Swimming in Fantasy

I've always gotten super excited about movies and stuff, but this year it's been more intense than usual. Probably because I'm not in school anymore, and I've been mostly working for my Mom and writing. So, not nearly as much social interaction as I've always had before (This obviously excludes my summer job).
I guess I've been latching onto fictional characters XD

The first thing I got hooked on doesn't really fit in with the others, but I'll mention it anyway. Breath of the Wild was a truly excellent distraction for me. For an entire month it made me feel better because my brain was sucked into the game. Then, of course, something else happened to pretty much drag me back to the beginning.


At the beginning of summer, I got a new wave of Steven Universe obsession.
The problem is that some of the episodes are pretty emotionally intense. If you're not careful, it can pull you down further.

Then after summer, it shifted to Strange Magic. That movie just made me really happy, so it helped me feel a lot better. And as an added bonus, Strange Magic came with music that I could sing loudly around the house.
(My aunt said that the Bog King is beautifully done. And I think it's cute when he's nervous. So, there you have it, world. The Bog King is both beautiful and cute).


Now, of course, it's Coco that I'm obsessed with. Especially Hector.
It’s been weeks since I first saw Coco, and I’m still thinking about it nonstop.
This is some kind of record. I’ve never gotten this hooked on a movie before.
It also comes with music for me to sing. But most of the songs are pretty short.


Now I'm just going to write to blow off steam XD
Spoiler alerts.

Hector seems like he’d be really fun to hang out with.
Plus he’s super supportive, to the point where he takes a pretty major risk to let Miguel perform for the first time.
I wish I could try some of his methods to shake off nerves. But if I gave "my best grito" and started yelling in the middle of a concert, I'd be kicked out of the band...

And I can’t get over how amazing his animation is. I just love to watch him. How he walks, his expressions, his bones rattling around (and making funny noises when he twists his head on and stuff).

The animation is a huge part of what I love about Hector. It's genius. Yes, I'll probably say that about a dozen more times. Genius~
I’m a sucker for animations. And this one in particular: Pepita, Hector, the Land of the Dead, they’re all gorgeously done. I want to watch them over and over.
It sounds like I'm calling Hector gorgeous.

Hector’s story, as I’ve said, is so freaking heartbreaking.
Oh my god, if wikipedia is to be believed, he was only 21 when he died? Freaking hell, he died so young TT^TT
I wonder if word even got back to his family when he died.
It kind of makes me angry that they made his story so sad. It's like overkill tragic. But a lot of it is never stated directly in the movie. You know it happened. You know that at some point, Hector went to greet Imelda when she arrived in the land of the dead. And then he found out that his family was never going to forgive him, and that he'd be stuck there alone until he finally disappeared.
You can only imagine what happened to him to give him a broken leg, broken arm, cracked rib, and an entirely missing rib.
You can only imagine what that scene at the end was like when Hector is slowly disappearing as Coco forgets him.

I would say that the crazy sadness is almost manipulative, except that so much of it is only hinted at.
But still, Disney, why do you have to make everything awful happen to him? TT^TT

He’s amazingly resilient. He keeps fighting, no matter how many times he gets beaten down. Like when he gets arrested at the bridge, he still tries to convince the officer to help him.

We don't see him scared until Miguel runs away from him. But still, he keeps trying and manages to find Miguel again.
It’s not until they’re stuck in the sink hole that it really seems like he’s lost hope.

When he meets up with his family that first time, there's so much pain on his face. Especially when Imelda says that she wanted to forget him. She has been dealing with his desertion for decades, and it's hard for her to let go of those feelings.
But she does. And she’s freaking awesome when she beats up De la Cruz XD

“That’s for murdering the love of my life!”
“I’m the love of your life?”
“I don’t know! I’m still angry at you.”

And Hector looks so happy TT^TT

During La Llorona, when Hector starts playing guitar, Imelda sings "no dejara de quererte." Those words translate to "I won't stop loving you." It's the first time she really looks lovingly at Hector.

Imelda kicks major butt XD . Meanwhile, Hector just kind of weaves around and swings his fists, not doing much damage. He also doesn't get a single hit on De la Cruz when he first tackles him at the party.
But the poor guy is pretty battered.

The ending is bittersweet, but it's so upbeat that it doesn't even feel that bitter.
Hector never does see Coco alive again. But they end up together as a happy family.
And it makes me disproportionately upset that Miguel and Hector can’t speak to each other anymore. From a creative standpoint I understand it, and I know they couldn’t have done it any different. But I want Miguel to see how well Hector is doing! He even has new shoes from his familia. Just to prove that he's been accepted back with the shoemakers.
After such extreme "sads," the ending feels crazy happy.

And when Hector goes to cross over the bridge at the end, he's so scared that he’ll be thrown out. Or that he’ll sink into the flowers again. He probably has no way of knowing that there was another photo of him.
But it’s okay! For the first time in almost a century, he can visit the Land of the Living.
Despite everything they had to go through, everything's okay.