Coco: Remember Me

Pixar has lately been on a run of amazingly tearjerking movies reducing the viewer to a proverbial puddle of pessimistic pudding. Up had a sad first 15 minutes, Toy Story 3 had heartrending moments, and don't even get me started on Inside Out. Ugh! Since I'm a man who hates when tears begin to well up in his eyes, these movies are a beast to sit through. Don't get me wrong, I love them. Really love them. However, I prefer to watch them on my own when I can comfortably act like a total wimp and not have to feign allergies. (I may be allergic to sadness and touching moments.)

Anyway, Coco. This movie is the latest of Pixar's sinister plan to tie your heartstrings to a rocket destined for the moon. It is set in Mexico during the Day of the Dead holiday. (I'm not well versed in Mexican cultural traditions, so I don't have any perspective on how it was handled, but from what I've been able to gather, there hasn't been much of an issue.) A young man named Miguel dreams of becoming a musician. Because of an event in his family's history, music has been all but banned anywhere in their house. In an act of defiance, Miguel decides to play at the talent show during the Day of the Dead celebrations.

Miguel steals from a mausoleum of his idol, Ernesto de la Cruz, a guitar in order to play at the festival. This has the effect of making him invisible to all but his dog and the skeletal ghosts who have come on the Day of the Dead to visit their families. This begins the story of Miguel discovering his family's past and attempting to reconcile the differences which have caused his family so much suffering. This while also embracing the beauty and power of music.

I really don't want to spoil any of this story since it is so beautiful, but I will illustrate some points. The emphasis on music is not forced. In movies such as August Rush, the music emphasis, while good, sometimes felt a little forced. In Coco it felt natural and solid. I also loved the message of family touching across generations. In our modern day entertainment climate, family messages are often ignored or are framed completely unrealistically. I was delighted to see a very realistic family experience real family problems and have some very real family chemistry. It was refreshing to say the least!

There are a few moments in the movie where I legitimately had some serious allergies.

*Spoilers*

• When one of the skeletons faded away because nobody remembered him anymore
• Any time the song "Remember Me" came on
•  Coco remembering her father
• Coco with her mother and father at the end after her death
• We learn about Hector's past

*End of Spoilers*

I'm sure there were a couple more, but it was just an emotional roller coaster. I was thoroughly happy with the movie, but it was truly exhausting emotionally. This is one of those amazing movies that I may only be brave enough to watch once every six months. It's like Grave of the Fireflies in terms of the magnitude of its emotional impact, but not the same kind of impact. Grave of the Fireflies is akin to a massive depressing gut punch whereas Coco is more of the kind of heartburn variety. I loved this movie and will rate it a 95/100. Go and see it. Seriously. After you see it, buy it. Seriously. You will thank me later.

H. Logan Christensen