Recently, I watched the new animation movie titled Coco. This gothic animation piece revolves around the theme of death, but especially the death of family members. I really appreciated this movie because, even through animation and humour, the producer was able to convey an important moral. This movie teaches the kids that they need to follow their dreams even if there are many obstacles that prevent them of doing so. Furthermore, the movie puts emphasis on the expression “seize your moment”, which teaches the kids to wait for the right moment, and when it comes to take advantage of it.
Also, through the adventures of Miguel, the main character of the movie, the author of the movie show the dilemma that some people might have concerning the realization of their dreams as opposed to the family values. For instance, at the beginning of the movie, Miguel wants to realize his dream and become a renowned musician; but because his entire family banned music from their lives, he cannot achieve it. During the whole film, we could see Miguel go through different obstacles that make him realize a lot of things, like the fact that he could both achieve his desire to become a musician as well as being good and helpful to his family.
The psychological evolution of the different characters involved in Miguel’s quest of music is an aspect that I really loved in this animation movie. In general, his whole family really changes psychologically during the course of the movie. At first, they are all “afraid” of music because they think it is the reason for the break up of their entire family, but then, they realize that music could have benefits for them. We could interpret this as a paradox because instead of being the source of all the problems of the family over multiple generations, music is actually what reconciliates the family.
Besides the moral and familial aspects of the film, I was able to observe some elements that correspond to gothic art and literature. First of all, the main theme is certainly death, which corresponds to one of the main gothic elements. Next, the elements of monster and terror are also found in this movie. For instance, I considered De la Cruz, the international singer, to be the monster in this story, since at the end, we learned that he was the cause of the family break up and that he had killed his own best friend. On the other hand, the aspect of horror is mostly represented when Miguel arrives in the afterlife and realizes that dead people are talking to him and that he is not in the real world anymore. Also, there are supernatural elements in this story, like the presence of different colorful animals with superpowers, like the giant panther with the wings. We generally don’t see this in our lives! 😉
For all these reasons, I think that the movie Coco is a surprisingly good movie. Even though it might seem only dedicated to a young audience, it also reaches an older audience. Even if it is meant to entertain the kids, this film still contains gothic elements that make it, in my opinion, a gothic animation movie. If you’ve never watched it, I sincerely suggest you do so.
P.S: I almost cried at the end of the movie. Another reason to take the time to watch it haha!
Rosalie
R&D Gothic Discoveries 