whiteplum:

*rises from the grave* Why yes, I’m alive after being buried under a pile of work. That and I spent whatever small amount of free time I had to read the Coco novelization, which provided a lot of extra stuff and backstory which weren’t shown in the film. Here are my favorite parts of the book. Spoilers incoming!

• Hector’s past attempts to cross the marigold bridge are hilarious. Before Frida, he tried to disguise himself as Diego Rivera, pretended to be an alebrije, and even considered dividing his bones and putting it in separate purses to transport himself to the Land of the Living
• Despite Imelda’s ban on music, Coco subconsciously found ways to enjoy it. She loved dancing, regularly sneaked out to the plaza to dance with Julio and eventually fell in love with him because of it 😭
• “But Mama, it can’t be as bad as we think. After all, music and dancing is how I met Julio.” “And shoes, m’ija, is how you will stay with him.” 😭😭😭
• Pls I admire Imelda’s conviction but I also love how Coco never held a grudge against music (and her papa ugh I’m getting emotional) inspite of what her mama told her about it
• Imelda had a pet cat when she was alive
• Oscar and Felipe loved to experiment with shoe designs and tried to create ones with multiple functions
• Coco thought of shoe making as a chore but Elena loved it even when she was little lol
• Victoria and Elena inherited Imelda’s no nonsense attitude
• Coco often thought about her papa even after she became a mother herself. Her memory of their time together was hazy but she remembered how she felt when she was with him and associated these happy feelings with music 😭
• Miguel’s secret hideout was originally Coco’s! She secretly danced to her father’s songs asdfghjkl my heart hurts guhhh
• Imelda, being the badass woman that she is, created a shoe empire in the Land of the Dead too
• The Riveras went to the rehearsal place and Rosita and Victoria had fun tinkering with the stage controls. No wonder they knew exactly what to do at sunrise
• I love how Hector admonished Miguel for saying that family only gets in the way of him following his heart and dreams 😭
• Hector: “When I follow my heart, guess where it leads? It leads to my family.” Miguel: “Then why are you alone?” 😭😭😭
• The Riveras, not just Coco, loved music naturally and only stopped themselves from enjoying it because of Imelda’s ban
• Miguel was nervous that Ernesto won’t accept him but Hector assured him that he’s cool and talented and that Ernesto would love him
• “You think he’ll let me play music? You think he’ll teach me?” “Of course. That’s what great-great-grandpas do.” 😭😭😭
• Can we appreciate the fact that Hector genuinely cared for Miguel even when he thought he was Ernesto’s family? Even after Ernesto stole his songs and most likely ignored him in the afterlife???
• Before the performance, Hector told Miguel to pretend that he was singing to someone he loves and said this was what he always do when he sings. Ohmygod my emotions! 😩
• Coco sang to Miguel when he was a baby and she knew by then that he would take after her papa
• The Riveras comparing Miguel’s stubborness to Imelda’s lol
• Hector left Santa Cecilia for music and because he thought he could get inspiration and a living out of it. He got homesick and thought he could always be a musician even if he returned to his hometown
• Hector and Ernesto grew up together and he thought of Ernesto as family asdfghjkl
• Miguel calling Hector “Papa Hector” for the first time 😭😭😭
• Miguel began to genuinely appreciate shoe making when he learned the dancing shoes in his hideout were Coco’s 😭 He fixed the shoes and offered it to her grave
• Hector’s new shoes are (obviously) made by Imelda 😭
• The Riveras singing together while they cross the mairgold bridge ahhhhh
• And of course, everyone singing and dancing together in the Rivera hacienda 😭
• You think I’d be less emotional after seeing the film 4 times but nope. The book made me cry again wtf