(spoilers, but if you haven't seen it by now I am shocked)
The song Remember Me is sung in the 2017 Disney Pixar movie Coco. It was directed by Lee Unkrich and Adrian Molina, based on Unkrich's original idea. The story follows Miguel, a young boy who is passionate about music and wished to become a musician in a family that despises them. Miguel steals a local famous musician's guitar, Ernesto De La Cruz, to play in a town talent show to prove he can play. All of this takes place on the Día de Muertos or Day of the Dead where he then crosses over to the land of the dead. He runs into his late relatives who help him get back to the land of the living at first without their blessing on him being a musician but over time gives it. He is convinced De La Cruz is his late great great grandfather but turns out a friend that assists him in the land of the dead is actual his real great great grandfather. Miguel needs to return to the land of the living not only to avoid being stuck in the land of the dead but to also help his real great great grandfather Hector, be remember by his great grandmother Coco who is elderly and forgetting him. To help her remember he sings the song Remember Me, which her father always sang to her as a small child.
The song Remember Me is song by multiple people at multiple times in the movie. At first it is one of De La Cruz's famous hits that Miguel knows by heart. Once Miguel learns that De La Cruz stole the song from Hector, he learns Hector sang it to his great grandmother Coco as a child. At the end Miguel returns to the land of the living and plays it for Coco so she can remember her father. This song is the last connection that Hector has with his daughter Coco. He was never able to return to her after his untimely death so long ago and this was the last fond memory he had of her. After meeting Hector and figuring out what happened so long ago, Miguel must play his guitar for Coco against the families wishes who thought Hector had just left the family and not actually been killed by none other than De La Cruz, his bandmate.
Brammer, John Paul. “Pixar’s ‘coco,’ and Looking to Our Ancestors in Times of Struggle.” Them, Them., 19 Oct. 2018, www.them.us/story/pixar-coco-ancestors-death. Accessed 10 Apr. 2024.
“Remember Me - Coco (Pt-BR Credits Version) by Disney Chords and Melody.” Hooktheory, www.hooktheory.com/theorytab/view/disney/remember-me---coco-%28pt-br-credits-version%29#:~:text=In%20terms%20of%20chords%20and,Novelty%20and%20Chord%2DBass%20Melody. Accessed 10 Apr. 2024.
Shimazu, Harrison. “Lessons from Pixar’s Coco: Adding Flavor to Your Chord Progressions - Blog.” Splice, 12 Sept. 2023, splice.com/blog/adding-flavor-to-chord-progressions/. Accessed 10 Apr. 2024.
“Anthony Gonzalez, Ana Ofelia Murguía - Remember Me (Reunion) (from ‘Coco’/Sing-Along).” YouTube, 25 June 2020, www.youtube.com/watch?v=A0azOIk0Kvg. Accessed 10 Apr. 2024.
“Coco (2017 Film).” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 8 Apr. 2024, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coco_(2017_film). Accessed 10 Apr. 2024.
“The Dual Meaning of Coco’s ‘Remember Me.’” Trendeing, 2 May 2019, www.trendeing.com/watch-read-listen/cocos-remember-me/. Accessed 10 Apr. 2024.
“Remember Me (Coco Song).” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 10 Mar. 2024, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Remember_Me_(Coco_song). Accessed 10 Apr. 2024.
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ReplyDeletePrepare to be shocked -- I haven't seen Coco (haha). I'm pretty unenthusiastic about all the 3D animated movies Disney keeps churning out, so maybe that's why I haven't ever really felt an urge to go out of my way to watch it (I think I stopped at Frozen, which...I guess was a long time ago now). The plot seems really twisty and dark for a kid's movie! The song seems like it has a nice message, though -- and presented in a way that's straightforward and to the point. I guess you could say it's sharing a social value of connectedness (whether treasuring the memories of those whom we've lost, or, with the literal meaning of the lyrics, people who are still alive but currently not with us). As a relatively recent movie, it's kind of difficult to analyze for a "social commentary" element, since we're not really far enough away from it to see what "society" it was commenting on -- being in many ways still a part of it. It does seem to be dealing with ideas of separation and death with a kind of "they're always with you in your heart" answer, though, which maybe reflects where we're at as a culture. I feel like 30 years ago, it would've been "they're watching over you from (h/H)eaven," so maybe that's a noticeable change? Anyway, nice post!
ReplyDeleteRemember Me is also one of my favorites from Coco, it's really catchy and I think that it has a good meaning behind it too. Every time the song comes up in conversation it gets stuck in my head for a few hours. The movie is also a good one. It did take me 2 times watching the movie to actually understand it and appreciate it though. Good job summarizing the movie and the social commentary aspect.
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