Coco

The World of the Living (Present)

• Great-grandmother Coco (Mamá Coco) - His biological great-grandmother. The most important person for Miguel. She is very old, barely speaks, and is losing her memory, but Miguel shares his deepest secrets with her. She is the daughter of Hector and Imelda.
• Abuelita Elena — The grandmother (Mama Coco's daughter). She now rules the household with an iron fist in the Living World. She fanatically honors family traditions, hates music more than anyone else, and is ready to protect Miguel from any "harmful" influence (even with the help of her famous slipper).
• Enrique and Luisa Rivera - Miguel's parents. His father teaches Miguel the family craft of shoemaking, and his mother spends the entire story waiting for the birth of Miguel's little sister.

💀 World of the Dead (Ancestors)

• Mama Imelda (Mama Coco's mother, Elena's grandmother) - Great-great-grandmother. The founder of the shoe business and the matriarch of the family. For Miguel, she is a legendary and intimidating figure, who established the main family taboo on music.
• Héctor — Mama Coco's great-great-grandfather (Imelda's husband). Miguel initially doesn't know about their relationship and thinks he's just a random homeless guide. Héctor is the musician who left the family for his career and whose face was ripped off the family portrait.
• Papa Julio (Papá Julio) – Great-grandfather (Mama Coco's late husband, Imelda's son-in-law). In the Underworld, he is the first to recognize Miguel and tries to help him return home.
• Tía Rosita – Deceased great-aunt (Papa Julio's sister). A very kind and sentimental woman who sincerely empathizes with Miguel.
• Tío Oscar and Tío Felipe – Deceased great-granduncles (twin brothers of Mama Imelda).

🎭 Strangers (Not Relatives)

• Ernesto de la Cruz - A stranger, Hector's former partner. Throughout the film, Miguel mistakenly believes him to be his great-great-grandfather, because in an old family photo, the man was holding de la Cruz's famous guitar. In reality, Ernesto is a traitor.

Appearance in the World of the Dead

Imelda's posthumous incarnation reflects her status as an undisputed leader:
• Silhouette and posture: Tall, stately, impeccably straight skeletal woman. Her movements are graceful, but they convey authority and military discipline.
• Face (Skull): Has stern, sharp features. Subtle purple Day of the Dead-style makeup is applied to her brow bones and cheekbones, accentuating her stern gaze. Her dark, thick hair, with a striking gray streak, is styled into an intricate, updo.
• Clothing: She is wearing a luxurious but formal, deep purple, high-necked dress in the style of Mexican Art Nouveau of the late 19th century. A wide leather corset, more like armor, cinches her waist. A light shawl drapes over her shoulders.
• Key detail: She always wears impeccable, perfectly polished leather heeled boots. As the creator of a shoe empire, she does not tolerate flaws in her shoes.
Her personal guard and reflection of her fierce character in the World of the Dead is Pepita - a giant winged jaguar-alebrije, who unquestioningly obeys only her.

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• Character: Fierce, formidable, loyal and majestic predator. Spiritual guardian of Imelda's mother.
• Appearance: A gigantic alebrije creature. It combines the body of a massive jaguar, powerful eagle wings, ram's horns, and a reptilian tail. Its body glows in neon colors: bright green, blue, yellow, and purple.

Rivera Family (Deceased Ancestors)

• Mama Imelda
• Character: A powerful, stern, unwavering woman with an iron will. The matriarch of the family, who, after her husband's betrayal, burned music out of her life and built a successful shoe business. Beneath her toughness and strictness, she conceals boundless love and a willingness to protect her family to the last.
• Appearance: A stately, majestic skeletal woman. She wears a severe yet refined purple dress in the style of the late 19th century with a high collar and a leather corset. Her dark hair is styled in an intricate hairstyle with gray streaks. She wears impeccable boots of her own making.
• Papa Julio (Papá Julio)
• Character: Gentle, fussy, good-natured and easily panicked. Miguel's great-grandfather, who submits to Imelda's authority in everything, but is genuinely happy to meet a living descendant.
• Appearance: Short, frail skeleton. Wears traditional work pants with suspenders, a simple shirt, and round glasses that constantly slip off his skull.
• Tía Rosita and Tío Oscar / Tío Felipe
• Personality: Rosita is an emotional, sentimental, and incredibly sensitive aunt, prone to violent expressions of feelings. Twin brothers Oscar and Felipe are inseparable, synchronously thinking men who often finish each other's sentences.
• Appearance: Rosita is a large skeleton woman wearing a traditional frilly dress and a colorful apron. The twins are identical skeletons with thick mustaches, dressed in classic Mexican revolutionary-era costumes.

Animal guides

• Dante
• Character: Clumsy, hyperactive, loyal, but completely chaotic dog. Has a comedic character, does not sense danger, but intuitively fulfills the role of a spiritual guide (guide of souls).
• Appearance: A real Xoloitzcuintle (Mexican Hairless Dog) with dark gray, wrinkled skin, no fur at all, and few teeth, causing his long tongue to hang out.

• Ernesto de la Cruz
• Character: Narcissistic, charismatic, calculating, ruthless, and egocentric. The greatest musician in the history of Mexico, hiding behind the mask of a noble, majestic artist and public favorite is the cold soul of a killer, ready to commit any crime for the sake of eternal glory.
• Appearance: A flawless, perfectly white skeleton whose teeth gleam dazzlingly. He looks like an absolute star of the golden age of cinema. Dressed in a luxurious, silver-embroidered white mariachi (Mexican musician) suit and a massive sombrero, his movements are theatrical, graceful, and full of dignity.

• Hector
• Character: A tragic, ironic, and deeply lonely wanderer. He possesses the innate charm of an adventurer, and is prone to melancholy and black humor. His main driving force is a desperate fear of disappearing forever and a burning longing for his once abandoned daughter.
• Appearance: An emaciated, frail skeleton whose bones have a dull, yellowish tint due to neglect. A crack in his hip causes him to limp. He is dressed in picturesque rags: a tattered straw hat, a torn purple vest, and a frayed neckerchief. He goes barefoot.

• Miguel Rivera
• Personality: A passionate, stubborn, and rebellious teenager. He harbors a fanatical devotion to music, which clashes sharply with his family duty. He is willing to take desperate risks for the sake of his dreams.
• Appearance: A lively 12-year-old boy with a shock of dark hair and a distinctive dimple on one cheek. He wears simple everyday clothes: a red hoodie, a white T-shirt, and jeans. When entering the Underworld, he is forced to disguise himself as a skeleton—his face is painted to resemble a traditional sugar skull (calavera).

• Ordinary citizens inhabit colorful city neighborhoods where markets, coffee shops and theaters operate.
• Alebrijes are spirit guides who inhabit this world. They appear as chimeras, combining parts of different animals (for example, winged jaguars or horned bats), and have bright luminescent colors. They guard souls and help them.

The Law of Final Death

The most tragic and profound law of this universe is that the World of the Dead is not eternal. Souls live there only as long as at least one living person on Earth remembers them.
Those who are finally forgotten move to the poor outskirts of the city—to the slums by the water. When the last memory in the World of the Living fades, the spirit of the deceased dissolves in a golden glow. This is called Final Death, after which the person disappears forever.

In Aztec mythology and the Day of the Dead (Día de los Muertos) traditions that form the basis of this universe, the Underworld is not a gloomy or frightening place, but a majestic, vibrant, and endlessly vibrant metropolis-kingdom where life continues after the earthly end.
Here's how this dimension is structured if we look at it as a real mythical ecosystem:

Architecture and space

The world of the dead is constructed in the form of colossal vertical skyscraper towers, soaring high into the sky. Ancient Mesoamerican pyramids form the foundations of these structures. Buildings from different eras are layered upon them: colonial Spanish houses, Victorian estates, early 20th-century railway stations, and modern glass structures. This architecture literally reflects human history—the city grows upward as new generations arrive.
All of this shimmers with billions of lights, and futuristic cable cars and flying express trains run between the towers.

Border and customs

The world of the dead and the world of the living are separated by a deep chasm, spanned by majestic bridges woven from millions of orange marigold petals. These petals glow from within with a magical golden light.
At the entrance to the bridges, there is strict border control, reminiscent of a modern airport terminal. The deceased pass through digital scanners that verify whether their living relatives have placed photographs on family altars (ofrendas).
• If there is a photograph, the person receives permission to cross the bridge and visit the World of the Living for one night.
• If there is no photograph, the access control system blocks the exit.

Society and everyday life

The inhabitants of this world are skeletons, but they retain the same character, habits, clothing style, and social status they had in life. A vibrant sociocultural life flourishes here:
• The elite and bohemians (famous musicians, actors, artists) live in luxurious palaces, throw grand private parties and perform in huge stadiums.