The team at Disney & Pixar strike gold again. Coco is a superbly delightful animation about death that will make you feel more than alive. Most of the characters on screen may be skeleton, but this fleshed out, thoughtful plot is meaty and very human.

Disney/Pixar collaborations have imagined talking toys, talking fish, talking cars, superhero families...and now comes a first: a children's film all about death. That's not the only reason you'll be talking about Coco though. It does what Disney Pixar does best - it takes you on a journey that includes laughter (with a strong possibility of tears), and teaches you a lesson or two along the way. Coco's main theme is all about family, and boy does it hit home.

Mexico's famous Day of the Dead has been famous on-screen in the past in James Bond's Spectre, but now comes a family friendly film all about this national holiday, and it goes further with no shortage of detail whilst respectfully celebrating a variety Mexican traditions in a compelling (even if far-fetched) sweet story. In the opening credits, we are introduced to 12 year old Miguel (voiced by Anthony Gonzalez) and his family tree, going way back to his great-great-grandmother whose story is that her husband left home to pursue a career in music, turning his back on family, and never returning. Thus, music has been banned through the generations and their family are now successful shoe-makers. But wait - plot twist, Miguel secretly loves music and wants to become a musician just like his idol Ernesto De La Cruz! In an expected unexpected turn of events (if you've seen the trailer), Miguel is turned invisible-slash-dead and passes through to the spirit-like world.

Hold the phone - you're probably thinking this is some sort of horrible horror film about ghosts? The premise is the same as IRL, that on this one day of the year, the dead can pass over and visit their living relatives. Nope, still not a horror but the honouring of ancestry. There's bright orange Marigold flower petals to guide the way, feasts and presents galore. The catch is that your photo needs to be on the other side and you must be remembered by the living, hence the importance of the family story. Run with it; it makes sense-ish. However, when Miguel inadvertently steals from the dead, he's stuck in limbo and even though he gets to meet his skeleton (but not scary) family, he's gradually becoming more and more permanently dead. To return to the living, he must have his family blessing, but this is a nearly two-hour film so obviously it was never going to be straightforward. For starters, could Miguel's long lost great-great-grandfather be the one and only De La Cruz!? Will he run out of time and die!? (Ok, this one's even more obvious because obviously not, but there was once a time we thought the Toy Story gang would be burned in a furnace...)

Cue the Formula of a rebellious and rash teen, quirky and unexpected sidekick, quirky animal sidekick, a baddie and some sort of time pressure to complete a task that will end up becoming an adventure. Also this is Disney Pixar so add in an emotional punch and a couple of twists. And some songs.

A majority of film takes place in The Land of the Dead, and this is definitely a gorgeously colourful highlight. The designers have gone to town visualising this entire world with its cities of stacked houses, but there are still some apparently authentic Mexican touches such as cenotes (water pits) and alebrijes (brightly coloured mythical creatures). Not to mention bringing to life the dead family members and giving them defined character and non-freaky faces. In particular, watch out for stern music-hating Imelda (Alanna Ubach - the great-great-grandma), unlucky trickster Hector (Gael Garcia Bernal - the quirky sidekick), and universally-adored De La Cruz (Benjamin Bratt).

You're probably thinking...why isn't this film called Miguel? That's where the lovely detail comes in, undoubtedly designed for the grown-ups. Coco herself is Miguel's great-grandmother who is great, but very old and potentially even nearing death. The film's named after her for a reason and the payoff with this one is sweet and powerful. It's a thoughtful film with a triumphant third act, even if the film can take its time in places. At one stage, it's hiccup after hiccup which is a tad frustrating, but just you wait.

I'll admit that the trailer alone made me tear up a bit, but at the end of Coco I was in full-on floods of tears. Up intro styles. I made a mental note whilst watching that the character Miguel was slightly annoying and formulaic, but it's definitely overcompensated by the ridiculously beautiful storytelling and being yet another bold move for Disney. It's not shying away from death, and also goes deeper into the importance of family, sacrifice, and the implications of legacy. Of course, the moral grounds and beliefs about afterlife are controversial if you take it all literally, but just remember we've had talking toys, talking fish and talking cars before. It's not real. What is real is the emotion - you'll leave the cinema singing "Remember Me" and I challenge you not to feel just a little bit moved.

Coco is in cinemas now.