coco movie hero's journey

Movie Reviews

Tv/streaming, collections, great movies, chaz's journal, contributors.

Now streaming on:

"Coco" is the sprightly story of a young boy who wants to be a musician and somehow finds himself communing with talking skeletons in the land of the dead. Directed by Lee Unkrich (" Toy Story 3 ") and veteran Pixar animator Adrian Molina , and drawing heavily on Mexican folklore and traditional designs, it has catchy music, a complex but comprehensible plot, and bits of domestic comedy and media satire. Most of the time the movie is a knockabout slapstick comedy with a " Back to the Future " feeling, staging grand action sequences and feeding audiences new plot information every few minutes, but of course, being a Pixar film, "Coco" is also building toward emotionally overwhelming moments, so stealthily that you may be surprised to find yourself wiping away a tear even though the studio has been using the sneak-attack playbook for decades.

The film's hero, twelve-year old Miguel Riviera (voice by Anthony Gonzalez ), lives in the small town of Santa Cecilia. He’s a goodhearted child who loves to play guitar and idolizes the greatest popular singer-songwriter of the 1920s and '30s, Ernesto de la Cruz ( Benjamin Bratt ), who was killed when a huge church bell fell on his head. But Miguel has to busk in secret because his family has banned its members from performing music ever since Miguel's great-great-grandfather left, abandoning his loved ones to selfishly pursue his dreams of stardom. At least that’s the official story passed down through the generations; it’ll be challenged as the film unfolds, not through a traditional detective story (although there’s a mystery element to “Coco”) but through an “ Alice in Wonderland ” journey to the Land of the Dead, which the hero accesses through the tomb of his ancestors. 

Family and legacy as expressed through storytelling and song: this is the deeper preoccupation of “Coco.” One of the most fascinating things about the movie is the way it builds its plot around members of Miguel’s family, living and dead, as they battle to determine the official narrative of Miguel’s great-great grandfather and what his disappearance from the narrative meant for the extended clan. The title character is the hero’s great-grandmother (Renee Victor), who was traumatized by her dad’s disappearance. In her old age, she has become a nearly silent presence, sitting in the corner and staring blankly ahead, as if hypnotized by a sweet, old film perpetually unreeling in her mind.

The machinations that get Miguel to the other side are too complicated to explain in a review, though they’re comprehensible as you watch the movie. Suffice to say that Miguel gets there, teams up with a melancholy goofball named Hector ( Gael Garcia Bernal), and has to pose as one of the dead with the aid of skeletal facepaint, but that (like Marty McFly returning to the 1950s to make sure his mom ends up with his dad in “Future”) the longer Miguel stays on the other side, the more likely he is to end up actually dead.

I’m reluctant to describe the film’s plot in too much detail because, even though every twist seems obvious in retrospect, Molina and Matthew Aldrich ’s script frames each one so that seems delightful and inevitable. Many of them are conveyed through a stolen family photograph that Miguel brings with him to the Land of the Dead. The deployment of the photo is a great example of how to tell a story through pictures, or more accurately, with a picture . Somebody’s face has been torn out; there’s a guitar that proves to be important later, and there are other ways in which visual information has been withheld from Miguel (and us) so that it can be revealed or restored when the time is right, completing and correcting an incomplete or distorted picture, and "picture.”

What’s freshest, though, is the tone and outlook of the film. “Coco” opened in Mexico a month before it opened in the USA and is already the highest grossing film of all time there. It assumes a non-American point-of-view on spirituality and culture—not in a touristy or “thought experiment” sort of way, but as if it were merely the latest product of an alternate universe Pixar Mexicano that has existed for just as long as the other one. The film’s stable of voice actors reads like a Who’s Who of Latin-American talent: the ensemble includes Edward James Olmos , Alfonso Arau , Ana Ofelia Murguia, Alanna Ubach and, in a small role, to my surprise and astonishment, playwright Octavio Solis , who was one of my teachers in high school back in Dallas. Michael Giacchino's score is unsurprisingly excellent, as are the original songs—in particular, the future Oscar winner " Remember Me ," the greatest tear-eruption mechanism to accompany a Pixar release since the " Toy Story 2 " centerpiece "When She Loved Me."

Like most Pixar productions, this one is filled with homages to film history in general and animation history in particular. I was especially fond of the references to the dancing skeletons that seemed to pop up constantly in cartoon shorts from the 1930s. There’s a touch of Japanese master Hayao Miyazaki in the film’s matter-of-fact depiction of the dead interacting with the living, as well as its portrayal of certain creatures, such as a goofy, goggle-eyed dog named Dante (modeled on Xoloitzcuintli, the national dog of Mexico) and a gigantic flying dragon-type beast with the personality of a plump old housecat.

Also notable are the film's widescreen compositions, which put lots of characters in the same frame and shoot them from the waist up or from head-to-toe, in the manner of old musicals, or Hollywood comedies from the eighties like "9 to 5" or " Tootsie ." The direction lets you appreciate how the characters interact with each other and with their environments and lets you decide what to look at. At first this approach seems counter-intuitive for a movie filled with fantastic creatures, structures and situations, but it ends up being effective for that very reason: it makes you feel as though you're seeing a record of things that are actually happening, and it makes "Coco" feel gentle and unassuming even though it's a big, brash, loud film.

I had some minor quibbles about “Coco” while I was watching it, but I can’t remember what they were. This film is a classic.

Matt Zoller Seitz

Matt Zoller Seitz is the Editor at Large of RogerEbert.com, TV critic for New York Magazine and Vulture.com, and a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in criticism.

Now playing

The Greatest Hits

Steve! (Martin): A Documentary in Two Pieces

Brian tallerico.

Dad & Step-Dad

Carlos aguilar.

Kim's Video

Peyton Robinson

Apples Never Fall

Cristina escobar, film credits.

Coco (2017)

Rated PG for thematic elements.

109 minutes

Anthony Gonzalez as Miguel (voice)

Gael García Bernal as Hector (voice)

Benjamin Bratt as Ernesto de la Cruz (voice)

Renée Victor as Abuelita (voice)

Ana Ofelia Murguía as Mama Coco (voice)

Alanna Ubach as Mama Imelda (voice)

Edward James Olmos as Chicharron (voice)

Gabriel Iglesias as Head Clerk (voice)

Cheech Marin as Corrections Officer (voice)

Alfonso Aráu as Papa Julio (voice)

• Lee Unkrich

Co-Director

• Adrian Molina

Writer (original story by)

• Matthew Aldrich

Cinematographer

• Matt Aspbury
• Danielle Feinberg
• Steve Bloom
• Michael Giacchino

Latest blog posts

Eleanor Coppola Was the Guardian Angel of Apocalypse Now

The Overlook Film Festival 2024 Highlights, Part 1: Fasterpiece Theater, Exhuma, All You Need is Death, Me

What You Do is Who You Are: Irena's Vow Screenwriter Dan Gordon on Telling the Story of a Teenager Who Saved Jews During the Holocaust

Chicago Critics Film Festival Announces Full 2024 Lineup with Sing Sing, Ghostlight, Babes, I Saw the TV Glow, More

Filed under:

• Entertainment

Pixar’s Coco review

Una película sobre una gran familia con un niño pequeño

Share this story

• Share this on Facebook
• Share this on Reddit
• Share All sharing options

Share All sharing options for: Pixar’s Coco review

Like most 20-somethings these days, Pixar is struggling through some growing pains on the way to becoming a fully independent adult. The studio would like to keep its reputation as the place where auteur animators bring stories to life and fill theaters with tears.

But Pixar has struggled to do just that whenever auteurs aren’t one of the founding directors of the studio — or working on a sequel to a movie by one of the founding directors of the studio. Or when that director isn’t Brad Bird, who took more than a decade to return to the most obvious sequel-bait franchise in Pixar’s stable, The Incredibles . Being able to move beyond the creative work of its founders will determine whether Pixar is a studio in this for the long haul, or just a very successful and long-lived project from John Lasseter, Pete Docter, Andrew Stanton and Joe Ranft.

Coco , from veteran Pixar director Lee Unkrich and long-time Pixar animator Adrian Molina (the two share co-director credit) isn’t that mythical movie, the foundation of a new franchise to rival Monsters, Inc. or Toy Story. It doesn’t reach the emotional heights of stand-alones like Up or WALL-E , either.

But it’s a tidy, endearing story with a beautiful, well-realized aesthetic, and marquee billing for culture that doesn’t get a lot of that in American media.

Coco ’s production has been dogged by twin scandals. The first was when Disney attempted to trademark “Dia de los Muertos,” the film’s working title. Of course, that’s also the name of an actual holiday, and the claim was greeted with understandable outcry from the Mexican and Mexican-American communities that celebrate it. Disney backed down.

Controversy struck again when fans of the film The Book of Life reacted to similarities between Coco and the 2014 brainchild of Mexican and Mexican-American writers and artists , accusing Disney of idea theft. The timeline of film production doesn’t quite work out: Pixar was first pitched the idea for Coco months before The Book of Life was pitched to Dreamworks. But both films use an aesthetic based on Dia de los Muertos iconography and the power of music as a central theme, and both have guitar-playing musicians as lead characters who cross over into the Land of the Dead.

Lots of folks jumped to the conclusion of Disney as the corporate bad guy — an assumption made all the easier by the company’s trademark attempt. Now that Coco is finally out in the world, it can be said plainly: There’s not a lot of similarity to the story of Coco and The Book of Life .

Coco opens with exposition by, what else, paper cutout, in which we are swiftly introduced to no less than five generations of the Rivera family and our young protagonist, Miguel. Miguel’s dilemma is classically Disney: He wants to sing and play the guitar, but his family — overseen by his Abuelita with an iron chancla — are staunchly anti-musician. The Rivera stance on music dates back to Abuelita’s grandfather, who abandoned his wife and child in order to pursue a career as a singer and was stricken from family lore as a result.

Eventually, Coco reaches the nugget of its hero’s journey: Miguel has crossed over to the Land of the Dead and must return to the Land of the Living before dawn or reside there forever. In order to do that, he must gain the blessing of a dead member of his family. But even his dead family, united in fear of Mama Imelda, his music-hating great-great-grandmother, refuse to give it unless he swears to give up his dreams. (And no wonder, as she commands a massive spirit guide who takes the form of a totally bitchin’, day-glo, winged jaguar.)

In order to have his dreams and eat them too, Miguel decides to seek out the spirit of the man he believes to be his estranged great-great grandfather, the famous singer and movie star, Ernesto de la Cruz. In his quest, Miguel enlists the help of a clever calaca named Hector, who has his own reasons for agreeing to help.

As you can tell by the fact that it took me three paragraphs to describe the start of the plot of Coco , it takes quite a bit of setup to get us into the bulk of the film. The beginning does breeze past in an enjoyable way, but still leaves the first act of the movie feeling a little aimless.

But it’s easy to stop thinking about that once we’re inside the Land of the Dead, where the bulk of Coco ’s action takes place. Pixar certainly isn’t the first entity to discover the aesthetic pleasures of Dia de los Muerto;, plenty of college kids on a semester abroad have gotten there before, but the world feels rich and coherent and is a joy to look at.

The Land of the Dead is a lot like Disney World, but with skulls instead of hidden Mickeys. I can already see the Coco renovation of Epcot Mexico, and I’m not even really that upset about it. The creative liberties taken with the bodily physics of a whole city of skeleton people is a consistently surprising delight. ( Coco also hides a delightful recurring cameo from a certain famous Mexican pintora.)

Unlike a lot of Pixar films before it, Coco feels like a movie that was built script first, rather than storyboards first. Which isn’t to say that building an animated movie from storyboards is a terrible technique, but that it tends to craft movies without a clear narrative goal. The first 10 minutes of Up and half hour of WALL-E are fantastic short films — but I defy anybody to convince me that they care much about the rest of the plot.

But Coco lacks the purity of character arc that supports Pixar’s best work. Miguel’s evolution takes a backstage to the drama of his extensive — and entertaining — family. It’s not bad that we wind up caring about the stakes of his ancestors’ afterlives, but it’s not great that we sort of care about their dreams more than we do about the main character’s.

In the end, it’s not Miguel who evolves to solve his own problems, but his family who evolves around him, almost as if Coco has chosen the wrong lead character (or characters) to focus on.

But these are small quibbles for all-ages film — Coco is a cheerful, endearing and visually rich family movie, and like all of the best Pixar has to offer, has a (very spoilery) scene that will leave theaters awash with tears. You could do a lot worse, on this Thanksgiving weekend, than taking a chance on it.

Screen Rant

Coco review: pixar's gorgeous celebration of family & music.

Coco is a heartwarming story about family and a well-crafted coming of age tale steeped beautifully in the traditions of Mexico's Día de los Muertos.

Coco is a heartwarming story about family and a well-crafted coming of age tale steeped beautifully in the traditions of Mexico's Dia de los Muertos.

Pixar's latest offering, Coco , is the animation studio's second premiere of 2017, following Cars 3  this summer, and the first original, non-sequel since The Good Dinosaur in 2015. Pixar has made a name for itself over the last two decades as an animation house that infuses compelling concepts with a great deal of heart in order to entertain audiences young and old. Though there's been a debate about whether Pixar should focus more on original ideas over sequels to their beloved films, Coco is proof the Disney-owned animation studio can still come up with new concepts with as much magic and heart as their first string of hits.  Coco is a heartwarming story about family and a well-crafted coming of age tale steeped beautifully in the traditions of Mexico's Día de los Muertos.

Coco tells the story of young Miguel (Anthony Gonzalez), who is descended from a family of shoemakers - but who has no desire to join the family business. Instead, Miguel dreams of becoming a musician and following in the footsteps of his idol, the greatest musician to ever live, Ernesto de la Cruz (Benjamin Bratt). However, there's one major factor preventing Miguel from going after his dreams: his family's decades-long ban on music that has been passed down through the generations. As the story goes, Miguel's great great grandfather was a musician who abandoned his family to follow his dreams, leaving Mamá Imelda (Alanna Ubach) to raise Miguel's great grandmother, Mamá Coco (Ana Ofelia Murguía), on her own.

When Miguel's family discover he's been idolizing the music of Ernesto de la Cruz and teaching himself how to play guitar in secret, they forbid him from pursuing a career as a musician. In order to prove he can follow in the footsteps of Ernesto, Miguel steals the famed musician's guitar on Día de los Muertos and accidentally transports himself to the Land of the Dead. Though Miguel meets his deceased ancestors, they also don't understand Miguel's love of music, and he sets out in search of Ernesto with the help of charming con man Hector (Gael García Bernal), who needs Miguel's help in order to visit the Land of the Living. However, Miguel must find a way home before the sun rises, marking the end of Día de los Muertos, or else he'll be trapped in the Land of the Dead forever.

For Coco , Pixar assembled a team that are well versed in the animation studio's offerings - and it shows insofar as the film presents the best of what the studio is known for, while offering a completely new and compelling adventure. The movie was directed by Pixar veteran Lee Unkrich ( Toy Story 3 ), and co-directed by Adrian Molina ( The Good Dinosaur ); the latter co-wrote the script with Matthew Aldrich ( Cleaner ), based on a story by Unkrich, Molina, Aldrich, and Jason Katz ( Toy Story Toons: Hawaiian Vacation ). Unkrich reteamed with Toy Story 3 producer Darla K. Anderson, while fellow Pixar vet Michael Giacchino ( Inside Out, Jurassic World ) served as composer. Music is, of course, an integral aspect of the film, so Gonzalez and Bratt lend their voices to a number of catchy and fun songs in Coco - though it's not quite a musical in the vein of Disney's typical animated offerings.

The story of Coco is a rather typical hero's journey/coming of age tale, with Miguel going on a grand adventure in the Land of the Dead and learning an important lesson about both himself and his family along the way. Miguel's motivation throughout the movie - wanting to follow his dream, but not feeling understood by his family - provides for an exceptionally universal jumping off point, and acts as the anchor around which the entire film's emotional arc revolves. Even so, there are plenty of twists and turns throughout the movie that prevent the story from feeling stale; in that way, Coco somewhat resembles a telenovela, with a big third act twist that completely upends the status quo of the movie. Still, this twist only helps to further develop the main theme of the movie, which is the identity of self vs the identity of family.

Still, while the story of Coco is a major strength, it's heightened and contrasted by the colorful backdrop of the Land of the Dead. The expansive world is beautifully animated - from the wide shots of the Land as Miguel enters, to each setting as he journeys through the world's various neighborhoods. As varied as as any real world city, and populated by skeletons resembling calaveras as well as neon-colored spirit guides, the Land of the Dead in Coco is absolutely eye-catching and a wondrous thing to behold, brought to life superbly by the animators at Pixar. Further, the mythology of the world is well established so that viewers with all ranges of knowledge about Día de los Muertos and Mexican culture can understand the rules of this afterlife.

Beyond the Land of the Dead, Coco  brings Miguel's home and family to life with bright, vibrant colors in the Land of the Living as well. On the whole, Coco utilizes Pixar's typical 3D CGI animation style to craft a rich world full of depth - both for the living characters and those who are dead. Additionally, Miguel and his entire family are brought to life with varying levels of development. Because the family is so large, Coco mainly focuses on Miguel and his great great grandparents, since the ancestors started the rift in the family that's felt by Miguel in present day. Still, the story provides little details about Miguel's various family members to give them some characterization and offer more depth to the characters than viewers may expect. The result is a story full of heart and drama following characters that the audience can't help but love like their own family.

All in all, Coco is a fantastic addition to the Pixar library with all the heart and emotion of the animation studio's best offerings, as well as visuals that surpass even the company's most eye-catching films. Its story is heartwarming and universal, and richly textured thanks to its roots in Mexican culture. Though some elements of Coco are a bit dark for very young children, Pixar's latest is perhaps the perfect holiday film for families - and it will no doubt be entertaining for Pixar fans of any age. Additionally, with the exceptional visuals, Coco may be worth a 3D or IMAX viewing. Altogether, Coco has all the makings of another Pixar classic, proving the animation studio's original ideas are just as strong as they ever were.

Coco  is now playing in U.S. theaters nationwide. It runs 109 minutes and is rated PG for thematic elements.

Let us know what you thought of the film in the comments!

Key Release Dates

• Halloween productions
• PG-rated films
• Golden Globe winning films
• Academy Award winning films
• Academy Award nominated films
• Annie Award Winner
• Annie Award Nominated
• Anniversary productions
• Mickey's Philharmagic
• Português do Brasil

Coco (film)

• View history

Coco is a 2017 Mexican-American 3D computer-animated musical fantasy comedy-drama film produced by Pixar Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures . Based on an original idea by Lee Unkrich , it is directed by him and co-directed by Adrian Molina. The film's voice cast stars Anthony Gonzalez, Gael García Bernal, Benjamin Bratt, Alanna Ubach, Renée Victor, Ana Ofelia Murguía, and Edward James Olmos. The story follows a 12-year-old boy named Miguel who is accidentally transported to the Land of the Dead, where he seeks the help of his deceased musician great-great-grandfather to return him to his family among the living and to reverse his family's ban on music.

The concept for Coco is inspired by a Mexican holiday, Day of the Dead or Día de Muertos. The film was scripted by Molina and Matthew Aldrich from a story by Unkrich, Jason Katz, Aldrich, and Molina. Pixar began developing the animation in 2016; Unkrich and some of the film's crew visited Mexico for research. Composer Michael Giacchino, who had worked on prior Pixar animated features, composed the score. Coco is the first film with a nine-figure budget to feature an all-Latino principal cast, with a cost of $175 million.

Coco premiered on October 20, 2017, during the Morelia International Film Festival in Morelia, Mexico. It was theatrically released in Mexico the following week, the weekend before Día de los Muertos , and in the United States on November 22, 2017. The film was praised for its animation, voice acting, music, emotional story, and respect for Mexican culture. It grossed over $807 million worldwide, becoming the 15th highest-grossing animated film ever and was the 11th highest-grossing film of 2017. Recipient of several accolades, Coco was chosen by the National Board of Review as the Best Animated Film of 2017. The film won two Academy Awards for Best Animated Feature and Best Original Song ("Remember Me"). Additionally, it also won the Best Animated Film at the BAFTA Awards, Golden Globe Awards, Critic's Choice Movie Awards, and Annie Awards. Coco is Pixar's 19th feature film and was released on November 22 , 2017 .

• 3 Official Announcement
• 4.1 Home media
• 5 Development
• 6.1 Accolades
• 8.1 Trailers and Clips
• 8.2 Behind the Scenes
• 8.3 Interviews
• 10 External Links
• 11 References

The Rivera family history is told, explaining that its matriarch Imelda was the wife of a musician who left her and her daughter Coco to pursue a career in music. To support both of them, she turned to shoemaking which became the family business, and began a tradition which to this day bans music in the Riveras. Her great-great-grandson, 12-year-old Miguel , lives with Coco, who is his elderly great-grandmother, and the rest of her descendants in the small, fictional Mexican village of Santa Cecilia. He secretly dreams of becoming a musician like his idol, the late Ernesto de la Cruz , a popular singer and film star who died in a performance when a stage worker accidentally dropped a giant bell on him. Miguel keeps a secret hideout with many memorabilia from de la Cruz and he is everyday discouraged by his family about becoming a musician. When Miguel tries to enter a talent show for the Day of the Dead, his Abuelita furiously destroys his guitar when he tried to convince her to see him play. With his dream crushed and brokenhearted, Miguel tearfully runs off to the talent show to perform anyway. While finding a guitar to use, Miguel then discovers something hidden in the photo of Imelda – taken with her husband and an infant Coco – at the center of the family ofrenda : her husband (whose face is ripped out) was holding the guitar famously used by Ernesto.

Concluding that he is Ernesto's great-great-grandson, Miguel is emboldened to steal the musician's guitar from his mausoleum to use in the show, but in doing so, he plays a magic chord and finds that he is no longer visible or tangible to living people (only to Dante , a street dog he has befriended). Instead, he can see his skeletal dead relatives, who are visiting the Land of the Living on this holiday, and they can see him. They believe this is related to Imelda's inability to cross the bridge to the world of the living, and take Miguel to the Land of the Dead to solve the puzzle.

They learn that Imelda cannot cross because Miguel removed her portrait from the ofrenda . Furthermore, Miguel has to be restored to the Land of the Living before sunrise, or he will become one of the dead. The curse from the Riveras, which sent him to this plane of existence, can be undone by the blessing of a family member such as Imelda; she gave Miguel her blessing with the condition of abandon his musical ambitions. Just as he received the blessing, Miguel disobeyed the condition and was sent back with Imelda, which demands him to accept her conditions, but Miguel refuses and escapes to search for Ernesto, figuring he can get a blessing from that ancestor with no such conditions.

Miguel encounters Héctor , a down-on-his-luck skeleton who says he once played with Ernesto and died eating a chorizo (Mexican-style sausage), and offers to take Miguel to him, in exchange for a favor of putting his picture on an ofrenda so he can cross the flower bridge to see his daughter which he agrees. To make the plan work, Héctor paints Miguel's face to disguise as a skeleton and goes for a guitar from his friend Chicharrón who is fading because he has no remaining living relatives to remember him. Chicharrón disappears from the Land of the Dead soon after, and Miguel realizes Héctor is in danger of being forgotten by the living, and he wants Miguel to take his photo back to his world so Héctor can use it to visit his daughter one last time before she forgets him.

Imelda and the dead Riveras are determined to find Miguel so she sends her winged jaguar alebrije Pepita to find him. Miguel and Héctor manage to meet Frida Kahlo , who tells them they can get to meet Ernesto if they win a talent show to be his opening act. Héctor is able to get a guitar from one of his neighbors, none of whom really have family to go home to. Soon they arrive at the contest. Miguel decides to play " Remember Me ", but after seeing the amount of performers who are also singing that song, he decides on " Un Poco Loco ". At first Miguel is nervous but he manages to win the contest, but then Pepita and the Riveras find him and he has to escape, and Héctor is now angry that Miguel lied to him that Ernesto was his only relative and he could have put his photo earlier. Just as Miguel is cornered by Imelda and Pepita, he argues that he won't accept her blessing if she won't let him do something he loves deeply and she wouldn't understand how being a musician is, but she proves him wrong by singing a ranchero ballad. She tells him that she did love music and whenever her husband played it was all she needed, but after they had Coco, their daughter became more important than music. Imelda again tries to manipulate with Miguel, who refuses and runs off, feeling that his family will never support his passion.

Although it turns out that Héctor is actually no longer on speaking terms with Ernesto, Miguel manages to get into the singer's lavish party with his help. Miguel introduces himself to Ernesto, who cheerfully welcomes him as his great-great-grandson. The two bond at the party and playing together, but just as Ernesto was about to give him his blessing, Héctor gets into the party and confronts Miguel, feeling betrayed that the boy has reneged on their deal. In the confrontation, Miguel points out a detail that prompts Héctor to realize that his death had not been accidental, with a scene from one of Ernesto's movies. Miguel figures out that Ernesto and Héctor used to be partners in the music industry, but Héctor wanted to go back to his family, but Ernesto was not a song writer and couldn’t work without his songs, so Ernesto did the unthinkable: he poisoned Héctor’s tequila. After Héctor's death, Ernesto used his songs – and his guitar – to become famous. Taking Héctor's portrait, Ernesto betrays Héctor and Miguel and puts them in a cenote pit.

In the cenote, Miguel tells Héctor he was right and Miguel was worried that he should've listened to his family and that he couldn't trust Ernesto, but as Héctor starts to fade, he tells Miguel that Coco is starting to forget him. Miguel shows the picture he took from the ofrenda , and the two realize that Miguel's great-great-grandfather is Héctor. Upon knowing that Coco is dying, Héctor will fade if she dies, as she is the only living relative that still remembers him, as he also told Miguel that he wrote the song Remember Me not for the world, but for Coco. With the help of Pepita and Dante, who turns out to be a spirit guide, Imelda and the other dead Riveras find them. Although Miguel explains the circumstances of Héctor's death, Imelda still won't forgive him but agrees to help save Héctor. To retrieve Héctor's portrait from Ernesto, they infiltrate his sunrise concert with the aid of Frida. The plan fails when Ernesto recognizes them and tries to steal the picture while he sings " La Llorona " with Imelda, but Ernesto is exposed to his fans as a fraud, thief, traitor, and murderer, when the family secretly broadcasts his true colors to the audience and the orchestra (including their conductor), and is knocked into the air by Pepita, and gets crushed by a bell from a bell tower, echoing his first death.

As the sun rises, Héctor begins to disappear. To save him, Imelda blesses Miguel without conditions, and he rushes to Coco's side. After failing to help Mamá Coco remember, a tearful Miguel is comforted by Luisa and Enrique , consoling that they are together now. Using Héctor's old guitar, Miguel sings "Remember Me", a song that Héctor used to sing to Coco during her childhood, which sparks her memory and revitalizes her. She retrieves from a bundle of mementos the missing part of the photo from the ofrenda , with Héctor's face. With Coco's support, Miguel's family reconciles with him and accept music into their household.

One year later, Miguel proudly presents the family ofrenda – which now features Héctor and a photo of the recently-deceased Coco – to his new baby sister (who's named after Coco). Miguel's revelations about Ernesto have left him to be condemned by the world of the living, who now honor Héctor in his place and his legacy. In the Land of the Dead, Héctor and Imelda reunite with Coco, then cross the bridge to see their living family, including Miguel, who sings and plays the guitar with his cousins who also became musicians for the living and deceased Riveras.

• Anthony Gonzalez as Miguel Rivera
• Gael García Bernal as Héctor
• Benjamin Bratt as Ernesto de la Cruz
• Alanna Ubach as Imelda
• Renée Victor as Abuelita
• Ana Ofelia Murguía as Mamá Coco
• Edward James Olmos as Chicharrón
• Natalia Cordova-Buckley as Frida Kahlo
• Alfonso Arau as Papá Julio
• Selene Luna as Tía Rosita
• Dyana Ortellí as Tía Victoria
• Herbert Siguenza as Tío Oscar and Tío Felipe
• Jaime Camil as Enrique Rivera
• Sofía Espinosa as Luisa Rivera
• Roberto Donati as Papá Franco
• Carla Medina as Tía Gloria
• Luis Valdez as Tío Berto and Don Hidalgo
• Polo Rojas as Abel Rivera
• Montse Hernandez as Rosa Rivera
• Lombardo Boyar as Plaza Mariachi and Gustavo
• Octavio Solís as Arrival Agent
• Carla Medina as Departure Agent
• Gabriel Iglesias as Head Clerk
• Cheech Marin as Corrections Officer
• Blanca Araceli as Emcee
• John Ratzenberger as Juan Ortodoncia
• Salvador Reyes as Security Guard

Official Announcement [ ]

Disney/Pixar announced Lee Unkrich 's next film at CinemaCon on April 24 , 2012 . At the time, it was referred to as The Untitled Pixar Movie About Día de los Muertos . The official synopsis is:

Release [ ]

Coco was confirmed to be released on November 22, 2017 . Pixar's very first movie, Toy Story , was released in 1995 that same day. The movie aired first in Mexico on October 27 , 2017 at the Morelia International Film Festival [2] , before being aired in theaters in North America. [1]

The film was accompanied by Walt Disney Animation Studios featurette short Olaf's Frozen Adventure during the first three weeks of the film's release.

Home media [ ]

Coco was released on DVD , Blu-ray , and 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray on February 27 , 2018 .

Development [ ]

Director Lee Unkrich pitched the idea of the film in 2010 after the completion of Toy Story 3 .

On May 11 , 2013 , the Walt Disney Company requested a trademark the phrase "Dia de los Muertos" for various merchandise. This caused criticism from the Latino community. [3]

The team made a trip to Mexico to find many references to help to define the characters and the story. Unkrich said, "I'd seen it portrayed in folk art. It was something about the juxtaposition of skeletons with bright, festive colors that captured my imagination. It has led me down a winding path of discovery. And the more I learn about Día de los Muertos, the more it affects me deeply." [4]

In 2015 , Disney hired Lalo Alcaraz as a consultant for the film. He is a Mexican-American cartoonist who drew a satire film poster depicting a skeletal gigantic Mickey Mouse with a line "It's coming to trademark your culture."

On April 13 , 2016 , Disney and Pixar announced that they started the animation process. [4]

Reception [ ]

Coco received universal acclaim. The film received an approval rating of 97% on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 178 reviews, with an average rating of 8.2/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Coco's rich visual pleasures are matched by a thoughtful narrative that takes a family-friendly—and deeply affecting—approach to questions of culture, family, life, and death."

Accolades [ ]

Coco won the Academy Award for the Best Animated Feature and Academy Award for Best Original Song (for the song "Remember Me") at the 90th Academy Awards. At the 75th Golden Globes Awards, it won the Golden Globe Award for Best Animated Feature Film, while the song "Remember Me" was nominated in the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song, losing it to The Greatest Showman for its song "This Is Me".

Gallery [ ]

Trailers and Clips [ ]

Behind the Scenes [ ]

Interviews [ ]

• The film is inspired by La Calavera Catrina ('Dapper Skeleton', 'Elegant Skull') on the 1910–1913 zinc etching by famous Mexican printmaker, cartoon illustrator, and lithographer José Guadalupe Posada. The image depicts a female skeleton dressed only in a hat, her chapeau en attende is related to European styles of the early 20th century. She is offered as a satirical portrait of those Mexican natives who, Posada felt, were aspiring to adopt European aristocratic traditions in the pre-revolution era. She, in particular, has become an icon of the Mexican Día de Los Muertos, or Day of the Dead.
• In a scene from the film, a similar character appears with a Mexican hat, winking at the work of José Guadalupe Posada as La Calavera Catrina .
• This is Lee Unkrich's second and last Pixar feature film as a director, the first was Toy Story 3 . However, this is Lee Unkrich's first and only feature for an original property.
• This is Pixar's second film to focus mostly on cast members with a specific nationality, the first one was Brave which focused on actors with a Scottish nationality while Coco emphasizes on actors with a Mexican nationality.
• Thus, it is also the first Pixar theatrical feature film to be accompanied by a non-Pixar short since Toy Story (which was theatrically accompanied by a reissue of 1990's Roger Rabbit short Roller Coaster Rabbit in 1995); in which case, this film was accompanied by the Frozen featurette Olaf's Frozen Adventure during the first two weeks of its theatrical release. The next one to do so would be Onward (which would be preceded by The Simpsons short, Playdate with Destiny ).
• The sixth Pixar film to be scored by Michael Giacchino , after The Incredibles , Ratatouille , Up , Cars 2 , and Inside Out .
• Coco's name was also translated in order to adapt to the language. In the Brazilian adaptation of the film, Miguel's abuelita is called 'Inês'.
• This is the second Disney musical film released in 2017, the first being the live-action remake of Beauty and the Beast .
• Thus, it is also the fourth Disney production to feature songs composed by the said songwriters after Winnie the Pooh , Frozen , and its sequel short Frozen Fever , all of which were produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios .
• This is the first Disney film to be theatrically accompanied by a half-hour featurette since 1990's The Rescuers Down Under (which was theatrically accompanied by the Mickey Mouse short The Prince and the Pauper ).
• This is the fourth Pixar film where John Ratzenberger plays an unrecognizable role after Ratatouille , Brave , and The Good Dinosaur .
• This is the fifth Pixar film to have opening music during the opening logos after Monsters, Inc. , The Incredibles , Ratatouille , and Inside Out .
• This is the seventh Pixar film with the closing music of Disney and Pixar logos since A Bug's Life , Toy Story 2 , Monsters, Inc. , Toy Story 3 , Finding Dory , and Cars 3 .
• This is Pixar's third film to feature the full 2011 Disney opening logo as a closing logo after Finding Dory and Cars 3 .
• This is the final Pixar film Lee Unkrich directed and worked with altogether before his retirement in 2019.
• This movie has similarities with the 2014 20th Century Fox film The Book of Life as both involve the protagonists going to the land of the death, although the ways are not the same.
• This is the third Pixar film with a predominant human cast after The Incredibles and Brave .
• This is the only Pixar original film to be released in the late 2010s (2016-2019), all the rest are sequels: Finding Dory , Cars 3 , Incredibles 2 , and Toy Story 4 .
• This is the second Disney animated film to feature skeletons since the 1929 short, The Skeleton Dance .
• When Miguel is walking down the streets at the beginning of the movie, piñatas of Buzz Lightyear , Woody , and Mike Wazowski can be spotted.
• The orchestra conductor that appears during Ernesto De La Cruz's Sunrise Spectacular concert is based on the film's composer Michael Giacchino .
• When Miguel is drumming a stall selling alebrije sculptures, alebrije sculptures of Marlin and Nemo (which also appears on the The Riveras ' family ofrenda) were spotted. Ironically, an alebrije sculpture of Pepita appeared on the stall long before she was properly introduced during the film's second act.
• The Luxo Ball appears in Frida Kahlo's art studio.
• A113 is seen in one of Ernesto De La Cruz's albums and on the door entrance of the "Department of Family Reunions" in the Land of the Dead's Grand Central Station.
• The Pizza Planet truck (known as Pizza Planeta in Mexico) passes by the Riveras' house down the road during the montage of Elena 's enforcement of the ban of music in the family.
• Many real-life Mexican celebrities appeared in the film as a tribute to Mexico. They are Frida Kahlo (famous Mexican painter and self-portrait artist), El Santo (famous Mexican wrestler and movie actor), Cantinflas (famous actor and comedian), Pedro Infante (famous Mexican singer and actor), and Jorge Negrete (famous Mexican singer and actor) of which the last two inspired Ernesto De La Cruz.
• A participant resembling Skrillex during the "Battle of the Bands" contest in the Land of the Dead wears the same t-shirt as Sid Phillips from Toy Story .
• Miguel's younger cousins Benny and Manny are usually seen wearing Cars -themed clogs.
• A clerk in the Land of the Dead's Grand Central station is seen using a Macintosh Plus computer in which Mama Imelda destroys with her boot in anger.
• A poster of The Incredibles can be seen when Miguel and Héctor are on the way to the "Battle of the Bands" competition, possible as an Easter egg for Pixar's next film, Incredibles 2 .
• The Constitution from " The Lone Ranger " made a cameo appearance in the movie the locomotive sits idle at the station when Héctor and Ernesto de la Cruz are walking to the train station and Héctor dies.

External Links [ ]

• Coco (film) at the Big Cartoon DataBase
• Lee Unkrich announcing his next film on Twitter
• CinemaCon 2012: Pixar’s Dinosaur Film Gets A Title, New Lee Unkrich Project Announced
• New Art From Pixar's Upcoming Films!

References [ ]

• ↑ 1.0 1.1 Del Valle, Luis (June 8, 2017). " 24 Secretos que Pixar nos contó sobre 'Coco' " (Article) (Spanish) . BuzzFeed . Retrieved on June 10, 2017.
• ↑ Unkrich, Lee. " Awesome poster for Coco’s opening night screening at the Morelia International Film Festival! #PixarCoco " (Tweet). Twitter .
• ↑ Rodriguez, Cindy (May 11, 2013). " Day of the Dead trademark request draws backlash for Disney ". CNN .
• ↑ 4.0 4.1 Taylor, Drew (August 14, 2015). " Meet the newest Disney•Pixar marvel, Coco ". Oh My Disney .
• 1 Bradley Uppercrust III
• 3 Inside Out 2

Editor Roundtable: Story Grid 101: Coco

By Leslie Watts

Download the Math of Storytelling Infographic

We wind up Season 3 with another episode of Story Grid 101. Each of the Roundtable Editors is tackling one of the Story Grid Five Commandments for a deep dive into the fundamental structure of scene, act, and global story, using the Pixar animated feature, Coco as our model. This 2017 family favorite was written by Lee Unkrich, Jason Katz, Matthew Aldrich and Adrian Molina.

This week, in a special wildcard episode, we’re revisiting Story Grid 101. We’ve decided to look at the 15 Core Scenes—these are the scenes that we outline on the Story Grid Global Foolscap—which are the 5 commandments for each of the three acts. We’ll be using the Pixar animated feature  Coco as our model. This 2017 family favorite was written by Lee Unkrich, Jason Katz, Matthew Aldrich and Adrian Molina.

We define terms first. Then, instead of our usual beginning hook, middle build, and ending payoff overview, we dive right into the structure of the movie. If you haven’t seen it, we’ll be spoiling the entire plot here. It’s a lovely family film, visually gorgeous, and surprisingly complex. It’s a great story to study, and as of this recording, it’s available on US and Canadian Netflix, so we think you should go watch it.

Kim – One other thing to keep in mind is that the origins of story structure and the five commandments are founded in human psychology and behavior. Humans are inherently unfond of change and typically avoid it for as long as possible. The Kubler-Ross Grief Cycle is one demonstration of this, and story structure follows the same pattern. Stories are about change, more specifically stories are about characters avoiding change until they can’t anymore and then facing it’s consequences, for better or worse.

Inciting Incident

For me, the inciting incident is best understood in context of the status quo , that is, the character’s ordinary world aka their original goal.

A character’s goal is their primary pursuit (their want or need) and includes their essential action + literal action. An essential action is the underlying thing they are seeking (related to the want/need/life value), and the literal action is the method/tactic they use to try to get it.

As they pursue this goal, things get in the way. This creates conflict, change, which is what story are all about. The inciting incident is the first obstacle to the character’s original goal. This does not mean that the inciting incident is automatically negative—inciting incidents can be positive or negative—it just means that it’s an upset to the characters status quo/original plan that requires a new plan.

There are three types of inciting incidents:

Coincidental – which are random events or acts of nature

Causal – which are created by a character, either the protagonist or someone else.

Ambiguous – there are events that their causal / coincidental nature cannot be be determined at the outset but only in retrospect. Fight Club is an example of this (when the narrator’s apartment blows up) as are many Dickens tales. They appear coincidental but prove to be causal later.

It may feel similar to a turning point (because it is!): a value shift occurs and the character has to decide how to move forward, by either continuing to pursue their original goal or opting to pursue a new goal. Either way, it’s not something that can be ignored—for better or worse, life will never be the same again. From here, the protagonist must decide their essential action / goal going forward, and their literal action they take in pursuit of it.

Once they’ve made their decision and action to in pursuit of their goal, they will inevitably encounter….Progressive Complications.

Progressive Complication Turning Point

Leslie – On a fundamental level, a story or scene works when there is a change in the character’s state or circumstances that comes as the result of conflict and action. If you have no conflict, there is nothing for a character to react to, and nothing significant will change. Without conflict, you don’t have a scene or story.

Progressive complications are escalating conflicts the protagonist or POV character must face as they pursue the goal arising from the inciting incident (as Kim just talked about). When they take action, life gets complicated because there is no direct and easy path. People, places, things, and events stand between them and what they want.

Progressive complications can be people, places, things, or events that are

• Obstacles standing in the way of the goal,
• Tools assisting pursuit of the goal,
• Irrelevancies or potential obstacles and tools found within the immediate setting and beyond that seem unrelated to the goal, or
• Unexpected events that arise from those irrelevancies and turn out to be important after all.

Brief examples from Coco

• Obstacle: In the beginning hook, after seeing the flyer for the talent show, a mariachi encourages Miguel to play his guitar. Abuelita, Miguel’s grandmother, finds him in the Plaza about to strum a guitar. He gives the guitar back to the mariachi, and Abuelita hits him with her shoe. (This is an obstacle to his getting to play in the talent show.)
• Tool: In the ofrenda room, Miguel discovers that his Ernesto de la Cruz look-alike guitar looks like the guitar in the picture with the head of his Mama Coco’s father torn out. From this and Coco’s reaction, he concludes that de la Cruz is his grandfather. (This is a tool because it is inspiration to stay the course.)
• Irrelevancies: Dante the dog travels with Miguel into the land of the dead. He’s a goofy dog who seems to be neutral at best, but when Miguel and Hector are trapped in a pit, it’s Dante who finds them. (Dante’s presence seems irrelevant at first, but in later scenes he’s shown to be a valuable tool and spirit guide.)

Complications are progressive because they should grow more serious or intense as the scene or story progresses. Shawn explains that “Progressive complications move stories forward, never backward.” Circumstances grow more complex in both positive and negative ways.

Let’s return to the unexpected events for a moment because these are the most important complications, the turning point progressive complications. Turning points arise from the setting and show the protagonist they can’t be successful using their current strategy.

At the story level, we call this the all is lost moment, when the character realizes they have to change their approach or accept failure. They must react, and this forces them into the dilemma that Valarie will talk more about.

They can happen as the result of character action, revelation, or both.

We track turning points and their types in the Story Grid spreadsheet to make sure they’re present and that we’re not repeating the same type, which is one reason why a reader might put a book down and not be able to tell you why it was unsatisfying.

If you’ve heard Shawn recommend using exposition as ammunition, what he means is to save important information the reader needs to know for a moment when it can be used as a revelatory turning point, through conflict.

It becomes much more meaningful when tied to a pivotal moment than when it is one fact among many delivered in a paragraph about a character or the world.

Turning points are important because they set up the life value change in the story or scene. But they also create an emotional experience for the reader. They feel surprise when the unexpected event happens and curiosity when they think about why it happened and what the character will do next. It’s a natural moment to review everything they know about the circumstances and reassess in light of the new information. They gain a deeper understanding of the character and what they face.

What is the global turning point progressive complication of the global story in Coco? The inciting incident sets up the goal for Miguel to pursue his individual expression, to be a musician and play for the world, like his hero Ernesto de la Cruz. But when he learns that his great-great grandfather, Hector, was murdered by Ernesto for wanting to return home to his family, it forces Miguel to rethink the relative merits of family unity and individual expression.

Valerie – The crisis is the question that arises as a result of the turning point Leslie just told us about. Something unexpected happens to knock the protagonist off course. That action (turning point) forces a reaction (climax). But, between those two points is a moment when the protagonist doesn’t know what to do. The hero is asking himself the question: What am I going to do now? The audience is thinking “uh-oh!” (or perhaps “holy shit!”). That’s the crisis.

The options available to the protagonist have to pose a true crisis. He has to face a dilemma. No-brainers are not crisis questions; if the choice is clear, it’s not a crisis. The crisis moments are the points in a story when the stakes are being raised, so there’s got to be something at stake for the protagonist.

In stories, as in life, people can’t have it all. So, no matter what the hero chooses, he’ll win something and he’ll lose something; he’ll get closer to his goal (object of desire) or further from it.

In the Story Grid methodology, we’ve broken the crisis down into two basic options which Shawn calls the Best Bad Choice (BBC) and the Irreconcilable Goods (IG).

With a Best Bad Choice, the hero is damned if he does and damned if he doesn’t. He’s choosing between the lesser of two evils. Neither of the options available to him is ideal, so he’s trying to choose the least worst.

With an Irreconcilable Goods crisis question, the hero has two good options available to him, but he can’t have both. Choosing one means losing the other and often, a win for the hero means a loss for another character about whom the hero cares.

Sometimes the crisis question is clearly a Best Bad Choice or Irreconcilable Goods. However, just as often, a crisis can be seen as either one or the other depending on your perspective. In those cases, it’s an interesting academic exercise to explore both vantage points, but if you’re getting confused about which it is, go back to the basics. Ask yourself whether the protagonist is facing a dilemma. Is it a true “uh-oh” moment?

Jarie – The climax is the active answer to the question raised by the crisis. It’s the choice the character makes between the best bad one or between irreconcilable goods. The climax must to active and happen on the stage or page or screen. The writer must deliver the goods. This is what the reader/viewer is waiting for.

Like the crisis, the climax has varying degrees from minor to medium to large to life changing. A good story will progress the climax in ways that keep the reader/viewer entertained. In general, the degree of the climax should be equal to or greater than the crisis.

The climax for the characters is when they walk the walk — not just talk the talk. The climax should be the catalysts that allows the scene to drive to a resolution. A well done climax will leave the reader/viewer set up for the resolution payoff.

Die Hard has a great climax when John has a showdown with Gruber. Asked to give up his machine gun, John does to save his wife but little does Gruber and Eddie know that John has a side arm taped to his back with two shots. He shoots them both but Gruber hangs on to Holly as he dangles outside the window — adding even more suspense. John removes Gruber’s hand and he falls to his death, thus resolving the scene.

One thing to note is that climax and resolutions can happen close to each other. In some cases, the next beat. That’s why you’ll often see them confused.

There are countless examples of great climaxes that pull a scene or act or beat together so that the reader/viewer gets what they are after — what’s going to happen after all the progressive complications and the crisis.

Anne – In The Story Grid , Chapter 47, Shawn says, “The fifth and final element of Story form is the least respected and is often forgotten.”

So of course I took it on for this episode, because I love a good underdog story. I know I like a good resolution scene. I know one when I feel it, but I realized that I really didn’t know what the resolution is for, what it’s made of, or how it works.

Shawn gives several notes about a resolution scene, and I’ll cite them all in the show notes, but I want to highlight two of them here.

• It’s obvious once it’s there, but you didn’t see it coming. It’s the place for the surprising but inevitable conclusion. This applies best to the global resolution in the Ending Payoff.
• The resolution moves from one pole of the value range to the other. In other words, the resolution of the act (or the scene, for that matter) is the place where the turn from positive to negative or vice versa is made plain. I’ll be bringing this point out for Coco as we go along.
• The resolution is not just a summing-up of what’s happened up to that point in the story, but
• it can be a way for the reader/viewer to wind down for a moment after a harrowing or hilarious climax.
• If your story has a strong internal genre, the global resolution scene–the end of the story–should resolve the protagonist’s internal journey. The external genre is more or less resolved at the global climax , reserving the final resolution for the internal story.

So, for instance, The Martian (the novel) basically ends on the global climax, where Mark Watney’s rescue is completed. There’s a very short ramp-down, but there’s no internal genre to close out. In the movie, they gave us a final resolution scene in a kind of back-on-earth coda, just to give us a chance to catch our breath after that life-and-death action adventure.

But in an internal genre story like the movie Flight , which is a morality tale, we get a solid resolution scene showing us how the selfish and reckless protagonist has reformed and how he is paying his dues to society by working for the good of other people.

So let’s see how Coco shapes up.

Kim – The Five Commandments exist at every unit of Story: Global, subplots, Act, sequence, Scene, and beat. Often a scene or beat can do double or even triple duty. Sometimes commandments between acts can overlap or even be left out (inferred rather than shown). We don’t have time to dig into all those details today but just know that there is still plenty of flexibility within the five commandment framework. Remember, framework not formula.

Global Genre: Worldview>Maturation

Leslie – The life value at stake is Naivete/Sophistication, a life value that impacts the self-actualization human needs tank (link to Valerie’s life value article). In a nutshell, that the fifteen Core Scenes should turn on these values (though they might turn on other values as well).

Beginning Hook

Kim – Let’s look at the Global Inciting Incident in terms of the status quo.

Status Quo: It’s Dia de los Muertos in Mexico which is a day all about remembering family. But Miguel lives in a family that due to a tragic legacy has sworn off music and now, instead, are shoemakers. But secretly Miguel loves it and wants to be a musician, but could never tell his family. He’s telling his story while giving a shoe shine to a mariachi in the plaza.

MB-II: The mariachi encourages Miguel to choose individual expression over family unity (to play in the plaza against his family’s wishes). Specifically mariachi reminds Miguel about Ernesto de la Cruz, how he “seized his moment” and “played out loud.”

Causal – Mariachi actively challenges Miguel to stand up for his music.

Positive or negative?

Essential action: get what is rightfully his AKA pursue his individual expression AKA music

Literal action: takes the poster about the talent show in the plaza

Leslie – Turning Point Progressive Complication: In the beginning hook, Miguel’s goal is to participate in the talent contest in the plaza. Various obstacles and tools arise, still Miguel remains determined. But when Abuelita smashes his guitar, there is no way for him to perform. This is an action turning point that forces him to reconsider his goal related to individual expression.

Valerie –   Crisis (BBC): When Abuelita destroys Miguel’s guitar (turning point), Miguel hits his crisis moment. His family knows he wants to be a musician and has been practicing in secret yet they have all categorically denied him his great love in life. So now what’s he going to do?

Miguel can either do as his family wants (learn to make shoes) which means he abandons music. Or, he continues to pursue his music which means he’ll continue to anger his family, and family for the Riveras, is everything. This is a Best Bad Choice crisis question.

Notice how the crisis is a moment in time between an action (turning point: breaking the guitar) and a reaction (climactic choice to pursue music by running to the talent show).

Note that the Beginning Hook Turning Point and Crisis are in the same scene. This isn’t unusual in shorter films ( Coco is 1h 30min) or in the case of prose, with short stories and novellas.

Jarie – Beginning Hook Climax: Miguel attempts to go to the talent show on Día de los Muertos or Day of the Dead to seize his moment as a musician after fleeing his family. He goes to the graveyard to find inspiration and breaks into his “great-great-grandfather’s” crypt for his guitar. This is a direct result of Miguel’s crisis question of seizing his moment to be a musician.

In a sentence: Miguel chooses individual expression. “I don’t want to be part of this family!” and runs to Ernesto’s tomb to find guitar.

Anne – Beginning Hook Resolution: The resolution of the beginning hook is when Miguel breaks into the tomb of Ernesto de la Cruz, picks up the guitar, strums it. With this act, he is transported to the land of the dead. The beginning hook ends negatively on the Action story axis–he has literally gone from being alive to being partly dead. But the internal story ends positively. He immediately meets dead ancestors, who seem to know about him and care about him, and this gives Miguel a new level of awareness or sophistication: that the dead are real, and that honoring the them matters, something he hadn’t really believed before.

Middle Build

Kim – Inciting Incident

SQ: trapped in the Land of the Dead but can go home easily with a blessing from a member of his family.

MB-II: Mama Imelda will give her blessing, allowing Miguel to return to the living, but only if he agrees to give up music.

Negative in terms of naïveté/sophistication

EA & LA: Get what is rightfully mine, AKA blessing from another family member so he can keep music AKA his great great grandfather Ernesto de la Cruz

Leslie – Turning Point Progressive Complication: In the land of the dead, Miguel’s goal is to seek the blessing of Ernesto, the man he believes is his great-great grandfather, so he can travel back to the land of the living and pursue his music. His efforts allow him to meet Ernesto, but then Miguel learns that Ernesto murdered his real great-great grandfather, Hector, who was trying to return to his family. This is a revelatory turning point that causes him to rethink his beliefs about the importance of family versus individual expression.

Valerie – Crisis (All is Lost Moment) (BBC):

Pixar has done a fantastic job of raising the stakes in the middle build (surprise, surprise). There’s a ten minute sequence (starting at approximately the one-hour mark) where the stakes are constantly being raised and Miguel is starting to question whether music is more important than family; tension builds to the turning point at which point Miguel faces his crisis question.

The crisis question of the middle build is the lowest point of the global story. It’s called the All Is Lost Moment and it’s when the hero’s situation seems hopeless. Neither the protagonist nor the audience knows how he’ll get out of the mess he’s gotten himself into.

Given that this is a global maturation story, Miguel’s crisis comes when he realizes that Ernesto (whom he believes is his grandfather) is not the talented musician and honourable man he thought he was. Ernesto has put music ahead of family at all costs (in life and death).

Miguel realizes that everything he’d believed in (the myth/legend of Ernesto de la Cruz as the greatest musician) is a lie. Now what will he do?

Will he continue to put music ahead of his family (as Ernesto did), thereby losing the love of his family but gaining the love of “the people”? Or, will he put family ahead of music (as Mama Imelda did)? The crisis moment is set up beautifully in this 10-minute sequence, so that by the time it’s done, Miguel’s crisis question and climactic decision are clear. I’ll stop there and let Jarie take us through the climax.

Jarie – Climax: Miguel and Hector confront Ernesto de la Cruz about Ernesto stealing Hector’s songs. The flashback happens to the night Hector dies. Ernesto and Hector fight. Hector gets taken away along with Miguel.

In a sentence: Miguel declares, “I’m proud to be his family!” Grito!

Anne -Resolution: The middle build resolves with a positive for the external Action story. Miguel and Hector realize that “all is lost” in the pit, and there seems no way out–Hector will be forgotten and Miguel will die completely. But at the last moment first Dante, then the giant alebrije Pepita, appear overhead and rescue them. They swoop off on the back of Pepita and head directly for Ernesto’s Sunrise concert, where the ending payoff will play out. Dante is revealed as an alebrije during the flight. Miguel has realized that nothing is more important than family, and shows his new maturity by saying that he’s ready accept Mama Imelda’s blessing along with her condition of no music–but not without first retrieving Hector’s photo from Ernesto.  

Ending Payoff

SQ: Learned the truth about Ernesto de la Cruz being a murderer and that Hector is his actual great-great-grandfather. At this point he could get Hector’s blessing and go home.

EPII: Hector is disappearing.

Causal: Coco is forgetting him.

Positive from a Worldview-Maturation naivete/sophistication standpoint, not from a life/death standpoint.

EA & LA: get someone on his team / close the deal. Convince Mama Imelda to help get Hector’s photo and to help Coco remember him.

Leslie – Turning Point Progressive Complication: Miguel’s goal in the ending payoff is to help Coco remember Hector so that he doesn’t disappear and can be reunited with his family in the land of the dead. Miguel has chosen to pursue family unity over individual expression. But Coco doesn’t remember her father from only the guitar Miguel has brought. This is a revelatory turning point that forces him to reconsider his tactic.

Valerie – Crisis (BBC – sorta):  Miguel now knows that Hector is his grandfather and the two share a special bond; they’re the only ones in the family who embrace music. (Yes, Mama Imelda is a talented singer, but she’s forsaken music.) Because of this, Miguel faces his ending pay off crisis question.

Having returned to the land of the living, Miguel wants Mama Coco to remember her father so that Hector is can be saved. When showing her the photo doesn’t work, Miguel once again faces a crisis question that has music on one side and family on the other.

If he plays the guitar for Mama Coco, he’ll anger Abuelita and possibly the rest of the family but he just might help save Hector. If he doesn’t play music, the earthy family will be happy, but Hector will be lost.

I can’t say this is the strongest of crisis questions because it’s a bit lopsided. Clearly, Hector being forgotten is worse than Abuelita getting angry again. It’s not exactly a no-brainer, but the stakes aren’t very even.

How can Pixar justify this? Well it’s a kids’ movie and at this point, having discovered that people aren’t always what they seem (which is a huge lesson), the audience is ready to wrap things up. Here, the moral of the story is being driven home.

Jarie – Climax: Miguel needs to get back to the world of the living before sunrise so we can not let Coco forget her papa before she passes. Miguel plays Remember Me for Mama Coco. She remembers thus keeping Hector’s memory alive.

In a sentence: Picks up the guitar and plays “Remember Me” for Mama Coco

Anne – Resolution: The global resolution at the end of the movie is supposed to resolve the external genre before finally resolving the protagonist’s internal genre. Here they happen more or less simultaneously. Miguel’s internal Worldview arc is finally resolved when he begins to play the guitar, just as he did at the end of the beginning hook. He’s breaking the family prohibition, but now it’s in service of a much higher objective. He knows what he’s doing. Mama Coco’s memory stirs. She begins singing along with him, remembering her papa, Hector, and she retrieves the torn-off photo of him from a drawer, so that it can be restored to the ofrenda. Revelation dawns on the whole family. “Remember Me,” Mama Coco and Miguel sing together, and there isn’t a dry eye in the house.

The Action plot is resolved the moment Hector’s photo goes back on the family ofrenda. Hector “lives” so to speak, in the land of the dead. Yay! Life prevails when heroes use their gifts to outwit or vanquish the villain. That story is all over but the epilogue-ing.

Everything that follows is what Larry Brooks terms “resolution moments,” where every setup is paid off. Hector’s reputation is restored, Ernesto’s story is rewritten and he is reviled and forgotten. Miguel has a new baby sibling, and the family all make music together. The roller coaster glides into the station on this satisfying epilogue, and we catch our breath before leaving the ride behind.

Other Discussion

Anne – I wanted to bring up a notion that Kim and I spent some time discussing yesterday. The term “act,” which is what we’re talking about when we talk about beginning hook, middle build and ending payoff as a three-act structure, comes from theatre, where there was traditionally a clear break. The curtain comes down, the audience waits, the crew scurries around behind the curtain changing the set, and the actors change costumes. The act break is a practical necessity in theater.

But it’s less clear cut in novels and movies. We don’t need a big break with a curtain to re-dress the set or change costumes. So here in Coco , I would have sworn that the first act–the beginning hook–ended when Miguel finds himself in the land of the dead. There has been a location change–a set change, if you will. In Hero’s Journey terms, he has entered the Magical World, and that’s where most authorities draw the line between Act 1 and Act 2.

For a while, Kim talked me into viewing the act change from the perspective of the global genre, which is probably Maturation or Revelation. In this view, the Beginning Hook resolution is when Miguel, in an act of naivete masquerading as sophistication (the negation of the negation for a Worldview story), defies his family, and ends up alone in the land of the dead. Even though he literally crossed a bridge into the land of the dead some time earlier, he doesn’t really start experiencing the extraordinary world until he sets off into it alone.

We concluded in the end, though, that the Hero’s Journey move from ordinary world into the extraordinary world was a more solid act break.

Listener Question

To wind up the episode, we take questions from our listeners. This week’s question comes to us from Matt in Toronto, who asks, whether you can combine an act climax and resolution, or crisis and climax, in a single scene.

Valerie – The short answer to your question, Matt, is yes! It’s entirely possible to have more than one act-level commandment in the same scene. As we saw, it happens in the BH of Coco. It also happens in the MB of Gran Torino. And for short fiction, like short stories or novellas, it is more common. That said, the thing you want to remember is why: why are you combining commandments in one scene? Does it add impact or take it away?

If you have a question about the Five Commandments, the fifteen core scenes , or any other story principle, you can ask it on Twitter @storygridRT, or better still, by clicking here  and leaving us a voice message.

Watch for a teaser in the next few weeks when we’ll reveal the first movie we’re each going to pitch, and how we hope analyzing it will help us with our own writing projects.

Your Roundtable Story Grid Editors are Jarie Bolander , Valerie Francis , Anne Hawley , Kim Kessler , and Leslie Watts .

Share this Article:

🟢 Twitter — 🔵 Facebook — 🔴 Pinterest

Sign up below and we'll immediately send you a coupon code to get any Story Grid title - print, ebook or audiobook - for free.

Leslie Watts

Leslie Watts is a certified Story Grid editor, writer, and podcaster. She’s been writing for as long as she can remember: from her sixth-grade magazine about cats to writing practice while drafting opinions for an appellate court judge. When the dust settled after her children were born, she launched Writership.com to help writers unearth the treasure in their manuscripts. She believes writers become better storytellers through practice, and that editors owe a duty of care to help writers with specific and supportive guidance to meet reader expectations and express their unique gifts in the world.

Level Up Your Craft Newsletter

Advertisement

Supported by

Review: ‘Coco’ Brings the Pixar Touch to Death

• Share full article

By A.O. Scott

• Nov. 21, 2017

One of the pleasures of a new Pixar feature is the chance to be amazed by what animation can do. Sometimes you witness a big, bold breakthrough, like the computer-assisted rendering of fur in “Monsters, Inc.,” of water in “Finding Nemo,” or of metal in “Cars.” The innovations in “Coco” are no less satisfying for being of a more subtle kind. The grain of leather and the rusted folds of corrugated metal have a rough, almost tactile quality. Human bones, hairless dogs and orange flower petals look uncannily (but not too uncannily) real. There are moments of cinematic rigor — when the animators mimic the movements and focal effects of an old-fashioned camera in actual physical space — that will warm any film-geek’s heart. Not to mention the Frida Kahlo-inspired musical number with dancing papaya seeds.

“Coco” is also one of those Pixar movies that attempt a conceptual breakthrough, an application of the bright colors and open emotionalism of modern, mainstream animation to an unlikely zone of experience. From the very start, the studio has explored the inner lives of inanimate objects like lamps and toys with a tenderness we now take for granted. It has also summoned the post-human future ( “Wall-E” ) and the human unconscious ( “Inside/Out” ) with breathtaking ingenuity. And now it has set out to make a family-friendly cartoon about death.

Don’t let that scare you or your children away. There is a murder (revealed in the third act) and a fatal church-bell-related accident (witnessed in the first), but the afterlife in “Coco” is a warm and hectic place, more comical than creepy. The story takes place during the Day of the Dead, when according to Mexican tradition (at least as interpreted by Lee Unkrich and Adrian Molina, who directed the screenplay written by Mr. Molina and Matthew Aldrich), the border controls between life and death relax and the departed are allowed temporary passage to the land of the living. A young boy named Miguel (voiced by Anthony Gonzalez) makes the trip in reverse, which is not to say that he dies, but rather that his living self, through one of several metaphysical loopholes that the movie explains as it goes along, is transported into a fantastical world of specters and skeletons, who hold fabulous parties and raucous outdoor concerts.

Nearly as enchanting as that magical realm is the Mexican village of Santa Cecilia, Miguel’s hometown, where he is part of a prosperous clan of shoemakers. The cultural vibe of “Coco” is inclusive rather than exoticizing, pre-empting inevitable concerns about authenticity and appropriation with the mixture of charm and sensitivity that has become something of a 21st-century Disney hallmark. Here, the importance of family — the multigenerational household that sustains and constrains the hero — is both specific and universal. It’s what explains the particular beats of Miguel’s story and what connects him to viewers regardless of background.

He shows a certain kinship with other well-known recent cartoon characters. A gifted musician in a family that forbids music, he is a bit like Remy, the “Ratatouille” rat whose kin were hostile to his artistic ambition, and like Mumble, the misfit penguin in “Happy Feet.” Miguel’s genealogical quest — a search for roots, lost ancestors and information that might explain who he is — resembles Dory’s journey in “Finding Dory.” The sidekicks who accompany him, animal and (formerly) human, are drawn from a familiar well of archetypes, and the final round of lesson-learning and reconciliation hits notes we have heard many times before.

Pixar Movies to Make You Cry

Get ready to feel all of the feelings. See all the titles in this collection on Watching, The New York Times’s TV and movie recommendation site.

But if “Coco” doesn’t quite reach the highest level of Pixar masterpieces, it plays a time-tested tune with captivating originality and flair, and with roving, playful pop-culture erudition. Miguel’s musical role model — and the source of the family embargo on musical expression — is a long-dead crooner and movie star named Ernesto de la Cruz (Benjamin Bratt). In life and in death, he incarnates venerable ideals of romance and wounded machismo, or at least their show-business incarnations. (His greatest hits and movie clips form part of the texture of “Coco,” the way the old “Woody’s Roundup” show did in the “Toy Story” movies.)

The purer embodiment of that tradition is Héctor (Gael García Bernal), a ragged, forgotten ghost who befriends Miguel. What links Héctor with de la Cruz is a lurid story of passion, betrayal and longing. Their lives and deaths are a ballad whose meaning and melody Miguel must learn. In doing so, he will understand the thread that links him to both of them, and also the sources of the anti-musical animus that runs so strongly in his maternal line.

Coco is the name of Miguel’s great-grandmother, who turns out to be the heart of the story. Her mother, Imelda (Alanna Noël Ubach), is a furious matriarch on the other side of the grave, while Coco’s daughter, Miguel’s Abuelita (Renée Victor), is a no-nonsense flesh-and-blood autocrat. Their determination to silence Miguel’s guitar arises from heartbreak, and from the instrument’s association with the waywardness of men.

“Coco” avoids the darker tones associated with this theme, in the way that old murder ballads are sometimes reconceived as children’s songs. It’s reassuring rather than haunting, which is a shrewd and successful commercial compromise, but a compromise all the same.

Coco Rated PG. La Muerte. Running time: 1 hour 49 minutes.

Explore More in TV and Movies

Not sure what to watch next we can help..

Even before his new film “Civil War” was released, the writer-director Alex Garland faced controversy over his vision of a divided America  with Texas and California as allies.

Theda Hammel’s directorial debut, “Stress Positions,” a comedy about millennials weathering the early days of the pandemic , will ask audiences to return to a time that many people would rather forget.

“Fallout,” TV’s latest big-ticket video game adaptation, takes a satirical, self-aware approach to the End Times .

“Sasquatch Sunset” follows the creatures as they go about their lives. We had so many questions. The film’s cast and crew had answers .

If you are overwhelmed by the endless options, don’t despair — we put together the best offerings   on Netflix , Max , Disney+ , Amazon Prime  and Hulu  to make choosing your next binge a little easier.

Sign up for our Watching newsletter  to get recommendations on the best films and TV shows to stream and watch, delivered to your inbox.

The 12 Best Movies That Follow the Hero's Journey

These movies use the monomyth to spectacular results.

Everyone who's interested in how stories are made is bound to have heard the term "the Hero's Journey." Also known as the monomyth, it's a story archetype coined and popularized by Joseph Campbell in the mid-1900s when he noticed that heroes in myths typically go through the same 17 stages in their journey, from the call to adventure that gets the character out of their comfort zone, to the freedom to live found at the end of the ordeals in their adventure.

This narrative template has served as the basis and inspiration of countless stories throughout history – including numerous outstanding films. From a grand fantastical story like Star Wars , to something more grounded in reality like O Brother, Where Art Thou? , these movies don't always follow every single one of the steps outlined by Campbell, but they stick to more than enough to call each of them a hero's journey . A tried-and-true way of telling successful stories that resonate with audiences of all ages and nationalities, movies that follow the Hero's Journey, if well-written, are always a delight like no other.

12 'Men in Black' (1997)

Barry sonnenfeld's campy sci-fi comedy.

One of the most iconic movies you may not know is based on Marvel comics , Men in Black is the story of a cop ( Will Smith ) who, after a chase with an otherworldly being, is recruited by an organization that monitors and polices alien activity on Earth. There's something for every sci-fi fan to enjoy in this movie, from visually stunning special effects to mind-blowing action and just the right amount of humor.

Men in Black follows the Hero's Journey nearly to a tee , from Agent J getting the call to join the mission of protecting the planet from alien threats and initially refusing the call, to him finally learning to master his two worlds and become the hero he was meant to be. The result is a thrilling sci-fi action adventure that doesn't get nearly enough praise nowadays, with a heroic protagonist that's a joy to follow through his journey.

Men In Black

Watch on Hulu

11 'O Brother, Where Art Thou?' (2000)

Joel and ethan coen's take on an old classic.

The Coen brothers are masters of making some of the most entertaining crime movies, and O Brother, Where Art Thou? is definitely one of their best. Loosely based on Homer 's The Odyssey , it's about three fugitives roaming the southern U.S. in search of treasure with the law hot on their heels. Unlike the Greek classic, however, the Coens' crime film has great Southern American music, traditional Western tropes, and stars George Clooney , Tim Blake Nelson , and John Turturro .

The characters in O Brother, Where Art Thou? encounter mentors, face challenges, and go through profound transformations , just like the heroes in the monomyth do. The ensuing adventure is as humorous as it is exciting, an offbeat adaptation of a massively important and influential classic. You can't go wrong with a well-written and well-directed Coen brothers movie, so O Brother should easily please all cinephiles' palates.

Rent on Apple TV

10 'Batman Begins' (2005)

Christopher nolan's reinvention of the caped crusader.

Movies with Hero's Journey archetypes are fun enough as they are, but mix those elements with a superhero origin story, and you get one of the best entries in the superhero genre . That's what Batman Begins is, as it reinvents the story of Bruce Wayne's ( Christian Bale ) origins as the vigilante hero Batman, by placing the character on a journey to become the guardian that his beloved Gotham City deserves.

Christopher Nolan's first installment in his Dark Knight Trilogy feels more like a character-driven thriller than a traditional superhero film, in the best sense possible. The director cleverly fits Bruce's process of becoming the Dark Knight into Campbell's monomyth , showing audiences how the hero is eventually able to master his new identity to save his city.

Batman Begins

Watch on Max

9 'The Matrix' (1999)

Lana and lilly wachowski's game-changing extravaganza.

When the Wachowskis released The Matrix before the turn of the century, the world was taken by storm, and the sci-fi genre in films would never be the same again. In the movie that cemented him as an action star, Keanu Reeves plays Neo, a man who joins a group of insurgents in their fight against the powerful computers who rule Earth. To this day, The Matrix still receives praise as one of the best sci-fi movies ever .

With its visual innovations, clever cinematography, and unique philosophical themes that have been endlessly analyzed throughout the years, The Matrix was unlike anything audiences had seen before at the time of its release . Perhaps one of the main reasons why its story clicked so well with viewers around the world was because it closely follows the stages of the Hero's Journey, as Neo goes from an average Joe to an all-powerful hero.

Neo (Keanu Reeves) believes that Morpheus (Laurence Fishburne), an elusive figure considered to be the most dangerous man alive, can answer his question -- What is the Matrix? Neo is contacted by Trinity (Carrie-Anne Moss), a beautiful stranger who leads him into an underworld where he meets Morpheus. They fight a brutal battle for their lives against a cadre of viciously intelligent secret agents. It is a truth that could cost Neo something more precious than his life.

8 'Kung Fu Panda' (2008)

Mark osborne and john stevenson's martial arts adventure.

For those that think that family animated movies are exclusively for children, Kung Fu Panda is the perfect mind-changing watch. It follows Po ( Jack Black ), a lazy panda who dreams of being a kung fu hero, as he's thrust into a journey of discovering his destiny as the Chosen One. There are many examples of the Hero's Journey in movies that logically follow the same structure, but the creative things that Kung Fu Panda does with the archetype are entirely its own .

Just like all the compelling heroes of Campbell's model, Po is called to action, goes through several life-threatening ordeals with help from friends and allies, and finds that the power to be the guardian of the Valley of Peace comes from within. Sprinkled with hilarious humor, outstanding voice acting, and some of the best action in any animated film , it's undoubtedly one of DreamWorks Animation's best efforts.

Kung Fu Panda

7 'finding nemo' (2003), andrew stanton's love letter to fatherhood.

Hero's Journey movies are usually action-focused epics, and not often family-friendly stories about fish. That only makes Finding Nemo even more special. It's the story of Marlin ( Albert Brooks ), a timid clownfish who, after his son Nemo ( Alexander Gould in one of the best child voice performances in animated cinema) is kidnapped, sets out to find him against all the threats that the deep blue sea has to offer.

Though Finding Nemo isn't your typical kind of hero's journey, where the story is much more intimate and the biggest threats that the characters face are mostly internal, it very much follows the formula. What finds itself transformed in the end is the relationship between Marlin and Nemo, in one of the most touching endings of Pixar's filmography.

Finding Nemo

Watch on Disney+

6 'The Wizard of Oz' (1939)

Victor fleming's timeless musical classic.

An exciting adventure that uses both black-and-white and beautiful color , through a fantastical land that any movie fan would love to live in, The Wizard of Oz follows Dorothy ( Judy Garland ) in her journey through the magical land of Oz, searching for a mysterious wizard who can send her back home.

The movie was an absolute sensation when it came out, and even after more than three-quarters of a century, it's still remembered as one of the greatest American movie masterpieces. The stages of the monomyth are clear in The Wizard of Oz : the ordinary world is Kansas, Dorothy crosses a very literal threshold to a vastly different world, and her journey of transformation is full of faces both friendly and menacing.

The Wizard of Oz

5 'the lion king' (1994), roger allers and rob minkoff's twist on shakespeare.

1994's The Lion King is a movie that needs no introduction. Many would say that it's the best-animated movie to ever come out of Disney, and it's fully understandable, thanks to its timeless songs and the animated film's brilliant depiction of grief . It's the grand and epic story of Simba ( Matthew Broderick ), a lion cub prince who's tricked into exile by his uncle Scar ( Jeremy Irons ), who wishes to have the throne for himself.

The animation is majestic, with some really charming character designs, and the story is compelling from beginning to end. Its philosophical themes of identity and self-discovery are beautiful, and the way they're conveyed through a classic hero's journey structure in The Lion King is simply perfect . The film is in certain ways an adaptation of William Shakespeare 's Hamlet , but its fidelity to Campbell's monomyth is much more interesting to dissect.

The Lion King (1994)

4 'harry potter' saga (2001 - 2011), warner bros.' magical journey through hogwarts.

The Harry Potter series features not just one, but eight of the movies that best follow the Hero's Journey. From Chris Columbus 's Sorcerer's Stone to David Yates 's Deathly Hallows — Part 2 , the franchise follows the coming-of-age story of the titular character ( Daniel Radcliffe ) and his two best friends, as they grow to become key players in a war against an evil wizard.

Everyone has a different favorite installment in the series, but every Harry Potter movie plays an equally crucial role in the overarching narrative of the story, which very closely follows the monomyth . Not only that, but each film follows a smaller version of the general model as well. It's probably what makes these movies so easy to enjoy, since they so faithfully walk along the lines laid out by Campbell and so many filmmakers from before 2001.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

An orphaned boy enrolls in a school of wizardry, where he learns the truth about himself, his family and the terrible evil that haunts the magical world.

3 'The Lord of the Rings' Trilogy (2001 - 2003)

Peter jackson's walk to mordor.

There are countless things that make Peter Jackson 's The Lord of the Rings trilogy one of the best fantasy film franchises of all time, and one of the most important is the fact that all three installments in the trilogy truly feel like part of a greater whole, as they collaborate in telling the story of Frodo ( Elijah Wood ), the Fellowship of the Ring, and their efforts to destroy the greatest tool of an evil tyrant terrorizing Middle-earth.

Of course, the monomyth-following template was already there, set in stone by the legendary J.R.R. Tolkien when he wrote what's undoubtedly one of the best series of fantasy books in history. Even yet, the way Jackson and company built on top of that, telling a story that feels undeniably cinematic, is admirable beyond measure.

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring

2 'citizen kane' (1941), orson welles's groundbreaking masterpiece.

When Orson Welles made his passion project Citizen Kane , he probably had no idea that he was making what would in the future be referred to as the single greatest film of all time by thousands of people, as well as one of the most essential movies of the '40s . Inspired by magnate William Randolph Hearst , it's a character study about a group of reporters trying to decipher the last words of Charles Foster Kane (Welles), a powerful newspaper tycoon.

Citizen Kane is an entirely unique picture, and the way it's structured is just as well. Citizen Kane follows Campbell's monomyth formula in a very non-traditional way , which only makes it more of a groundbreaking story. There are plenty of good reasons for its fame, and that's certainly one of the biggest.

Citizen Kane

1 'star wars' (1977), george lucas's revolutionary space opera.

Perhaps no movie more famously follows the Hero's Journey archetype than Star Wars , with George Lucas having taken direct inspiration from Campbell . The hero in this particular story is Luke Skywalker ( Mark Hamill ), a young farm boy who's thrown into an adventure far greater than anything he'd encountered before, joining the Rebellion against the dictatorial Galactic Empire.

One of the best space operas of all time, Star Wars showcases what makes the monomyth such an effective way of telling stories and celebrating the art of storytelling itself. Luke is a deeply compelling hero, his journey is incredibly entertaining, and all the allies and villains that he encounters along the way are equally iconic. As far as modern myths go, Star Wars is certainly one of the best.

Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope

NEXT: Movies You Didn't Realize Were Based on Greek Mythology

12 Hero’s Journey Examples in Disney Movies

Looking for the hero’s journey examples in Disney movies? Discover our guide with our top picks!

The hero’s journey is a narrative structure that’s been used in literature for thousands of years. This structure and its inherent stages are discussed in the seminal work by Joseph Cambell, The Hero with a Thousand Faces . Checking out the best Disney movies can be helpful when writing essays about movies .

The hero’s journey structure can be identified in movies, too, and those from the Disney studio are no exception. Below you’ll find our selection of the top twelve Disney films that follow this distinctive pattern. And once you recognize the structure, you might start to spot it everywhere!

Here Are The Best Hero’s Journey Examples in Disney Movies

1. the lion king, 3. hercules, 5. toy story, 7. finding nemo, 9. pocahontas, 12. the jungle book.

The Lion King is a much-loved Disney movie released in 1994. It follows a clear hero’s journey narrative structure. Simba’s Ordinary World is the Pride Lands, where he was born and lives with his family. We learn how important it is to him to grow to be as strong and competent as his father, Mufasa, who he will one day succeed as king.

Simba’s story progresses through all the stages of the hero’s journey. From the Call to Adventure, where Simba is encouraged to visit the elephant graveyard by his uncle Scar, to The Reward, which sees the young protagonist lose his self-doubt, the one thing holding him back from becoming a hero. Finally, the Return with the Elixir. Simba, taking up his father’s crown, restores his kingdom. His journey has healed both himself and the Pride Lands. You might also be interested in these hero’s journey examples in real life .

Mulan is another Disney movie in which the hero’s journey is clearly evident. A couple of stages are particularly clear. Encountering Mushu the dragon is a comedic rendering of The Meeting of the Mentor part of the hero’s journey. At the same time, The Road Back is Mulan’s physical race against time as she dashes home to warn Shang of the Huns’ plan to storm the palace. You might also be interested in these personal narrative examples .

• Ming-Na Wen, Eddie Murphy, BD Wong (Actors)
• Barry Cook (Director) - Alan Ormsby (Writer)
• English (Subtitle)
• Audience Rating: G (General Audience)

Pretty much the epitome of the hero’s journey, Hercules is a Disney classic from 1997 that literally follows a hero’s journey! While it departs a fair way from the twelve labors tale of the original legend, it still sticks to Joseph Campbell ’s monomyth structure. Even the Crossing the First Threshold stage is clearly delineated, with Hercules engaging in a little warm-up roundhousing with a centaur to save Meg.

• Tate Donovan, Susan Egan, James Woods (Actors)
• John Musker (Director) - Bob Shaw (Writer)
• English, English (Subtitles)

The hero’s journey can be simplified into three key stages: Departure, Initiation, and Return. The title character of Aladdin begins life in Agrabah as a ‘street rat’ – but we see him leave his ordinary world when he’s lured into entering the Cave of Wonders, sent on a mission by the villainous Jafar (Departure). 

Our hero meets the genie and sets off on a spectacular adventure, dealing with enemies and difficult matters of the heart (Initiation)! He triumphs in the end, though, defeating Jafar, winning over his true love, and finally becoming comfortable in his skin (Return). For more, check out these hero’s journey short stories examples .

It’s not just the narrative structure that can have an archetypal structure: the heroes themselves can often be categorized into archetypes, too, such as The Warrior (Hercules) or The Orphan (Aladdin). One of the lesser-seen hero archetypes is The Caregiver, represented in Toy Story by the character of Woody the cowboy, who oversees and generally looks after all of Andy’s other toys.

The arrival of Buzz Lightyear causes Woody’s consternation. Still, after many trials and challenges Woody has to face in rescuing the toy astronaut, the pair must team up to escape the cruel boy next door, Sid, and save his ill-treated toys. You might also be interested in these tragic hero examples .

In Moana , when a mysterious, dark force threatens her island, Moana is called to adventure to discover how to save her community. During her quest, the heroine faces multiple challenges, meets her mentor, the mighty Maui , and Returns with the Elixir, saving her island and coming home triumphantly, recognized as the firm leader she is. 

It’s worth mentioning that Moana actually has two mentors. As well as Maui, her grandmother, also embodies the role of mentor, demonstrating how the hero’s journey structure has a little give in it and can flex to the story’s needs. Check out these essays about films .

• New Store Stock
• Japanese, Spanish, French, Russian, Arabic (Subtitles)

Finding Nemo is a classic hero’s quest tale – even if it features the most unlikely protagonists! The stages of the hero’s journey are nice and clear: Nemo is swept from his Ordinary World when he’s captured by a scuba diver and taken far from his home. His mission is to return to his dad, Marlin, who finds himself on the adventure of a lifetime as he seeks his lost son. 

Marlin finds his mentor, Dory. Together they navigate many dangers until they eventually find Nemo and return to their home in the reef. And the Elixir? Marlin is a way more chilled-out dad and enjoys a closer relationship with his son due to the quest.

• Lee Unkrich, Andrew Stanton (Actors)
• English, Dutch (Subtitles)
• English (Publication Language)

In Up , another unlikely hero, Carl, lives alone following the death of his beloved wife. The Call to Adventure takes the form of a construction company trying to force Carl out of his home to redevelop the land. And Carl’s having none of it. Faced with the prospect of a move to the Shady Oaks retirement home, Carl takes extreme action, attaching thousands of helium balloons to his house. There’s no going back once his adventure has literally taken flight!

• Running time 96 minutes
• Edward Asner, Jordan Nagai, John Ratzenberger (Actors)
• Bob Peterson (Director) - Bob Peterson (Writer) - Andrew Stanton (Producer)

Released in 1995, Disney’s Pocahontas may have raised eyebrows with its re-writing of history. Still, in terms of its adherence to the hero’s journey structure, it’s authentic. It features Captain Smith, the stereotypical brave explorer-type hero, and Pocahontas, the heroine of this tale.

The story focuses on the importance of remaining open-minded, accepting of differences, and knowing oneself – deeply – this is a hero’s journey story with a difference – but a hero’s journey story all the same.

• Polish Release, cover may contain Polish text/markings. The disk has English audio and subtitles.
• English, Spanish, Dutch (Subtitles)

A beautifully vibrant movie, Coco ’s plot follows Miguel, who loves music but has the misfortune of growing up in a family where music is banned. The young hero literally crosses the threshold when he enters the Land of the Dead in search of the truth about his family history and why music is such a taboo.

The Return with the Elixir stage is particularly magical in Coco : upon returning to the world of the living, there is reconciliation within Hector’s family, and music flows through the house once more – for good.

• Lee Unkrich (Director) - Adrian Molina (Writer) - Darla K. Anderson (Producer)

Step into the land of Brave , where a Scottish medieval Princess named Merida is frustrated at the fate being imposed upon her. She has no wish to marry and, to defy her family’s wishes, runs away to escape the betrothal. 

In the forest, Merida meets a witch and makes a life-changing (literally) bargain with her. Returning to the castle, she presents her mother, Queen Elinor, with the cake the witch has given her, promising that it will alter the situation. But this ‘alteration’ is not what Merida imagined.

• English, French (Subtitles)

Released in 1967, the original The Jungle Book movie remains much loved by audiences and features many unforgettable characters. In many ways, the movie reverses the traditional hero’s journey. Young Mowgli’s Ordinary World – the jungle – is anything but ordinary. And the narrative arc is driven by his journey (physically and spiritually) to a destination entirely alien to him: the human world. Looking for more? Check out our guide with movies that follow the hero’s journey !

• UK Import Exclusive Disney Villains Gloss Slipcover
• Subtitles: English, Spanish, Portugese
• Audio: English, Spanish, Portugese
• Phil Harris, Bruce Reitherman, George Sanders (Actors)

Melanie Smith is a freelance content and creative writer from Gloucestershire, UK, where she lives with her daughter, long-suffering partner, and cat, The Magical Mr. Bobo. Her blog posts and articles feature regularly in magazines and websites around the world.

View all posts

• The 25 Most Important Movies Of All Time, Ranke...
• Odd 'Firsts'
• Do Not Remake
• One Great Performance
• Hidden Messages
• That's No Acting
• Real-World Injuries
• Untimely Deaths
• Abandoned Sets
• Aging Poorly
• Wild Details
• Future Stars
• Changed Endings

Movies That Follow The Hero's Journey, Ranked By How Well They Use The Monomyth

Vote up the movies that most effectively use the hero's journey.

While there are always exceptions, nearly every film relies on some kind of narrative structure. In its most simplistic form, this structure has a beginning, middle, and end. There are problems and solutions. The main character changes and grows. Viewers are inherently familiar with these elements, but may not be aware of their inner workings.

One of the most widely-used storytelling methods is the monomyth - better known as the hero's journey - which was described and codified by writer Joseph Campbell. There are 17 stages to this narrative pattern that can be split across three acts: Departure, Initiation, and Return. In a nutshell, a hero's journey movie sees the protagonist embark on an adventure or quest. Along the way, they face obstacles that make them question themselves and their purpose. Even though they inevitably hit rock bottom, the hero perseveres and grows into a new person in the end.

While Campbell's full structure includes 17 stages, let's quickly break down the 7 main ingredients:

The Ordinary World - The hero lives a familiar and simple life

Call to Adventure - The hero is presented with a challenge in the unknown world, but is reluctant

Crossing the Threshold - The hero decides to enter the unknown world to take on the challenge

Trials - While meeting mentors and helpers, the hero must overcome obstacles that lead to the main challenge

The Abyss - Setbacks accumulate and leave the hero with a sense of hopelessness

Atonement - Through reflection and aid from others, the hero regains their way

The Return - The hero resumes their quest, overcomes the main challenge (the climax), then returns to the familiar world as a changed person

With that basic understanding of how the monomyth works, take a look at the biggest movies that follow the hero's journey to storytelling success.

Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope

What Is The Journey? Luke Skywalker finds out his father was a Jedi and joins Obi-Wan Kenobi, Han Solo, Chewbacca, and two droids to rescue Leia Organa from the Galactic Empire.

What Trials Do They Face?  At first, Luke is unsure if he's worthy of learning how to become a Jedi and wield the magical power called the Force. However, after his aunt and uncle are killed by Stormtroopers, he embarks on a journey with Obi-Wan and begins to learn the ways of the Jedi. He is pulled into a world he knows nothing about, as he's forced to adapt on the fly, survive, and face the seemingly impossible threats of the Empire and Darth Vader. The danger only grows when Obi-Wan is struck down by Vader, leaving Luke without a teacher.

How Do They Overcome?  While Luke hasn't reached the point where he is the Jedi Master everyone knows here, he starts to believe in his own abilities and trust the power of the Force. He successfully taps into the Force to destroy the Empire's world-destroying weapon, the Death Star, and gains the confidence to join the Rebels in the ongoing fight against the Empire.

• Dig Deeper... The Most Hated Star Wars Villains
• And Deeper... Every Time Characters Repeat A Classic Line In A Star Wars Movie
• # 46 of 772 on The Most Rewatchable Movies

The 'Lord of the Rings' Trilogy

What Is The Journey?  The young hobbit Frodo Baggins travels to Mount Doom in Mordor to destroy the powerful One Ring and bring an end to the evil reign of the Dark Lord Sauron.

What Trials Do They Face? Frodo embarks on a literal journey of considerable length, spanning three films. Every twist and turn signals a new threat as the forces of evil try to stop him from reaching Mordor. With each step, he must also resist the temptation of power that the One Ring presents - everyone who has carried it before has become corrupted at some point. As Frodo struggles with the belief that his willpower is not strong enough to resist the ring, his friends and allies, in particular his best friend Samwise Gamgee, aid and encourage him on his quest.

How Do They Overcome? Frodo realizes he isn't an island and needs to rely on the help of others. He shows the ultimate act of bravery by letting go of the burden of believing he is the only one who can complete this mission on his own and accepts the importance and assistance of the Fellowship around him. With Sam's help getting him to Mount Doom and pulling him  back from the brink at the last moment, Frodo completes the mission and returns home to the Shire, irrevocably changed by what he's been through. 

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

What Is The Journey?  11-year-old orphan Harry Potter, who has been mistreated his whole life by his uncaring aunt and uncle, discovers he is a wizard. What's more, he's a legend among wizards for defeating the Dark Lord Voldemort as an infant. Now, as he attends the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, he must live up to the massive expectations on him as "Boy Who Lived” while Voldemort threatens to rise again.

What Trials Do They Face?  For so long, Harry believes himself to be a nobody. Learning of his true heritage is full of joy and uncertainty, as he has great expectations to live up to, but no magic experience whatsoever. He must learn everything about this world from scratch, while withstanding the pressure of everyone watching him more closely because of who he is. Despite the belief and guidance of mentors such as Albus Dumbledore, Rubeus Hagrid, and Minerva McGonagall, he also has a laundry list of people waiting and rooting for him to fail. Harry also doesn't have the luxury of time on his side either, as whispers about Voldemort's return surface.

How Do They Overcome? Harry embraces his natural curiosity and bravery, facing up to unknown challenges even without the certainty that he'll win. He also forms tight bonds with his friends, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, who have his back no matter how grim the situation gets. Together, they navigate past magical traps and secure the Sorcerer's Stone before Voldemort - whose spirit has been lurking inside of one of their teachers, Professor Quirrell - can use it to restore his life. Harry rises to the challenge and accepts that he will likely have to face Voldemort again in the future.

• Dig Deeper... Things You Didn't Know About 'The Sorcerer's Stone' If You've Only Seen The Movie
• # 25 of 772 on The Most Rewatchable Movies
• # 105 of 675 on The Best Movies Roger Ebert Gave Four Stars

What Is The Journey? Teen Peter Parker gets bitten by a radioactive spider, giving him superpowers; however, he needs to learn how to use these special - and sticky - abilities for the greater good of mankind.

What Trials Do They Face? The young Peter loses his mentor, Uncle Ben, and questions if he has the inner strength to juggle life as a teenager and fighting crime as the masked superhero known as Spider-Man. At the same time, a highly powered and deadly villain known as the Green Goblin rises in the city and offers Spider-Man a place by his side. Peter feels a moral obligation to his uncle's teachings and declines the offer, but now he needs to dodge the never-ending pumpkin bombs hurled at him by the Goblin, whom he soon discovers is his best friend's father.

How Do They Overcome? Peter finally understands his uncle's teachings: “With great power comes great responsibility.” He fights the Green Goblin, knowing that this battle will change both Spider-Man and Peter in the end. Finally, he accepts that his life will never be the same again because his powers are both a gift and curse that he needs to learn how to use for the benefit of all - yes, even J. Jonah Jameson, who sees him as a menace.

• Dig Deeper... 18 Easter Eggs And References You Missed From 'Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse'
• And Deeper... Most Violent And Twisted Incarnations Of Venom in Comic Book History
• # 213 of 772 on The Most Rewatchable Movies

What Is The Journey?  Computer hacker Thomas Anderson, AKA Neo, suspects something isn't right in the world around him, and discovers what everyone perceives to be real is simply a facade to conceal what's actually taking place. When a mysterious mentor named Morpheus offers Neo the infamous red pill, Neo must forget everything he knows of the world and embrace a new truth.

What Trials Do They Face?  Neo is told he's the chosen one who needs to liberate humanity from its enslavement by the machines. However, he lacks the knowledge and skills to fight back against the Matrix, which requires him to change his way of thinking and develop the skills to manipulate the Matrix, which can extend to slowing down time and bending bullets. Morpheus opens his eyes to the reality of what's happening, but Neo is in a race against time to fulfill the prophecy while keeping the pesky agents - who could double as Ray-Ban models - at bay.

How Do They Overcome?  Neo accepts the prophecy that he's the chosen one. He lets go of everything he thought was real to ascend to a higher plain of existence and embrace his destiny to show other humans that freedom is possible.

• Dig Deeper... 33 Things You Didn't Know About 'The Matrix' Trilogy
• And Deeper... 15 Things You (Probably) Didn't Know About The Original 'Matrix' Film
• And Deeper... 11 Behind-The-Scenes Stories From 'The Matrix' That Made Us Say 'Whoa'

Finding Nemo

What Is The Journey?  Meek and overprotective clownfish father Marlin must find the courage to embark on an unpredictable quest into the darkest reaches of the ocean to bring his son, Nemo, back home.

What Trials Do They Face?  Marlin fears his own shadow, treating life with the utmost caution and preferring the mundane over adventure. With his son gone, he needs to swim out of his comfort zone in more ways than one. He braves the dangers and uncertainties of the ocean, searching hard and refusing to give up on his son. Joining Marlin is the forgetful Dory, who teaches Marlin more about the importance of living in the moment and experiencing the fun of not knowing what happens next. 

How Do They Overcome? There are two major lessons that Marlin learns in the process of finding Nemo: first, he is brave and doesn't need to live his life in a state of paralyzing fear. Secondly, Nemo is more than capable of looking after himself, so it's up to Marlin to let go and allow his son to live life with all the risks that entails.

• # 13 of 772 on The Most Rewatchable Movies
• # 6 of 447 on The 400+ Best Animated Kids Movies
• # 22 of 675 on The Best Movies Roger Ebert Gave Four Stars

The Lion King

What Is The Journey? After the death of his father Mufasa in a stampede, the young Simba runs away into exile, believing himself to be responsible for the traumatic event. However, he must return to reclaim leadership of the Pride Lands from his uncle, Scar, in order to save the animal kingdom.

What Trials Do They Face?  Due to Scar's manipulation, Simba feels incredible guilt over his father's death. Consequently, he tries to forget who he really is as he lives a carefree life with his pals, Timon and Pumbaa. It takes a combined effort from Nala and Rafiki, plus a message from his father on the other side, to remind Simba of who he is: the rightful king. At the same time, Simba is afraid to return after being away so long, especially due to the danger presented by Scar and his army of hyenas who now control the Pride Lands.

How Do They Overcome? Simba remembers the lessons he learned from his father about the qualities of being a king and how being afraid is never a bad thing. He finds the courage to face his past to create a new future. At the same time, his guilt is unburdened when Scar reveals his role in Mufasa's death, which gives Simba a renewed purpose to fight his uncle. He eventually takes his rightful place as the king of the Pride Lands.

• Dig Deeper... 13 Messed Up Things You Never Noticed About The Lion King
• And Deeper... Every Song in The Lion King, Ranked by Singability
• # 4 of 50 on The Biggest Movies Of The '90s, Ranked

What Is The Journey? After escaping evildoers, genius-billionaire-playboy-philanthropist Tony Stark realizes he has used his influence, intelligence, and tech for all the wrong reasons. Now, he plans on using his abilities for the benefit of the world.

What Trials Do They Face? After being captured by terrorists, Tony's heart requires technological intervention from scientist Ho Yinsen to keep on ticking, which acts as both a reminder of the power and danger of his creations. Using a newfound appreciation for life and understanding from Yinsen of how his selfishness caused strife, he needs to learn how to harness all his abilities into fighting the very people he used to do business with. At the same time, he meets resistance from some within his company, like Obadiah Stane, who opposes Stark's desire of ceasing extremely profitable weapons manufacturing.

How Do They Overcome? Tony's cockiness, though initially a flaw, turns out to be his biggest asset, as he refuses to accept the status quo. Redirecting his unrestrained confidence from selfish pursuits towards making the world a better place, he becomes the hero no one believed he could be, putting a stop to Stane's plots to take over Stark Industries sell more and more weapons. In the ultimate showboating act and declaration of defiance, he reveals himself to the world as Iron Man, daring anyone to stop him.

• Dig Deeper... Behind-The-Scenes Facts From The Original 'Iron Man' Movie That Demand A Rewatch
• # 22 of 772 on The Most Rewatchable Movies
• # 77 of 675 on The Best Movies Roger Ebert Gave Four Stars

The Wizard of Oz

What Is The Journey?  Dorothy Gale dreams of a better life away from Kansas, “Somewhere Over The Rainbow.” However, when she her dog Toto get swept up in a tornado and land in the magical, colorful world known as Oz, she needs to follow the yellow brick road to the Emerald City and speak to the mysterious Wizard about helping her get back to Kansas.

What Trials Do They Face? From the get-go, Dorothy is in a pickle, as she's stuck in an unknown place. Complicating things more, her house lands on the Wicked Witch of the East, which upsets her sister, the Wicked Witch of the West. Now, not only does Dorothy need to make her way on foot to the Emerald City and find the Wizard of Oz with help from her motley crew of companions, but she also needs to keep looking over her shoulder because the Witch has nefarious plans for her. Then, to top it all off, Dorothy finds out the Wizard is a fraud, and it appears to be like there's no way back to Kansas.

How Do They Overcome? Despite the uncertainty, Dorothy learns to embrace the weird and wonderful land of Oz, and learns a lot from her companions, the Scarecrow, Tin Man, and Cowardly Lion. So, when she finds out she can tap her heels and wish her way back to Kansas, she does so. Once she sees her friends and family again, she realizes that there's truly no place like home.

Batman Begins

What Is The Journey?  After the death of his parents, Bruce Wayne trains his mind and body to become Gotham City's protector and the scourge of every criminal.

What Trials Do They Face? Due to his family's high profile, Bruce is burdened with carrying on the legacy of the Wayne name and being a public figure. Internally, he harbors a strong desire for justice to eradicate the city's corrupt criminal justice system. Knowing he will need to shed the Wayne name and become something else, Bruce embarks on an arduous journey to learn from the greatest masters as he trains his mind and body as a weapon to fight crime. However, his choice to become a symbol of justice rather than executioner results in his former master, Ra's al Ghul, turning into his enemy and threatening to burn Gotham City.

How Do They Overcome?  As Batman, Bruce honors the code of standing for justice and believing his actions can inspire hope, even when it would be easier snapping necks and putting bullet holes in fiends. Despite the adversity he faces and the limits he is pushed to, he remembers the promise he made on his parents's grave to protect Gotham City, carrying that with him as he embraces his new purpose as Batman.

• Dig Deeper... Small Details From 'Batman Begins' That Prove It's The Most Slept On Nolan Film
• # 113 of 772 on The Most Rewatchable Movies
• # 71 of 675 on The Best Movies Roger Ebert Gave Four Stars

Kung Fu Panda

What Is The Journey? A bumbling panda and kung fu fan, Po is unwittingly selected as the Dragon Warrior, a prophesied hero. However, neither Po nor others believe it to be true.

What Trials Do They Face?  Po is shocked to be named the Dragon Warrior, since he knows he tumbled into a scenario rather than being intentionally selected. He isn't a natural martial artist and struggles under the training of Master Shifu. It also doesn't help that the Furious Five - a group Po adores - don't believe in the poor panda. To make matters worse, the dangerous snow-leopard Tai Lung is on the loose and Po will need to build his skills quickly in order to face him.

How Do They Overcome? Po uses his lovable personality to win over others, while he develops an unorthodox martial arts style. As he progresses and his heart proves to be his greatest strength, he starts to believe in his potential and realizes he is special in his own way.

• # 394 of 772 on The Most Rewatchable Movies
• # 28 of 447 on The 400+ Best Animated Kids Movies
• # 430 of 702 on The All-Time Greatest Comedy Films

What Is The Journey? As cracks appear in her seemingly idyllic life in Barbieland, Barbie ventures to the real world to find the child playing with her who is connected to her sudden worries about mortality.

What Trials Do They Face?  Barbie's sense of inadequacy kicks off when she starts to feel imperfect in a perfect world. It causes her to have an existential crisis about who she is and what defines her. This isn't exactly helped when she experiences the harshness of the real world, either. Even once she finds her “child” - who turns out to be an adult woman named Gloria - she needs to evade Mattel corporate employees trying to capture her, and also deal with Ken, who comes to believe that turning Barbieland into a patriarchal society is the only way to bring value to who he is.

How Do They Overcome? Barbie learns it's important to form her own self-identity, embracing the messy parts of life that bring meaning. She also shows compassion and empathy toward Ken and his brethren, encouraging the citizens of Barbieland to treat each other equally and in a way that doesn't devalue anyone else. Finally, after a meeting with Mattel co-founder Ruth Handler, Barbie decides to write her own story and become a human rather than an idea.

• Dig Deeper... 17 'Barbie' Quotes That Send Us Directly To Barbie Land
• And Deeper... 20 Dazzling Hot Takes About 'Barbie' That Made Us Say, 'Bye Barbie'
• # 413 of 702 on The All-Time Greatest Comedy Films

Men in Black

What Is The Journey?  After NYPD officer James Darrell Edwards III impresses the mysterious Agent K, he is enlisted into a top-secret organization known as the Men in Black, which is responsible for keeping an eye on extraterrestrial life on Earth.

What Trials Do They Face?  Taking the alias of Agent J, James is thrown into the deep end as he tries to wrap his head around the MIB's rules and dealing with extraterrestrials. K isn't exactly the most fun-loving, friendly mentor, either, so J frequently feels like he's letting himself and everyone else down by not being good enough. Among all this inner turmoil, there is a genuine alien threat to deal with, too, and it's up to J and K to avert a massive inter-species war. 

How Do They Overcome?  J trusts his natural instincts and abilities, while also applying everything he has learned from K to save the day. Ultimately, he discovers that K wasn't training him to be his partner, but his replacement. The student becomes the master in a bittersweet but moving passing-of-the-torch moment.

• Dig Deeper... 14 Behind-The-Scenes Stories From The Making Of 'Men in Black'
• # 18 of 50 on The Biggest Movies Of The '90s, Ranked
• # 9 of 772 on The Most Rewatchable Movies

What Is The Journey?  Paraplegic marine Jake Sully infiltrates the Na'vi tribe of the planet of Pandora through the use of an avatar as part of a mission for the Resources Development Administration (RDA). After he spends some time among the tribe, he begins to question his loyalties, especially as he falls in love with a Na'vi named Neytiri.

What Trials Do They Face?  Sully needs to keep the purpose of his mission a secret to the Na'vi, as they cannot know his real reason for being on Pandora. As he learns more about the nature of Na'vi life and their respect for each other and the world, he becomes torn about what he should do. The RDA promises him they will help walk again if he gives them what they want, while the Na'vi provide a honest way of life. However, the RDA holds all the power here, as they can simply disconnect his body from his avatar.

How Do They Overcome? Sully chooses love and loyalty to the Na'vi over the RDA, revealing the truth to the tribe. While it's a difficult decision that risks his own safety, he finds himself inspired by the Na'vi way of life and chooses to be on the right side of history. Thankfully, the Na'vi come through for him, as well, and he ends up permanently inhabiting his avatar body and becoming a part of their community.

• Dig Deeper... Anyone Still Missing Pandora? Twitter Reacts To The 'Avatar' Re-Release
• # 182 of 772 on The Most Rewatchable Movies
• # 31 of 200 on The 195+ Greatest Adventure Movies
• Entertainment
• Watchworthy

Lists for film buffs who want to know everything on and off the screen.

Coco Movie Family Tree Explained

• Miguel's journey through the Land of the Dead reveals the forgotten stories of his ancestors, strengthening his bond with his relatives and unraveling the truth about his great-great-grandfather.
• His great-grandmother Coco is the most accepting among the Riveras and her connection with Miguel is deepened by their shared love for music.
• Miguel's father, Enrique, plays a crucial role in his journey by unintentionally pushing him away, sparking his adventure to the Land of the Dead.

The Rivera family is at the front and center of Disney Pixar’s Coco , and the many generations interacting simultaneously make the 2017 adventure drama's family tree particularly tricky. Happening over the night before the Day of the Dead, Miguel’s initially unwitting journey through the Land of the Dead gives him the chance to interact with many of the Riveras that came before him. However, the most unexpected discovery comes from the search for his long-lost great-great-grandfather, who loved music just like Miguel and left his family to pursue his dream. With Coco 's ending revealing truth about Héctor , the Rivera family tree receives heartbreaking answers to their ancestor's mysterious legacy.

Miguel’s living relatives already span generations, making his story interesting, but those he meets in the Land of the Dead enrich his genealogy even more. With the Land of the Dead working on memories being passed down to descendants, Miguel’s unusual temporary presence there makes him the perfect vessel for Héctor’s story and those of his other relatives that the living Riveras had conveniently forgotten. Ranking high among Pixar's best movies , Coco 's unraveling tale of the Riveras builds Miguel’s family tree bit by bit, strengthening the previously decaying bond between Miguel and his relatives while traveling through decades of betrayals and unyielding love.

Related: Every Pixar Film Without A Sequel

Miguel is Coco ’s protagonist, eager to prove himself as a musician but scared that doing so will alienate his family due to their ban on music. Miguel is the son of Luisa and Enrique , who are expecting what will eventually become his sister Socorro. He is also the grandson of Elena, who runs the shoemaking business originally set up by Miguel’s great-great-grandmother Imelda after her husband left her and Coco to pursue his dream of becoming a musician. It’s because of Imelda’s husband’s assumed betrayal that music is banned among the Riveras, although Imelda’s daughter and Elena’s mother, Coco, doesn't seem to share the family’s hate for music.

Because of this and the lack of conflict between Coco and Miguel, his great-grandmother is one of Miguel’s favorite relatives. Even if she listens more than contributes to Miguel’s stories and shenanigans, Coco is the most accepting among the Riveras, still waiting for her father’s return after decades, even when the rest of the family deliberately tried to forget him. Coco ’s final reveal of Héctor’s truth – that he is actually Imelda's husband and Miguel's great-great-great grandfather – eventually explains what Miguel and Coco connect on such a deep level, which isn’t necessarily the case for Miguel with many of his relatives.

Mamá Imelda

The Rivera matriarch Imelda set up the shoemaking business Miguel’s family still keeps afloat as a means to provide for her daughter Coco after her husband, Héctor, left to pursue music. In the stories the family share, Miguel’s great-great-grandmother appears as a force of nature, which Miguel can ascertain for himself once she meets her in the Land of the Dead. Headstrong and assertive, many of her relatives seem to be afraid of her, including Miguel as she wants to send him back to Earth on the condition he doesn’t pursue music. Mother of Coco and grandmother of Elena, Imelda is finally connected to Miguel through his father Enrique, Elena’s son .

The movie namesake, Coco, is Miguel’s great-grandmother, Elena’s mother, and Enrique’s grandmother . Her relationship with her father was precious to her, and Coco ’s ending showed how she kept all the letters he wrote to her and his torn picture, despite her whole family willingly trying to forget him to spare Imelda’s suffering. Her kinship with Miguel makes even more sense at the end of the movie, as Miguel finds in Héctor the relative closest to him due to their love for music. Furthermore, it’s only thanks to Coco and Miguel that Héctor is finally remembered and doesn’t disappear in the Land of the Dead.

Papà Héctor

Miguel spends a good chunk of Coco believing Ernesto de la Cruz to be his great-great-grandfather. This is because Ernesto's guitar was in the torn family picture, but Coco ’s ending twist eventually highlights how Héctor really was Imelda’s husband, Coco’s father, and Miguel’s great-great-grandfather . Indeed, de la Cruz not only stole Héctor’s guitar and his songs, which eventually brought him fame, but also killed Héctor. This weakened his relationship with the Riveras even more, as they all believed Héctor abandoned them, but in reality he wanted to return but was killed by who he believed was his best friend.

Abuelita Elena

Elena is Miguel’s grandmother and Coco’s only living daughter in Coco . Similar in her stubbornness to Imelda, Elena cares deeply for her family but is also a staunch enforcer of the music ban Imelda issued decades before, which puts her in conflict with Miguel more than once. Indeed, Elena breaking Miguel’s handmade guitar eventually leads him to run away on the Day of the Dead. This action kickstarted his whole adventure due to the hurt she unwittingly caused Miguel by wanting him to follow his family rather than his own wishes. Miguel’s grandmother on his father’s side, Elena has two other adult children, Berto and Gloria, and multiple nieces and nephews.

Related: Every Upcoming Pixar Movie & TV Show

Luisa is Miguel’s mother and Enrique’s wife, who throughout Coco is expecting her second child. Seemingly more understanding of Miguel’s wishes to pursue music, as she doesn’t oppose the idea as staunchly as Miguel’s father, Enrique, and the rest of the Riveras, Luisa is shown as part of the family business. On the Day of the Dead following the events in Coco , her daughter Socorro is born , and she’s shown participating in the celebration by fully supporting Miguel’s passion for music along the rest of the Riveras.

Papá Enrique

Elena’s son and Coco’s grandson, Enrique is Miguel’s father in Coco . Brought up following Imelda’s values and direction, he fully believes in the music ban and thinks involving Miguel in the family business might stop what the Riveras view as Miguel’s rebel phase in his intent to pursue music. However, his refusal to understand Miguel’s wishes to know more about Imelda’s husband unintentionally pushes Miguel away, launching his trip to the cemetery that leads Miguel to the Land of the Dead.

Berto Rivera is Elena’s son, Enrique’s brother, and Coco’s grandson . Berto is deeply involved in the family business, often acting as Elena’s right-hand man in Coco , espousing great-grandmother Imelda’s directives and trying to stop Miguel’s impulse to pursue music along with his mother Elena. Berto is married to Carmen and has multiple sons and daughters, including Miguel’s cousins who briefly appear in the Pixar animated movie Coco .

Julio is Coco’s late husband, Imelda’s son-in-law, and Elena’s father. Meeting Miguel in the worst possible way as his great-grandson crashes into him, Julio is shown as an integral part of the Riveras . Indeed, not only he is on the Riveras’ ofrenda in Coco , but his sister Rosita also is, showing how the Riveras included their extended family in the shoemaking business.

Tía Victoria

Practical and uncompromising, Victoria meets Miguel after he bumps into Julio, stopping their visit to the Rivera’s ofrenda because of Miguel’s half-dead state. Victoria is Elena’s only sister , Coco and Julio’s daughter, and Imelda’s granddaughter. Elena remembers her as hardworking at crafting sandals, something she hopes Miguel will also be once he joins the family business.

Julio’s sister and Coco’s sister-in-law, Rosita is the first to recognize Miguel at the cemetery. It’s thanks to her quick thinking that Miguel gains access to the Land of the Dead, making it possible for him to reunite the Riveras and share the true story of what happened to Héctor.

Related: Coco Secretly Hid Pixar's Most Surprising Adult Easter Egg

Tío Oscar & Tío Felipe

Oscar and Felipe are the t win brothers of Imelda and Coco’s uncles . The two are not only part of the Riveras’ ofrenda but also seem to spend most of their time in the Land of the Dead with their sister Imelda and their descendants. Their fighting skills prove fundamental in defeating Ernesto de la Cruz during Coco ’s ending.

Miguel's Other Uncles, Aunts & Cousins

Some of Miguel’s relatives are shown in Coco without being properly introduced in the Disney Pixar movie. Coco ’s director Lee Unkrich shared the names and ages of Miguel’s cousins Abel and Rosa on Twitter, who briefly appear in the movie while making fun of Miguel because he wanted to enter the talent competition in the square. Other relatives like Elena’s husband Franco, Enrique’s sister Gloria, and Abel and Rosa’s younger brothers Benny and Manny are also briefly shown, but they don’t have a big role in Coco ’s plot, appearing only with the rest of the family.

Source: Lee Unkrich/Twitter

Summary: Despite his family’s generations-old ban on music, Miguel dreams of becoming an accomplished musician like his idol, Ernesto de la Cruz. Desperate to prove his talent, Miguel finds himself in the stunning and colorful Land of the Dead following a mysterious chain of events. Along the way, he meets charming trickster Hector, and together, they set off on a journey to unlock the real story behind Miguel’s family history.

Release Date: 2017-11-22

Cast: Gael Garcia Bernal, Alanna Ubach, Anthony Gonzalez, Selene Luna, Jaime Camil, Edward James Olmos, Renee Victor, Sofía Espinosa, Benjamin Bratt, natalia cordova-buckley, Alfonso Arau

Director: Adrian Molina, Lee Unkrich

Genres: Family, Animation, Adventure

Writers: Adrian Molina

Runtime: 105 minutes

Budget: $175–225 million

Studio(s): Disney

Distributor(s): Disney

Coco Movie Review

GameSpot may receive revenue from affiliate and advertising partnerships for sharing this content and from purchases through links.

Pixar's best movie in years

By Michael Rougeau on November 27, 2017 at 11:03AM PST

On paper, Coco sounds destined for mediocrity. It's another Disney/Pixar jam that tells the tired story of a young boy going on a (hero's) journey to discover the importance of family. As a theme, "family" is about as vanilla as it gets. But Coco 's unique, culturally specific version of what that means--what family is, the realistic and complex issues any family has, and a heavy emphasis on death and what it means to be remembered once you're gone--go way past what you'd expect.

Coco follows Miguel, a young boy whose dream is to go against his family's wishes and become a famous musician. The Rivera family has hated all music and musicians ever since Miguel's nameless, faceless great-great-grandfather abandoned his wife and daughter--Miguel's great-grandmother, Mama Coco--for a life on the road with his guitar. Miguel plays in secret, but a discovery about his ancestor's identity spurs him to profess his love of music, to his family's horror. He eventually makes his way to the Land of the Dead, Coco 's unique vision of the afterlife , and seeks his great-great-grandfather's blessing.

Don't let Coco 's sugary exterior fool you. Yes, it's a visual feast, Pixar's aesthetic at its absolute best. You'll be mesmerized by the way the dog Dante's tongue flops around, Abuelita's arm fat jiggles as she smacks mariachis with her sandals, and millions of gleaming marigold petals swirl and drift through the air. Coco 's picturesque image of Mexican culture is alluring and fantastical, while still feeling true to life. And the same goes for its original songs, catchy, memorable riffs on familiar Mexican musical styles that you're likely to find yourself whistling days after you leave the theater.

But Coco 's core is filled with real fears and raw emotions. The film poses questions that can elicit a sort of primal response, uncertainties about death and legacy welling up deep in your chest as you watch. It all ties into the Dia de los Muertos--the Day of the Dead--a Mexican holiday during which dead loved ones are said to visit their living families. Coco deftly bakes it all together, the visuals, music, characters, surprisingly twisty story, and themes forming a near-perfect meal--one that makes you weep or laugh with every bite.

The voice talent, an all-Latino cast, is exceptional, particularly Miguel's Anthony Gonzalez, a newcomer who completely steals the show every time he opens his mouth to speak or sing. The songs really are fantastic, ranging from the playful, like "Un Poco Loco," to the gut-wrenching "Remember Me," which plays creatively into all Coco 's big themes.

Coco 's Land of the Dead is breathtaking to see, and the film does an impressive job establishing all its rules without getting bogged down in its own mythology. When you die, you wind up with pretty much the same job in the afterlife. So Miguel's musical idol is an even bigger star, his family all make shoes still, and Frida Kahlo--who plays a surprisingly large and funny role--is an esoteric but iconic artist.

Coco establishes early on that your dead relatives can only visit once a year, on Dia de los Muertos, and only if you've put their picture on the ofrenda, a special shrine Mexican families erect for the holiday. No picture, no visit--you're stuck in the Land of the Dead while everyone else gets to cross the marigold bridges and check in with their descendants. Later in the movie, it adds another wrinkle: If too many years go by like that, your life and deeds forgotten by the living, you disappear even from the afterlife.

That gives concrete meaning to the importance of being remembered when you're gone. It makes Miguel's struggles with his family--living and dead--into more than a story about a young boy rebelling. It creates stakes that viewers of any age can relate to. Young kids might find it hard to wrap their heads around, but nobody wants to be forgotten. And the way Coco weaves this all together, never getting too heady, but always keeping these stakes in the forefront while Miguel goes on his adventure, is actually awe-inspiring.

Coco is beautiful, hilarious, deeply touching, and emotional in a raw, powerful way that few movies--even Pixar movies--are able to capture. It's all wrapped in the comforting confection of a memorable score, stunning animation and art direction, and a legitimately compelling story. But at its heart, Coco taps into some real primal stuff. Just be prepared for the strong urge you'll feel to call your closest living family members when it's over.

Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email [email protected]

• Leave Blank

Michael Rougeau

Mike Rougeau is GameSpot's Managing Editor of Entertainment, with over 10 years of pop culture journalism experience. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife and two dogs.

• @RogueCheddar

Use your keyboard!

Log in to comment