Prior to its release, I had no plans of watching the movie Coco. While I had seen a couple of commercials and advertisements, the story seemed somewhat predictable and cliche. Coco tells the story of a young Mexican boy, named Miguel, who aspires to be a musician despite being in a shoe-making family that deeply disapproves of music. The movie takes place on the Day of the Dead, in which he conveniently gets stuck in the Land of the Dead.

It was not until after the movie was released that I was bombarded with posts on my Twitter feed about how amazing it was that I suddenly became extremely interested. How good could this movie really be? Is it really that much of a tearjerker? I had to see for myself.

My skepticism lingered at the beginning of the movie. I appreciated the authenticity and cultural sensitivity that was present in showcasing the background of the family, the story still seemed awfully predictable. Within the family’s history, it is revealed that their hatred for music stems from a great great grandfather who was once an ambitious musician. Conveniently, a famous singer named Ernesto de la Cruz is introduced. The pieces seemed to fit perfectly.

It wasn’t until the Day of the Dead began in the movie that the plot became much more interesting and complicated. The bridge between life and death becomes crossable and  Miguel finds himself stuck in the land of the dead. He is swept into a journey with his two companions, a dog named Dante and a trickster named Hector, where he uncovers the truth about his family history.

The movie pulls at your heartstrings with its heartwarming lessons about the importance of family, pursuing your dreams, love, life, and death. The songs placed throughout the movie match the standards of a typical Disney musical– in other words, great and very likely to be stuck in your head for the next month.

I was constantly tearing up. By the end of the movie, I was sobbing.

In addition to the emotional storyline, the movie had absolutely stunning visuals. The Land of the Dead was as equally vibrant and colorful as the Land of the Living. The way the orange petals glowed continues to stay in my mind.

Needless to say, my initial thoughts about the movie were wrong. If you are anything like me and cry frequently, my advice would be to bring tissues.