Culturally Relevant, Slightly Skewed

Rating: 9/10 (23 April 2018)

Big movies and studios have a reputation of bending culture and history to create a more entertaining product. Disney and Pixar can be included in this conversation (more Disney though than Pixar, with movies like Pocahontas and Aladdin being some of the most controversial). Pixar, however, has remained relatively close to the cultural truth with Coco. Even though it still has its controversies (mainly regarding its plot originality), the movie makes for a colorful, entertaining spectacle of Mexican culture; specifically during the Day of the Dead, or Dia de los Muertos.
Coco takes place during Dia de los Muertos, a colorful celebration of the passed on. This can make for an interesting setting for Pixar, and they worked very well with it. They present a story on the importance of dreams, family, and remembrance. The remembrance part is very prevalent (even its Oscar-winning song is named Remember Me), and it should be. In fact, Judy King states in her article on mexconnect.com that, "On this night, those who wait realize the importance of living to be well remembered, working to be well respected and loving to be well missed"(mexconnect.com). The struggle to be remembered leads people to create a legacy that they will be remembered by, or others tainting said legacy. In the story, Hector, Miguel's great-great grandfather, had been left forgotten because his family tainted his legacy by quite literally tearing him from his family after leaving them and never coming back. On the other hand, De La Cruz worked to create his own legacy by stealing songs and credit to become a well known and respected in Mexico. The need to be remembered is centered on the fact that the spirits of the dead need to return to our world during the Day of the Dead. However, if one were to be forgotten, the story portrays a "final death" where there is no one left to remember someone, and they fade away forever, even from the the realm of the dead. After being skeptical of this being portrayed as true (I had never heard of this idea before), I discovered that this is actually more or less the real idea. Victor Landa is quoted in Judy King's article on mexconnect.com as saying "The third death, the most definitive death, is when there is no one left alive to remember us" (mexconnect.com). This is why people work so hard to be remembered, so that no one ever forgets them, because of they fade from the memory of the living, they will surely disappear from any existence.
One discrepancy that I found was the spirit guides. In Coco, they are mostly portrayed as colorful animal hybrids, such as winged dogs or cats. While they do fit in well with the mood and scenery of the movie, they do not portray the whole truth. They are most likely inspired by Colima Dogs, ceramic dog figures designed to help guide the dead in mesoamerican lore. Kristen Romey of National Geographic attests that "The most frequent depictions take the form of small ceramic vessels known as Colima Dogs... which may have served as symbolic dog guides to help the soul of the dead travel through the Underworld" (nationalgeographic.com). So, while the guides aren't all true, they do have basis in real world lore. In fact, a dog named Dante is commonly featured in the story as a "connection" between worlds, and even morphs into a spirit guide himself.
In conclusion, while Coco, isn't 100% accurate to cultural truth, there is very little bending to it. Even the added elements have cultural basis to them, which helps them to blend seamlessly to the rest of the story, which has allowed the cultural elements of the Day of the Dead to guide an entertaining story that looks familiar to people who celebrate the holiday, and they have built off of many of the elements to create amazing environments and artistic storytelling.