Disney’s Coco: A Parable

Disney’s Coco offers us a parable for Jesus’s most challenging words in all the Bible. Set in the vibrant town of Santa Cecilia, Mexico during its annual Day of the Dead rituals, a young Miguel wrestles with his family heritage that stands in direct opposition to the ache burning in his soul to pursue becoming a musician.

Miguel’s story begins like the plot arcs of so many other Disney characters—Merida in Brave, Rapunzel in Tangled, Ariel in The Little Mermaid, Moana in the movie with her namesake, and more recently, Luca in Luca. Essentially, the main character comes of age by acknowledging their own growing desires and passions—those things that make his or her world go round, heart beat fast, and do crazy things—and goes on a journey to pursue the reason they believe they were put on this earth (or in the ocean)…all that, and against their family’s wishes.

I could see the plot mechanisms unfolding like clockwork. But Disney has gotten oh so good at making it about that thing that you didn’t think it was about. I admit I didn’t see it coming. I had chalked it up to another movie that inspires us to follow our dreams, to not let anything get in the way.

That is until the hero in Miguel’s life becomes the villain. In this surprising twist, Ernesto de la Cruz becomes the pivotal example of a life gone astray. Rather than allow a noble vision and a set of virtues to guide his life, Ernesto’s dream of success becomes so puffed up that it becomes the number one thing. We see right through his monstrous actions to his flawed manifesto to “gain it at all costs.” He does this by taking advantage of people and trample their dreams in the process. He has no qualms about doing whatever he must to get ahead and obtain the prize. All of this is wrapped up in a shiny saying, “seize your moment.” From the platform of his fame, it was the water all his followers were drinking.

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Moana shows us how to pursue your calling and stay true to yourself

Ernesto had all of us fooled. Behind the glossy shell was an empty soul. “Success doesn’t come for free,” he grimly warns as the truth of how he obtained his fame becomes exposed. The movie isn’t so much about following your dream as it is about having integrity when you chase that dream, which becomes your destiny.

“It’s about having integrity when you chase that dream, which becomes your destiny.”

Matthew 16:26 says, “What will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?” As it turns out, Ernesto traded in his moral character for fame and fortune. The closer Miguel gets to Ernesto, the more he smells the stench of his demise. Ernesto was lured by the temptation of worldly success as the end goal; performance and popularity became identity markers. He was willing to rob life from others in order to get these things.

Jesus warned of this. He knew the temptation because he too had been tempted. While caught up in the wilderness for 40 days, he knew his identity was that of the beloved Son of God, and yet Satan attacked his identity from every angle: “Here, find it in performance, in popularity, in pleasure,” Satan essentially lured. Jesus refused. The whole of Jesus’s teaching is that of an upside-down kind of kingdom. One you won’t find in this world nor can make sense of by worldly standards.

“What will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul?” -Matthew 16:26

This upside-down kingdom reality caused Jesus to rebuke his disciple Peter right after affirming him. Peter wanted to protect Jesus from his impending suffering and death, but Jesus gets right to it: “You are a stumbling block to me,” he tells Peter. “You do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men” (Matthew 16:23) Peter just wanted the easy, comfortable, happy ending in that moment. Jesus had in mind what was better.

Jesus continues to instruct not only Peter but the whole of his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For…” and here is it: “whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it” (vv. 24-25). So often, we are prone to giving up the most important thing for the lesser thing. We want what we want, and nothing will stop us from having it.

I’ve personally gotten myself into plenty of trouble living this way. Miguel too must learn the painful lesson that, as one of his relatives wisely imparts, “some things matter more than music.” No gift is worth losing the greatest gift. We must pursue all of our dreams in life without forgetting what’s most important in the process. As the great hymn “My Hope is Built on Nothing Less,” pronounces over our souls, “On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand; All other ground is sinking sand, all other ground is sinking sand.“

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Jenna

Jenna Kruse is a teacher but not in a classroom. She loves to think outside the box and inside the Word and is daily in need of an attitude adjustment. She is a wife to Justin, a mother to three school-aged children, and a mentor to teenagers and young adults. You can learn more about the heart behind her blog HERE.

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