Coco Spoilers
Spoilers
In Mexican folklore, family curses occur when you steal from the dead. Ernesto stole Hector's songs and guitar after the latter died, thus cursing the guitar to bring Miguel to the Land of the Dead and eventually destroy Ernesto.
The song that Mama Imelda and Ernesto de la Cruz sang towards the end of the film is called "La Llorona", a classic and anonymous Mexican song. One popular interpretation of the song is about a singer feeling trapped by this woman (La Llorona) who has fallen in love with him.
The dog's name, Dante, is a reference to Dante Alighieri, the Italian poet and author of the 'Divine Comedy', originally called 'Comedia'. The Divine Comedy describes Dante's journey through the realm of the dead. In México, the Xoloitzcuintli (the Mexican hairless dog depicted in the film) is the guide of the deceased through his/her way to the Mictlán (the underworld, the place where all the souls go after death).
In Mexican tradition, the ofrenda is an altar that pays tribute to the dead. Within the film, it aids the deceased who can be remembered. However, there is an existing ofrenda tradition that remembers and pays tribute to the dead who have been forgotten. This tradition was left out of the film as it would have derailed the plot.
First Pixar film to show an on screen death of a major character, in this case when Ernesto gets crushed to death by the falling bell. All other deaths in Pixar films have been slightly off-screen, out of view or not in the scene at all.
The character "Ernesto de la Cruz" is inspired by Mexicans singers/actors Pedro Infante and Jorge Negrete, who also made a brief cameo in de la Cruz's party.
Based on the traditional use of the nickname "Coco" in Mexico, the character's real name would very likely be "María del Socorro."
A trumpet and a record player are visible in the bungalow where Chicharrón has his final death and Hector fetches the guitar. At the beginning of the film, a trumpet and record player are the two items (presumably belonging to Hector) thrown out by Imelda when she first bans music. Also in Hector's photo he has one dimple just like Miguel. And the guitar also has a gold tooth on the headstock, just like Hector has. These are all hints implying Hector is Miguel's real great great grandfather.
Ernesto de la Cruz is similar to Charles Muntz from Up (2009). Both of these characters had been idolised by the film's protagonists, both had been accused of being a fraud (fabricating a bird skeleton in Muntz's case, stealing songs in Ernesto's case), and both were revealed as the film's main antagonists through plot twists.
Shares plot elements from previous Pixar films Up (2009) and Inside Out (2015). The former also has a lead who idolizes a character who would later be revealed as the main antagonist. With the latter, a female character starts to forget one of the characters who is starting to become non-existent.
Ernesto de la Cruz is the fifth character in a Pixar animated film to be revealed as the main antagonist in a surprising plot twist. The other four Pixar films to feature such a character are Toy Story 2 (1999) with Stinky Pete the Prospector, Monsters, Inc. (2001) with Henry J. Waternoose III, Up (2009) with Charles Muntz, and Cars 2 (2011) with Sir Miles Axelrod.
In Mexican folklore, "Coco" refers to a ghost who comes from the land of the dead. The monster does not appear in this film, but its name is given to a character who is important to the deceased (Hector's daughter).
Ernesto de la Cruz's duplicity is revealed in a manner similar to the downfall of Lonesome Rhodes in A Face in the Crowd (1957), by having his words and actions broadcast to his adoring fans.
When Miguel is in the land of the dead and has makeup on to blend in, he is made up to look like every other skeleton in Spirit World. The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993).
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Ernesto de la Cruz is the seventh villain in a Pixar film to die, the other six were Hopper in A Bug's Life (1998), Syndrome in The Incredibles (2004), AUTO in WALL·E (2008), Charles Muntz in Up (2009), Mor'du in Brave (2012) and Thunderclap in The Good Dinosaur (2015).
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Throughout the film we see the photo of Miguel's great grandfather, with the face torn off. Before the true identity is revealed, there is a clue in the photo that the figure is not who Miguel thinks it is. The belt buckle seen shows two guitars crossing, implying a double act (I.e. the act of Hector and Ernesto). Whenever we see Ernesto's belt buckle in the film, it just has a flourished decoration, no guitars.
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This is the second Disney film of 2017 to feature a protagonist named Hector whose relationship with his daughter plays a key role in the film's story. The first was Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales (2017).
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Ernesto de la Cruz is similar to Gustaeu from Ratatouille (2007). Both are deceased characters that the Main Character idolises (Remy to be a Cook in Gustaeu case, and Miguel to be a Musician in Ernesto's case), only Ernesto had really been a fake from having stolen his goal from Hector, unlike Gustaeu who happened to be a real Cook in his time.
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Ernesto de la Cruz is similar to El Macho from Illumination's Despicable Me 2 (2013). Both characters are voiced by Benjamin Bratt, and both are the film's main villain.
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