Spectacular, but one serious flaw.

Rating: 9/10 (5 March 2018)

Considering how easy it can be these days to run afoul of cultural sensibilities, the universal praise heaped on this film is amazing. Some Mexican friends of ours saw it and were lavish in their praise. Miguel is a music-loving boy in perhaps the only family in Mexico that hates music. His great-great -grandfather left the family to pursue a career as a musician, and to make ends meet, his wife took to making shoes, and banished all music from the home. Miguel wants to enter the music contest for the Day of the Dead but his hopes are dashed, literally, when his grandmother smashes his homemade guitar. And this is why I give this a 9 rather than a 10. She's an utterly despicable, mean-spirited witch, and the rest of the family is too cowardly to stand up to her. At the end of the film she sheds a tear, a perfect example of what I call a Nazi With A Puppy Dog Moment, where a repugnant character gets a token humanizing moment.
In desperation, Manuel "borrows" the guitar from the shrine to the most famous musician in the town's history, and in so doing he ends up crossing over to the Land of the Dead. Wow, is this a dazzling film. The color and intricacy of the Land of the Dead is beyond amazing. Miguel attempts to reach the spirit of the great musician, and in the process discovers that his great-great grandfather had been murdered and all his work stolen.
A year later, at the next Day of the Dead, all Miguel's ancestors can now come back to visit, and his great-grandfather gets the credit he deserves.
One figure that has pursued Miguel through his adventures was a gigantic spirit jaguar who looks terrifying but is actually benevolent. Anyway, during the next Day of the Dead, we see a dog and cat emerge from an alley. Look carefully at the shadows on the wall just before it happens.