Coco - The Cartoon That Taught Me Why Family Is Everything

Movie: Coco (2017)

Rating: 8.4/10

Category: Entertainment / Movie Review

I will be honest with you. When my cousin said, let's watch a cartoon, I said no. I thought I am too old for cartoons now. But she forced me. And I am so happy she did. Because Coco is not a cartoon. It is a feeling.

I watched it at night. Lights off. Everyone was sitting together. And after 2 hours, we all were just looking at each other. Nobody was talking. Because this movie touches your heart in a very silent way.

A Kid Who Was Not Allowed To Love Music

The story is about a small kid. His name is Miguel. He lives with his big family in Mexico. In his house, there is one rule. No one will sing. No one will play guitar. Music is banned.

Can you imagine? In a house where everyone is laughing and cooking, but no one is allowed to sing?

His family made this rule because long ago, one man left his wife and baby girl for music. He went to become a star. He never came back. From that day, his family started hating music.

Miguel did not understand this. For him, music was like breathing. When he heard a guitar, his fingers started moving on their own. I felt the same when I was a kid. When you want something badly, but everyone says no, it hurts a lot.

One Magic Night

Then came the festival. In Mexico, they have a day when they remember people who have died. They keep their photos. They make their favourite food. They believe those people come back to see them.

That night, Miguel found a guitar. He just wanted to play it once. But as soon as he touched it, everything changed. He went into a different world. A world of skeletons. A world where dead people live.

There he met a man. He was funny. He was thin. He was always making jokes. His name was Hector. Nobody remembered him there. And if nobody remembers you in that world, you start vanishing. Slowly, slowly, you disappear.

I think this is the most painful thing in the world. Not dying. Being forgotten.

The Secret That Changed The Whole Family

Miguel and Hector became like best friends. They were helping each other. One wanted to go home. The other wanted someone to remember him.

Later, we find out something big. The famous singer that everyone loved, he was not a good person. He took all the songs from Hector. He stole them.

And the biggest surprise? Hector was Miguel's own family. He was the man who had left home years ago. But he did not leave for fame. He was coming back home. On the way, something bad happened to him.

I literally stopped the movie there. I said, no, this cannot be true. It felt like my own family story.

The Last Song

Miguel came back home. He ran to his old grandmother. Her name is Coco. She is very old. She forgets everything. She does not talk much.

Miguel sat near her. He picked up his guitar. He sang a slow song for her. The song was called Remember Me.

Slowly, her eyes opened. She started smiling. She started singing with him. She remembered her father. She remembered her childhood.

That moment, I cried. My mother cried. Even my brother who always says, I don't cry on movies, he was also wiping his tears.

After that day, the family changed. They allowed music. They put Hector's photo on the wall. They started singing again. Their house became alive again.

Why I Will Never Forget This Movie

For me, Coco is not about a cartoon boy. It is about us. We are so busy in mobile, job, money, studies. We forget to sit with our parents. We forget to ask our grandmother, how are you.

This movie reminded me to go and sit with my family. To ask them about their childhood. To take one photo with them. Because one day, only their photo will be left.

So if you have not seen it, please watch it tonight. Not alone. With your family. With your mother. With your grandmother.

You will laugh in the start. You will cry in the end. And after the movie ends, you will want to hug your family. I promise you that.