By Cherry Christeen QUICK INFO  IMDB rating: 8.4/10 Run time: 1hr 45 mins Genres: Animation, adventure, family Release date: 22 November 2017 Spoiler alert! In Santa Cecilia, Mexico, Miguel dreams of becoming a musician even though his family strictly doesn’t give him permission to follow his dream. His great, great grandmother Imelda was married to a man who left her and their daughter Coco to follow his dream of becoming a musician. He never returned. Imelda banished music from their family and started the shoe-making business. Miguel’s parents and grandmother also followed the shoe-making business, which was passed on from generation to generation. Miguel loved Ernesto de la Cruz, a famous musician and actor who was now dead. Miguel started to idolise him. Miguel found a broken guitar and restored it into a good state so that he could use it. He teaches himself how to play the guitar by watching Ernesto’s movies. On the Day of the Dead (Día de Muertos), a special day for the remembrance of loved ones who passed away, he accidentally damages the picture frame his family had put in the ofrenda, a shrine where dead relatives’ photos are placed on the Day of the Dead in remembrance, and discovers a hidden part in the photo. He discovers that the person in the hidden part was holding Ernesto de la Cruz’s guitar! Though the face of the person holding the guitar in the photo was torn off, Miguel assumes it is Ernesto and believes he was his great, great grandfather. Without thinking twice, he decides to enter the Day of the Dead talent show. He breaks into Ernesto’s museum and steals his guitar to play in the show. But he suddenly disappears and becomes invisible to everyone in the village and also realises he could see all his dead relatives. They took him with them to the Land of the Dead and figured out that Imelda could not cross the bridge from the Land of the Dead to the Land of the Living as her photo was not in the ofrenda. The photo was with Miguel as he had mistakenly broken it. Miguel discovers that he is cursed for stealing from the dead and so must return to the Land of the Living before the sun rises or he will also become one of the dead. He must receive a blessing from a family member to go to the Land of the Living again. Imelda gives him the blessing but under one condition – he must end his dream of becoming a musician. Miguel refuses and searches for Ernesto to get his blessing. He meets Hector who helps him find Ernesto in exchange for Miguel’s help to restore his photo back in the Land of the Living so that his daughter doesn’t forget him, which if she does would make Hector disappear. Hector also helps Miguel enter the talent competition where if they win, they could go to Ernesto’s party. At the end of his performance, he had to flee as his family was already there looking for him. Miguel creeps into the party where Ernesto welcomes him as his descendent, but Hector troubles them again to take his photo back before his daughter forgets him. There, Hector and Ernesto argue about their partnership when they were alive, and Miguel realises that when Hector was trying to return to his family, Ernesto poisons him and steals his guitar and songs. Then, Ernesto’s guards seized them and threw them into a water pit. There, Miguel got to know that his real great, great grandfather was actually Hector! Their family rescues them and Imelda and Hector get together again. They then went to Ernesto’s concert to get Hector’s photo. Ernesto’s crimes are exposed to the audience where he is thrown into the stadium and crushed by a giant bell, similar to how he died in real life. Here are three lessons you will learn from the movie: 1. It’s never too late to forgive Miguel’s grandmother had held a serious grudge towards his grandfather that followed them straight into the afterlife. The grudge between the two was so strong that Miguel’s grandfather could have been forgotten forever. This reminds us that it’s never too late to forgive people who may have crossed you, and there’s a time to let go of anything, especially a grudge. 2. Family is everything Friends will come and go, but a family will be there forever, so you should treat them with respect, prioritise them, and most importantly never forget them. Coco teaches us that we should treasure our family members not only when they’re here with us, but when they pass as well. 3. Seize your moment This phrase is said multiple times throughout the film. We all have dreams with not nearly as many opportunities to match, so when there’s a chance to grasp what you thirst for, take that chance without hesitation. Coco does a great job when it comes to inspiring its viewers of any age to be courageous, even when the odds don’t seem to be in our favour.