Disney’s “Coco” by Lee Unkrich

Every Pixar computer-animated film takes on a new artistic challenge. In “A Bug’s Life” the audience views the world the way an insect would – from the ground up. “Inside Out” metaphorically animates how the interior landscape of our minds function. But no computerized cartoon feat has ever turned out as breathtakingly beautiful as Pixar’s family-friendly depiction of the afterlife in “Coco.”

Credit: Disney/Pixar

And where there is afterlife, there resides the remains of death. “Coco” goes beyond using death and loss as a quick device meant to strengthen the main characters (the way Bambi and Dumbos’ mothers’ deaths were used in the Disney features my children and I watched years ago). Instead, Death — with a capital D — is elevated from a single plot point to the subject of “Coco” and explored in a rather colorful setting of skeletons and souls – thanks to the story’s tie to the Mexican holiday Día de los Muertos.

The story starts with young Miguel, who dreams of becoming an accomplished musician like his idol, Ernesto de la Cruz and is frustrated by his family’s baffling generations-old ban on music. Desperate to prove his talent, Miguel mysteriously finds himself in a vibrant Land of the Dead, which turns out to be both a happy and tragic place: a simultaneous celebration of loved ones’ lives and a lament for their loss.

Along the way, Miguel meets charming trickster Hector and together they set off on an extraordinary journey to unlock the real story behind Miguel’s family history and bias against music. They pretty much stumble upon the meaning of Life — with a capital L — in the process.

In a most entertaining way, “Coco” opens discussions about death with younger audiences and introduces them to the beliefs of the Mexican culture. A bridge of marigolds, the flower associated with the dead in Mexico, ties the worlds of the living and the dead together on screen and in the viewers’ hearts.

Add just enough doses of family betrayal and laugh-out-loud humor to this unconventional plot, and you’ve got yourself a must-see. I was mesmerized the first time I watched “Coco,” comforted the second. And, seriously, a movie can’t score much higher than 97 percent approval on the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer (alongside a 94 percent audience score).

“Coco” became available on Netflix in May. I can’t think of a more satisfying scenario than sinking into comfy family room chairs with an audience of all ages to watch it. I guarantee you’ll be contemplating your deep connection to living loved ones and those on the other side of the marigold bridge with a smile on your face.