Disney’s Movie Coco
I have never been a fan of scary movies or movies about beliefs different from my own. But I do believe that things can be learned from nearly anything. My parents always took the opportunity to discuss movies together with us. We would talk about differences in beliefs. The Bible often became our favorite reference when it came to deciding if Hollywood had the story right. This taught us discernment throughout life. We learned to not always take things at face value.
So, I decided to try to do the same for you and offer some help on how to discuss “family movies” with your family. November 2nd is the traditional Mexican celebration of The Day of the Dead. Let’s talk about the 2017 Disney release of Coco.
Coco Movie Synopsis
This film tells of a 12-year-old boy named Miguel who dreamed of becoming a famous musician like his long-dead idol, Ernesto de la Cruz. He attempted to visit the idol’s funeral and play the de la Cruz heritage guitar on his tombstone.Unfortunately, his actions even took him to a place called Land of the Dead, where the dead are. Poor again, there he will meet with his ancestors who forbid the presence of music in the middle of their family.
https://synopsismovie7.blogspot.com/2018/01/coco-2017-synopsis.html
What did I think of the movie?
I was hesitant to watch the movie because of the premise. But I did watch it. Once I got past the going to the Land of the Dead and skeletons and such, I found many valuable lessons that can be learned. I felt plenty of emotions from sadness to joy. Overall, the movie was enjoyable. And I did like the theme of the importance of family.
Sadly, Disney Pixar promotes a lot of “other” religions in their recent films for families. This is dangerous because these ideas and beliefs can find their way into what are children believe as truth. This is an underhanded way that society promotes its “tolerance” world values.
On the other hand, if we use these movies as tools to teach our children, it can be a very good thing. It’s important to have enough openness to listen and learn. When we discuss our beliefs in contrast to the movie, we can teach the truths of our own faith.
Some Questions to Inspire Discussion
The Afterlife
- Talk about your ancestors. Who they were/ What they did.
- Is it ok to remember your ancestors?
- Where do people go when they die? Talk about Heaven and Hell.
- Can people really come back to life?
- Discuss Jesus’ resurrection/ The rapture/second coming/ Lazarus
The Day of the Dead
- Should we build a shrine to our ancestors? Can dead people come back to life and talk with us.
- Discuss Jesus’ Parable of Lazarus and the rich man (Luke 16:19-31)
- Is it ok to have memorials?
- Discuss Joshua building a memorial after crossing the Jordan. (Joshua 3 & 4) How is this memorial different than building a shrine.
Forgiveness/Unforgiveness
- Who was unforgiving in the story of Coco?
- What kind of problems did it cause in the family?
- Discuss these problems and how they could be resolved.
- Are there problems in our own life caused by unforgiveness?
- Discuss the Parable of the Unforgiving Servant. (Matthew 18:21-35)
Other points on the movie
If you would like other pros and cons about the movie, Focus on the Family has a terrific blog called Plugged-in where you can get a Biblical worldview of movies and other media being offered to our children.
Hope this is helpful. If you would like to see more of these, please comment below.
Pastor’s Wife (retired) & Chronic Pain Warrior blogs about how to make it through anything by relating her own life experiences to her writing. She is passionate about her love for the Lord and desires to spread that passion to others. She has a great desire to encourage women who are following behind her.
Yes, I agree that movies like that can be a great starting point for discussion if we pay attention and watch them along with our older children. Your questions for after the movie is finished are so good. It’s important to keep those lines of communication open, and to encourage our children not to be afraid to ask questions. It is a prime opportunity to discuss Scriptures right then.
Thanks, Bettie. I remember my family would always watch the Ten Commandments. We would run to the Bible during commercials and look things up. What’s in the Bible? What is not. It taught me a lot about discernment.
I’ve been meaning to watch this movie—my daughter has seen it multiple times (she shows it to her Spanish classes). Thank you for the helpful discussion questions. It’s important to be consumers who consider, not just consumers.
I was late to watching it also. It came out two years ago. Anyway, it is an enjoyable movie and a great teaching tool.