History WesternAnimation / Coco

* TranslationConvention: [[ZigZaggingTrope Zigzagged]]. In the original screenplay, the characters in the English version of the film spoke only English, with the understanding that they were speaking in Spanish. After speaking to real-life Mexicans and Mexican Americans, they said it would be more realistic-sounding to have a mixture of the two languages, as both Mexican and Mexican-Americans blend the two together constantly. Thus, Lee Unkrich notes that in the English language version, when the characters briefly speak Spanish, it's meant to be understood that they're ''actually'' peppering their Spanish with a bit of English (and vice versa). Appropriately enough, the characters do speak Spanish entirely in the Latin-American Spanish dub.

Canten a coro [[note]]Sing as a chorus[[/note]], let it be known [[note]]dejen conocer[[/note]]\\
Our love for each other [[note]]Nuestro amor por cada uno[[/note]] will live on forever [[note]]vivira por siempre[[/note]]\\
In every beat of my proud corazón!'' [[note]]En cada pulso de mi corazon orgulloso![[/note]]

** With the Woody and Buzz Lightyear pinatas is also a pinata of Mike Wazowski from ''Franchise/MonstersInc''.

** [[Franchise/ToyStory Woody, Buzz]], and [[WesternAnimation/MonstersInc Mike Wazowski]] appear as piñatas.

** With the Woody and Buzz Lightyear pinatas is also a pinata of Mike Wazowski from ''WesternAnimation/MonstersInc''.

* ForWantOfANail: The movie's plot wouldn't have occurred in the first place had Dante not broken a frame holding the family photo of Imelda and Coco with their mystery father.

* AnAesop:
** [[DoubleAesop Miguel and Imelda/Abuelita Elena]] learn to appreciate what they previously opposed:
*** For Miguel: "[[ThickerThanWater Family comes first]]". Because fans may come and go, but your family will love you forever.
*** For Imelda/Abuelita Elena: "Follow your dreams" and "let your children do what they love", which are present in Miguel's passion for music going against his family's traditions.
** "Fame and fortune are pretty meaningless if people have nothing positive to say about you once you're dead."

* ArtisticLicenseReligion: ''Día de los Muertos'' is celebrated over two days. November 1 has the spirits of children coming to visit their families, while November 2 has the adults doing so. In the film, children and adults are shown crossing over together.

** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jh36KGOqHEs Ernesto de la Cruz version.]] With a traditional Ranchero arrangement.
** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2rn0dJI33RI Lullaby version.]] Sung by Héctor to baby Coco during the film.
** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zRK_zAWAvOE Reminiscing version.]] Sung by Miguel and Coco during the film.

* {{Irony}}: ** Héctor needed Miguel to take his photo and find any existing relatives in the Land of the Dead who could send him home with their blessing. What Héctor didn't know at the time was that ''he had it in himself'' to send Miguel to the Land of the Living all along, because he's Miguel's ''real'' great-great-grandfather.

* {{Irony}}: Héctor needed Miguel to take his photo and find any existing relatives in the Land of the Dead who could send him home with their blessing. What Héctor didn't know at the time was that ''he had it in himself'' to send Miguel to the Land of the Living all along, because he's Miguel's ''real'' great-great-grandfather.

* AbandonmentInducedAnimosity: [[spoiler: Hector]] leaving Imelda and Coco alone for his music career left Imelda heartbroken, so she dealt with her pain by throwing out anything that reminded her of him and banning music from her home. In the Land of the Dead, she refuses to have anything to do with her ex (as it's implied that he's tried to make amends several times). [[spoiler: They finally make up at the movie's climax.]]

%% * GettingCrapPastThe Radar: Due to overwhelming and persistent misuse, GCPTR is on-page examples only until 01 June 2021. If you are reading this in the future, please check the trope page to make sure your example fits the current definition.

** The bell that crushed de la Cruz to death came down as he was singing "Remember Me".

** Elena gives one to Miguel as she is marching up to him just as he is about to play guitar for the mariachi guy.

** While Elena's protectiveness to Miguel and her family is genuine, she does in fact threaten people near her family for doing music-related activities and forbidden her family from doing so, which can be hard to sympathize with. And by continuing the Rivera's ban on music to the point that she destroys Miguel's guitar, she begs for the heartache of a missing grandchild.

** While Elena's protectiveness to Miguel and her family is genuine, she does in fact threaten people near her family for doing music-related activities and forbidden her family from doing so, which can be hard to sympathize with. And by continuing the Rivera's ban on music to the point that she destroys Miguel's guitar, she was begging for the heartache of a missing grandchild. It's also implied that people in Santa Cecilia hold a low opinion of the Riveras because of Elena's extreme methods.
** In life, Imelda enforced a rule to never put Héctor's photo on the ofrenda, denying him to cross the marigold bridge and meet Coco. When Miguel first meets her in the Land of the Dead, she is angry over the fact that for the first time in her afterlife, she is denied to cross the marigold bridge because Miguel unwittingly took the ofrenda photo with him trying to follow in his great-great grandpapa's footsteps. This ironically enables a chain of events where she discovers the truth behind her husband's disappearance.

** While Elena's protectiveness to Miguel and her family is genuine, she does in fact threaten people near her family for doing music-related activities and forbidden her family from doing so, which can be hard to sympathize with. And by continuing the Rivera's ban on music to the point that she destroys Miguel's guitar, she was begging for the heartache of a missing grandchild.

* LaserGuidedKarma: Ernesto de la Cruz, who was killed when a bell fell on him in 1942, [[ChekhovsGun has a similar bell fall on him]] after it's revealed in the EngineeredPublicConfession that he poisoned Héctor and stole his songs.