The Mexican culture celebrates Dia de los Muertos every year throughout Mexico. Disney has taken their idea to create their perspective on the Mexican holiday. “Coco,” the newly released animated adventure contains wonderful and colorful settings that draw the viewers into it. Additionally, with the Mexican heritage theme throughout the film, it becomes a learning experience for all viewers.

“Coco” revolves around the holiday of Day of the Dead, a topic that brings many Hispanic viewers to the theaters. The movie includes coverage of popular Mexican traditions such as making an ofrenda, which is setting up photos for ancestors and families on a table so their spirits can come and visit.
Miguel Rivera, the main musical protagonist in the movie, accidentally finds himself in the Land of the Dead, which is filled with alebrijes and families who have passed away. An alebrije is a spirit guide that leads the dead into the Land of the Dead.

After settling down and meeting up with his deceased family members, Miguel finds out that the only way of returning to the Land of the Living would be by getting a blessing from one of his dead family members. His great-great-grandmother, Imelda, agrees to give him her blessing, but at a cost — Miguel will have to give up his passion of music. After hearing this devastating news, Miguel decides to set out on a journey in hopes to get his great-great-grandfather’s blessing instead.

The film itself has outstanding graphics, colors, and creativity. It constructs a pleasing picture for the eyes with a great mix of soft colors and pops of bright colors. The soundtrack ranged from soothing music to upbeat and happy.. In many scenes, Disney shows that they’ve put in extensive work and dedication into perfecting the quality of the animation. Although Disney catches a lot of people’s attention with the excellent graphics, the movie lacks small details within the plot that left me confused at times.

It seems that Disney spent more time working on the cutscenes and neglected to focus more on scenes that build up the plot. Disney’s attention to detail in regards to picture was outstanding, but in terms of having a flowing plot I was a bit let down.

Overall the movie is phenomenal, it gives the audience a clear and fun way of understanding of the holiday and culture of Dia de los Muertos. It’s full of surprises, and brought me to the edge of my seat in anticipation in terms of just what was going to happen next. “Coco” did an excellent job of balancing humor, action, and sadness. Disney was able to present a great message that is easy to understand by any person watching the movie, and kept any flaws to a minimal.