Script Analysis: “Coco” — Part 2: Plot
Read the script for the hit Pixar movie and analyze it all this week.
Reading scripts. Absolutely critical to learn the craft of screenwriting. The focus of this bi-weekly series is a deep structural and thematic analysis of each script we read. Our daily schedule:
Monday: Scene-By-Scene Breakdown
Tuesday: Plot
Wednesday: Characters
Thursday: Themes
Friday: Dialogue
Saturday: Takeaways
Today: Plot.
In every scene, something happens. A plot point is a scene or group of scenes in which something major happens, an event that impacts the narrative causing it to turn in a new direction.
A relevant anecdote. Years ago, I was on the phone with a writer discussing a script project. My son Will, who was about four years old at the time, must have been listening to me talking about “plot points” during the conversation because after I hung up, he asked, “Daddy, what’s a plop point?”
That’s in effect what a plot point is. It’s an event that ‘plops’ into the narrative and changes its course. So when you think Plot Point, think Plop Point!
The value of this exercise:
- To identify the backbone of the story structure.
- To examine each major plot point and see how it is effective as an individual event.
- To analyze the major plot points in aggregate to determine why they work together as the central plot.
This week: Coco. You may download the script here.
Screenplay by Adrian Molina & Matthew Aldrich, original story by Lee Unkrich & Jason Katz & Matthew Aldrich & Adrian Molina
IMDb plot summary: Aspiring musician Miguel, confronted with his family’s ancestral ban on music, enters the Land of the Dead to find his great-great-grandfather, a legendary singer.
Writing Exercise: Go through the scene-by-scene breakdown of Coco and identify the major plot points. Post your thoughts in comments and we’ll see if we can come up with a consensus.
Major kudos to Caliann Lum for doing this week’s scene-by-scene breakdown.
To download a PDF of the breakdown for Coco, go here.
For Part 1, to read the Scene-By-Scene Breakdown discussion, go here.
To access 60+ analyses of previous movie scripts we have read and discussed at Go Into The Story, go here.
I hope to see you in the RESPONSE section about this week’s script: Coco.