Aya's Movie Time Marathon | Coco

One of the perks of being a mom - especially to a two-year old toddler - is your neverending supply of happy vibes thanks to the wonders animated movies make. I myself is a big fan of animated movies. I watched Frozen a gazillion times especially when the work and life becomes super chaotic. It was my happy pill. That was when I didn't have a daughter yet.

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Now that I have a kid, I have the perfect alibi to watch an animation over and over and over and over again. One of the movies that we watch over and over again us Pixar's Coco. She likes it because of all the music and gui-gui-guitar! (That's how she says it when she asks me to get her guitar.) I love it because of the rich Mexican culture it showed in the entire movie.

If you haven't watched this movie, be warned that this is gonna be full of spoilers. But if you haven't watched this movie yet, I have just one question for you. WHY???

This movie revolves around Miguel - a kid who wants to play on the plaza on Mexico's Dia delos Muertos or Day of the Dead. This is when they remember their departed loved ones. They put up their pictures and surround it with their favorite things in life. This is where I learned - and admired - Mexico's close family ties. It will really touch your heart especially on that moment where Mama Coco is already remembering her Papa Hector.

I didn't get to cry during that heavy dramatic scene. During and after watching the movie, I had a lot of questions. Some I found answers ti, some I didn't or felt like I didn't need to know the answer to. But I love the movie nonetheless. With all those hanging questions and all.

Why wouldn't anyone remember anyone?

Hector Rivera, Mama Coco's father and Miguel's great great grandfather. He is the reason why Miguel's entire family are not music lovers - they despise music - that's why he hides his guitar and his desire ti be a musician. Every year on Dia delos Muertos, spirits get to cross over from the land of the dead to the land of the living. But Hector couldn't. It imolies in the movie that he has never been able to cross over because noone put up his photo.

The movie never gave a background about his family when he hasn't met Imelda I would assume that they're all gone long before he had his own family. Which would explain why they weren't able to put up his photo.

Or maybe Hector's family - the one where he came from - must be an exception to the close family ties culture of their country. If they were tight, they'd have known what has happened to him one way or another. He must have told them where he was or what he's doing. Or they must have contacted him when they heard that he left his family for the love of music. But being that it seemed like they didn't care about him, they must not have been close when they were all still living.

Or maybe Ernesto dela Cruz - Hector's backstabbing ambitious deceitful murderous partner - is purely made out of all the evil in the world that he did not tell any of Hector's family and friends about him. I figured he might as well have just thrown Hector's body somewhere but that's too dark for a kiddie animation movie.

These thought were randomly running in my head as I was watching the movie. Still, it got me hooked.

How did Hector get his photo?

In the movie, Hector has his own photo with him in the Land of the Dead. I can't help but think about how he got his hands on that. When something bothers me, it's either I ask around or search the net for information. I don't personally know any Mexicans so I searched the net for Mexico's burial practices. And this is what I got.

When the coffin is delivered to the family's home, the deceased's clothing and belongings are placed inside with the body. That the dead will make use of these items in the afterlife is fitting with the belief that not only do they live on, but that they return annually in spirit, provided their loved ones anticipate their arrival.

It still doesn't make sense why the photo is with him in the Land of the Dead but it does explain how it possibly got there. I thought that was good enough yo put an end with my curiosity.

Can Miguel really swim or not?

Miguel's quest in the Land of the Dead is to find Ernesto dela Cruz so he could get his blessing so he could go home and still play in the plaza. When he got to dela Cruz's tower, he played a song that caught everyone's attention. Including Ernesto's. Just as he was approaching his great great grandfather, he fell into the guitar-shaped pool right smack in the middle of the venue. There, he was rescued by Ernesto because he couldn't get back tk the surface. But when he was thrown into the sink hole, he was able to swim off to the shore on his own. Now I'm not sure what's up with that, Miguel. I still adore that little boy though.

Why are there so few people backstage?

I'm not in the stage production industry but I imagine so much chaos behind those glamorous and grand stage performances. I guess it's different when the stage is in the Land of the Dead. But what bugged me most was why there was noone manning the area where dela Cruz threw Miguel away. Who were managing those cameras? Who was in charge in pressing those buttons. And speaking of buttons, I was surprised when I saw Miguel's aunts knew how to operate those. It took more than five viewings before I noticed those numbers on the camera and buttons. That explains it. But still doesn't explain why therr aren't anyone on those stations.

Who manages the Land of the Dead

This is the biggest question I have fornthis entire movie. If you've watched The Book of Life, which is another Dia delos Muertos themed movie, you know that there's La Muerte, Cibalba and the CandleMaker. But here in Coco, it is being run by the fellow dead people. Who takes care of their shifts during the holidays? Do they get paid? Haha. How do they visit their family in the Land of the Living if they are all busy with their work? Talk about working themselves to death.

Me, coming up with all these questions while watching the movie just added up to the wonder I felt about it. There are questions that are meant to be answered but these, I fon't really mind if they are answered or not. I love the movie no matter what. I learned about how Mexico cares about their family. How their love is eternal and resonating even after death. Plus, the music are all so catchy. My daughter knows how to sing Remember Me and El Poco Loco.

And oh, we named our neighbor's dog Dante. His real name is Oreo but he answers to Dante when we call him so that's his name for us. We kinda gave the dog a dual personality, did we? LOL

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