Why is stealing De la Cruz guitar a family matter?
In Disney’s movie Coco (2017), Miguel is cursed for stealing from the dead, which is the reason he ends up in the land of the dead, as it is explained by a clerk:
CLERK
Well, you're cursed.
The family gasps.
MIGUEL
What?!
The clerk searches through a huge stack of papers.
CLERK
Día de los Muertos is a night to
GIVE to the dead. You STOLE from the dead.
MIGUEL
But I wasn't stealing the guitar!
And he proceeds to explain how breaking the curse would be easy because it is a family matter:
Mamá Imelda turns to the clerk, fire in her eyes.
MAMÁ IMELDA
How do we send him back?!
CLERK
Well, since it's a family matter...
(flipping pages)
The way to undo a family curse is
to get your family's blessing.
MIGUEL
That's it?
CLERK
Get your family's blessing, and
everything SHOULD go back to
normal. But you gotta do it by
sunrise!
...but it isn’t truly a family matter: Miguel didn’t steal from his own family, he stole from Ernesto De la Cruz who isn’t really related to him. So how is it possible for Mamá Imelda to send him back? How is the curse a family thing?
Best Answer
Well, the guitar was actually revealed to belong to Hector in later part of the movie. So in a way, it is indeed a family matter.
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Why did Miguel steal the guitar?
In one of the original plots of Coco, Miguel (when he was known as Marco) had cursed the deceased Riveras with endless singing every time they speak when he took it, which led to them hunting him down for the guitar so they could destroy it to break the curse.What does Miguel steal from de la Cruz?
Miguel loves music and wants to be a musician someday, but music is banned in his house. His abuelita finds his guitar and smashes it, so Miguel steals the guitar of his favorite deceased musician, Ernesto de la Cruz, and plays it. This sends Miguel into the Land of the Dead where he meets dead members of his family.What does the guitar represent in Coco?
The photo Miguel found at the start of the movie showing his great-great-grandfather holding Ernesto's famous guitar was really a picture of Hector. This wasn't the only clever foreshadowing hiding at the beginning of "Coco." The stray dog Miguel feeds, Dante, is eventually revealed to be an alebrije, or spirit guide.Is De La Cruz a villain?
Character informationErnesto de la Cruz is the main antagonist of the 2017 Disney\u2022Pixar animated feature film Coco. He was a famous singer and musician who dazzled audiences with his good looks and his charm and was a source of Mexican pride. After his untimely death, his soul resides in the Land of the Dead.COCO Movie-Ernesto de la Cruz Death Scenes
More answers regarding why is stealing De la Cruz guitar a family matter?
Answer 2
You are right, the guitar did not belong to De La Cruz so Miguel could did not get cursed from that. If you watch it again you will notice that when Dante comes up to him he takes a chicken or turkey leg off of one of the graves and throws it to him. THIS is what gets him cursed.
Answer 3
I think the first conversation clears that out.
The curse came from stolen something from the death, not necessarily from his family, but from taken something that belong to someone already dead.
So, in the same way alive persons can keep dead people alive with their memories, dead people can help "alive" (Miguel was half alive half dead) in some other ways. That is why this became a family matter. So, the family wasn't cursed, but Miguel was, and the only ones able to help him were his relatives, therefore, a blessing comming from your family was the only solution.
I think Disney tried to explain this in the very next scene, where Miguel take the guitar again. The blessing specifically stated that he must "never play music again!". So, he never plays the guitar, and still he goes back to the "dead" land. This ilustrates that, the cursed one was Miguel and the only ones to bless him were his relatives, explaining the "family matter".
Hope it helps.
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