Disney Pixar’s Coco is just one of those movies. One moment, you’re bobbing your head, humming along with the music. And the next, you’re rubbing the mist out of your eyes. Both visually and sonically, this film is a masterpiece. And it is saturated with so many different themes. I could write on El Dia De Los Muertos. Or how this movie is a social commentary on families being separated at the border. Or immigration. Or the quotes: “Seize your moment” or “Nothing’s more important than family”. There are so many different themes that are woven throughout this movie. And yet, this piece will only touch on the theme song: Remember Me.
Ernesto de la Cruz
Ernesto de la Cruz is introduced to us as “one of the most beloved singers in Mexican history”. And at the movie’s five and a half minute mark— that’s when we hear it: Remember Me.
With an upbeat tempo, surrounded by flashy lights and dozens of background dancers, Ernesto de la Cruz sings this song as he ascends on an escalator. “Remember Me! Though I have to say goodbye, Remember Me! Don’t let it make you cry…until you’re in My arms again, Remember Me!”
It is pretty clear from his very first scene, but we continue to see it through the entirety of the movie: Ernesto de la Cruz is a narcissist. Everything that he does is for his own legacy. He doesn’t care about anyone but himself. Whether he is hosting dinner parties or walking his friend to the train station, everything is done out of selfish ambition. Even him jumping into the pool to save Miguel was self-serving. It can be argued that he only did it because it would look good in front of a lot of people. For we see, at the end of the movie, that he acts and speaks differently when he thinks no one is watching (although the camera was broadcasting everything to the entire audience). And to top it all off, we can even presume that Ernesto abandoned his family so that he could preserve his own legacy. When Miguel thought that Ernesto was his great great grandfather who had abandoned his family, he asked him: “Did you ever regret it…leaving your family?” And Ernesto replied with, “Si. But, I could not have done it differently. One cannot deny who one is meant to be.”
And so this catchy song that we’ve been humming along to— we finally realize that it’s an anthem of narcissism. It’s a song that just revolves around “me”. Remember me! Don’t let my absence make you cry. It’s all about Me. Me. Me.
Héctor Rivera
But then Coco reveals its brilliance, and everything changes.
“Remember me,” Héctor sings as we watch a memory of him kneeling next to his daughter’s bed, “Though I have to say goodbye, remember me. Don’t let it make you cry…” I’m not sure if he was talking his daughter, Coco, or to me. But, that’s when I used my finger to rub the tear that was trying to form on the inside of my eye. And as Coco tilts her head in admiration of her father, he sings: “I hold you in my heart. I sing a secret song to you each night we are apart. Remember me.”
And all of a sudden, this narcissistic song becomes one of the most tender and beautiful father-daughter love songs (and maybe the only) in all of Disney. It’s the same exact lyrics. Nothing is changed. Just the tempo, the tune, and the context. It’s not about some self-obsessed man who walked out on his family wanting everyone to remember him. It’s about a father who loves his daughter. It’s about a father who wishes that he could be with his daughter (which is why he decided to abandon his career). It’s about a father who wanted his daughter to know and remember just how much he loved her. It’s about a father who wanted to have his daughter’s affections. And it’s about a father who wanted to assure his daughter that he would return to be with her again.
Jesus
Is this not the theme song that our Everlasting Father has given to us?
Remember Me (Luke 22:19). Though I have to say goodbye (John 16:7). Remember Me. Don’t let it make you cry (John 20:13)…know that I’m with you the only way that I can be (Matthew 28:20)…Remember me!
Jesus is not a narcissist. Yes, He is worthy of all of our thoughts, honor, and worship. But this refrain in His Word, the Lord’s Supper that we take, it is meant to comfort us. It’s not about some self obsessed man who lived a great life and wants everyone to remember him. It’s about an Everlasting Father who loves His children. It’s about an Everlasting Father who wishes that He could be with His children (which is why He died). It’s about an Everlasting Father who wants His children to know and remember just how much He loves them. It’s about an Everlasting Father who wants to have His children’s affections. And it’s about an Everlasting Father who wants to assure His children that He will return to be with them again.
And that is why we take the Lord’s supper. Remember Him.