Why Coco is NOT a Book of Life Ripoff

MegaSoulhero Something that has been bothering me since 2015 is the fact that people have been calling Pixar’s upcoming film Coco a Book of Life ripoff. Even before we saw any trailers for it. I thought for sure that people would get over it and not call it that anymore, but no. People still think it’s ripping off Book of Life. And I’m here to tell you why it’s not a ripoff of that other animated film.

Keep in mind, as I’m typing this, I haven’t seen Coco yet. But I have seen Book of Life. It’s a good movie. I really like it. And from the trailers and clips we’ve seen of Coco, sure it has some similarities with Book of Life such as the main character playing a guitar despite his relatives not letting him, him ending in the land of the dead, and it taking place during the Day of the Dead, but that’s not enough to call it a ripoff. I mean, just because one movie is about the Day of the Dead doesn’t mean other movies can’t be about that same holiday. Have you seen how many Christmas movies there are? I don’t know a lot about Mexican culture, but the filmmakers of Coco actually had to travel to Mexico and study their cultures so the film could be accurate. Plus, it was in production before Book of Life even came out. So if it were to steal elements, it would probably just be a coincidence. But from what I’ve seen, there are many differences. For example, Book of Life was about the main character trying to win over a girl. So it was a love story. It’s pretty clear in Coco that love doesn’t play a major role. It’s mostly about Miguel wanting to follow his dream of becoming a musician. So I guess you can kind of say that it’s a love story, but not in the way that we’re used to. It’s basically Miguel’s love of music. I can totally relate to that since I have a love for music.

Another thing is that in Book of Life, Manolo sacrifices himself and ends up in the Land of the Dead so he could be with his love interest. In Coco, Miguel ends up in the Land of the Dead in hopes of finding out more about his family history. Unlike Manolo, Miguel doesn’t die. He simply ends up in the Land of the Dead by using some sort of guitar. While still being alive. So yeah, totally different plots. And I’m sure there are more differences in the story, but again, I haven’t watched it yet, so we’ll find out soon enough. Yet people still can’t help but compare the two because they’re both animated films and they’re both about the Day of the Dead. Also, the main plot point of Coco is Miguel being trapped in the Land of the Dead. Sonthat will be the focus of the film whereas in Book of Life, they didn’t spend too much time on Manolo being in that land and it was mostly part of the second half of the film. So to say that Coco is doing exactly what Book of Life did is a pretty big exaggeration. The movie has already been released in Mexico and it’s been getting a lot of positivity with people even saying that it’s not like the Book of Life at all. So that’s a good sign.

I’m excited for Coco. I’m going to an annual passholder screening of it on the 18th at Disneyland. Despite having some similarities to Book of Life, it still looks like a completely different film. I’m really looking forward to seeing it.

Comments

Spot on. Man, it's already been twice this week where I've been wanting to make a post on a certain topic, but then someone else makes a post and takes the words right out of my mouth. Anyways, it's nice to see you break down why Coco is its own unique movie and not a Book of Life ripoff like everyone else has been saying it to be. - visitor

Day of the Dead is an event that anyone can use. I see more Kubo and the 2 Strings in it. - 445956

I think the only thing they have in common is that the dead people look skeletal and the main character has a talent for music. Particularly with singing and a guitar. Other than that, they're really different movies. Both good but different. - RoseRedFlower