Pepita

"I need my spirit guide, Pepita."

- Imelda, about to summon Pepita

Pepita is an Alebrije who appears in the 2017 Disney/Pixar film Coco. She is affiliated with the late members of Rivera family as their guide-protector.

Background
Pepita is an imposing Alebrije who functions as a sort of spiritual guide for Imelda. She cannot speak, instead she can only make animal-like roars and noises.

Physical appearance
Pepita is a cross between a jaguar, an eagle, and several other animals, including the teal horns of a ram and a striped iguana-like tail. Overall her body shape is stock in the front and lean in the back. Her back is a deep blue that fades to emerald green across her body, while yellow highlights are scattered among this. Pepita's wings are red while her underbelly is orange, and she has eagle hindlegs with aqua-colored talons.

While visiting the land of the living, Pepita takes the form of a common house cat.

Powers and abilities
Pepita is equipped with multiple predatorial features, including her claws and teeth, as well as a pair of strong wings that gives her the ability of flight. As a spirit guide, she has impressive tracking skills, as she was able to track Miguel's scent for her mistress by sniffing the petal he touched, and could make Miguel's tracks glow a bright blue by breathing on them. Pepita is also shown to be strong as she is able to carry more than one person on her back. Pepita's protective nature is a reflection to Imelda's "iron lady" personality.

Role in the film
When Miguel Rivera refuses a blessing from Imelda, he runs away from the dead Riveras and into the Land of the Dead. Imelda calls forth Pepita (perched on a nearby tower) to locate Miguel. Sniffing the marigold petal Imelda blessed allows Pepita to track down Miguel, and she leads the rest of the Riveras to the boy.

Eventually, Pepita brings them to a talent competition in Plaza de la Cruz where Miguel and Héctor are performing. Noticing his family asking around for him, Miguel tries to slip away but is confronted by Pepita accompanied by Imelda, who demands Miguel accept her blessing and her conditions with it. Miguel persistently refuses, so Imelda resorts to force by ordering Pepita to capture him. However, Pepita's large size is exploited by Miguel as he escapes into an alleyway too small for her to fit in. Pepita can only roar in anger while Imelda goes after Miguel herself.

After the incident, Miguel's dog Dante helps lead Pepita and Imelda back to Miguel. Thanks to Dante, Pepita rescues Miguel and Héctor (who were condemned by Ernesto de la Cruz) out of the cenote. Pepita then flies the group back to the Riveras.

Pepita reappears during Ernesto's concert moments before Miguel falls to the ground to save him from certain death. After returning Miguel to the family, Pepita subsequently enters the stage to punish Ernesto for his murderous actions on the Riveras, just as the corrupted musician's villainy is revealed to the crowd. Ernesto tries to escape the alebrije, but he is grabbed and thrown by Pepita to the nearby bell tower, with the bell crushing Ernesto for good as the crowd cheers.

One year after the adventure, Pepita appears to have developed a friendship with Dante. On Día de Los Muertos, she and Dante go to the Land of the Living, appearing as a house cat, and join the living Riveras in their holiday celebration as Carmen warmly pets her.

Trivia

 * Pepita is inspired by Mexican artisan folklore, especially in the Oaxaca region.
 * Pepita's species, Alebrijes, are small figurines made out of paper maché or carved out of wood that represent mythical animal hybrids. Adrian Molina and the Pixar team came across these brightly-colored sculptures while doing research for the film and were immediately smitten with them.
 * Originally, the film's producers considered making Pepita a Xolo dog. But, from an artistic point of view, opting to make her an alebrije opened up all sorts of exciting possibilities.
 * Before Pepita was introduced, a stall selling alebrije sculpture in Santa Cecilia featured a lookalike sculpture of her.
 * In Spanish, "Pepita" is the diminutive form of Pepa, which is an alternate form for Josefa. Josefa is the female version of José (Joseph).
 * Papa Julio, her master's son-in-law, is somewhat afraid of her.
 * In the novelization, Pepita was around the Riveras as Imelda's pet cat. Even years later, she was briefly stated in the beginning, observing Miguel with great-grandmother and while he strolling the streets.