Coco: My grandma's tiger is OP

Watched Coco with my kid last night. Second time.

Still a great movie. Interesting world-building, great plot twist with the great-great-grandfather, the photo scene was heartbreaking, “Remember Me” is still incredibly catchy. Definitely in my top 10 Disney movies I’ve been forced to watch recently.

But as a guy who loves finding bugs, two things still bother me just like the first time.

Miguel’s singing makes me cringe

First: Miguel’s singing voice.

Sorry, but I genuinely don’t like it. Every time he starts singing, I want to fast-forward. Maybe it’s because they were targeting the Latin American market? Maybe I’m just not the target audience as an Asian dude?

The crying version of “Remember Me” at the end was actually good. But still, what a shame.

Would it sound better if Miguel was a girl instead of a boy? Though that would change the entire story.

Grandma’s tiger is ridiculously overpowered

The first issue is just my personal taste in music. The second one is more absurd.

Great-great-grandma Imelda’s Spirit Animal is literally a bug in the system.

A flying rainbow tiger that basically dominates in the Land of the Dead. Chasing people, fighting, aerial combat—it can do everything. It’s like having cheat codes enabled.

In contrast, what about the villain de la Cruz?

This guy who’s supposedly “the greatest musician of all time,” remembered by millions, this superstar, somehow… doesn’t even have a spirit animal?

It’s like playing Pokemon battles, but your opponent doesn’t even have a Pidgey—they have to fight with their bare hands.

So unfair!

What’s the logic behind spirit animals?

I started seriously researching this. Why does Imelda have an SSR-tier tiger while the villain has nothing?

The movie doesn’t explain it, so I started theorizing:

Theory 1: Spirit animals represent mental strength

Imelda raised her daughter alone, started a shoe business, protected her whole family—mental fortitude MAX. So she gets a super strong tiger.

But wait, the villain was obsessed enough to kill for fame. That kind of psycho should have strong mental fortitude too, right? He should at least get an evil version spirit animal? Like a black… snake?

Theory 2: Only good people get spirit animals

So it’s a moral judgment system? The afterlife automatically identifies good and bad people and distributes Pokemon accordingly?

That’s very… shounen manga.

Wait, Disney IS shounen!

Overpowered protagonist vibes

The entire second half of the movie, power-wise, is just “my grandma’s tiger is invincible.”

The villain gets chased and beaten with no way to fight back. Complete power domination, zero suspense.

It feels like those reincarnation urban fantasy novels: “Immortal Emperor reborn in high school, one punch defeats school bully.” Satisfying? Yes. But lacks tension.

If Pixar had spent some time explaining the rules of spirit animals, or just not included this poorly-explained mechanic at all, it might have been better.

Lesson for myself

But then again…

If mental strength really determines your Pokemon’s power level in the afterlife, we should all start training now.

I’m going to keep writing about the Player Mindset, training my willpower, hoping to get a Charizard when I die.

At least a Pikachu, right?

Showing up in the Land of the Dead without even a Caterpie would be too embarrassing.