Do we like them?

Do we like Héctor?

A character from Coco (2017)

Our score: 8 out of 10. Yes, we'd back him. He's a loveable chancer with a big heart who shows real loyalty when it counts, and his small cons never hurt anyone.

Coco follows Miguel, a young boy in Mexico who dreams of being a musician even though his family bans music. On the Day of the Dead he ends up in the colourful Land of the Dead, where he meets Héctor, a ragged, wisecracking skeleton who is good at talking his way out of trouble.

Héctor wants to cross over to the world of the living on Día de Muertos, but he has no photo on any family's ofrenda, so he can't. He offers to help Miguel find his way in return for Miguel putting his photo up. It's a trade-off, but he soon grows fond of the boy and starts looking out for him.

He's a lovable rogue: a bit cowardly, a bit of a freeloader, and quick with a song or a disguise. Underneath that he's warm, funny and loyal, and the story keeps showing his tenderness, which is why we rate him so highly. He loses a point or two for the con-man habits and the early self-interest.

It turns out Héctor is Miguel's great-great-grandfather, the father of Mama Coco, and he's fading from memory in the Land of the Dead. His story is the emotional heart of the film. He did far more right than the family legend gives him credit for, and his bond with Miguel shows that remembering the people we love matters.