Coco's Message is Pretty Bad, Not Gonna Lie 

NOTE: THE FISH WATERMARK WAS ADDED BECAUSE RU-vid WOULD BLOCK THE UNALTERED VERSION. The fish free version can be found my patreon. If you like this video, please hit the like and subscribe button and share this video. I would also like to thank my editor Yves for helping with this so I could focus on my Happy Sugar Life video. twitter.com/Sunmellows EDIT: I didn't realize greasy was a racial slur, so sorry about that. EDIT 2: I was told greasy is not a racial slur as long I don't say "greaser". So now that I know it's okay, I'm undoing the edit I made.

Honestly a hispanic family not ever apologizing for what they did is painfully accurate lol

Don't forget that Ralph was manipulated by King Candy who knew exactly how to use Ralph's kindness to his advantage. So personally I could never fully blame Ralph for what he did, and it's also why I consider King Candy to be one of my fave Disney villains.

Miguel wasn't just thinking about himself when he finally accepted returning to the Land of the Living. He was trying to save Hector from being forgotten by Coco.

The kart smashing scene is also because Ralph has every reason to believe that his friend would die if she were to continue racing

A part of me felt like the scene where Elena breaks Miguel's guitar, and then her seeing her grandson being crushed and just saying "aww, you'll feel better when you eat with your family" was supposed to depict a common traditional Hispanic household issue is like, because THAT IS how it really is. Elders/ your parents will disrespect you and NEVER will apologize to you for those actions, yet expects you to respect them and not have any hard feelings towards them. You're also not allowed to defend yourself when they disrespect you, otherwise YOU'RE the disrespectful one. I definitely agree this film should have shown a scene where the family at least felt bad for what they did to Miguel, and its kinda crazy coming from Disney that they didn't show a scene like that in the end or throughout the movie.

FINALLY SOMEONE BROUGHT IT UP! As someone who grew up in a toxic, abusive household, I was MAD at the end of the movie. Like. Are we really going to pretend that A KID was wrong for being mad at his family for abusing him and preventing him to live his passion? From trying to run away from litteral abuse? Are we going to NOT hold THE ADULTS responsible for their actions? His family NEVER learn to not be abusive. They learn that their ancestor never betrayed his family, so they have no reason to hate music anymore. If another kid comes out with a passion they disapprove, they be abusive all over again.

My biggest gripe about Coco is why Coco (the character) didn't just... not follow Imelda's hatred for music. We already know Coco loves her father and his music.

My abusive father used to also destroy my stuff whenever he was pissed off. It's not something that's done out of misplaced love or worry for your child, it's a way for narcissistic parents to try to take control and also a physical threat to the child. It's honestly disgusting to frame the child as partially responsible in any way. I seriously think they just wanted to follow the story beats of a typical family story without thinking about the message they were sending. It's very lazy writing.

As someone who grew up in an abusive and unsupportive house when it comes to my passions, I 100% agree with your take. Also, I love how you highlighted that his grandma destroying his guitar was an act of abuse that had both a physiological and emotional impact. My mother used to throw my drawings and sketchbooks into the trash because, according to her, "art is a waste of time, and I should do something useful with my intelligence, like become a doctor, instead of wasting it." So the fact they never address what hos grandma did and show a good and genuine reason to Miguel go back there , is just off putting on my opinion While yes, this movie is good and fun, the message still rubs me in the wrong way.

All the people bringing up toxic familial cycles, weirdly, reminded me of a scene in "Everybody Loves Raymond" when Frank is talking to Ray and Robert and brings up that of course "my father hit me, and his father hit him. Its just how it was." Then Ray points out "But you never hit us." "I didn't want to be like him."

You know what movie I think did the _destroying-a-very-personal-and-cherished-item-in-a-moment-of-weakness-and-rage_ thing right? *_Brave._* She destroys Merida's bow, yes. And it is, in her mind, to PROTECT her. But once Merida runs off in tears, she _immediately_ regrets it. She desperately tries to get it out of the fireplace and _sobs_ as she asks herself "what have I _done?"_ And she reacts this way in spite of Merida having done something similar RIGHT before she burned the bow. Merida took a sword and ripped the tapestry of her family that her mother _cherished,_ but this is not seen as a despicable act. It is shown for what it is: a *_CHILD_* acting out because of the pressure put onto her by her mother. In the heat of the moment, the queen reacted by doing something equal to what was done to her, but recognizes in the end that she needed to forgive Merida's outburst because she is still GROWING and LEARNING, and the Queen is the adult in this situation. It was a moment of weakness, an act done out of anger, _and it's made clear that she KNOWS that._

Coco reminds me of a very sad reality about Hispanic families that I've experienced growing up. There's always this one family member that has done questionable things, and you hear or tell those stories during any kind of gathering, these people are clearly affected by those wrong doings but actively ignore them and say "still love them though" Toxicity is so engraved in Hispanic life it's hard to get rid of it, the only thing you could do is laugh about some of these experiences, because that old relative that once hurt you will never apologise, so you better understand why it's not happening and move on. And if you're ever put in charge of a kid, teach them to apologise and be respectful.

What hits me the worst in the guitar breaking scene is specifically at the moment when Elena gives Miguel a pitying smile and tries to come in for a hug bc I have been in a similar situation like that. A parent genuinely hurting you and not understanding just how much they hurt you and instead assuming it's just another "wehh I didn't get what I wanted"-tantrum on your end so they try to hug it out like the Bigger Person that they are. It's essentially a silent way of telling you "I forgive you" even tho you didn't do anything wrong, but I think it's worse bc the only way to express you don't agree with their sentiment is to directly physically reject the affection they're offering. And if you've grown up in a safe enough environment then rejecting that type of physical affection usually won't come naturally to you. (personal drama tmi warning) My mom did this to me once and I pushed her away with sad/angry/repulsed "NO!" bc at that moment, the idea of taking that hug made my bones crawl bc it would have meant she would never understand how much her words had hurt me. And the thing is, it still fucking hurt to do, to reject affection from my own mom bc I had never done nor felt a need to do that before. And she looked hurt which it made me feel like shit but she put me in that position! It's been years but that moment still fucks with me. (and I hate that I don't actually remember what she said, just how much it hurt, bc this whole moment just ended up completely dominating the entire memory of that fight)

Push out the toxic people in your life. Even if they're family. Family is not supposed to make you feel unloved or unwanted. They are not supposed to make you feel like you're broken. Just because someone is related to you does NOT give them the right to treat you like crap. Blood doesn't mean crap if those people who are blood are HURTING you! You do NOT have an obligation to FORGIVE them either. What matters is that you feel safe. Your mental health and well being are more important. Remember that. Be safe.

The horrifying thing is it is likely this ban on music that prevented the family from realizing something was wrong when Hector didn't come home. Hearing Ernesto singing his songs including a bastardized version of the lulluby he sang to his daughter and only ever shared with her and seeing Ernesto onstage performing without Hector anywhere to be seen would have let them know something wasn't right.

A toxic message that could easily be fixed by adding a few lines. The dead-family members: "Know that we, your passed family, will always support your dreams... And that there will be a family one day that you can find that supports you in the living, even if it might not be your biological family. Remember that. Remember us." And then a scene where Miguel's dad tries to get his own mother to apologize but Miguel hurries to play for the great grandma. After that there will be a scene where grandma finally gets to apologize, showing she is sorry for destroying Miguel's dreams before he played to Coco and that she is grateful that Miguel showed her the beauty of music. Boom. Toxic message gone.

Funny thing about Finding Nemo, is that flashback scene with Nemo's mom was originally planned to be shown in the MIDDLE of the film. This was changed because without that scene, all of Marlin's actions prior to Nemo getting taken made him seem like an unreasonable asshole, so no one watching it was really rooting for him. A scene like that would've done WONDERS for Coco to make the family more sympathetic.

completely agree I always found it weird elena never apologized especially after that brutal scene she wrecks his guitar? I also wish it focused more on Miguel’s actual family and not the dead ones. Like why do his parents do nothing? hows his relationship with his siblings?

This movie used to be my hyperfixation when I was like 12 but now looking back on it I really think stories should dial down on the “family is family no matter what” message because it just excuses all the trauma and conflict Miguel went through. It’s really giving the “because we love you” thing parents say all the damn time.

I remember I watched this movie when I was 7, and even then I thought it was weird that Miguel's family didn't apologize.

I feel like Encanto did this flaw much better than Coco, because not only we get to see Maribel’s struggles with her family because she doesn’t have any powers, but the family as well including Abuela. Causing Abuela to realize that because she value her family’s powers more than her own family, cause her family to break and after she realizes this and talks about her trauma, she realizes how wrong it was to put so much pressure on her family and apologize to how she treated them especially Mirabel

I didn’t know that the grandma was meant to be likeable I just thought they did really well at making me hate her

The whole "music being banned because I'm sad" plotline worked much better in the Sound of Music. Firstly it's because of Georg von Trapp's wife who died at least 5 years ago rather than a man that only Coco remembers who lived 100 years ago. Then music is only let back into the household because Maria tells off Georg for being a neglectful and uncaring father to his children in the wake of their mothers death. The point is Georg wants his family to be stern and musicless because he's still grieving his dead wife, while Elena does it because... plot?

The importance of memorizing family to keep their spirit 'alive' isnt a thing disney made up for the movie Its a part of mexican culture; the belief is that the spirit lives on in the land of the dead as long as theyre remembered and loved by those in the land of the living who knew them (this includes friends) However if people refuse to keep up the memory of someone who passed, then when the people who knew them also eventually pass it leaves nobody living to remember them, in turn essentially killing said forgotten person's spirit

I'm starting to realize how grateful I Am for having a chill Mexican dad

I’m amazed nobody brought up how messed up the Riveras are until now.

Also the Book of Life ran so Coco could walk, Manolo also had a family who wanted him to follow their family tradition instead of music but when he goes to the afterlife his family ultimately see the value of his talents, specially when he seeks forgiveness from the Toro! And even better, they actually apologize then show up to help him against the bandits. In my opinion the Book of Life gets the same message across with a similar base plot across way better than Coco did.

that fish is terrfying

It's honestly refreshing to see a RU-vidr who actually acknowledges the inherent flaws within a pro-family message. Too many, I've seen people complain how Disney is too anti-conservative and anti-family values, and how traditional family values are all that people truly need, and that's all society should ever be. To respect authority figures, embrace the status quo, and don't ever fight against it.

Encanto Abuela is more realistic than the Coco Abuela. Encanto Abuela’s actions are her ideologies that she believes will keep the family happy, which is strengthening their home (good intentions, bad execution) which contrasts her trauma where her home was lost. Vs Coco Abuela who isn’t really rooted in a traumatic moment. Like the video said, if she explained that music reminded her of her parents arguing, then that may work. But her aggressive ban of music with no reasonable ideas, not apologizing, and no growth just makes her seem conservative and unreasonable and less worthy of sympathy

Honestly the fact they want us to sympathize with elena pisses me off so much. Like, the rest of the family ok sure i could at least sympathize with them because it could at least be excused as them being too scared to step in, but not elena, we should not have to sympathize with her. my own mom was just like that, and it was with almost everything i did that wasn't traditionally nice. and she even fucking threatened to, and even once did physically assault anyone who she even thought was being mean to me. Literally the breaking point for me was when she physically hurt my grandma because of something small. Thankfully she was arrested before it reached a point of murder but Me and my grandma got a fucking restraining order against her after that, Miguel's family should have done the same thing or at the very least get cps called for the shit elena did.

This video made me realize that I want the version of Coco where Elena gets cursed (maybe she got the altar first and destroyed the guitar, and has to get an apology from the dead owner or something) and she’s the one that has to come to grips with her family trauma and realize, yeah, she’s going to end up forgotten once Miguel’s generation is in charge because he doesn’t want to honor someone like her. She then goes back to the living world and apologizes to everyone, ESPECIALLY Miguel, and becomes supportive of his passions and bonds with him.

Just once I want to see a movie about the child of an artist family wanting to become an accountant.

There's also another video essay called "Coco's Feel-Good Oppression" which touches another problem Coco has, mainly the system. I recommend it

my parents are like miguel's family, used to try all the time to steer me away from art once it was obvious that it wasn't "just a phase" and i was very serious about it. they just kept trying to get me to pick up engineering and actively being less and less supportive as time went on. while coco is a great movie that i really enjoyed on a first watch, that entire message and the lack of any accountability felt SO wrong and it honestly feels so discouraging to see it supported so wholeheartedly, especially when i look back at my own family and can just see that they would never have a magic eye opener disney moment and suddenly turn around and be nice

Mexican family being unreasonable and never apologizing? that's accurate, that's just how it is over here sometimes, does it suck? yeah, but it's an accurate depiction of how family can be over here, and WE often don't have the resources to push away bad family members, I'm mexican and I can confirm that things can be like that here.

This is why I have been saying for years that the Book of Life handles this story structure better-- Manolo's family doesn't hate music, his father just thinks bullfighting is a more noble career for him to pursue, because it's what their family is good at and is famous for. This is not totally unreasonable! And Manolo's father comes to understand the beauty of Manolo's passion and how music can transform people, which is actual character growth.

I think it’s kind of telling that they don’t say the show Miguel wanted to participate in had a monetary prize-It’s not as if he wanted to participate to hopefully get money to leave, he just wanted at least one chance to preform. It’s likely in my mind that Miguel would have gone back to his family afterward. (Not because I think he should, but because he is a child with no money who’s family didn’t allow him to socialize with anyone who interacts positively with music-Which is the majority of people. IN MEXICO TOO?) Additionally Imelda’s blessing returns him to the land of the dead if he plays music. God forbid he turn 20, get away from his family, decide to experiment on a guitar again and fucking die for it. Hell, god forbid he get home and blow into a cola bottle again!

Another really bad message Disney movie is Raya(spoilers). It’s awful. It’s basically all about “you have to open and trust people” but everybody betrays raya, that’s how she lost her family and everything, yet the movie acts like raya was in the wrong for not randomly trusting strangers and the enemy itself?! Even the baby betrays her like come on. I wanted to love the movie but the message is infuriating

One of my least favourite parts of this entire movie is that Imelda still has anger towards Hector even AFTER finding out that the reason he didn’t return was that he was LITERALLY MURDERED. I realise it was played somewhat for laughs because of her personality and that there’s a happy ending, but after everything Hector went through, basically suffering under circumstances completely out of his control and having been completely wronged in every way, it just seemed really cruel to me 😕

Even if I do love Coco, I won't deny the message really should've been fixing. They should've learnt from finding Nemo or any movie that has family bonds. Heck! Even Encanto handled family better way more than Coco, that's saying alot!

0:24 then you must've not seen "Raya and the Last Dragon" yet

I think that a good change of the guitar smashing scene is that guitar is not smashed in an anger fist by Elena, but rather after Elena tries to pull the guitar from Miguel he holds on to the guitar causing it to break it. At least that way Elena is more likeable and still be in the wrong by pulling hard on the guitar.

Coco puts up Hector's photo on the ofrenda every year and definitely remembers him (she only starts to forget near the end of the film) so why can't he cross the bridge on Dia de los Muertos? Just because his face is missing in the picture? Isn't the point that you're remembered by your family, not that the photo itself is a certain way? Before cameras existed, was no one able to cross over? Just throwing this out there because it bugs me

I think since elena is the matriarch, the family was scared of calling her out. Sometimes families of color hold their elders in high regard at the cost of their well and their children. And honestly I think if it was ELENA who went on this journey to get Miguel back, it would have been a stronger message. Elena learns what happened to her ancestors and by finding out why miguel loves music, she apologizes and reconnects too. Coco got lost in the adventure and plot of the movie.

"family comes first" goes both ways and Miguel's family did not put his happiness first. To me family is about being there and supporting each other and It doesn't work if it's one sided. Actually i think the saying "family comes first" is only used in abusive households because people in healthy relationships already put each other first without question.

Buck Cluck: "I might be the worst parent in the history of Disney animation." Elena: "Hold my sandal."

You’re absolutely right: a huge part of what I dislike about this movie is how you never really get time to care about the dynamics Miguel may have had with the living members of his family. That’s why I always look forward to the scenes with Miguel and Héctor. Ever since my first time seeing this film, my favorite part of Coco is witnessing how beautifully Héctor gets along with Miguel. He’s goofy, he’s genuine, he’s empathetic, and he actually takes the time to teach Miguel everything he knows about being a musician. He doesn’t let his regrets from the past, or the way the other musicians treat him, stop him from encouraging Miguel to pursue his dream. In fact, he’s not afraid to point out where Miguel may be going wrong in pursuing music; instead, he actively tries redirecting him to pursue it with a nobler mindset. And when he realizes he’s gone too far in trying to get Miguel to his family… Héctor takes that step that the rest of the family doesn’t: he APOLOGIZES!!!

Say what you will about Encanto. Yes, it's true that there is always the possibility for the cycle of toxicity in that family to be maintained, but at least that movie and the main character herself RECOGNIZED that the family has a cycle of toxicity and the person most responsible for the toxicity is called out for it.

To be fair, earlier on Miguel didn't really treat the music-hating situation very seriously and just some funny quirk the rest of his family has. He treats his family like a nuisance at worst. It's only when Elena starts smashing the guitar does he decide to run away for good. Nevertheless, the living family could use a bit more screentime just so we can get an in-depth look at how they really feel. Maybe Elena has a more sympathetic backstory of not wanting to disappoint her strict grandmother which is why she became fanatical with her music ban?

I never got one thing... How is it possible that the family hates Coco's father... When Coco herself clearly says that she never forgot him to begin with. Like, I get that her mother imposed this whole music hating stick, but one would imagine that after her mother died, Coco would just... Ignore her nonesense...? Like... She is the living matriarc of the family... Why do her children hate her father when she does not...?

What plagued me the most with the movie afterwards is that everybody is going to have second death at some point. The afterlife is not forever, just an extension of life.

it turns worse when you learn about how normalized we have that abuse in México, as a kid I experienced many aggresions that were justified because "it was my family", the movie is beautiful but the message is pretty damaging, I also had many classmates who were neglected by their families, that violence is pretty normalized in mexican culture

Fr I thought this video was gonna be about how according to The Didney Corporation, even in their "Fun" fantasy version of the world, we Mexicans still have to deal with a different kind of la migra 💀

the scene with the guitar really hits me, for im an artist and i used to draw a lot of edgy demons when i was growing up, my mother being a catholic will burn and tear up all of my belongings whenever she saw them and i had noone to turn to. i didnt get a happy ending i just learned to hide my passion for art or any passion for that matter from my family i still am

As a Mexican myself, I xan confirm coco's message is awful. Mexican and latino families tend to normalize treating eachother like sh*t because "es tu familia 😊❤" and this movie does that too

someone wants to be a musician instead of the family job, goes to the underworld and turns into a skeleton while dealing with family issues? just watch the book of life guys come on

I legit never thought coco *had* a message in the first place 💀

I remember seeing the teaser for Encanto thinking “this looks like a worse version of coco” only to be surprised that it’s actually better than coco in its family message. I relate to it a bit too since I feel like I’m the only one out of my siblings that has nothing going for me, and the part where Mirabel called out Abuela actually hurt me especially when she said “I’ll never be good enough for you” I’ve tried to tell people that coco didn’t have a good family message but no one listened to me

It can pretty much be boiled down to this fact; abuse is the action, not the intention.

Miguel already knew that family comes first. He grew to appreciate it more, and he grows in more ways, but he's mostly just the victim here. Even Encanto showed you what everyone was thinking. Even the dads have considerable time in the movie. I don't think the entire family (-Miguel, Elena, and Abuela) in Coco says any more than 2 lines.

She’s like all those people that destroy video games because they think they’re evil

Where in the movie do they justify the family? The guitar smashing scene is supposed to be cruel, their hatred of music is supposed to be unreasonable, and the ending happiness implies reconciliation and probably an apology of sorts. It seems you're just criticizing that characters are nuanced

As much as I adore this movie with all my heart... yeah, the ending was a bit iffy 😬

Okay, I don't know If you'll touch on this again, and If you won't I'll write it now so I don't forget it, but I really don't see how the movie tried to make Miguel in the wrong. When he runs away, his family isn't really portrayed as wronged, they just search for him, that's logical. His family serves as a source of urgency for Miguel to keep going because if they get him, his dreams will be over, and we as an audience especially know how unsatisfying and unfair it would be to send Miguel back without the family acknowledging how they were in the wrong, because we know that they are.

Agreed! I despise Elena so much. She never apologizes EVER. She was never harmed directly by Hector's absence, but was by FAR the most zealous in enforcing the music ban. The both sides-ing of the issue is awful and Elena never shows ANY remorse, and neither does Imedla until it is nearly too late. The "memory based" afterlife also rubs me the wrong way because what the heck?

As a mexican I think Miguel's family was made one-dimensional and stereotypical by design. They wanted people who were familiar with these cliches about the mexican family to be like... Yeahhhh that person looks and acts like my uncle, my grandma, my mom or my cousin and so on. To be fair, Miguel's dead relatives were more interesting

Miguel's father tried to stop the guitar smashing

I think the reason why I found the movie so good was because I found it relatable. Most other movies I've seen had the kids painted as spoiled brats who have no sense of the real world and the adults as super caring and always morally correct. I guess I never realized the movie had any intention of sympathizing with his parents.

yeah I will never forgive disney for attempting to buy/own el dia de los muertos

This "music is banned because of my feelings"-plot was already done in The Little Mermaid 3, and it was stupid there too.

"why do people still buy shoes from this cranky old woman" Nestle buys up water supplies and then sells bottled water back to the community, and millions of people still eat KitKats.

The car smashing scene in Wreck it Ralph hurt but because it was Ralph genuinely believing he was saving Vanellope from certain death. It wasnt anger or mallous that drove him but the sheer want to protect his precious friend. Ralph had no reason to believe King Candy would lie to him about Vanellope possibly getting the game unplugged and her being killed since she couldnt escape the game. His actions were ones of love and affection for her since he didnt want her to get hurt. Whereas Elena did it out of hate for music not to protect Miguel.

Your ending where Death strikes down Elena should be included as a post credit scene in future re-releases of Coco.

Oh to comment on the “how does the ofrenda work before photos” So the tradition can vary from culture to culture, even in modern times. Some would use paintings of their loved ones if they had the ability to get one, some would use personal items of that person, and some people would use items that represent that person (like a guitar for someone who loved to play music, as an example). It doesn’t have to be a photograph. For Hector, they could’ve easily just put his guitar on the Ofrenda and that theoretically would’ve worked just fine for him to cross over and visit.

Okay, later comment, but a thought I had was about the guitar scene and The Book of Life. The main character's father never destroyed his guitar, nor showed any want to hurt his son like that, despite being disappointed in him for his love of music instead of bull fighting. It just shows how unnecessary that guitar smashing scene was. (Plus, his father apologized at the end, too, so further bonus points there!)

From what I remember, the book version of the movie went a little deeper into the families side, but it's only like a small chapter.

I thought why they didn't show why Elena thinks she's protecting Coco by hating music is because she was wrong about it, it was an assumption not based in reality of how Coco feels about it

Marlin: Overbearing on Nemo out of trauma from losing almost his entire family and fear of losing the last person he has left Elena: BECAUSE SHE TOLD ME TOOOOOOOOOOOO

12:20 also. she SURELY new Ernesto became famous. you know, her husbands best friend?! and she never went out to find and ask him what happened?! I know ernesto killed hector, but if she asked, she might have learned "oh, he wanted to return, but he ended up getting severely sick and... he sadly passed away."

That's why i like Encanto more. Coco is a good film, but it baffles me how many people just don't see the problems in it.

Coco’s message on family trauma resolution isn’t bad, it’s just real-life accurate. Fact of the matter is, most people would forgive their emotionally abusive parents readily over even an IMPLIED apology through actions and not words. Miguel seeing his family accept music, and his interest in it, was all he ever wanted. He didn’t need a verbal apology from Elena. Is that still bad? Yes, as it in many ways excuses bad behavior on the parents’ part, but if you’ve ever come from such a family, you’d know how hard it is to just run away and cut them off as the alternative. We take the wins we can get.

That's gotta be the most terrifying cartoon review rantsona I've seen so far.

Suggesting reporting someone missing in Mexico would have them be found dead or alive is a bigger joke than the Rivera's comic-book villain level of disdain for music

While king Triton also doesn't apologise, at least Ariel gets away from him permanently.

Here's your response: I'm so confused how much you can get wrong about this film but by about every second you managed to contort the plot again and again. Coco's grandmother isn't mean to be sympathized with, she's an active force against Miguel's passion. The film is lighthearted. The reason why they hate music is there, obvious, and does not need to be elaborated on to further the plot whatsoever. The entire video you just read into mindless points and ramble like you're actually forming a cogent idea. Your strongest focal point is that the message works against itself. What do you mean? The message is a nuance that works its way through the story, like a needle threading fabric. If you're unaware, at the end they reconcile in the most beauitful part of the movie which you touch on at the very start, how do you neglect that? Additionally, this ends up strengthening the message even further: Though already you were shown fantastic characters in the world of the dead that already bring together the general backdrop of why it's important to appreciate your family (both present and non-present) it feels like you somehow lose that touch just by imagining that Miguel's alive family are ravaging beasts, working as some anti-message. They are literally apart of the message, though they are the anti-heroes at first. Letting "Elena get away with it" isn't some error the movie makes, it again progresses the plot, because very evidently an outnumbered, younger, and irrational Miguel is the correct protagonist to venture into the unknown, where he eventually meets his dead relatives, setting the message in motion. You have such a tunnel-minded view on the entire movie which makes your critique painfully pretentious, unobservant, and just painfully mean towards the film. Your idea that the movie continues to work against itself by underdeveloping and failing to somehow make an immediate happy-ending for all parties involved is like ignoring the very necessary mountain Miguel and his misguided family need to climb. His entire lineage is misguided for a reason, you can't leverage these retrospective ideas over them like shaking keys pretending that they should've known better, should've been more scrutanized, should've been a stronger antagonistic force that Miguel could detach from, that's not what the film was set up to be at all. It's an honestly peaceful, realistic, and understandable cinematic that details the story of a boy who cannot share his passion with his family that has had misplaced anger for a dead relative that abandoned them to make fortune, never returning. Miguel can't surmount that with his own journey unsolved with seeking his lost relative, which sets up the film for the ending where he finally learns how to use his power to recover his family's broken history. Your final lament is based upon his family's inexcused actions from not apologizing. I want you to reimagine the ending but redive into how the entire turn of events which undos the family's wrongful judgements might have actually been the metaphor for the apology. You don't need every little analogy and message to be gently placed in your ears, the flow of the movie is necessary for a reason. They didn't need random segments of growth or character arc, that comes very importantly at the end. They were driven by hatred and family-obsession for over a generation. That doesn't revert magically through events off-screen during Miguel's climactic journey in the world of the dead. That is so stupid. The movie wants you to focus on the family that Miguel could respect and grow with. Not the one that worked against him, until they too become apart of the message that demonstrates their true humanity. This has to be one of the worst movie critiques I ever had to watch the entire length through just to make a proper counter-argument.

Atleast they got the emotional abuse in Mexican families part accurate 😭💔

I think it was more about framing the family for how ignorant they were being and how they decided that the value of music doesn't matter because one person supposedly "abandoned" their family because of it. And in the end, Miguel literally uses music to help Coco remember who Hector is. Elena should've absolutely apologized for breaking his guitar though. Personally, I think this message was better executed in Encanto. Because Alma actually apologizes for her actions and stops trying to justify her narcissism.

Ngl I knew my mom was like some of the worst Disney/Pixar parents when I saw her cheering for/sympathizing with characters like Elena/Imelda/Mother Gothel. I also remember her specifically cheering on Merida's mother when she threw Merida's bow in the fire and when Ming Lee from Turning Red basically destroyed parts of their city (and a whole stadium) from her red pands form bc she was mad at Meilin. In pretty much every case, my mother would say "Well that wouldn't have happened if their children just listened". So she's a firm believer in that children should blindly follow everything their parents/ancestors say. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying children should be able to do whatever they want whenever they want to, but there are parents and families out there that take it way too far and somewhat see children as these sort of beings that they're supposed to be able to control and that these little people aren't allowed to question, aren't allowed to speak for themselves. If they dare to, they are disrespectful brats. The problem is that some family/parents somewhat vicariously live through the children and as such, want those children to live exactly as they wanted to and hold the same opinions/values that they do. It does kind of suck that we don't see a reason why there have been so many generations in Coco going along with Imelda's ban on music. But what I can equate it to is something similar. As a child, you don't *want* to go against your family because children are always taught, listen to your parents and elders. That's before mentioning some of these cultures place enormous importance in listening to and respecting your elders/ancestors, even if it's something you don't agree with or even if your life is miserable because of it. If you go against your elders, you're going against your whole family because the elders tend to "run" the family. I can only imagine something like this is what is happening in Coco. Some of these family members likely have no reason to dislike music, but they were grown up on the hate and resentment Imelda had for Hector, being told the story from her perspective and being taught that basically, if you enjoy music or want to be a musician, you're basically going to end up abandoning your family for your own selfish interests. And let's not forget, even in the land of the dead when Imelda found out the truth (that Hector was murdered, that he didn't actually abandon his family), she still treats Hector coldly and says she's still angry at him for leaving in the first place. That shows you just how Imelda's hatred and resentment is still so deep and built up that she has become unreasonable. So to me, it's not much of a wonder how the family is still passing on that hate and resentment, add on that many will not dare to speak out against it so they are not disrespecting the elders and ancestors. It tells you a lot when the family is suddenly enjoying music and loving it again just because Coco talked about her fond memories of it, being the eldest of the family and basically giving the OK on liking music. This message is very flawed in this way, and you're right, it's trying to make us feel sympathy for both Miguel AND his family. It's trying to shift our focus from how unreasonable the family is to sympathizing with Imelda's trauma and using that as an excuse to forget whatever the family did to Miguel. I do like this film and I do like that things turned out alright, but there are indeed a lot of problematic messages under the surface of it all.

The Book of Life is a much better Day Of The Dead movie than Coco, but, for some reason, everyone was dismissing The Book of Life despite it coming out THREE YEARS BEFORE Coco. Damn movie was beautiful and not nearly enough people talk about it

Worst part is Miguel's family is way less abusive than the average Latin American family.

My honest opinion: This makes the movie realistic. I’m not saying it’s a good or bad thing, but the “hollowness” of the “happy ending” you mentioned really shows the depressing reality of how one buries bad things and goes on with their life, making themselves believe all is okay. It makes it way less fairytale-like in a way. (Ps I’ve never seen the movie, I’m only basing this off of the video.)

The movie doesn't say that Miguel will suffer a fate worse then death because he didn't appreciate his abusive family. It's forshadowing Hectors eventual "death", which ultimately leads to higher stakes for Miguel to save him. This also doesn't happen out of the blue mind you, all the characters went through an arc of understanding each other better. This is where you could criticise the movie because the understanding happened more between Miguel and Hector than Miguel and Imelda or Elena, but appreciating your abusive family isn't the message.

The Elena jokes are so hilarious. "Because you told me toooo!" lol

It's cause music killed my grandma

As a flaw in a film, your points are valid. In real human terms, however, people (decent ones at least) may overlook an individual’s quirks without knowing the those quirks exist. People need not be perfect, or perfectly understood, to be tolerated, accepted or even loved.

why is there a big transparent fish on my screen is this normal

Might I add that Ralph's expression shows just as much sorrow and guilt as Vanellope, you can see how it's hurting him too 9:52 But Elena's expression comes from anger and hate, like we seen time and time again. She doesn't look guilty or sad about doing that at all, and even after she destroyed his interest, she still tries to comfort him 🙄

I think I can come up with a few fixes to make the ending of this movie better! First things first, what you said in the video: touch on Elena’s trauma! Constantly hearing her mother fight with her grandmother over music, the hole Héctor left in their lives, and how much trauma it left in the family. Second: Elena doesn’t destroy Miguel’s guitar, and she isn’t as invasive about the music in the town. She allows the town to play, but her family is forbidden from joining. The inciting incident is instead Elena locking Miguel’s guitar in a chest and banning him from playing in an upcoming music festival Three: Miguel still runs away, but again, we touch more on Imelda’s trauma. She doesn’t try to ban miguel from playing forever, but she does forbid him from idolizing her husband, who Miguel still thinks is the famous guy (I forgot his name, funnily enough). She forbids him from having any ties to him, such as the guitar that once belonged to him. Miguel can still access his own guitar if he can convince Elena, but that family heirloom will never be his. Four: the famous guy still killed Héctor, but he forged a letter in his name to his family. The letter said that he wouldn’t come home, and that he’s going to pursue his dreams. That way the family “know” what happened to him and won’t come looking. Five: Miguel won’t vanish forever if he stays in the land of the dead. He will, however, be unable to return home. Being a living person in the land of the dead means he won’t face the same fate as his dead family members Six: Elena apologizes! So does Imelda! They realize that someone’s past mistakes do not belong to the future generations, and on top of that, death is just part of life. Even when Imelda learns the truth, she would have to learn that it wasn’t music that hurt her family. It was human greed, and there’s nothing you can do to predict that. Its better to let Miguel spread his own wings and pursue his passions, rather than living a miserable life. I don’t know how good any of this is, since I’m not a screenwriter, but I think it’s a good start. Honestly keep everything else! The movie is gorgeous and the acting is incredible. The ending is just lackluster in comparison