My QPP and I got to watch Coco for the first time the other day.

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I was pretty indifferent about watching the movie, since I didn’t see much about Coco online when it first came out except that it was based around Day of the Dead and it was a nice tribute to Mexican culture. But Mel wanted to give it a try and I was like, sure, why not?

I already knew about the “big reveal” because I used to play a Disney mobile game that had a Coco event with some vague out-of-context spoilers in it, but other than that, I had no idea how the movie would play out. Mel knew even less than I did.

The movie starts out with the kid narrating his life story which is pretty cute and wholesome. He’s a really good boy to his Mamá Coco without any hint of feeling bothered about talking to her with her Alzheimer's, so that’s a good start.

Abuelita being the overcontrolling and misguided but still loving family member instead of the dad is an interesting departure from Disney’s usual handling of the trope. It always hurts when they destroy a prized possession/forbid the main character from doing what they love most, though. I cringe every time I see that part of the trope play out.

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All in all, it was a really pleasant watch and I’m glad I got to see it. It’s not the most amazing Pixar movie in the world, but I’m really glad something a bit different than Disney’s usual European/Americanized stories got made.