slaps him for this, Carmen asks to be lifted up. So she can smack him. Three times. Doubles as a Moment of Awesome.
      The Candlemaker: Uh, can I get a slap, too?
    • Wanna know how she found out? Manolo basically tattled on Xibalba to her!
  • After Xibalba announces that the Land of the Remembered is under his control now, Luis exclaims that La Muerte would never hand her domain over to him. When Xibalba casually states that she lost a bet, not only does Luis pause before admitting that she would do that, the entire Sanchez family nods in agreement behind him. How many bets has La Muerte lost?
  • The big fight between the citizens of San Angel and Chakal's army of bandits has some hilarious moments:
    • Before the fighting starts, Joaquin tells Chakal to pick on someone his own size, at which point we get a full view of the scene, Chakal TOWERING over Joaquin, and someone screams:
      Town Citizen: Cause no one's that big, man!
    • The priest dressed as a luchador. Especially when he briefly gets his hands on the Medal of Everlasting Life and becomes virtually unstoppable.
    • Chuy becoming the leader of a pig army.
  • When Manolo returns from the Land of the Remembered, the first thing he does is kiss Maria. Chakal tries to interrupt, but Manolo holds up a finger to him, basically telling him to wait. The best part? Chakal does.
  • After Manolo's kill-less fight with a bull causes the town to ridicule and shame him, there's actually a pretty funny shot where even the bull is sad and disappointed with him.
  • Goth Kid's reaction to hearing about Maria's apparent death:
    • And shortly after, his reaction to Manolo being killed by Xibalba's two-headed snake staff:
    • Even funnier when you learn that Goth Kid is a Mexican according to the art book.
    • The Goth Kid calling both La Muerte AND Xibalba beautiful in an awestruck tone.
  • When Carlos mentions to Manolo that all of the Sanchezes have been bullfighters, it apparently included Manolo's great-grandmother, judging from her comment right afterwards.
    Great-Grandma: I was a beast in the arena. A BEAST!
  • Carlos expresses his exasperation that Manolo doesn't kill the bulls he fights, then one of the mariachi brothers helpfully says that he did the other day. Flashback to Manolo bullfighting when the bull is suddenly struck by lightning and flops over dead, Manolo getting a hilarious "WTF?" expression.
    Anita: That did no count.
  • Everyone's reaction to Maria when she returns to San Angel after several years studying abroad. Even Xibalba was shocked by how beautiful she was, much to the annoyance of La Muerte, who was standing right next to him at the time!
    Xibabla: (Has this bug-eyed "Holy crap, she's HOT" look on his face)
    La Muerte: (smacks him with an annoyed look on her face)
    Xibalba: Ow! What?!
    • Flipped a few minutes later when Manolo enters the ring and La Muerte gives him an affectionate look and cheers him on, though Xibalba just glares at her, complete with a Defensive "What?" from Muerte.
  • La Muerte doing a Coy, Girlish Flirt Pose to Xibalba in order to get the latter to return Manolo back to life. He catches on and uses one of his wings to cover her. La Muerte moves them aside and begins to rubs his feathered wing. And asks in a seductive, pleading tone, "Please? Balby?"
    • Not to mention everyone else's reaction to the Affectionate Nickname.
      Manolo, Carmen, Luis, and Candle Maker: (In unison) "Balby"?!
    • And when Xibalba, after a moment of thought, dismisses it, she promptly - and hilariously - goes absolutely nuclear on him. It's like she's thinking, 'okay, since the nice way didn't work...'
  • During the dinner scene when Joaquin puts his foot in his mouth by unintentionally making a sexist comment that insults Maria, one of the nuns sitting at a nearby table picks up a knife and shoots a Death Glare in Joaquin's direction, while her fellow sisters begin to look incredibly nervous.
  • "Ooooo! You picked yourself a feisty one! Ha-" (gets punched)
  • The little boy selling churros in the beginning.
    Boy: Churros! Get your churros here! (nearby bird poops on them and there's a pause) ...Frosted churros!
  • The Candlemaker's response to when the thousands of bulls killed by the Sanchez family combine into an even larger, more monstrous bull.
    "Man, that is a whole lot of bull."
  • When the reason why Chakal is attacking San Angel comes to light, Maria reacts accordingly, and hilariously.
    Maria: (to Joaquin) All this... is about a stupid medal? ...ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!?
  • When Maria tosses her bouquet over her shoulder, Joaquin ends up being the one to catch it, and is immediately mobbed by a gaggle of ladies who have been swooning over him for the entire movie.
  • The Adelita twins know their priorities.
    Scardelita: (during the final battle) Are you wearing my boots?!
    Adelita: They look better on me!
  • Considering the reveal of her true identity at the end of the film, Mary Beth's blithe agreement that La Muerte is pretty takes on a much funnier light.

Meta

  • When director Jorge Gutierrez was animating the 2-D prologue, he snuck in Manny, Frida and Puma Loco. At first, he did it without telling anyone... until people noticed them in the trailer, at which point Nickelodeon asked for royalties.
  • After the team acquired the rights to use "Creep" (more on that in the Awesome page), they were able to get the rights to pretty much all of the other songs used in the film by using (in Jorge's words), "a little thing we call Catholic guilt." Basically, they told them, "Oh, so you're saying you're better than Radiohead?" and that was enough to let them get the rights.
  • As it turns out, even Jorge is fond of the Tres Leches ship!
  • This tweet taken at the Critics Choice Awards. Can double as Heartwarming for comedic sportsmanship.

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