In Pixar’s Coco, the music-loving ancestor who helps Miguel in the Land of the Dead is Héctor.
Héctor is introduced as a witty, resourceful dead man who cannot cross into the living world because nobody has placed his photograph on a family altar. He agrees to help Miguel find Ernesto de la Cruz in exchange for having his picture taken to the living world.
As the story develops, Miguel learns that Héctor is not the villain he initially suspects. Héctor wrote many songs, including “Remember Me,” and left his family because he wanted to return home. Ernesto betrayed him, stole his songs, and became famous using Héctor’s work.
Héctor’s relationship with his daughter, Coco, provides the emotional center of the film. Her memories preserve him, and Miguel’s discovery helps restore the truth about the family’s past. The character is voiced in English by Gael García Bernal.