2022 babey!!!

Anyway. Go watch encanto

Encanto has a much better terrible family member redemption than coco because coco 1: spends way too much time making hectors actions out to be not that bad while encanto is brutally honest, 2: alma was abusive towards her family because of intergenerational trauma while hector left out of selfishness and 3: alma realised how badly she'd messed everything up, acknowledged it, apologised to mirabel for everything without excuses and vowed to be better. Hectors wife got back with him because she just loves him too much it overpowered common sense and we never hear a word about how coco felt about her absen father beyond loving him

Alma is still alive so the message of encanto is that as long as all parties are willing to acknowledge the root of the problem and change then theres nothing that cant be rebuilt. But hector is long dead. The message of coco isnt ABOUT rebuilding families, its about closure. You can have closure without forgiveness but you cant have it when you choose to forget. Hector deserved the base sympathy and help you would afford anyone, but the problem was still his fault and i found it very insidious they added ernesto as a villain to try and subtly shift blame off of hector. Nonono its not a matter of a man abandoning his wife and young daughter listen to the song he wrote her!! Its the evil bad guys fault he couldnt go back!!! He hated being on the road!!! Please feel bad for the deadbeat dad!!!! The song!!!!!!!

Coco had a right to remember hector. Whether they stay or not or whether their impact was good or bad, people who enter your life change you. Its important to remember, and not bury the past, even if its painful, so we can understand and not repeat it in the present. Hector didnt need to get back with his wife to deliver that message. He didnt need a literal murderer to look good next to. He needed the treatment alma got. He is old and he is tired and he is hurt but he was WRONG. He hurt his family irreparably. That doesnt mean you cant sympathise with him. But sympathise with him as the old man who deeply regrets his mistakes and every second he wasted without his daughter who only wants to see her one last time- not as some poor little meowmeow with a laundry list of excuses